Burning; TST ➵ Thomas

T W E N T Y - T H R E E

"After I met Jorge and Brenda, I was told that I'd have to stay with them until you guys came along. Then once when you did, one by one WICKED gave me back my memories. I just wasn't allowed to tell you."

Thomas didn't say a single word as Amelia told him the story. He was unsure how to react and what to reply.

"Then after what happened with Aris and Teresa, only now I was given permission to."

He stared into the darkness, listening to every word that came out of her mouth. Amelia sat beside him. They weren't touching. Just a couple of centimetres away from each other.

"I wanted to tell you. I swear," she promised. Her voice cracked. She sniffed. Thomas still didn't talk. "I just... couldn't risk seeing you hurt. Especially after the Maze... and Chuck and Alby..."

Thomas tensed at the mention of their deceased friends. Chills ran down his spine. He turned his head to face her. Her silhouette showed that she was looking down at her hands, she sniffed again and wiped her nose with the sleeve of her shirt.

"So, Brenda and Jorge are working for WICKED too?" he asked. His voice was croaky.

"In a way, I guess. They're still legitimate Cranks."

After that, neither of them spoke. There was a long awkward silence. She still looked down. He was still looking at her. Both of them were sitting on the floor, technically, there was no other place to sit.

"You're okay now, right?" he broke the silence.

"I guess. I mean, we're still stuck here."

Thomas snorted. He looked around the room. They were still in the same room that Teresa and Aris shoved them into. It was dark and cold as always. They couldn't have been dead. Unless the afterlife was a shitty room of darkness.

He stood up. Then he helped her get to her feet. Before she could say another word, he embraced her into a bear hug. She let out a small 'oof' but hugged back anyway.

"So..." she dragged the word.

"So, you'll need to repeat the whole story again to Newt and Minho. Frypan too," he reminded. She groaned, releasing herself from the hug. Thomas couldn't see her but he knew she rolled her eyes.

He grinned. She punched him playfully on the shoulder. "Let's find a way out of-"

As if on cue, something cracked, then hissed, interrupting their moment. Both of them jerked their heads in the direction of the sound. The door started to open. It slowly started to swing outwards. Teresa stood there in the pale light of early morning. Her face streaked with tears.

Amelia scowled at the sight of her. Thomas's hand intertwined with hers and squeezed it. She squeezed back. Once there was enough space, Teresa threw her arms around Amelia. She looked at Thomas with an uncomfortable look on her face as she hugged back. Thomas just snorted again.

"I'm so sorry," Teresa sobbed. "I'm so, so, so sorry. They said they'd kill you if we didn't do everything just like they told us. No matter how horrible. I'm so sorry."

Teresa pulled away from Amelia and hugged Thomas too. Neither of them answered, they couldn't bring themselves to. For all Thomas knew, it could be another trick again. In fact, he actually wasn't sure if he could trust Amelia either. He wanted to, but what if WICKED threatened her again?

Thomas finally pushed Teresa away. On some level, he realised that Teresa had kept her initial promise to him after all. The sincerity in her blue eyes did little to diminish his lingering doubt.

She stood between Thomas and Amelia, shifting her gaze between them as well. "I told you to trust me. I told you that bad, bad things would happen to you. But the bad stuff was all an act." She smiled.

Amelia scoffed and folded her arms. She snuck a glance at Aris who stood in the doorway. He looked sheepish like he'd intruded on a private conversation. "Well, both of you seemed to have fun beating us up and shoving us into this goddamn death shit."

"It was all an act, Lia," Teresa said. Amelia rolled her eyes. Teresa let out a small sigh that was way too obvious.

"I know WICKED didn't tell us about the other's plan. But you know what I had to go through, you know-"

"The only thing I know was that I lost my memories for the sake of saving someone who you were going to kill."

Thomas didn't know what to say. Neither did Teresa nor Aris. Teresa's smile faltered. Thomas scratched the back of his neck. "Uh... maybe you should explain everything to us. We earned that much."

Aris interrupted by coughing. "Might as well do it while we're walking... or running. We only have a few hours left. Today is the day."

Thomas immediately turned to Amelia who seemed more panicked than he was.

"You guys up for running once we're out of those dead trees?" Teresa asked.

"Please," the other girl scoffed. "We're Runners. We can handle it."

She walked past Aris, purposely banging their shoulders. Thomas shrugged and followed. He stepped out of the small clearing and into the lifeless forest first.

He walked alongside Amelia who refused to say a word.

THIS IS A FILLERRRR, FILLER NIGHTTT. ok bye - strangersquib