˚ ༘✶₊˚.                         ⊹ ˚ .  SECOND ACT
❪       TWENTY-FIVE    ♥︎    ₊˚༢࿐
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

( talk of self–harm )

    THE WEATHER WAS HARSH TO THEM. So harsh that Mae felt blinded every time she opened her eyes. There had been a point in their journey where Winston had fallen in the sand, unwilling to give up on their friend the group had made a makeshift palanquin with metal pipes and sheets that they dragged on.

They set off for the mountains.

Teddy's eyes burned, his glasses doing nothing but gather sand as he stumbled around to find balance. Mae tried her best to stand in front of him, taking the hits as he curled his fists into her jacket.

"We need to find shelter!" Minho screams over the wind. Frypan nods in agreement.

They sit under a fallen T-shaped pillar, which was once connected to a big building that was now under the sand. Mae flopped down, pulling Teddy with her as he quickly reached up to rub his eyes.

"Here," She says softly. Mae hands him a canteen, her own that she had been saving. The boy had drank he's dry.

Teddy shakes his head, pushing it away, "That's yours," He says rawly.

"Take it," She insists, trying her best to give a reassuring smile against her chapped lips, "I'll be fine."

The boy frowned but takes it eagerly.

Noticing Thomas stand up, she watched curiously as he walked further down the path, stopping at the edge of a small sandhill and looking over the terrain.

"I'll be right back," She tells the group, getting to her feet to follow.

Thomas' expression was sunken. He seemed hopeless, but the second he saw Mae in the corner of his eyes, he sobered, not allowing her to see how panicked he truly was.

"We'll make it," She says beside him. Mae didn't need to see his expression to know how he felt. The blonde gives him a warm smile.

"Do you really believe that or are you trying to make me feel better?" He asked tiredly, flashing a knowing look.

She pretends to think, "Mm. Maybe a little bit of both," Mae sighs, giving his shoulder a soft squeeze, "You're doing your best."

"I never asked to be leader," He tells her, "I keep getting everyone killed."

She frowns, thinking for a moment, "If it wasn't for you, we'd all have died yesterday," She looks out to the sandy lands, the wind blowing her braid back as she took in the scenery, "If it wasn't for you, we'd still be behind those four walls."

"Yeah, but you'd still have Gally if it wasn't for me," He reminds her bluntly, tone faltering at his own words, "You'd still have Chuck, and Alby━"

"I wouldn't have you." She says firmly, looking at him. His eyes locked with hers and Thomas could've sworn his breath stopped short, "I wouldn't have Teddy, or. . .or freedom," Her eyes watered at the thought, "You've done a lot more good than you realize, Thomas."

Again, she thinks of Nick. She thinks of how proud Nick would be if he'd met Thomas. She reminds herself that without the boy beside her, Nick's dreams wouldn't have been a reality.

All he ever wanted was to get his Gladers out, to get Mae out, and as if Nick had sent Mae's Guardian Angel himself, Thomas had done the thing that Nick promised to do before he died.

To help her prove she could survive.

And as she stared out to the sand, admiring the view. Thomas stared at her.

I love you. The words burned his tongue. He physically reeled back in surprise, his heart skipping another beat as he looked at Mae, who looked back at him with comfort.

"It's like they're getting further away," Teresa announced, making Thomas jump.

"We just gotta keep moving," He tells her, "We can make it."

"How's it looking?" Newt called out, leaning against the support beam. Teddy stood next to him, arms crossed over his chest.

"It's a little further," Thomas falters.

"That's not very convincing," Newt mutters to the others.

Teresa rubs circles at the back of her neck, wincing.

"Hey, what's going on with you?" Thomas questioned.

She moved her hair away from her neck, allowing Thomas and Mae to crowd around it, "They did something to me," She explains.

Thomas nervously looked at the blonde, who seemed deep in thought. A square, two slashes on top and two at the bottom. They had put something in her.

"Does it hurt?" Mae asked, her hand brushing over it softly.

"A little bit. At first, it just felt like I was waking up from a dream or something, then they all started coming back. . ." She trailed.

Thomas realized first, "Your memories?"

