"Gwyneth, it's okay. We're getting there, just keep going..."

Sonya's words of encouragement were no match for Gwyneth's state as we struggled to get out. With WICKED's soldiers ambushing us left and right, it was getting more difficult for her to keep up.

"Do you think she'll make it out?" I asked, getting more concerned.

"Well, if we keep moving, she might," Beth replied, helping Gwyneth by holding her arm.

"Where the bloody hell did Thomas and Newt go?" Maeve spoke up.

"Probably went looking for Minho. He got out before those doctors could sedate us," Lillie explained. "But most importantly, where are Teresa and Aris?"

That was a question I wished I had the answer. Wherever Teresa went, Aris went after her, and I had a feeling that they weren't anywhere near the medical wing.

"I see a door!" Sonya yelled, dashing towards it, but her expression grew worried as she attempted to look for a way through it. "We need some kind of thumbprint ID to open it."

"And the thumbprint we had is gone, thanks to the stick ditching us," Beth pointed out.

"Aris went to go find Teresa," I told her.

"Yeah? For what reason?" she retorted. "Admit it, Piper, he's still on WICKED's side, and he'll always follow them as well as Teresa."

I shook my head in disbelief. "No, that's not true," I snapped. "Otherwise, him, along with Teresa, wouldn't have helped us get inside here."

"They only helped us, because we didn't give them any other option."

I remained silent, not being able to think of another comeback. I didn't want to believe Beth's words, not after my moment with Aris. It seemed like in a flash things were different now. Maybe I was too quick to assume that. Maybe my feelings were beginning to interfere with the harsh truth.

"So what are we gonna do now?" Maeve questioned, sounding almost annoyed. "We can't get out but we can't just keep fighting while Gwyn gets worse."

My eyes slid over to her as her black and purple veins traced all over her neck and arms. Her face was just about drained of color, her life being sucked away little by little. All of us hated to see her like this, which was why we were more determined to get that serum that hopefully Brenda already had by now.

"We keep looking for a way out," I told them. "Come on."

"It's like being in the Glen all over again," Sonya commented. "Trying to look for a way out in this place."

"Yeah, doesn't feel any different," Beth muttered. "Let's go."

So we turned back around and went on with figuring out another exit. Our fighting came to a halt for now, which relieved us. Still, with the adrenaline pumping through our bodies, we couldn't stay relaxed for long. What seemed like forever, we continued on, treading lightly, but still rushing for a way out.

"Wait...stop..." Gwyneth breathed out. "I need to stop."

"We can't stop now," Beth told her.

Down the empty hallway, we gave in and decided to let Gwyneth rest. She was panting, the blood oozing out of her mouth. "Just go ahead and end me now."

"What? Gwyn, you're crazy for thinking that!" Maeve responded. "We told you that we'd figure this out and we're sticking to it. So stop being a crack face and--"

"Maeve, stop!" she growled, which caught all of us off guard. She did her best to compose herself, then continued. "I didn't want things to end like this, but it has to. I'm turnin' into one of those damn Cranks and we all don't want that, especially me."

All of us looked at her with a sad expression, tears forming in the group. "Gwyn..."

"Just put me out of my misery, please," she wheezed. "I spent three stickin' years helpin' people in the Glen. Now, do the same for me."

We were at loss for words with Gwyneth's final wish. None of us wanted it to come down to it, but seeing the desperation in her eyes, the pain stretching across her face. This was something that had to be done, as much hope we were still holding out.

So I was the first to nod and speak up. "Okay."

The girls gave me shocked looks through their wet eyes. "Piper--"

"Sonya, she's dying," I pointed out. "If this is what she wants, then we'll respect that."

"Says the one who wanted to save her just like the rest of us," Maeve retorted.

"I hate to say it, but she's right," Beth admitted. "As Gwyneth's friend,

I grabbed my walkie out of my pocket with my shaky hand. "Harriet, it's Piper. You okay?"

After a few seconds, a static was heard, followed by Harriet's voice. "Yeah, sort of. Lawrence is gone, though. Just me, Brenda, and Fry."

While I was curious to know where Lawrence and his followers went, I knew that wasn't important at this moment. "Look, um...we can't find a way out of the building. We're trapped in the medical wing. So I'm calling for Gwyneth. She isn't going to make it."

There was a silence that loomed over us, but Harriet eventually came back on. "But Newt's infected, too, and Thomas hasn't given up on him yet."

"Newt's not deteriorating at the rate Gwyn is," I pointed out, my voice cracking. "It's time to say your goodbyes, Harriet."

With a weak arm, Gwyneth took the walkie out of my hand and put it up against her bloody mouth. "Harriet..." she croaked, coughing a bit, then speaking some more. "You were always a good leader and friend in the Glen. For three years, we've been through some crazy things there. Thank you for sticking by all of us." She paused, swallowing hard. "I just wanted you to know that."

The crying all came upon us as Harriet responded with, "I'm sorry it had to come to this. You were one hell of a Medic."

Gwyneth let out one last cough, then breathed out another response, the last one she would make to Harriet. "Goodbye, Harriet."

A sniffle came from the walkie. "Goodbye, Gwyneth." With that, she was gone.

So we took turns to say farewell to our friend. When it was my turn, I did my best to wipe any tears from my face. "Say hello to Esther and Rachel for me, will you?"

She nodded, a small smile creeping up on her face. "Yes, and I'll leave the other Glenners out."

I couldn't help but laugh through the crying. "Go find your own safe haven, okay?"

"I will, Piper."

Beth wiped her eyes, then spoke up. "Okay, let's get this over with." She took out her gun and motioned us to get out of the way before standing up herself.

"Are you really going to shoot her in the middle of the hallway?" Lillie questioned.

"Like we have any other choice," she retorted. "She wants us to go ahead and end her suffering before she becomes a Crank, so that's what I'm going to do."

It didn't seem like the ideal place or way to do it, especially with more of WICKED's guards probably on the way now, but like Beth stated, this really was our only option to grant Gwyneth's final wish. Giving up on Gwyneth felt so wrong, like some glimmer of hope was about to come in and save her.

All of us closed our eyes when Beth pulled the trigger and the loud bang was ringing in our ears.

Through the tears, we opened our eyes and looked at Gwyneth's lifeless body lying there. when we heard someone yell. "Piper!"

All of us turned to see Aris running our way, just about out of breath. "Aris!" I shouted. "What are you--"

"She did it," he told me, then looked at Gwyneth's body. "No...is she--"

"Yes," I replied. "Gwyneth's dead."

He shook his head. "No. No, I came here to tell you that she did it."

"Who did what?" Lillie asked.

"Teresa. She got some of Thomas' blood and did some tests."

"And?" Maeve asked, raising her eyebrows.

"It's him," he breathed out. "Thomas is the cure."

~~~~~~~

A/N: Well, they were too late. RIP Gwyneth. You really were a good Medic.

Her fate of being infected was always certain, but at the last minute, I changed her death. While I was planning out a whole fight scene with her and the other girls, it didn't feel right as it happens to Thomas and Newt later on. Plus, she doesn't deserve to be a Crank.

Anyway, the song above is Lung by Vancouver Sleep Clinic.

Comment, vote, we're close to the end (er, sort of).

-A