❝ i'll never give you away
cause i've already made
that mistake ❞
Finally out of the maze, the remaining gladers believe they've finally caught a break. But they're already way in over their heads. This was only the start.
( thomas x fem! oc )
( b...
Morning comes too quickly for the gladers. As the sun rises and illuminates their once darkened sleeping spot, Santana is startled awake by Thomas. He's yelling at something as her eyes begin to adjust and she sees just the smallest glimpse of the wing of a crow fly away. Thomas's hand is on the back of her thigh to steady himself before standing up and looking around.
Ella groans, wanting to go back to sleep, the gladers didn't get much the previous night, especially her. She stayed up after Thomas had fallen asleep, watching the shaky rhythm of Winston's chest rising and falling. He wasn't looking good last night and she was too afraid to look now to see that it had gotten worse.
She rests her head on Thomas's backpack, using it as a pillow. She glances at Minho, who's diagonal from her, he looks just as tired as she assumes she does. He lets his head fall back onto his own pack again. Ella takes this as a sign to rest her eyes for a second as Newt speaks up, "Are they gone?" Thomas glances around at their surroundings, "Yeah, I think we're safe for now." There's a pause in Thomas words, Ella's eyes are still closed but she can feel his gaze on her. She peaks an eye open, staring up at him, her body slump against the ground. His eyes soften at the sight, giving the girl a small frown before, "We should get moving."
Ella shakes her head in disagreement, she knows she has to get up, there's no fighting it, but she tries to for at least a couple more seconds. It doesn't take long for Thomas to crouch beside her, one hand on her waist and the other moving hair from her face, "Cmon babe, let's go." He mutters softly, taking Ella's hand and gently pulling her to stand. Her eyes are still adjusting to the brightness so all she can offer the boy is a closed eye, faint-lipped smile in return.
Thomas squeezes her waist before turning around to help the others up, "Cmon, Aris, Fry, Winston, let's go." Minho is by her side in seconds, reaching down to grab his pack and slinging it over his shoulders, then handing her hers. "Did you sleep at all?" He questions her, eyeing the bags under her eyes and fallen face. "Did you?" Ella counters, angling her head up to see him properly, her eyes squinting from the sunlight. The boy gives her a smirk, nodding his head as he says, "Touché." Ella chuckles as Newt steps to them, "You two okay?" The two nod, Ella giving the blonde a smile, "Just peachy, Newtie." Minho snorts at her comment as they begin their trek.
They climb up out of the small wreckage they slept in, stepping out onto, what Ella assumes, was a road. Buts its broken and fallen, sand and dust collected on it. She didn't have a good gut feeling about this and was starting to worry about what they were getting themselves into, hiking all the way to the mountains so far in the distance, they can barely see them. Her eyes widen as she glances up, a gasp escaping her lips as they pass fallen, torn down, wrecked, or barely standing skyscrapers.
The road their walking is littered with abandoned cars, now full of sand from the drifting winds. Ella tries to imagine what this place would've been like in its full glory, however many years ago that was. She wonders what would've caused it to end up looking like this, broken, abandoned, and forgotten. "What the hell happened to this place?" Fry questions. The gladers heads are all turned upwards to look at the destroyed city. "I don't know." Newt answers, "It doesn't look like anyone's been here in a long time." There's silence before Aris voices what the whole group is thinking, "I hope the whole worlds not like this."
"Woah, hang on, stop." Thomas says, causing the gladers to turn in their place to face him. Ella gives him a questioning glance, but he just shrugs before his eyes dart down. She can tell he's trying to concentrate on something, so she stays quiet, urging the others to do the same. "Do you hear that?" He asks, causing the gladers to become silent and try to listen for themselves. Thomas's eyes widen all of the sudden, "Get down! Everybody hide! Hide!" The gladers turn before running to take cover under an awning.
They just barely take cover before the sound Thomas was talking about becomes more apparent, and something flys overhead. Ella stares up in shock as an aircraft fly's past them. "What's the bloody hell is that!?" She whispers. "Wicked." Aris reply's, a somber expression etched onto his face. "They're never gonna stop looking for us, are they?" Minho asks.
The group continues forward, Thomas taking the lead. After a while, Ella notices Winston falling behind, so she stays back with him. He's panting more than usual, spitting out a low cough every now and then. At one point, he doubles over, a cry falling from his lips. Ella is by his side in seconds, resting a reassuring hand on his back and leaning down to be level with him. "Hey, it's okay, we just need to get some water in you."
The girl reaches back for the small canteen in her pack, but Winston grabs her hand as she finds it. He shakes his head, "I don't need it." Ella furrows her brows, "What? Yes, you do. You're sick, Winnie." He straightens his back again, facing her, "Yeah, I'm sick." He states, leaning in closer so the others can't hear. "Ella, you and I both know I won't make it." The girls eyes widen, her heart beginning to race. "Don't say that!" She states, "Of course you will." Winston shakes his head, "It's okay, I've made peace with it." Ella's eyes narrow and stare hardens, "You don't need to make peace with it because it's not happening." She says stubbornly.
Winston only chuckles but it spirals into another low coughing fit. He bends over again and begins to spit out, what looks like blood. Ella grows more concerned, "Winston, please take some water." He shakes his head again, "You need it more than I do." The boy continues up the sand dune their climbing. Ella doesn't understand how Winston can just be okay with dying, just accept it! This was Winston they were talking about. Winston, who had been to the med-jack hut more than any other glader in the Glade, but yet always had a smile on his face. Winston, who after every wrapping she did would always go right back to work, no matter how much pain he was in. Why was he giving up now?"
Ella sucks in her tears, she can't cry. She knows that's only wasting fluid that her body will need if they spend another couple days out in this desert. But she wants to, it's the only way she knows how to release the painful, weighted feeling off her chest and mind. Get some relief from what they're dealing with. But she can't, she has to be strong, for Winston.
As the gladers come up on the top of the sand dune, they all let out sighs of worry. Desert stretched on for miles and miles, and in the faintest distance, Ella could see the peaks of the mountains, but they looked so far away. Too far for them to get to on foot. Thomas stretches his hand out, pointing towards them as well. "These mountains, that's gotta be it. That's where we're going." Ella, Newt, and Minho all glance at each other. "That's a long way off." Newt speaks up, Thomas only shrugs. "Then we better get moving."
Before the gladers can move forward, Ella watches Winston fall down the dune too fast for her to catch him. "Winston!" They all yell, circling around him. "What do we do?" Teresa asks, glancing towards the group as they all huddle around the gasping boy. "Thomas." Ella says, gaining said boys attention, "He's really sick." Thomas eyes flutter from Ella to Winston to the mountains in the distance.
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hello!! welcome back! hope you enjoyed this chapter! <3 pls vote and comment!
