Subject Terminated // The Scorch Trials [1]

TEN.

[CHAPTER TEN];

"Two hands longing for each others warmth,
Cold smoke seeping out of colder throats
Darkness falling, leaves nowhere to go."
- Daughter, STILL

PAIN.

It's like no matter what good happens, the pain, it demands to be felt. But what is pain? It's defined as physical suffering or discomfort caused by it, but it was so much more than just that. Pain was hell, and everyone wanted to avoid it.

Thomas felt pain throughout his body when he found Mataya laying there on the cement behind a beaten up car. Blood pooled around her shoulder as her eyelids lazily blinked. Newt and Minho were close behind as Thomas fell to the ground, his hands shaking as he tried to keep her awake.

All the hope and focus of the right arm was completely gone once he noticed Mataya wasn't amongst them. There was panic gripping at him as he ran around searching for her, hoping - praying - that she was okay.

But she wasn't, she was far from it and he scolded himself for not thinking rationally. He should have been there to protect her and save her. Mataya was shot and bleeding out because of Thomas. Thomas was the reason she left WICKED, she was the reason she betrayed the only family she had left, and got hurt. He is the reason for her suffering.

It's like everything went back into focus; Mataya was still on the ground, bleeding and Thomas was just sitting there doing nothing. Snapping out of his trance, he pressed his hands on the bloody wound.

"No no no no no no" he cried out over and over again, "No please Mat! Stay awake!"

The girls eyelids were drooping and a lazy smile was evident on her face as her head lulled to the side, she opened her mouth to speak but she only let out a ragged cough.

BLOOD.

The dark red colour was scary, and it haunted his dreams at night. There had been too much bloodshed since the maze, first Chuck, and now Mataya.

Tears began to build up in Thomas' eyes and he knew he had to do something, anything to help her. Sucking in a deep breath, he bit his tongue to stop tears from falling.

Thomas lifted her body up carefully, resting her head in his lap. Reaching forward, he unwrapped the cloth around her leg and checked the other wound before taking it. He motioned for Newt and Minho to help and they bent down, holding onto Mataya carefully as they lifted her from his lap and held her in place.

Minho held her uninjured shoulder carefully, his other hand around her back and Newt held her hand, his other hand cradling her head so it didn't fall back and give her whip lash. Or hit her wound.

Mataya's face was damp with tears now, the pain was demanding to be felt. It was strong and she could no longer handle the fire building inside. She was slowly losing consciousness. She knew it was time to say goodbye.

Thomas carefully pushed the cloth against the wound and wrapped it around her shoulder and under her armpit. He tied it tightly, pulling on it twice before he pulled off his tiny backpack. He shuffled through it before he grabbed out another t-shirt and ripped it, repeating the process once more.

It was enough to stop the bleeding momentarily, but it wouldn't last. Newt and Minho carefully leaned her back down onto Thomas' lap and she let out a whimper of pain as her shoulder came in contact with Thomas' leg.

"You need to stay awake Mataya, okay?" Thomas said softly, his hand intertwining with hers. "You can't sleep yet my little warrior."

Mataya only hummed in response, trying to fight the darkness that seemed so welcoming.