/////

"People. In the mountains. Mountain people. That's your plan?" Newt asked.

Thomas explained to them what he and Aris saw. In the first place, Janson lied to them, there is no such called the safe place. Thomas even saw their friends Aidan and Tim. They are not dead, but they are not also alive. They draining them just so WICKED can get something from them.

Thomas also said that Ava Paige is very much alive. Her death was fake in the video they watched. He doesn't know how that happened. Aris and Thomas also overhear Ava and Janson talking about The Right Arm. They hide in the mountains, and they are an army against WICKED.

"It's the only chance we have," Thomas said. Newt just took a deep breath and was about to speak when Winston suddenly spoke.

"Hey, guys. Check this out. Minho, give me a light!" Minho pointed the flashlight in front of Winston, and they saw footprints.

"Someone's been down here," Fry said, and they all looked at each other before deciding to tour this place. Maybe they can stay here for a few days before they continue with their plan.

They went down and walked around, just in case they found something they needed. They saw a lot of things as if there were people living in this place.

"Looks like people lived here," Clint said while looking around.

"Where are they now?" Jeff asked, following Clint. No one answered his question because they didn't know how to answer it.

"Let's pack some of this stuff up. Anything you think you might need. We'll split up, see what else we can find. Meet back here," Thomas said, and the Gladers split up to find something to use.

Maggie saw a backpack and took it. It still looks good and is completely empty. She also saw some clothes, so she searched to see if she could find anything good.

Maggie took the dark green plain t-shirt and took off her white sleeveless shirt before putting on the shirt. She found a brown jacket and put it on. Only now did she notice that she wasn't wearing shoes, so she went looking. The girl saw something, and it was just the right size for her foot.

She took extra clothes in case she needed to change into new clothes. Maggie found a scarf and wrapped it around her neck. She didn't notice that Winston approached her; that's why she almost jumped when she saw him.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Winston said while smiling. Maggie just nodded her head and continued searching for the things they would use.

She shrugged her shoulders. "It's fine. I'm just too focused; that's why I didn't notice you."

"How are you feeling? Did they do something to you? What did they tell you?" Maggie let out a chuckle because of Winston.

"Calm down first, okay? I'll answer your questions one by one," the girl said while smiling. Winston just nodded his head and waited for her to talk. "Well, they just asked me a question that I don't know how to answer. It's all about Ava Paige, the one we saw on the video before we escape. I don't get it why they keep asking me about her; I don't know who she is though."

"That's odd. It's not like you have a connection to her, so why are they asking you a question?"

"Who knows; besides, I can't remember anything, so I really can't agree with that," she said, and put a blanket on her bag, just in case they need it. "I thought it's over after they asked me, but we went to another room. I'm starting to get scared, but Teresa held my hand to calm me down and said everything was going to be okay, so I did. I trust here since she's our friend."

Winston was about to speak when suddenly, they frowned as the surroundings suddenly brightened. The girl and the young man immediately came out from where there was and saw the other Gladers who were already outside, obviously surprised by what happened.

"What's going on?" Hank asked. Zart was about to answer his friend's question when they suddenly heard voices approaching them.

"Hey!"

"Run!"

"Go!"

"Get outta here!"

Their eyes widened as Thomas and Minho ran. They noticed that someone was chasing them; they couldn't count how many. They did not hesitate to run.

"Thomas, Minho, what the hell are those things?!"

"I don't know! Just keep going!" Thomas shouted, still running.

They went up and were about to turn right when suddenly a man blocked them. They can see that he wasn't a normal person so Aris held his baseball bat that he found in this place tightly.

"Aris, no!" A Glader said Maggie couldn't tell who spoke. Aris didn't listen and hit the man on his legs with the bat, and he fell to the floor.

They immediately returned to running outside this place, far from these people—or whatever. They hear shouts and screeching from those chasing them.

"Where the hell are we going?"

"We gotta find a way out of here!"

They were still running until a man jumped to Newt's side to knock the young man down. Newt tried to remove the man who was on top of him.

"Guys, help!" The young man shouted as Thomas immediately approached him. Thomas pushed the man who was on top of Newt hard, causing him to fall away from them. The young man helped Newt stand up.

"Newt, you good?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Tommy."

They went back to running while someone was still chasing them. They reached a rather crowded hallway, so it was a bit difficult for them to run.

They tried to open the doors they could see but they were all locked. Suddenly they reached the end, and there was a door. Thomas tried to open it.

"I'll hold them back!" Winston shouted and took out the gun from his own pocket. Maggie doesn't know where the man got it. Thomas and some boys continue to open the door while Winston continues to shoot at their pursuers, but the girl knows that they will be caught if the door is not opened yet.

"Come on! It's open!" Suddenly, Maggie looked at the open door, and the Gladers came out.

"Winston! Let's go!" She shouted at the man, and her boyfriend didn't think twice and followed them, but before he could get out, someone who was chasing them caught him, so Winston fell to the floor.

"No!" Maggie screamed and was about to approach the man, but Teresa suddenly stopped her, who didn't notice that she was right next to her.

They just let Kendrix and Frypan help Winston. "Help me!" The girl heard the man's cry.

They saw how a woman's nails dug into Winston's skin. Before the pursuer could pull him away, the young man's friends successfully helped pull him out.

