Burnt; TDC ➵ Thomas [DISCONTINUED]

A9

[...]

SOMEONE GRABBED the back of Thomas' shirt and yanked him to the left. The sounds of glass shattering and electricity crackling filled the hangar. Thomas stumbled and fell behind the cargo box. A round of bullets thudded against the wood.

"What's the plan?" Brenda yelled. The group crouched low, their bodies pressed against each other tightly. It seemed impossible that they could fight back from such a position.

"They could flank us any second. We need to start shooting back!" Jorge called out.

The onslaught had paused for a short moment. Shuffling footsteps and short barked commands could be heard. If the group wanted to gain an advantage, they need to act fast.

"I got an idea," Amelia piped up beside Thomas. The group paid attention to her while still keeping on a look out for their enemies.

"All right, our leader is back," Minho smirked. He earned a slap on the arm from Amelia for the remark. She ignored his small 'ouch'.

"Minho fires right. Newt fires left. Thomas and Brenda can shoot over the box. I'll cover Jorge as he scouts for a path to get to the Berg," Amelia instructed. "Aim and shoot at anything that moves or wears black. Understood?"

Thomas gave a small nod for a reply. He agreed with his lover's plan. He was queasy with the idea that he may not be able to protect her but he didn't want her involved with the gunfight either. He knelt facing the box, ready to jump to his feet on Amelia's signal. Brenda was beside him, with two pistols instead of a Launcher. Her eyes were on fire.

"Planning to murder someone?" Thomas asked, his lips twitching slightly at how passionate she seemed shooting at one of their enemies.

"Nah. I just gave Amelia my Launcher. And I mostly aim for the legs. But you never know, I might hit high by accident," Brenda smirked.

As Amelia shouted 'Now!', they made their moves. Thomas stood, lifting his Launcher up and over the box. He fired without risking a good look. Once he heard the grenade explode, he popped up to search for a specific target. A man was creeping towards the duo from across the room. Thomas aimed. He fired. The weapon burst into lightning as it hit the man's chest, causing him to be thrown onto the ground in a fit of spasms.

Gunfire and screams filled the air of the hangar, accompanied with the staticky sounds of electricity. Thomas was tempted to look over his shoulder and check up on Amelia but he knew he couldn't risk letting his guard down once. One by one, their enemies fell. They were clutching their wounds, which were mostly in their legs as Brenda had promised. The rest bolted for cover.

"We've got them running! It won't last for long - they probably didn't realise we had weapons. Jorge, which Berg is yours?" Minho shouted as he continued to keep a lookout.

Jorge pointed towards the far left corner of the hangar. Thomas turned to where Jorge had indicated. The Berg's large hatch door, which he remembered from the group's escape out of the open, lay open and rested on the ground. It was like it was waiting for passengers to run up its metal slope. Nothing had ever looked so inviting.

Minho threw another grenade. "First, everyone reload your weapons. Newt, Thomas and I will cover while Jorge, Brenda and Amelia run for the Berg. Jorge, you start it up. Sounds like a plan?"

"Is it possible for the Launchers to harm the Berg?" Amelia questioned as she jams additional ammo into her pockets.

Jorge shook his head, stating that it'll be better if the guards hit the Berg than them. Minho yelled their signal without a warning. The teenage boys began to launch grenades in random directions. Amelia and Brenda took their positions on both sides of Jorge and sprinted away from the protection of the cargo box.

Thomas was so focused on covering for the other three that he didn't realize Amelia was shot until he heard her scream. He immediately craned his head, recognizing her scream. His eyes landed on Amelia who was laying on the ground as electricity spiderwebbed over her body. He was the first out of the trio to run towards her.

Newt and Minho spotted what had occurred and had given up on the plan. The duo followed as they continued to fire. Minho was shouting across the room for Jorge and Brenda to continue heading towards the Berg. Tendrils of lightning-like snaked across Amelia's body, then dwindled to smoky wisps. Thomas dropped to the ground when he reached her to make himself a smaller target.

Jorge had disappeared into the Berg as Brenda stationed herself by the hatch. Thomas waited anxiously next to Amelia as he cursed at himself for his inability to help. The electricity had to die down before he could carry her to the Berg. When Newt and Minho arrived next to him, his face was pale while she had blood dripping from her nose and drool from her mouth. Limps spasmed, eyes froze wide with shock and terror.

A memory was triggered in his mind. Amelia was pricked by a Griever back in the Maze... Chuck and Gally...

"Newt, keep heading for the Berg. Help Brenda. I'll cover Thomas," Minho instructed. The blond nodded and dashed for the machinery where Thomas had just realized that Brenda was holding a different type of Launcher. Its grenades exploded into spouts of fire when it made contact.

The energy from the grenade had weakened, allowing Thomas to pick Amelia up. As he and Minho ran towards the Berg, the hangar was a world of noise, smoke and flashing lights. A bullet grazed Thomas' leg, it was a setback but he ignored it and continued running. It was a hot score of pain then it began oozing blood.

They reached the foot of the hatch door. Newt and Brenda continued to cover for the rest of the crew, Thomas passed Amelia over to Minho and assisted the duo. The guards were aware that time was not on their side. A horde of them sprinted for the ship while opening fire.

"Forget reloading!" Thomas told Newt who fired his weapon once more, leaving his Launcher empty. "Let's go!"

They pivoted and scrambled up the ramp, Brenda entered first with the two boys behind her. Thomas' head crossed the threshold when someone thumped and cracked against his back. A.D. Jason's words, it's the worst five minutes of your life. His quote rang through Thomas' brain as he fell on the floor of the hangar. His body convulsing and vision going black.

[...]

This is basically a filler, ugh. OK! Allow me to apologize for the lack of chapters nowadays. The chapters before these were clearly pre-written and this one was recently written. Due to the fact that I do not have time nowadays and I rather not disappoint my fellow readers with the lack of chapters, I have decided to only update once a week which is only on Saturdays.

I am so sorry to all of you and I hope you don't mind the change in schedule.

- strangersquib

Written: 31 August 2018