A Way Back - The Maze Runner (♡Newt)

Chapter 84

Newt's pov

Tommy had lost it. The moment Gally's knife had killed Chuck, he lost the last of his marbles and attacked the Shank.
      Thomas tackled Gally, sending him to the ground. Without giving Gally a second to react, he started pounding him with his fists. Gally didn't even try to fight back, letting Tommy hit him in the face over and over again. When the Shank started bleeding and Thomas didn't stop, Minho and I decided it was enough.
     With a lot of effort, we managed to drag Thomas away from Gally, almost immediately the Shank went back to Chuck's body. Clinging and talking to it in the same way Cally had done to Ezra not that long ago, only he didn't whisper, he screamed. My stomach sunk deeper when it happened, but not as much as Thomas'. Trying to comfort him, I lay my hand on his shoulder. He looked up at me for a split second, accepting the contact before turning his tearful eyes back to Chuck. 
     From the corner of my eye, I could see Guz, the Glader that had lost his hand, talking to Cally. Kneeling down in front of her. She tried to focus on him, but her eyes kept getting pulled back to Chuck and Thomas. Every time she did, I was able to see this haze in her eyes, as if she was still trying to process what was going on.
     I wanted to go to her, but Thomas needed me as well, and I couldn't leave him alone like this. Besides, Minho had made his way to Cally already.
     The Keeper of the Runners pulled Cally on her feet, opening his mouth to say something, but he closed it again with a deep sigh. No one said anything. None of us knew what to say or do. Gally was still lying on the ground, he was breathing, but after what Thomas had done to him he looked more dead than alive.
     "All things happen for a purpose." The woman from WICKED broke the silence. "You must understand this."
     Teresa helped Thomas stand, making me take my hand off his shoulder. The hate I had boiling inside of me only grew with every word she said. This wasn't fair. She says it happens for a reason, a purpose. As if everything they did to us would be okay since it all had been for a purpose.
     Suddenly, commotion came from the other side of the glass. Shouts and screams, followed by a noise I didn't recognize, but it was so loud and sudden it sent a new jolt of fear through my body.
     The woman seemed to panick too, all the blood drained from her face as she turned to the door she and Gally had come from. I automatically turned to it as well. A group of people, wearing dirty clothes, completely soaked, busted through. All of them carried multiple different kinds of rusty and worn-out guns. Most of them stayed behind the glass, attacking the people of WICKED, shooting them with no hesitation nor remorse, drenching all the white coats red, but one came to us, with his weapon drawn.
     Immediately, my eyes shot to Cally, just in time to see her pushing Minho behind her before he could do the same to her. As quick as I could, I joined the two, standing protectively before the both of them. I felt Cally grab a hold on my arm, squeezing it.
     The man didn't pay attention to us. Instead, he went straight for the woman. His dark hair stuck to his face, which looked pretty young, even though the lines in his skin gave away he had seen more than any of us.
     The man pinned the W.I.C.K.E.D woman to the ground without any effort and pointed his gun at her head. For a split second, I thought he wouldn't do it, but that went away when he pulled the trigger the first time. My eyes grew wide, and I turned to Cally, who squealed out of fear and hid her face in my shirt. I pressed her close to me, squeezing my eyes shut with every new gun shot the man fired.
     Everything else went fast. I had barely any time to register all of it.
     More of the intruders joined their friend inside our room, they circled around us, fired their guns at the observation glass, and everyone behind them. The room was filled with the mixed noises of gunfire, men and woman shouting, and shattering glass. Once most of the people from WICKED, if not all of them, had been hit, the man that had killed the woman in front of us gave everyone new commands. Not just to his people but also to us. He told us to follow, and we did without question. I didn't know what to do, everything was a bloody chaos.
     I took a hold of Cally's hand and ran after the man. They lead us through hallways and corridors. Up so many stairs I couldn't keep count. Everywhere I looked I saw destruction. Of course I knew this place was going to be big. I mean, the Glade and the Maze were big, so the place the Creators worked must have been at least as big. But right now, while we ran through what felt like the entire building at once, I was barely able to keep going. My bad ankle was killing me, but I couldn't stop. We had come so far, and now we were almost free from this horrible place, I couldn't just give up.
     After what seemed like forever we reached a door that let outside. I had never seen rain. Or at least I didn't have the memory of experiencing it. But the moment we left the building, it came down on us.
     The cold water against my burning hot skin felt great for how long it lasted. We didn't stop when we got outside. The soldier like people kept running and pushing us to do the same. I hadn't let go of Cally's hand for even a second since we started, and I still didn't now we were running towards a big, old bus. Most windows had been broken or ripped, peaces of wood and metal tried to cover the open spots.
     The dark-haired man who led the group threw the doors open and told us to get inside. We weren't the first Gladers to enter, but the bus was still big enough for all of us to have a seat.
     Minho got in before me and Cally, he sat down closest to a window that was still in tact. I sat down beside him, and Cally took place beside me.
     I stared out of the window, trying to make out the building we just left, but it was so dark, and the rain seemed to have formed a thick curtain around the bus.
     Minho, Cally, and I all let out a short scream when something, or better said someone, seemed to appear out of nowhere and slam against the window.
     It was a woman, it could have been because of the rain and bad lighting, but it looked like her skin was entirely grey and missing a big part of her right ear. Her hair was mostly gone, but the few strings that were still attached to her skull were long and greasy.