"All of them?" Mae pressed.

"What do you remember?"

Teresa smiled a little, "I remember the first time they brought you in. I knew Mae first," She adds, glancing at the girl, "I was taller than both of you, and faster," Her smile dropped, "And I remember why we were there."

Mae tilts her head, trying to picture the words Teresa explained to them, trying to force herself to remember, too.

"We thought we could fix all this," She paused, scared to say what she wanted too, "I think we should go back."

Mae steps back, "What? Why?"

Thomas looked equally upset.

"Guys, just listen to me━"

"What are you talking about? Go back? After everything they've done to us." Thomas reminds her firmly.

"It's not that simple." She states.

"Yeah, I think it is that simple." Thomas nods bitterly, his anger getting the best of him.

Her eyes started to water, "No. You don't understand."

Thomas steps forward, "What? What don't we understand?" He motioned between himself and Mae, "Because from our side, we understand the most."

"Do you know how many people they killed?" Mae asked rhetorically, her face heating, "Children, like us! Luring them in with false security and then killing them."

They were the reason all of this happened in the first place. The reason most of her friends were dead.

"No, no," She shakes her head, "Everything was fine until you. . ." She trailed, looking to Thomas.

Teresa avoided Mae's eyes.

"What?" Thomas asked softly. She didn't answer. "Teresa, what aren't you telling me?"

The sound of a gunshot made everyone flinch.

Teddy screams for Mae, and the conversation between the three had vanished from her mind as the blonde runs back down to the group with a panicked expression.

Teddy was standing behind Aris, who stood away from Winston. Mae then realized everyone was standing away from Winston, who was hunched over on the ground, shaking.

"What happened?" Mae yells.

"I-I don't know, he just woke up and grabbed the gun!" Frypan explained, holding the weapon, "And then he tried to. . ."

"Give it back!" Winston says through deep heaves, "Please, please━"

Thomas leans down, "Winston, are you okay?"

Winston turns away from him, throwing up a dark black liquid that stained his teeth and lips. Mae instantly dropped down on her knees, unphased by the odd-looking blood as she grabbed her backpack and opened the zipper.

"Here, drink some water━" She was cut off by Winston slapping the bottle out of her hands, causing it to spill in the sand, "Winston, stop!"

He continues to heave, flopping on his back. Mae's eyes began to water at the pain he must be feeling, wanting nothing more than to take it away. She was the only one crouched in front of him, the others crowded behind her.

"It's growing. . " He tells them, slowly peeling up his shirt, "Inside me. ."

His torso was shredded and spread thick with dark goo, his skin so purple that Mae was positive the blood flow was barely moving. The wound itself was caked with sand, the yarrow she had used on him long faded and a part of his stomach was sunken in.

Mae grabbed her mouth, closing her eyes and shaking away the thought of Winston dying. Because he was, slowly and painfully right in front of them.

"I'm not gonna make it," He tells them, eyes shining with tears, holding his hand out for the gun, "Please. Don't let me turn into those things."

Newt grabs the gun from Frypan.

"Newt. ." Minho steps forward, his way of telling him that he'd take the burden of pulling the trigger. But, Newt didn't answer.

Instead, he slowly crouched down beside Mae and pressed it softly into Winston's chest, giving a firm nod. He was, after all, their leader. First, in command, the boy Winston had known for as long as he could remember.

"No," Mae trembled, "No, Newt, please━"

"We'll see you behind that moon, mate," Newt says lowly, just for the three of them to hear.

Mae's heart burned in her chest, leaning down and letting out a sob at his words. The words Nick had said, the words the Gladers now spoke. It was a symbol. The phrasing means that they will see each other again, that every time they looked at the moon, they knew their fallen family was in a better place.

Still, the words hurt her more than anything.

Winston gave a firm nod, "Now, get out of here."

Mae grabbed his hand, "I can stay. I'll stay━"

"Please," Winston whispered, "Go. ."

Knowing Mae wouldn't stand on her own, Minho walked forward and hooked his arms under hers, pulling her to her feet. Instantly, she pressed her face into his chest, repeating the word 'no!' over and over again━ her voice breaking everyone's hearts.

