"Just leave me." Newt gasped, more black dripped down his chin.

Tim shook his head, and grabbed Newt and yanked him up. He wrapped how arm around his back, taking most of his weight. Thomas doing the same. Tim nodded, swallowing his fear.

Hope had sunk to the ground, and just stayed. Her eyes glassy and unfocused. She didn't participate in anything. Her exhausted mind and body was slowly shutting down. There was too much around her. Too many loud noises, too much visual stimulation, after being locked in a white cell for nine long months and being tortured almost every day, her mind was trying to keep itself from breaking.

She didn't register someone pulling her. She just couldn't anymore. Whoever it was let go of her arm and it flopped back down beside her. Someone grabbed her face holding it tight. Forcing her face to look at the stormy blue eyes blond curls, strong jaw and long lashes.

"Hope."

"...Will..." She whimpered.

"You say I'm your brother?"

"Yeah... big brother. They took you when you were almost 8. I was just about to turn 5..." She whispered, here eyes in and out of focus.

"I wanna hear all about it when we get to the berg. But I need you to get your ass up, Princess and move. We can't stay here."

Hope started at him for a second. Something deep in her mind clicked.

"You used to call me that..." She whispered, her eyes fixed on a spot in the distance.

"Come on, we don't give up! If you can handle WICKED torture. You can get up and keep going."

It wasn't going to fix her, but it helped her nod her head.

"Great. Let's go!"

He pulled her up and

"Let's go! Let's go!"

The group ran and stumbled the next block before Newt slid from their grasp and slid down to the pavement. Newt's breathing was wheezy and ragged. Hope took the opportunity to also slide down the wall of the building. Everyone ducked down as more gun shots whizzed over their heads.

There was a deep hum, she felt it vibrating in her chest. Hope could hear it even over the explosions and sirens and explosions. She tilted her head up.

"Lanna! Papa!" She whispered, following the Berg with her eyes.

"Okay, that's them. It's them!"  Thomas cried also following the flight of the Berg as it passed over head. "We gotta go."

"Go..." Newt gasped, "go without me, man."

Heads swiveled in Newt's direction.

"You should just... Go..."

Tim and Thomas both shook their heads. Tim crouched down in front of Newt and wiped his chin.

"Minho!" Thomas called. He twisted his body to face him. "You gotta run ahead, grab the serum from Brenda and get back to us as soon as you can."

Hope picked her head up. Splitting up was never a good idea. Minho glanced at Newt worry and fear clear in his eyes. He slowly swiveled his head to Hope. The anxiety clear on her face to see Minho go. He looked back at Newt, who's eyes were now rolling and his eyes were fluttering. Sweat made his shaggy hair plaster to his face. Big black rope veins wound its way up his neck. His eyes were also dark. He wasn't going to make it.

"Minho, go." Thomas encouraged.

"He's right. I can cover." Gally nodded. He held up his gun. "I know the way."

"No!" Hope whispered. She was going to loose Minho and Will, who she just found. Tears sprung up and her chin quivered. Minho spun on his knees. Determination clear on his face. He moved closer and gently held her face. Hope grabbed his shirt in both hands.

"I have to Hope. I have to try."

"I thought the hero thing was Thomas's thing." She pleaded. "Please don't...please don't leave me!"

"You can't ask me not to try. He's dying and he's my best friend. What if it was Lanna?"

"There is no cure Minho! There's not!"

"They have a serum. I have to try." He leaned in and kissed her. She sucked in a sharp breath. Clutching his shirt tighter, pulling him closer. He kissed her a little harder and then let go abruptly and turned away. Gally looked at her. She was gasping and trying to keep it together. Tears streamed down her face.

"Hey. Princess. I'll be back. I wanna hear your story."

"Will!" She gasped, her terrified eyes held his gaze. His eyes seemed to soften the longer he looked at her. He patted her knee and gave her a lopsided smirk, "If you're really my little sister you won't die. We have a stubborn streak and we don't die."

A sob got caught in her chest, making her make a weird choking noise.

"Thank you. Thank you, Minho." Newt gasped between his coughing.

"Hey, you just hang on." Minho nodded. As he spun away and stood up he gave Hope a look she couldn't quite figure out.

"Go, Minho, go!" Thomas yelled.

Gally patted Newt's legg encouragingly. And followed after Minho. Hope watched them go. The fear was almost overwhelming.

"We're gonna try this. Okay?"

Hope blinked a few times, she had lost sight of Minho and Gally.

"We gotta move, now."

Hope blinked a few more times and slowly looked around. Tim and Thomas were looking back and forth between Hope and Newt. Newt was cranking fast. He was close to stage four. He was close to almost Gone. Hope knew that. She didn't know what this serum would do. Buy him some time, suppress some of the symptoms, but there wouldn't be a cure. There wouldn't ever be.

