THE AFTERMATH (after the death cure)

Feeling

Teresa POV

Brenda explains to us the schedule here in location ABI. It consists of mostly eating, working and sleeping. I don't know how these people keep it together. To be honest, it seems excruciatingly painful.

"Thomas and the others are probably still working they'll be here in a few." She explains.

"But you guys might want to do something to conceal yourselves they could be back any minute now." Gesturing to the trees that outline the town.

Newt gives a slight nod and gestures for us to follow him. We walk through the dense bush for maybe a little too long and eventually find a thick, tall trunk we can hide behind. Rachel presses her back against the tree and lets out a big breathy sigh.

"I can't believe this is happening," She says.

"Too good to be true?" Newt asks.

"I don't want to think about it right now, let's just enjoy the peace while we can," I add in. We wait there for a few minutes but the anticipation irritates me and I can't be still for another passing second.

"I think I'm gonna walk around for a bit," I begin.

"Do you really think that's a good idea, Teresa?" Rachel asks.

"It's not like we need another thing to worry about," Newt says.

"Wow, I love the faith you have in me. I'll only walk around for a bit, it's not like I'm running off or anything." I assure them as I walk deeper into the trees.

"Be careful!" Rachel calls out to me.

"Bye!" I respond. I observe the different shades of green that adorn the treetops. It's breathtaking and I almost forget where I am. I try to be as quiet as possible just in case there is anyone that might see me. But one wrong move and I step directly on a twig and it snaps into pieces. I cringe at the sudden sound but continue.

Thump.

I jump in surprise. What was that? I walk towards the noise at a quick pace searching for danger. But then I see him; Head in his hands and breathing heavily. Adrenaline courses through my body and I run.

"Thomas!" I scream.

Thomas POV

Leaves crunch under my boots as I walk through the forest, searching for discarded wood. Mind shut off, I focus on one thing only, the task at hand.

Then I hear something. A twig snapping. I whip my head towards the noise. I'm met with nothing but the swaying leaves and distant chatter of immunes. I slowly turn my head forward and take a deep breath.

A flash of a gravestone from the corner of my eye makes my heart skip a beat. But when I blink again I see nothing but green shrubs and dirt. I try to slow my increasing heart rate. Stop being crazy.

You're not in the maze. You're not in the glade. No one is going to attack you.

You're safe.

But my mind won't listen. The forest thickens around me. The air in my lungs disappears. Trees shoot up to higher heights and I can see the concrete walls that confine me. They're covered in ivy, the ivy that someone I knew climbed to kill themselves. But in the end, I was the one to end his life.

Stop. Stop. Stop.

But images come flooding in and the damn to my insanity breaks, drowning any reasonable thoughts.

I feel like I am being swallowed. I feel weak. Faint. Dizzy. My fingertips start to tingle. An impending sense of terror circulates through my every limb. Sweat clings to my clothes yet I'm shaking violently.

I'm sitting on the dirt ground, hands gripping at my hair and elbows resting on my knees.

What am I doing? Why won't this stop? Why are you scared? You're safe.

You're perfectly safe.

Where have I heard that one before? Grief torments my thoughts; memories of shared smiles and light-heartedness make me feel heavier by the second. The sadness spreads like dye to water.

"Thomas!"

It sounds like her but I know it's not. She's dead. Just like everyone else that I've killed. I cling grip at the floor, clutching fistfuls of earth. Sobs wrack my body.

The sound of feet thumping towards me mimics the sound of my heartbeat. I look up. There is a girl with black, shiny hair bouncing off her back, a look of overwhelming panic etched on her angelic face.

She gets closer. Allowing me to see the spray of freckles decorating her pale skin.

"Thomas, stop." She pleads. Both of her hands cup my cheeks and my eyes meet her blue ones. She wipes the tears streaking my face while tears of her own form in her eyes. My breathing quickens as I realize that I really have gone crazy. I beg for my mind to stop playing games.

"Breathe, Thomas breathe."

I do, but too quickly.

"Tom, please." She pleads. I begin to shake more violently. This isn't happening.

"Focus on me, Tom. Come on you can do it," Her voice becoming unstable.

I do. I get lost in her glassy eyes, filled with tears. But underneath I see the clear blueness that tells a million stories in one glance. An overwhelming urges to make her smile invades my thoughts but then I remember who she is and I can't bare looking at her face for one-second longer. All I ever cared for was...

"Stop, please stop," I sob. The panic has passed but the anguish lingers. Instead of the emptiness I'm used to I feel like my body is too small for whatever lies inside.

She removes her hands from my face. A look of pure hurt passes her features.

"Why?" Her voice cracking.

"You're not real," I whisper.

"I am," She whispers back.

"You can't"

"Why not Tom?" her tears threatening to overflow.

"Because you're dead." I manage to utter, not bothering to be embarrassed for my crying.

"What if I wasn't," the droplets escape and cascade down her cheeks.

"And I'm not." She says swallowing her grief.

Then her lips are on mine, and she's pulling me closer. I respond after a second of astonishment and caress her tear-streaked face. Something explodes in my chest. Something I haven't felt since when she kissed me in the scorch. It could be passion, or desire or happiness but it's more capable than that.

And I feel. I feel every emotion in what feels like seconds. And it feels like something I can't explain, like something that I shouldn't be able to feel. Love.

Teresa pulls away and wipes away my tears.

"Does that feel real?" Teresa smiles through the tears.

A/N

The Thomesa feels!!!! I hope this one wasn't too long for you. Just a few more reunions and we're done!! (and maybe an epilogue) I'm gonna miss this story it's been really great for me :((

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Love you guys- Hxx