"Come on," Minho muttered against her head, tugging her softly, "Come on, we need to go."

She didn't hear Winston speak to Thomas, his last words asking the boy to keep his friends safe. Mae felt Teddy's hand curl into her own, and together the group grab their things and continued on without a word.

Ten steps, then thirty. . .

It still wasn't far enough to hear that gunshot echo in the air.

Everyone froze, taking a second to process what had happened, before continuing on once more.

Mae's face twisted before every emotion on her face had turned to stone.

—

THE NIGHT WAS COLDER THAN THE GLADERS thought it would be. Aris had gotten a fire going as the ground crowded around it. Neither of them knew what to say.

Mae stared into the fire with silent tears down her pale face, her knees pulled up into her chest as she thought about Winston. He was, after all, one of her greatest friends. She remembered the days he would come into the Med, holding a scraped knee or a cut finger from the blood house.

          "Slicers are supposed to slice animals, not their limbs," Mae teased. Winston rolled his eyes, smiling as she kissed his bandage and said, "There, all better!"

          He slid off the table, "Do you have to kiss every wound you patch up?"

          Mae frowned, "How else is it supposed to get better?"

Her eyes blurred with fresh tears at the memory, wishing she had a time machine to go back and stop her friends from ever stepping foot in that building. The building where Jack's body still laid, torn and tattered to bits.

She wonders if their trail of bodies would grow, she wonders if she will be one of them.

"I thought we were supposed to be immune," Says Minho grimly, thinking about Winston too.

"Not all of us. . .I guess," Teresa responds softly.

"If Winston can get infected, we should assume so can the rest of us," Newt educates, looking between them.

Frypan lets a tear slip beside Aris, "I'd never thought I'd say it. . .but I miss the Glade."

That seemed to be enough for Thomas. He stood up quickly, not bothering to dust the sand on his pants as he moved away from the group and sat by himself. Mae hadn't moved from her spot, not looking away from the fire even when Newt got to his feet and followed him.

"Mae," Teresa spoke up, eyes fluttering softly as she tried to fight sleep. The blonde slowly turned to face her. Teresa swallowed the lump in her throat, trying to form the words, "It wasn't your fault. . .what happened to Winston. You know that right?"

Mae turned back to the fire, saying nothing.

"We should all turn in," Minho tells them, running a hand through his hair in exhaustion as he tried not to shiver at the cold, "It'll be klunkin' hot in the morning, might as well enjoy it now."

And yet, even though he was cold, Minho walked by Mae and handed her his jacket without a word, moving to curl himself into the corner across from her. The blonde's eyes warmed with thanks and glanced down at Teddy, who was fighting sleep, too.

"Are you excited to find your brother?" She asked him.

Teddy rubbed his eye under his round frames, "I dunno anymore," He admits, "What if he's dead?" The question was asked fearfully, but Teddy tried his best to mask it.

Mae couldn't respond. Not in the mood to say anything optimistic about the situation. Teddy's brother could be dead. They could all be. Who knows, at any moment WICKED could drop down from the skies and pull them away.

"He's not," Frypan responds, swooping in to speak when he noticed Mae's distant expression, "If he's anywhere near as badass as you, I'm sure he's fine, little man."

To that, Teddy smiled, turning over to sleep.

Mae gave her friend a thankful look, slowly laying on her side against the hard sand. She looked up at the moon, which was a lot more full and natural than it looked in the Glade, wondering if Winston had made it there safely.

Brushing her thumb against the petals of a wooden rose, Mae felt a presence behind her. Somehow, she knew it was Thomas long before she turned around to face him, the both of them face-to-face, laying side by side.

"Newt talk some courage into you?" She asked him, a tired smile on her face.

Thomas tried his hardest to ignore the close proximity they were in, giving a small nod, "Firmly and sarcastically," He tells her.

"Don't take it personally, our accents make everything we say sound sarcastic," She reassures.

There was another long silence between them. It wasn't awkward but more comforting as they stared at each other, bathing in each other's company.

"What's that?" He asked in a whisper, looking down at the wooden flower in her hands.