     The woman shouted something inaudible at us while slamming her fist against the window, but before we could do anything about it, the last ones entered the vehicle. The leader got in the front seat and sped away. Leaving the woman behind. Almost immediately, the bus hit something, but it kept driving anyway.
     Even though my heart relentlessly pounded against my chest, I tried to calm down. We were safe now, after all. Rescued from WICKED, no more experiments, no more mind tricks and no more Grievers. Or at least I hoped all of that was over. 
     Minho was staring out of the window, his breathing faster than normal, but he seemed okay, all things considered. With a little hesitation, I turned my attention to Cally. About a quarter of her hair was gone, making me able to see her face better. Even though we had only been in the rain for a couple of minutes, she was soaking wet. Making me realize I probably was too.
     I didn't expect her to be happy now we got rescued, I thought she would be devastated after all we just went through. Only she didn't seem sad because of the loss of her twin brother and her friends. Nor did she look angry, desperate, horrified, or hurt in any way. She just stared in front of her, not even one emotion visible on her face. It reminded me of what Ezra had told me that night Tommy, Minho, and Alby got stuck inside the Maze. She gets stuck in her mind and doesn't get out. The last time Chuck was able to pull her out, but he was gone now as well.
     I let my vingers slide over the smooth surface of Ezra's shark-tooth necklace inside my pocket. I had taken it from Ezra's body while Minho was helping Cally get through the Griever Hole.
     My other hand was still holding hers, I hadn't let go of her since the rescuers had come. Only Cally didn't seem to care, she had let me lead her, not saying a single word, just letting everything wash over her.
     "Cals," I started, but she didn't react, her eyes focust on something in front of us. I softly squeezed her hand, "Cally..." Now, she snapped out of whatever thought she was having and turned her head to face me. Her eyes scanned my face, waiting for me to continue. 
     Slowly, I took the necklace out of my pocket and opened my hand for her to see. I was a bit nervous about her reaction, but how bad could it really be after all we just went through?
     "I thought ya'd want to have this." I added when she didn't react.
     Cally stared at it for some time, blinking a few times before a deep frown came on her face. Then she said something. Her voice was weak, but clear, "You had no right to take that."
     "To remember him by," I said, hoping she would accept the necklace and that I hadn't just made things worse.
     Hesitant, her eyes switched from my eyes to the necklace a few times before she took the necklace out of my hand and put it around her neck. "Thanks..." she whispered, her voice shaking now.
     I put my arm around her shoulders in a side hug, but the moment I pressed her against me, she flinched. I immediately loosened my grip, "what was that?"
     Cally didn't answer, she just moved her free arm back around her waist, clenching her hand to her side. Now I focust on the spot I saw more fresh blood dripping through the thin fabric of her shirt. "Are you still bleedin'?"
     "It's nothing, Newt." Cally said without looking at me, but I knew it wasn't nothing. If the wound was from the fight with the Grievers, it should've already stopped bleeding by now. And if it happened during the gunfire, there could be a bullet stuck in her side.
     "Cally, you're bleeding, let one of those people take a look at it. Maybe they can help." I knew she was going to ignore my words, but before she could dismiss anything, a third voice spoke up.
     "Something wrong?" I turned my head to look behind us. There was a man sitting there, leaning against our seats. He was one of the people who had rescued us. A short, dark beard covered most part of his jaw and cheekbones, Only getting interrupted by a scar that came from somewhere on the top of his head, over his left cheek and made a sharp turn to his upper lip. I didn't know what to think of him, but I knew Cally needed help, and these people already helped us before, so it was worth a shot.
     "Yeah, my friend is still bleeding. Could ya, or somebody else, look at it?"
     The man smiled at us, a warm smile, somehow it was a little comforting. "Of course," he stood up, walked to the side of our seats, and knelt beside Cally, who was watching every move the man made like a hawk. The moment he got too close for her liking, she shuffled closer to me.
     "It's okay, li'le lady, show me. Let me help." I could see the words of the man weren't comforting her. She didn't trust him and didn't want to show him.
     "Com'n, Cals, let him help." I tried to convince her while softly squeezing her hand. I glanced over at Minho, hoping he would help, but of course the Shank was already fast asleep with his head leaning against the window. 
     Cally looked at me for a moment and then back at the men. With a small sigh, she removed her hand and lifted the left side of her shirt. She flinched when she made the movement with her arm, but continued anyway. Revealing a big cut. It went from just beneath her breast until a few inches above her hip. Now her hand was gone there wasn't any pressure on the wound anymore, causing the blood to keep seeping out.
     The man turned to a blonde man on the other side of the bus. "Derek, you've got some clean cloths left?" The blonde guy, who apparently was called Derek, took some pieces of cloth out of his backpack and handed it to him. The man pressed it against the wound. "Keep pressure on it." He told Cally, without hesitation she just did as she was told. Then the man took a roll of medical tape out of his own backpack and started to bind it around Cally's waist. He made sure it was tight enough before he finished it off.
     The man looked at the bandages mumbling: "Here ya go." Looking Cally in the eyes again, he continued. "This will hold until we're at the save house. Once we're there, I'll have to stitch that, understood?"
     Cally nodded in response but didn't say anything at all. The man stood up to go back to his seat, but I stopped him. "What's your name, sir?"
     "I'm David." He answered with a warm smile, sitting back down on his seat behind us. "I'll stay behind you three, so don't worry about finding me."
     I nodded that I understood. "Thank you, David."
     "No problem, kid."
     Looking back at Cally I saw she had let down her shirt and was staring in front of herself again as if she was in a complete other world. Seeing her like this... I wanted to help her, make her feel better. Make her smile again, but I couldn't. I didn't know how.