Burnt; TDC ➵ Thomas [DISCONTINUED]

A17

[...]

THOMAS WOKE up groggy and with a migraine. A bright light aimed at his face, causing a dull ache behind his eyes. Like the lenses of a camera, his sight soon cleared. The teenager looked left and right, observing his surroundings. He laid on an uncomfortable bed. The room was small, it was a cramped lab. Thomas propped himself on one elbow.

Minho slept on a chair nearby. His head lolling as the ex-runner snored. Thomas whispered his friend's name in an attempt to wake him up. When it failed, he tried again but repeated it louder. Minho woke up with a jolt. Shoulders stiff, eyes wide and panicked. His hands curled into fists, preparing for a fight.

"Woah, woah. Calm down." Thomas reached out with his hands open. Minho relaxed when his gaze landed on Thomas. He slumped back into his seat, rubbing his temples.

"What happened? Did Hans get the chip switched off? Are we fixed?" His friend nodded sleepily, stretching his arms and yawned. He leaned against the chair before replying.

"Yup. For both of us - or at least he said he did. Dude, you wigged out big-time. Do you even remember a single klunk?" Minho ended his question with a chuckle. Thomas groaned, falling back onto the mattress with his hands covering his face.

"Obviously," Thomas scoffed. "It was like I was paralysed. No matter how hard I tried, whatever was controlling me was stronger.".

"Man, you tried to slice my you-know-what off!" Minho exclaimed, flailing his arms around to exaggerate the issue. Thomas laughed. The sound was so foreign to his ears. After all, he hadn't laughed in a long time. The stress of this supposed covert mission was taking a toll on him. It didn't help that two of his best friends were infected and caged in the Berg.

"Too bad I didn't. Could've saved the future from tiny Minhos."

"Just remember you owe me."

The conversation dropped off when the missing trio entered the lab. All three of them looked serious. Thomas turned to them with a smile, it fell for a split second.

"Well you three look downright depressed. Gally stopped by and gave you a pep talk?" Thomas attempted to sound as cheery and lighthearted as possible.

"When did you get so happy, muchacho? Few hours ago you tried to kill us," Jorge stated. His eyes bored into Thomas' soul - if WICKED hadn't broken it yet like how they did with his mind. Thomas opened his mouth to let out a heartfelt apology but Hans shushed him by raising a hand. The older man leaned over the bed and flashed a little light into Thomas' eyes.