"It was from Chuck," She replied tenderly, holding it between their faces for him to see, "He gave it to me the night you and Minho ran into the Maze."

Fishing in his pocket, Thomas holds up his own wood carving, a form of what looked like an oddly shaped figure. He swallowed thickly, the topic itself making his eye's burn with tears, "He gave this to me when he died. . .it was supposed to be for his parents but. . ." With that, he trailed off, squeezing the relic tightly between his fist.

Mae's eyes watered at his words, "He loved you like a brother, you know. I don't think there was ever a person in the Glade he attached himself to most."

"Besides you," He reminds, "He honestly never shut up about how kind you are. Scratch that, he just never shut up in general—"

They burst out into quiet laughter and she reached up to cover her mouth so their friends wouldn't hear as Thomas shushed her to silence.

Like a flick of a switch, the laughter slowly died and the pair were left with sad smiles, thinking about the past–or at least what they could remember of it.

Mae had shivered, the thin jackets doing nothing to warm her as the night dragged on, the fire slowly dying.

"Are you cold?" Thomas whispered.

Before she could lie and say no, Thomas wrapped his arm around her and tugged her a little closer, her chest flushed against his upper stomach. Mae had to turn her neck up to see his face now.

Truly, he didn't mean it in the way it looked. He hadn't even thought about how flirtatious it seemed that he was so quick to wrap his arms around her, hugging her into his chest. It made his face red, mentally kicking himself as if it was his fault the weather was cold.

"Is this okay?" He asked suddenly.

Mae paused, thinking. Was this okay? Should she feel bad for wanting comfort? God knows she needed someone to sweep her into a hug and tell her everything was okay but. . .why did the idea of doing it with someone other than Gally make her feel guilty?

But Gally was dead. So, what was the harm in getting warmth from someone she felt completely trusted with?

"It's okay," She whispered back, looking up at him through her eyelashes as he fought sleep.

Thomas' naturally warm fingers reached up to brush along the healed line on her neck, having noticed it only now. The touch instead made Mae's spine tingle, watching his every expression.

"What happened?" He asked, the curiosity always gets the better of him.

"It's a long story. . ." She muttered. Why didn't she notice the lack of silk on her neck? The one that hid the reminders of her actions, the scars she could barely stand to see.

"Does the story involve these?" He questioned, his other hand gripping softly against her forearm.

Mae's eyes burned with tears, wondering if she could bring herself to speak about the story. The tale that every Glade wouldn't dare recall, ignored, neglected. She had never told it to anyone who wasn't in that room those nights ago.

"After our first leader died. . ." She swallowed thickly, looking down and away from his gaze, "After Nick died, the boys had found me at the entrance of the Maze, they brought me inside and cleaned up the wounds the Grievers left..."

Thomas listened carefully; his brows furrowed as he tried to picture the things she was saying. Her tear-stricken face flashed in his mind, and it made his heart churn.

"Alby was asking me all sorts of questions and— well, sometimes I get overwhelmed, you see, and I can't control how I feel," She continued, "I felt. . .guilty for his death. I felt as though he deserved to live more than I do—"

Thomas goes to speak, but she shakes her head, stopping him.

"In the moment, I thought I deserved to hurt like all the others who did. I didn't want to die. . .I just wanted to remind myself that I could if I really wanted to, but it got too much," She whispered, voice breaking, "God, and then I saw Minho's face. . ."

Thomas' eyes burned with tears at her story, wishing her had been there to stop it.

"I never saw him look so scared. He grabbed that piece of glass out of my hands, he didn't even care that it cut him too, he was screaming his lungs out for help. . ." She choked down a sob, and Thomas' hand squeezed into her waist so hard that he was frozen still, "I'd never forgotten that look he gave me. . .the way I hurt him will never compare to anything else."

"You can't help how you feel, Mae." Thomas whispered, his voice raw, "You know that right?"

She shrugged, "But I can help how I make others feel, right? I should've known better than to hurt the people I love by doing that. . . I should've known that me hurting myself did nothing but hurt the others around me—"

"Do you ever stop thinking about other people before yourself?" He asked breathlessly.

Mae looked up to face him, her face so heartbroken that Thomas wanted nothing more than to swoop down and kiss her better, the urge practically burning in his chest.

