Sacrifice

Chapter Sixty-Four

Claire felt the explosion before she saw it. She and the boys looked to their right and saw a section of the wall consumed in orange flames. Once the smoke cleared, they could see a large gap in the once impenetrable walls. 

"We're supposed to take down WCKD, not the whole damn city," Gally said in disbelief. 

Brenda was right, there was more going on than any of them had anticipated. The people who had taken Gally in were not who he thought they were. 

"Gally, come on, we gotta go," Thomas said. 

Pulling himself together, Gally took the lead as they crept through the streets. Minho and Thomas continued to support Newt. 

"Tunnels are right up ahead," Gally said as they got closer to the train station. Then he saw the flashing lights up ahead. "Shit, stay low, stay low." 

They all ducked behind a small wall. Claire squeezed in between Minho and Newt, the three of them sitting up with their backs against the wall. Gally and Tony crouched down on the other side of Minho while Thomas crawled on all fours, trying to get a good look at what was happening. 

"Shit," he muttered. There was a line of police cars set up on one side of the street, weapons set up ready for attack. How had they managed to find them so quickly? Did they know where Thomas and his friends were heading? Do they know about the tunnels? 

Still, the set up seemed a bit much if they were just trying to catch six people. Not that it mattered, it blocked their path to the tunnels. 

"Damn it," Tony whispered under his breath. 

Claire scooted closer to Newt and squeezed his hand. 

"What are they waiting for?" Minho asked. 

A second later, his question was answered by a loud explosion set off just across the street. A mob of people them flooded into view and fired at the soldiers. 

"Get down!" Thomas yelled. 

Newt summoned the energy to push Claire closer to the ground and shield her with his body as bullets were bouncing off the wall they were hiding behind. 

"We gotta go, we gotta go," Gally urged. 

Tony was the first to get up. He pulled Claire to her feet and quickly led her away from the battle. Thomas and Minho continued to carry Newt while Gally took up the rear. 

More people were flooding into the streets, the violence seeming to spread like wildfire. The group stopped at the edge of a courtyard. Tony and Claire hid behind one wall the others hid behind another. They all managed to duck for cover just as more shots rang out near by. 

"Claire, are you alright?" Newt called over to her. 

"We're fine," she answered. 

"Guys, get over there," Gally said pointing to an empty looking shop that was near by. 

As the group moved closer to the shop, Newt glanced behind him to make sure that Claire and Tony were still following them. They fell a little behind but they were still coming. Newt and the others were standing right outside the shop. 

Then, to his horror, Newt saw rebel fighters and WCKD soldiers appear on either side of the courtyard, and neither group seemed to care that Claire and Tony were still in the line of fire. 

"CLAIRE!" Newt screamed. 

Realizing the danger they were in, Tony grabbed Claire and pushed her onto the ground, shielding her with his body. Shots were being fired directly over them. 

"Claire!" Newt yelled again. If he hadn't been so weak, Thomas had no doubt Newt would already be making his way over to Claire and Tony. 

Soon the fighting stopped and both groups moved on. Thomas was relieved to see both Tony and Claire still moving. Then Tony collapsed as he tried to stand up, and that's when Thomas noticed all the blood coming out of his back. 

"Shit," Thomas muttered. "Minho, get Newt inside." 

By the time he and Gally made it over to Claire, Tony was laying on the ground. 

"Maria," Tony groaned, his voice getting weaker. 

"Stay calm, it's gonna be alright," Claire assured. She could barely wrap her mind around what was happening. Tony had just saved her life, this person she barely knew. Why would he do that? 

"Maria," Tony groaned again. 

"Who's Maria?" Claire asked Thomas. "His girlfriend?" 

Then she felt someone grab her hand. Claire turned around and saw Tony looking up at her lovingly. 

"It's okay," he assured her. "It's just...it's good to see you again." 

"Wait do you...do you know me?" 

"I know you don't remember. It's not your fault, WCKD took everything, even made you forget your own name." Tony's voice was getting weaker. "I just needed you to know that you had a big brother who loved you very much." 

Suddenly everything made sense, Tony's willingness to come on this mission, his hostility toward Thomas and Newt. He didn't come here to avenge the sister WCKD had taken from him, he had come to save her. 

"Come on, Tony, we can still save you," Thomas insisted. "We just gotta get to the berg." 

"Thomas, you're a good guy...but it's too late for me. Just promise me that you'll get my little sister out of here." 

There was blood all over the pavement now, Tony was slipping away. 

"I promise," Thomas said. 

Then Tony turned to Claire. 

"I love you, Maria. Don't ever forget that." 

Then Tony didn't move anymore.