Y/N and Minho knew they should just leave. But they couldn't make themselves. Alby staggered his broken, disfigured body towards the pair with an arm outstretched, something held inside of his fist. Y/N couldn't bring herself to step any closer to Alby, but Minho didn't seem afraid. Ever so slowly, he placed one foot in front of another until he was face to face with his former leader. Former family.
Alby's hand shook and twitched as he raised it to Minho's chest height, opening up his palm and revealing a piece of paper. It was old, soiled with dirt, but still intact. Very clearly, Alby had been carrying it for an awful long time. Longer than he should have. The urgency in which Alby forced it into Minho's hands told him it was important.
Y/N could tell Alby was trying to speak, but no fully formed words left his mouth. Just cackles and hollow cries. Tears fell from his nearly black eyes, meaning he still felt. It proved his mind was still somewhat intact, just trapped inside of a disintegrating body. The girl wished she never had to see this, wished they'd never come into this building or even left camp.
Alby meant too much to Y/N and Minho, and seeing him like this tore their minds apart.
Minho knew better than to touch Alby, so he backed away and stood at Y/N's side. He unravelled the paper in his hands, the words scratched on it hardly legible. While Alby sat there, body crumpled in the corner of the room in defeat, Y/N and Minho read it. There must have been some kind of consciousness left within Alby because he stared at the pair with a familiarity and sadness. Despite his dry heaves and quaking body, he was still Alby deep down.
"It's 3 days after the grievers attacked the Glade. I was taken, but I'm alright. I'm writing this now as I sit in the WICKED facility. I can see you all sitting at a table in the cafeteria down the hall. I wish I could come see you."
"H-he made it out..." Minho whimpered, before reading further down the note.
"You all made it out, as have I. But I'm having a difficult time keeping up. Thomas sure is leading you guys down a zigzagging path and I can't seem to find you. I'm sure I will soon, though."
Y/N began to hate herself. Alby was there, behind them the whole time and they never knew it. Because of all the stupid detours they took and sudden sprints through the city in hopes of escaping the cranks pushed them further and further away from Alby.
"Today I followed Thomas and a girl with short hair into some kind of party. But whatever it was I drunk to get into the shuck place made me pass out. I missed you guys again. When I woke up, stumbling out into the street, I saw you all blaring out in a truck. I called out, but the rumble of the engine must've been too much. You didn't hear me."
Minho dropped to the floor, crashing his head into his knees which curled to his chest. He felt like someone was slashing at his heart with shards of glass, trying to make him feel as much pain as humanly possible.
"Good news, I managed to hijack a rover of sorts just outside of the city. I followed the only road, which I assumed you did too. Theres only one problem though...I got bit. Unlucky me, huh? I'm doing everything I can to stop it but I can feel it taking over pretty quick."
Y/N looked to Alby and her eyes immediately locked onto a patch of skin on his arm darker, rougher and more swollen looking. It must've been where he was bit. The place where the flare entered his blood system and eventually took over.
"By the time I made it to the camp you guys were staying at, it was already burned to the ground and you all had abandoned it. I found some supplies in a medical hut and some bliss serum, but I'm not sure how long it'll give me. Or, if it'll give me enough time to find you guys. Maybe a few months?"
By the looks of it, the serum had lasted longer than Alby had probably expected.
"Turns out, the serums gave me more time than I thought. It's been six months. I found your instillation just as you were leaving again. The maps you left behind seem to say you're heading to the city, whilst other ones point to an camp on the coast. I think I'll head towards the water and meet everyone there once your fight is over. I'm not sure how far I'll make it, but I'll do my best. I know you'll make it out just fine as long as you stick together. See you soon.
If I don't make it all the way, and I somehow get this to you, say goodbye to Newt for me. Tell him how much he means to me and how it was him who made sure we survived in the Glade. Tell him that he should never feel guilty about the day Minho and I found him in the maze. Tell everyone that I will always be with them."
"H-he's been following us since we left the WICKED compound. He—we could have saved him." Y/N could hardly control her shaking hands and racing heart.
"How do we tell Thomas?" She whispered.
Minho shoved the paper as far down as he could into his pocket. "Do we tell Thomas?"
Y/N wasn't sure what to do. The thought of having to tell Thomas and the others that Alby was alive felt like nothing in comparison to the fact that Alby didn't know Newt was gone. He didn't get to say goodbye.
YOU ARE READING
Fine On My Own (Minho x Reader)
Fanfic[COMPLETED] Minho promised himself he'd never fall for her. Yet, here he was, tripping over his own feet. The keeper of the runners had always liked Y/N. She was a medjack, and the best one at that. It seemed that just about everyday, he was in for...