Hope was just trying to cope. Her mind wasn't functioning properly, the trauma from torture was eating her mind. Her eyes grew fuzzy and unfocused. She was becoming shell shocked.

"Let's get you up, come on."

Tim heaved her up. If she was more aware, she would have noticed how Tim kept glancing at Newt, and how hard Tim was trying to keep it together as he watched Newt crank; over the six almost seven months Tim had been with the Right Arm, he had fallen hard for Newt. He had watched as Thomas became closer to Brenda, leaving Newt more and more heart broken. Newt had started to confide more and more in Tim. And they had confessed feelings to each other. But now, he had Hope who was like a sister, struggling with Trauma and PTSD and Newt who was cranking and dying.

"Let's go, come on."

Thomas heaved Newt up Tim had Hope and the four of them stumbled down the road. Trying their best to get closer to the berg. Newt's head flopped and his eyes rolled. He gasped for air and slid out if Thomas's grip.

Tim set Hope down against the wall. And shifted his attention to Newt. Thomas and Tim now fussed over Newt. Hope just sat alone, her eyes blank staring down the street. She wasn't paying attention to the conversation

"...No. No, Thomas."

"No, Newt. Later. Later. Really, we gotta go."

"Look, you gotta take this...." Hope's head swiveled towards the boys. Newt was trying to give something around his neck to them.

"We gotta get you up, now." Tim said, Hope could hear the sorrow now, even in her dazed state.

"No, just take it!" Newt finally screamed, spit and black flew from his mouth. He gasped a few more times and coughed.

His eyes cleared, "Please. Please, Tommy. Please." He rolled his head to Tim. "Please. Please, Love, take it..."

"All right." Thomas said with a nod.

"All right. I need you to give me everything you got." Tim said, taking the necklace Newt hard ripped off. He clutched it right in his hand. Thomas had taken a note and put it in his pocket.

"You and me, right now. Let's go. You ready?" Tim asked, he had reached out and smoothed Newt's sweaty hair from his forehead.

"Come on, ready? Here we go." Tim said, his voice shaking.

"One, two, three."

Together they heaved Newt up. Wrapped arms around him and headed down the street. Hope sat against the wall. Her mind only partly working. She rolled her head. Pulled her eyebrows together she was confused. She watched Tim and Thomas help Newt down the street. Leaving her behind.

What hurt was that Tim...Tim left her behind without a second thought. He had become enthralled with the Elite group of high mighty Gladers. Tim, who had been with her and Lanna for years, they had fought cranks together, lived, slept, ate together. And he left her behind for a crank.

Hope sat and watched as they were swallowed up by the smoke. A sob broke from Hope. She really was alone now. Minho had left her after he promised he would stay with her and not leave her behind. Will had left her, she had just found her brother and he left. Now Tim, who was like a brother left her.

She had no one left. She pulled her knees up to her chest and placed her head down and cried. The explosions made her flinch and scream. She cowered, her arms over her head. The sobs made her chest hurt. Her ragged gasping breathing made her head hurt.

She was alone and she was going to die. She had her hands clamped over her ears and her forehead pressed into her knees. She was rocking back and forth.

"Hope!"

She was screaming, crying and hyperventilating. She shook her head back and forth like she was trying to rid herself of some thought stuck in her head.

"Hope! Kiddo! Look up!"

Her hands were ripped away. Kneeling in front of her was the only person who could save her now.

"Hope!"

She had never seen Papa Odin cry. But now she could say she did. He pulled her into his chest and held her so tightly like he could protect her from everything.

"Why are you alone? Where the hell is everyone?"

"Everyone left me." She sobbed.

He growled. He looked ready for murder. His eyes flashed, and his jaw clenched.

"I'm here now. I got you Kiddo. You're safe. You're going to be okay." His deep voice was reassuring. He had never let her down before. He had always saved her. He was the only one. He slid an arm under her knees and one around her back and picked her up.

"Damn, you're light!"

He stood up and raced down the street, the way Tim, Thomas and Newt went.

"Papa....you came. You came for me." She whispered.

"Of course I would! I've been burning WICKED buildings down trying to find you!"

"They...they left me behind."

"They did. But I won't. Ever."

She burried her face into Papa Odin's chest.

"How did you find me?" She mumbled.

"You forgot that when someone messes with my family I'll stop at nothing to find it again." His voice was deep and rumbly.

