Seperation // Gally x Reader

Chapter Seventeen - Sewers

CRASH

Thomas grunts as his ribs take a beating. We collide against the railings, air ripped from our lungs. Embers glow in amber specks around us, dancing to the ground to feed the flames.

"Come on," Brenda says breathily, pulling herself back onto her feet. A lone pillar tumbles to the ground, then another, then another. Before we know it, the whole building begins to collapse in on itself. The roof crashes to the floor, chasing us as we sprint in the opposite direction.

Brenda jumps onto a small wire, and Thomas and I copy, grabbing two others. As we glide down, I realise we're in an elevator shaft. Quite ironic considering every elevator I've ever been inside has had a 'don't use during a fire' sign.

I cry out as the rope slashes my hand, leaving stripes of burnt flesh. We tumble out of the chamber just as debris plummets behind us. Dust replaces oxygen, and we cough and splutter in the rubble. The room falls into darkness. I swipe my hand around to find Thomas, and it lands on what I hope to be his arm.

"You guys okay?" Brenda asks, flicking on a flashlight and waving it around. I nod, and Thomas sarcastically says, "Oh yeah, great." Brenda tilts the light upward to better showcase what we would've been buried under. The gap in the building had now become a solid wall.

"Shit. That thing looks like it weighs almost as much as Enzo," I say with a laugh. Unfortunately, I'm met with a pitiful silence. Tough crowd.

Thomas stands, his hands pressing random points of wood. "No, no. How are we going to get back to the others?"

"Relax. I'm gonna get us outta here," Brenda replies, spinning around to find an exit. She rifles through her backpack, and passes another flashlight to Thomas and I. "Why are you helping us?" Thomas asks as Brenda continues to search through her supplies. "Trust me, it's not my idea," she replies. "Jorge seems to think you and your friends are our ticket to the safe haven."

"The what?"

"You know, paradise. Safe from the sun, free of infection- basically the place everyone wants to be. Supposedly, the Right Arm have been taking kids there for years... immunes, anyway."

"And you know where that is?"

Brenda hops to her feet, beginning to walk forward. Thomas follows immediately. I'm still composing myself but manage to catch up, eager to hear the continuation of their conversation.

"No," she replies plainly. She thinks for a few seconds, before her eyes light up with a memory. "Although... Jorge knows a guy. Marcus- I think that was his name. He used to smuggle kids up into the mountains." She rips a crate from her path, flinging it to the side. "If Jorge made it out, that's where he'll be taking your friends."

I place my hand on her shoulder tentatively. I'm going to feel absolutely terrible if she doesn't see Jorge again, since it will obviously be our fault. She shrugs me away and I glare at her. So much for trying to be nice, I guess.

"If he made it out?" Thomas asks. "You know what? You ask a lot of questions," she complains. "Tell me about it," I mutter. Thomas shoots me a look and I smile goofily at him. "Can you just come over here and help me with this? Please," she speaks.

I rush to her side, pulling and pushing shattered glass and wood to the side. I notice what she was looking for. A large, square crate lays embedded in the floor. I call Thomas over and the three of us hoist it up and leave it in the scraps.

They point their lights down the hole as I regain my breath. I'm almost certain that I was pulling more than my fair share- Thomas barely clenched his fists. There's a distant screeching from below. "Well, that doesn't sound good," Thomas mutters, his eyes squinting in an attempt to see better.