"I'm not going anywhere with you." At those Thomas' words I snapped back at last, drawing my eyes back to Gally, trying and trying yet uselessly to stop thinking about them constantly; revival, processing that word was impossible for me as I could not find any solid ground of which a spear to the chest could be healed.

"Then we might..." Chris taunted, eyeing Thomas in a challenging way and shifting his arm to position them across his chest before Gally rose his hand and silenced him, the boy drawing in an unsatisfied puff of air— the way Chris held himself full of pride and everlasting repulsion toward Thomas, indicated he did not want Thomas near himself at all, not even after six and more months that we had all spent apart.

Gally turned to Thomas again, his expression much less taunting than Chris'. "Suit yourself, but I can get you through those walls." Thomas would not let go that soon, still held onto his impassive expression and the grudge, the reminder of Chuck's death he held against Gally since the Maze. I hesitated, one moment staring up at the taller boy the other lightly shaking my head in agreement with Thomas.

Silent. Both sides were silent— ours, for we all thought of what had happened half a year in passing, the Maze when I was too quick and too naive in trusting the duo, that in the end turned to be a game of who would forgive who sooner and theirs, expectant we'd follow them, for in that moment they were our only help.

Eventually, Thomas sighed and looked around himself reluctantly, landing his sight on me as if in confirmation to continue after the two boys. I nodded slowly, reluctantly began following the group through halls and stone rooms, ground littered with cracks and holes punctured in the walls which were covered in cloth after cloth of scraped and scratched material which only shielded by a little the imperfections they were supposed to shield.

"After the Maze I got picked up by a group headed to the city. They realised I was Immune, patched me up and brought me here. To Lawrence. His troops have been in war with WICKED ever since they took control of the city. WICKED can't hide behind those walls forever. Day's gonna come and they're gonna pay for what they've done." Gally explained, led us to a secluded area, a type of balcony shielded by a cracked gray wall behind which I did not see anything but sunlight surrounding whoever was down there.

"Listen. He doesn't get a lot of visitors so let me do the talking, alright? And try not to stare." Gally gave us a small, reassuring smile just so the tension our group was currently in could be reliefed by a little, yet that last sentence sent no reassurance down me that I began thinking, maybe actually trusting the two boys was a grave mistake.

We entered the secluded room, full of flowers and wrapped in vines, aside the burning and scorching heat that left a smell of dust and metal, there was indeed a faint one of greenery and roses. In the middle and by vases of roses stood a man, hidden by sunlight of the window just above his head and silently mumbling and speaking words to himself, repeating them over and over again until his surprised voice called the boy who led us here. "Gally, glad to see you made it back. Jasper told me what happened."

"It was a slaughter. There's nothing we could do against those guns." Gally answered solemnly.

"No, but they could only poke the hornets so long, before they get stung." Carrying a rose between his fingers, the man brought it to his nose, or at least to where his nose was supposed to be as there was left nothing of it but a reminder it once stood there as of the rest of his face was pale, paler than in most people and stroke with blue veins which ran all the way up to his white, fading eyes and down to his neck— I realised, in that moment we were dealing with an infected man, whose one hand spun a carrier of blue liquid around while the other held the flower delicately.

"Now, who are these people? Why are they here?" The man, as Gally had before called him Lawrence, discarded the red flower and stepped just a little closer to us, now that I managed to see him even better.

"We need to get into WICKED. Gally said you could get us behind the walls." Thomas said politely, not smiling neither angered as he made a step forward.

"Gally should know better than to make promises he can't keep. Besides that walls are only half of your problem. Getting inside WICKED is impossible." Lawrence stated.

"There might be a way, but it doesn't work without Thomas." Gally argued back, expectant the leader of their resistance group would let go of his stubbornness and consider the plan Gally had.

"Is that so? You know what I am,  Thomas? I'm a businessman," Lawrence merely whispered the last part of his sentence, drawing closer to Thomas and further into the light so he was fully visible to the whole group. "Which means I don't take unnecessary risks...why should I trust you?"

"So I can help you. If you get me through those walls, I can get you what you need." Thomas settled an interesting bargain, glancing behind the sick man and to the bag containing blue liquid which held Lawrence on life just by a little longer and that, unfortunately was close to fully sipping down.

The man followed his gaze, settling on the bag before standing back to our group. "What is it that you think I need?" Lawrence questioned.

"Time. Every last drop." Thomas spoke surely. "WICKED has something we both want."

That settled the sick man into a short silence full of considering the words of their previous conversation and thinking of how that would affect him, after which the man spoke again. "I'll tell you what, two can go for now. The rest stay down here with me. I'm still a little unsure, it makes sure that you find you way back. We have a deal?" Lawrence held out his hand, skin of it just by a little torn on places and bony, rather skinny as had the sickness drained him. Thomas looked at his outstretched hand, considering before shaking it. "Gally will show you the way."

Parting our ways with the sick man and walking back from where we came from, further down the building in silence I was left with nothing but to think if that deal would turn to be a fair one, considering the man of such illness surely would change a few things if they went into his benefit and kept him alive. Striding at the end of the group, Fry and I walked side by side both in deep thought as at the front Gally stopped abruptly by a shaft, opened it with a screeching sound before sticking down a ladder.

"Gally, take care for these two." Fry told the boy, crouching down next to the now opened shaft that led into further, darkness smelling of rot and rust, even iron.