When Maggie saw that they had helped Winston up, she came to her friends, and they ran together. The girl couldn't help asking how the young man was doing. They need to be safe until he can talk to Winston.

-----

"How's he?" Maggie asked as Clint and Jeff looked at Winston's wounds.

They are now at the bottom of the cliff. The sun is too bright now, and they are hiding because they suddenly hear a helicopter. They know that WICKED is looking for them.

While they were walking earlier, all around were broken buildings. They don't know what happened in this place, but they just wish that the whole world wasn't in this mess and that somehow they still have hope.

"Pretty bad. We don't know what pain he's feeling. Maybe that's what Janson calls Cranks," Jeff said. Maggie took a deep breath and held Winston's right hand.

"We need to keep going. Can you keep up?" The girl asked, and the man nodded.

"Yeah," Winston answered briefly, and Clint and Jeff helped him stand up, and they started walking again.

"I look terrible," Winston said as he and Maggie held hands as they walked.

"I still love you anyway."

The young man laughed weakly. "What are you thinking right now?"

"That you'll be okay when we get to where we're going. Remember? We promised each other that we'd both be safe." Maggie said clearly, not thinking twice about her answer.

Winston felt sad; he knew in himself that the promise they gave to each other would be broken because of what happened today. He just smiled bitterly.

The young man was about to speak when he suddenly coughed, so Maggie immediately approached him. "Wins? Hey, you okay?"

Instead he answered her question, the girl saw that Winston suddenly collapsed on the sands, and his friends immediately approached him. Clint and Jeff looked at the young man.

"He's hurt pretty bad," Clint said, seeing Winston struggling with his condition.

"What do we do?" Maggie asked, obviously worried for her boyfriend.

-----

They are now here on the big rock to make a temporary shelter. All they see around them is sand. They had walked a long way from the broken buildings they saw.

Maggie was right next to Winston as he lay. The girl was still holding the young man's hand as if saying that she had no intention of letting the young man go no matter what.

"You can make it, Wins. I know it," Maggie said while looking at him. Winston gave her a short smile.

"At this point, I don't know about that. I can feel that something crawling inside my body."

"No. You can't give up. We can't leave each other," Maggie said with emphasis in her voice. She tries to be strong for both of them.

"Remember the times the first day on your Glade and I can see how comfortable you are as Slicers. I didn't expect that because you look like an animal lover."

Maggie laughed softly. "You were the first one I saw, so I did my best to become Slicers. Even though I feel sorry for the cries of animals, I need to be strong."

Winston smiled. He feels lucky because of Maggie. The girl always takes care of him; the I love you's they share don't disappear in a day either.

"Thank you that I'm the one you love," Winston said with a smile on his face. He quickly took the gun and was about to shoot himself when Maggie suddenly stopped him, so the bullet flew in a different direction.

"Winston, what are you doing?" The girl asked while trying to remove the gun from the young man's hand.

Because of the noise they made, their friends immediately came to them to find out what happened.

"What happened?" Fry asked. Maggie successfully got the gun and threw it on the sand, far away from Winston.

"We were just talking about the past, and then he suddenly took the gun and tried to..." Maggie couldn't continue what she was going to say because her tears started to fall.

"Give it back, please..." Winston said in begging voice.

"Winston, are you okay?" Jeff asked and knelt down by his friend's side to find out what his condition was.

"It's growing...inside me," the young man said, and he lifted his t-shirt to show the wound. Maggie covered her mouth, and her tears flowed even more. "I'm not going to make it."

The girl came closer to Winston; she didn't care if her cheeks were wet. "No, Wins. You can make it, alright? We have two Med-jacks here. Please, don't give up. We'll be safe soon."

The young man immediately shook his head. "Please, don't let me turn into one of those things," Winston said while looking into Maggie's eyes.

The girl's sobs grew louder. It was not in her plan that something like this would happen in their lives. She sees that she and Winston are both safe while building a happy family.

Maggie felt someone grab her arm, but she didn't look at who it was. I just wish it was all a dream.

She noticed that someone had given Winston a gun, so the girl cried even more. How can she be if Winston is the reason she has hope to continue? What will happen to her once she leaves the young man's side?

She doesn't have a choice, and she leans forward to him to kiss him on his lips. There is an emphasis on her kiss that they are obviously afraid when the other pulled away; this is the end of their relationship. Winston is the one who pulled her from him.

One of his hands went up to touch the girl's cheek and wipe away her tears, but it was useless because it still continued to pour on her eyes. "Thank you for loving me. I meant it. I'm always here for you, okay? I really love you, Maggs."

Maggie can't say goodbye for both of them yet. She didn't want to stand. She didn't want to leave Winston. She doesn't want it to end here. "Thank you for everything. I'm happy that I fell in love with you. I really love you so much, Wins." Because of what Winston heard, he gave the girl a smile.

"Now, get out of here. You still need to be safe," the young man said. Maggie gathered the strength to stand up and take her own bag before walking away.

As long as she can walk away from the person she loves, she will. As hard as it was for her, she couldn't do anything. The world is too unfair to them.

"This is not the ending I see for the two of us."

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I'm sorry if someone out there loves Winston. I swear I really want to let him live but I need Maggie to feel pain from her love ones.

Believe me, everything has a reason why.