She closed her exhausted eyes. Odin's grip on her shacking and trembling body was tight and secure. His breathing was steady and his footsteps were even. Her fist had a handful of his jacket. Holding on like he was going to leave her too. The further they got from the heart of the fighting the smoke cleared and the noise wasn't as loud.

Over the explosions and sirens and screaming. The sound system that was playing the repeated warnings and demanding marshel law suddenly cut out. It was replaced by a different voice.

"Thomas?"

Hope stiffened.

"Can you hear me?"

Hope picked up her head and actually snarled.

"Who the hell is that?"

"A traitor!"

Odin glanced at her while he continued down the street.

"She helped strap me to a chair and torture me for nine months!" Hope was visibly shacking, a fresh wave of tears appeared, this time angry tears.

"Thomas, I need you to listen to me. I know you have no reason to trust me, but I need you to come back.".

"Dirty liar!" Hope hissed.

"Thomas, you can save Newt. There's still time for him."

"Liar!" Hope screamed.

"There's a reason Brenda isn't sick anymore."

"Who the hell is Brenda?" Hope asked.

"It's your blood. Do you understand? She isn't sick, because you cured her. She doesn't have to be the only one. All you have to do is come back. And this will all finally be over.
Please. Just come back to me. I know you'll do the right-"

The speakers and TV's and billboards all shut off mid way through her speech.

"That's bullshit!" Hope cried. "I went through how much pain and torture...and Mr Big Shot, His Royal Highness swoops in and saves the day with a small little pin prick!" Hope's chest was heaving from the wild anger that was rising in her. "She's a lying dirty traitor!"

Odin rounded the next corner when he stopped dead. In the middle of the abandoned train station Newt Tim and Thomas were struggling. Newt had finally cranked.

"Newt?" Thomas cried, backing up.

"Newt? Newt? Newt, it's me. It's me!" Tim tried stepping in front of him. "Newt please don't! Please Love!"

"Tim, kill me!" He cried.

Odin ran down the long street towards the fight, Hope watching helplessly as a crank attacked Tim. One of her longest friends, her brother. Despite him ditching her which would have ended in her death if Papa hadn't found her, she felt protective of him.

"Newt, I'm here. I'm here Love!" Tim cried, pleading with him, as Newt screamed and tried clawing at Tim. "Newt, please!"

Thomas slammed into Newt sending him rolling across the pavement. Tim scrambled up onto his feet. Newt slowly picked himself up. Shacking his head.  I'm sorry, Tommy." He looked pleadingly at Tim. "Tim...Love, I'm...I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It's okay." Tim soothed.

"You'll be okay." Thomas agreed.

"No!" Newt suddenly screamed. He launched himself forwards like an animal. He somehow pulled a knife out and tried to stab it down into Thomas.

Odin placed Hope down, she crumpled into a heap. She watched at Odin charged forwards. Tim had now slammed his shoulder into Newt. No one wanted to hurt each other, but also they were fighting to kill. It was a weird fight to watch.

"Newt!" The boys were both pleading.

"Tommy...." His eyes cleared and he looked at Tim. "Tim, Love...please!"

No one was willing to do it and Odin wasn't going to make it. Hope scrambled to her feet. She was shaking and sweating, her head kept pounding, and she had to blink the dizzy spell away. From the back of her waist band she pulled the gun she had taken off the guard she shot. She raised the gun and screamed wildly. Everyone's attention turned to her.

Everyone's except Newt.

She raised the gun and pulled the trigger. The first bullet hit the knife out of Newt's hand. Newt stumbled to a stop for a brief second. He looked shocked. Hope shook her head once, blinked a few times and took a shacking breath and aimed again as Newt turned his head in her direction and screamed. There was a lot of chaos all at once.

Some screamed her name. Someone screamed for Thomas. Someone screamed for Newt. A lot of people screamed no and stop. Newt was just screaming like a wild animal. And Hope pulled the trigger for a second time. This time the bullet ripped through Newt shoulder. The impact made him spin, and he collapsed.

"No!" Many people screamed.

Hope's legs finally gave out and she fell. Her head slammed into the ground. She saw many people sprint for Newt.

"He's not dead!"
"She only stopped him!"
"Serum?"
"Gine me the serum!"
"Stap it in!"
"Where's Thomas?"
"We need to get to the berg!"
"Wait...where's Hope?"
"How do we get him back?"

Everyone was yelling at and over each other. Again, everyone fussed over a crank that just tried to kill three people, and leaving Hope to slowly get swallowed by blackness. Sorrow and loneliness engulfed her. The last thing to shut down was her hearing. The only two people who seemed worried about her were right beside her.

"Hope! Kiddo! No! Come on, stay with me!"

"Papa!" Lanna cried, "she's not responding! Why won't she open her eyes?"

Her world went black.