"Do you?" She asked him in return.

In the morning they continued on, and when night fell again they crashed in the sand, without water, without food, and without shelter.

Still, they managed to keep going. Every last drop from Mae had been given to Teddy, making her vision slightly blurred and her heartbeat miles a minute.

It wasn't until Thomas was roughly shaking everyone awake did Mae realize that she was— in fact, not dead. 

"Newt, get up! Come on, let's go. Frypan, Aris, Teddy! I see something!" Thomas yells, pointing to the distance.

"What is it?" Newt asked groggily.

"You're hallucinating," Teddy responds, eyes still closed even though he was standing.

"You see that?" He asked breathlessly.

Mae narrowed her eyes out at the horizon, "It's lights. . ." She realized.

The sound of booming thunder made everyone jump out of their skin, Teddy's eyes snapping open as he looked behind him at the growing storm.

A streak of lightning crashed down and slammed against the sand. It was time to go.

Thomas subconsciously moves to grab Mae's hand, but Teddy was already zooming between them, grabbing her by the sleeve and running in the direction of the lights.

The little boy refused to die from a strike of lighting and was probably the fastest one of the bunch with his new adrenaline rush.

The thunder picked up, slamming bolts in the ground. Mae felt one so close the hairs on her arms stood up, Frypan grabbed her collar and pulled her in the middle of the group, both Minho and Frypan on either side of her, Teddy tugging in the front.

Thomas, Newt, and Teresa were screaming encouragement in the front. At some point the sand became pavement and the group was running between abandoned cars.

Which didn't seem to help with the thunder as it bolted against the metal.

"Get inside!" Thomas screamed, reaching for Teresa who was closest, and tugging her forward.

It happened so fast, a bolt of thunder coming down and slamming between Minho and Mae, mostly hitting the boy who pushed her out of the way and rolled on the ground.

The ringing in her ears burned as she reached up to cover them, screaming Minho's name so loud it made every person stop and turn around.

Smoke surrounded Minho as Mae crawled over to him, even though the ringing in her ears Newt's screams for Minho pierced through.

"Come on, get him up! Get him up!"

In a daze, the group had dragged Minho into the building, Teddy slamming the door closed behind them as they breathed heavily in the dark.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Teresa was kneeling in front of her, her eyes sweeping Mae's body for any blood.

"Minho. . .check on Minho!" She shouts back in the chaos.

"Who's got a light?"

Newt flashes a small light in Minho's face, gripping the fabric of his partner's shirt, "Minho?! Minho, come on, wake up!"

"Minho!" Thomas bellowed.

Mae's heart sank, tears building in her eyes, "Is he breathing?" Her voice cracked, "Is he breathing?!"

There was a small pause.

Minho groaned, turning away from the light, "What happened?"

Everyone gave a relieved laugh, looking between each other.

"Dude," Teddy pops his head right above Minho's, "You got struck by lightning and survived."

The runner grinned sluggishly, "Oh."

Newt was the one to pull him up, giving a short hug, "You're going to give me a heart attack one day," He muttered.

"Missed me?" Minho teased.

Newt's face heats up, "No."

"Hey," Teresa calls out, walking slightly away from the group, "What's that smell?"

The group let out mirrored screams when Teresa turned on her flashlight and showed a Crank on a chain. Mae wrapped her arms around Teddy, pulling him back as the group huddled together.

As the lights flicked on, more and more creatures were shown trying to touch them but being just out of reach every time with the chains holding them still.

"I see you've met our guard dogs," Called a voice, a woman with short hair who stepped her way through the creatures without a flinch.

"Stay back!" Thomas commands her.

Her eyes trailed over the group, landing on the boy with a tilt of her head before saying, "You guys look like shit."

With that, she turned on her heel and started to walk away. The others didn't follow, looking between each other in panic.

"Come on, follow me." She commands, looking over her shoulder just a little, "Unless you want to stay here with them."

[ I'm breezing through scorch trials
a lot faster than I though ]
don't forget to comment! your little remarks throughout the chapter helps with inspo!

1/ 31/ 2022