"Yeah." Gally answered him, slipping down the ladder as our group awaited the moment we would hear his shoes hit the ground. Thomas was next to follow, slowly descending down as in the last moment he looked up and met my eyes. His stare lingered on me a second longer, before biting down on his lower lip, the boy disappeared below the building's sewer level.

The last one was Newt, gripping shakily the ladder down to the sewer.  "Take care, alright?" I told him, seeing his pale features and nervous expression as he forcefully melted it into a smile.

"You too." And with that he disappeared.

•

Hours passed with me and Fry anxiously awaiting the moment that metal shaft would open again, striding up and down the room in absolute silence yet both knowing out thoughts were merely the same. At last I leaned my head against the wall in anticipation, breathing in a shaky breath full of scratchy grains of dust and fidgeting with my fingers that I did not even notice Chris entered the room.

He cleared his throat, making me look up to see his worried expression, and him unable to form a sentence. "Aria, there's someone here who wants to see you." He concluded, unsurely.

"I'm going too, no way am I leaving her with you again." Fry rose his chin challengingly at Chris, eyes narrowing at the boy's sudden kindness.

"I'm sorry Fry, she said only Aria." Chris told back silently and politely, blinking away the desire to snap at the boy like he often did in the Glade.

Seeing as Fry nodded reluctantly, the blond boy nodded at me to follow him as I stood up carefully and did so, uncertainly nodding at Fry not to worry for me that much. Chris and I slipped away from the lower level, again in silence following up the many stairways and halls full of men and women slowly, in no rush walking around, their gazes staying on me even though we had passed by them on the way.

"It's nice seeing you alive. Thought for sure Janson killed you already." Chris said, laughing silently after the words he had spoken.

In shock I looked up at the boy, processing and considering that one word he had said, yet failing to grasp it. "Killed?"

He laughed a reassuring laugh. "I'm just speaking nonsense now, but Hoffman's excited to see you." He halted by a door in whose frame a hole was punctured, and whose collected rust as my hand involuntary reached for it, wanting nothing more in that moment but to see what kind of explanation did Chris have for Doctor Rosie Hoffman being with them other than with WICKED. Chris stopped me. "She's not herself, alright? Be careful."

I pursued my lips tightly, silently nodding at the boy to push open the door and yet as he did, a woman standing by one table rushed up to me— her hair was not red anymore, but blond and fading in colour and her eyes a menacing green unlike the soft one she held the last time we met; in a few words Rosie Hoffman was not the woman I had met in Scorch, before our escape started.

She stopped in front of me, brows rising and eyes widening in awe and partly anticipation as it all soon faded to being complete distress. She reached for my hand, yet I pushed it away which made her look at me in disappointment. "Show me your hand." Rosie demanded, me rising my left arm up to do as she said, as the woman grabbed it and rolled the sleeve of my shirt up. Her throat released a gasp.

"Late," Rosie concluded. "You're late. And now...now you're sick." My heart shattered at her words, I felt it fall into pieces inside my being and like glass shatter into tiny bits nobody would be able to pick up anymore. I swallowed harshly, felt the worry wash me over and over again as my eyes fell to the sight of faint blue, more black veins littering the skin of my wrist and my teeth clatter against each other. "By the end of this week, we're both going to be dead."

Tears welled in my eyes, yet I forbade them from falling as I met Rosie's unfocused ones, jumping from one sight to another. "There's nothing we can do?" My voice came out wavering.

The woman, previously a doctor in WICKED shifted her head to the side, looking at me as if through a wall of glass which built behind her green eyes would not let her see clearly. "No, no, we can't. You should say your goodbyes."

I shook my head at her, and with one last look pulled my wrist out of her grasp, disappearing within the building.

•

Night rolled by, air cooled down and my heart at last stopped jumping to sadness every time I forced the image of Rosie and thoughts of our conversation up into my brain. The sky was a spitting image of the one seen the last day before we left our safe hiding place, moon glittering on its surface and stars in surrounding just a few faint spots wishing to be seen.

Leaning on my arms over a red gate to some type of balcony, I watched the sight above and let the cooler wind brush past me, no matter the shivering I've felt, I stayed there and thought.

"There you are, I've been looking for you." A chill went down my spine, not even was the wind strong enough to be colder than the shiver of fear  Thomas' words sent— I did not know how to tell him. "Everything alright?" He leaned next to me, staring into my eyes. "You look distant."

I didn't even think of a possible answer, yet just left the words to spill. "It's just....I've never thought I'd die that way. You know— getting sick and..." 

Thomas abruptly snapped up, whirled to face me fully as I did the same thing only to see his eyes glistened with something faint. His mouth had fallen open a few times, blinking and processing he did not say anything at all.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't lie to you. Not after everything." 

Then, despite the small falling out we had, despite that he had told me never to leave and I disobeyed that, he pulled me against his chest which did not have a normal rhythm but the shaky one as they fell and rose in one moment short and the other fast motions. I didn't have to look up to know he fought himself not to cry.

"I'm so sorry, Thomas. I wish it was all different." My words cracked in sadness.

No, don't- don't be sorry. I need to tell you something." At last he stabilised his breathing, looking into my eyes carefully. "I've been thinking for so long, wishing you could hear me say it, but every moment I got was not enough and scared me," He stopped suddenly, formulating what to say next.

I- I love you, Aria. I always have."

(A/N):

can i just say officially i'm crying? yeah, the unnecessary feels is hitting me and i am not studying physics now cause this is too much.

anyway, please nobody murder me. i am too young to die.

soo, see you all soon and thank you for reading!