teenage wasteland ;; the maze runner

2.20

when the ringing of her ears faded, the sound was quickly replaced with the intense beating of her heart. around her, the world was dark, her breaths heavy as she tried to find oxygen amidst the anxious atmosphere, and she struggled to find her balance while lacking both sight and still a bit of her hearing.

    she recoiled when the rest of the boys figured it out, clicking on flashlights in search for the same boy she was looking for: minho.

    "put him down," she finally clocked the voice of thomas who sounded just as breathless as she felt. aris' flashlight wandered cluelessly until he finally found control and pointed the beam to light up minho's face that was now even with the ground.

    florence pushed forward, gently shoving thomas' hands away while she wordlessly pressed her pointer and middle fingers together before placing them on her friend's neck. the world grew silent once again as she found the artery which was fortunately larger than usual thanks to the intense run minho had just made.

    she felt the first beat, and relief flooded her fingertips, but she knew a pulse was only one thing. "he has a pulse," she muttered. "definitely not cardiac arrest." she then methodically lifted her unoccupied hand and placed it on his forehead, tilting his head backwards just slightly before turning her own chin and lowering her head. she held her ear above his mouth while her eyes focused on his chest movement.

    for seven seconds, she waited, watching and hoping that it would rise, that it wouldn't be respiratory arrest, that he would take a damn breath and quell their worst fears. another one dead in how many days? she wouldn't accept it.

    so, she watched, only about two more seconds left before she really had to start worrying. "minho, breath, man," she whispered. "i really don't want to give you rescue breaths."

    it seemed minho didn't want her mouth anywhere near his, either, because just as she was about to give in, a groan echoed out of the boy's mouth.

    instantly, the group around the unconscious boy let out a chorus of sighs, tension dissipating at just one sound. "jesus," flo breathed, sitting backwards and leaning her weight on her haunches. she ran her hands over her face and down her head in a mix of stress and relief.

    "there he is," aris breathed, the rest of the crew taking over as florence recovered from her own anxiety-inducing situation. she watched from where she crouched, taking time to catch her breath.

    "are you okay?" thomas asked, holding onto the collar of minho's jacket to give his head some support, and florence smiled a bit. she knew that drilling those first aid tips into her friends' heads would be helpful at least someday.

    minho groaned again, eyes blinking open as he adjusted to the lighting. "what happened?"

    all at once, everyone let out a breathy laugh before thomas responded, "i think you got struck by lightning."

    sammy scoffed from the back where he sat on antony's shoulders. "you think?"

    florence frowned, unimpressed at the duo. "how the hell did you end up there?" she asked, eyebrows raised at both of them. "after i told you to leave antony be?"

    sammy shrugged. "i think he just cares about me more than you do."

    she bit back an unnecessary response, opting to instead go with, "i'll deal with you two later," before turning her attention to minho once again. she surveyed him, eyes calculating and focused. "do you have any burns?"

    minho shrugged. "i don't think so."

    "you're such a fucking ass for scary us to death and then not even really being injured," she sighed, and a laugh overcame the group.