˚ ༘✶₊˚.                         ⊹ ˚ .  SECOND ACT
❪         TWENTY-FOUR      ♥︎    ₊˚༢࿐
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SAND BREEZED AGAINST THEM, mix with cold wind and debris. It slammed against their skin, and eyes, blinding them. In the darkness, Mae couldn't see much━every step she took sunk her lower into the sand. She could feel Thomas grip tight against her upper arm, keeping her close as they clawed up a hillside.

Teddy falls backward, and Frypan quickly grabs the little boy by his t-shirt before pulling him over the hill.

Mae reached over to Teddy, practically hovering over him in the attempt to shield his eyes from the intense sand storms.

She could feel Thomas push himself above both of them, telling the others to stay low.

She could hear the rumble of trucks get closer, even over the howling sand━obviously searching for them. And with a quick shout from Thomas, they moved faster down the hill.

She didn't know how long they were running but at some point, Teresa had rushed ahead, sliding down a hole somewhere in a pile of sand.

Thomas ushered for the rest to follow.

Minho clicks on a flashlight, sweeping it around the abandoned building, "Where the hell are we?"

"Are you okay?" Thomas runs up to Mae, his eyes shifting worriedly around her body for anything out of place.

Mae gave a small smile, "I'm alright." She turns her attention to Teddy, grabbing his face to inspect it, "Are you okay? No sand in your eyes?"

Teddy's face reddened at her motherly nature, having never experienced it after his parents died in the flare, "M'okay."

Thomas nods, "We gotta go." He tells them, already trying to move deeper into the building. No one followed, "We gotta keep moving!"

"No. Thomas, stop!" Teresa shouts, "Tell me what's going on."

"It's WICKED," He explains. "They lied to us. We never escaped. Me and Mae, we found bodies. Too many to count."

"It's true, Teresa," Mae adds softly. Teresa looks eyes with her before shifting them away.

"What do you mean?" Minho questions, "Dead bodies?"

"No, but they weren't alive either." Thomas continued, "They had them strung up. With tubes coming out of them. They were being drained."

Mae noticed the way Teresa slowly reached up to rub her neck. The blonde quickly reached forward and grabbed her forearm, giving it a gentle squeeze, "Are you alright?"

She nods quickly, saying nothing.

"There's something inside of us that WICKED wants, something in our blood. So we have to get as far away from them as possible." Thomas finished.

Newt sighs, his hand firmly on his hips as he looked solely at Thomas, "Okay. So, what's the plan?"

There was hesitation.

"You do have a plan, right?" Newt pressed, a tone of anger rising. Thomas continued to shift, "Well, we followed you out here, Thomas! And now you're saying that you have no idea where we're going or what we're doing?"

"It's not his fault," Mae found herself defending the boy, crossing her arms. "He just spent all this time leading us out of there, with no casualties. He just wants to help us."

To that, Newt said nothing. Thomas let out a breath of relief━neither of them seeming to notice the way Teresa shifted away from the group.

"Wait." Aris voiced, "Janson said something about people hiding in the mountains. Some kind of resistance or army."

"The Right Arm," Teddy pipes in, popping his head through the crowd of boys, "That's where my brother is! They fight against WICKED."

"The Right Arm," Thomas repeats to himself, thinking, "If they're really against WICKED, maybe they can help us."

"People. . .in the mountains?" Newt looked at Thomas like he was insane, "Mountain people? That's your plan?"

"It's the only chance we have." Thomas replies softly, hoping Newt would stand by his side.

"Hey, guys!" Winston called out, breaking the intense silence. He was a little further into the building, "Check this out. Minho, give me a light!"

Minho moved forward, and crouched down beside Winston, shining the light against the sand where Mae could see a trail of footprints inside.

"Someone's been down here."

Mae shivered at the thought,.

Teddy had voiced the one thing everyone was thinking, "Do you think they're still down there?"

"Well, if they are, then we might die." Mae shrugged.

"Oh," The boy says, "That's nice."

With that, the Gladers walked deeper into the building.

"Come on, lift this up," Minho orders, handing the flashlight to Teddy.

The little boy flashed the light toward a metal rolling shutter, which they pulled up to reveal what once looked like a store, but was now an abandoned campsite.

They scattered, searching for things they thought they'd need.

At some point, Frypan had found more flashlights, Teresa was rummaging through tables of objects.

"Looks like people were down here," Minho expressed, holding up a pair of dusty pants.

"Then where are they now?" Newt asked cautiously.

"Let's pack some of this stuff up," Thomas orders, shrugging on a thin jacket, "Anything you think you might need."

"We'll split up, see what else we could find, then meet back here." Jack suggests.

Newt throws Thomas a flashlight.

He walks up to Mae, "I'll be right back," He tells her, making sure she was okay with it.

The girl nods, "Do be careful, Thomas." She warns him, noticing Teresa duck into a clearing behind him, "Stay here, okay?" She tells Teddy, moving in that direction.

He grabs her hand, "But I wanna go with you!" He whispers to her.

Mae tilts her head, looking to Thomas for help.

Thomas smiled at him, "You can come with me." He offered.

Teddy scrunched his face a little, "No, thanks."

Mae shifted a laugh at Thomas' offended expression, "Minho's going too," She reminds.

Teddy's face lights up a little, looking over to Minho who was waiting impatiently at the door for Thomas.

"See you later, Mae!" He tells her, running toward Minho.

"He'll warm up to you," She reassured Thomas, squeezing his hand.

He grimaced in response, before following after him.

Mae ducking under the tarp that Teresa had gone under.

She was worried about her friend, scared for her even. Something happened to Teresa back at WICKED and Mae could feel a shift in her.

"Teresa!" She whispered out.

The raven-haired girl turned around, flashing the light toward her, "Yeah?"

"Are you okay?" The blonde asked, walking up beside her as they continued a little down the path, "You look spooked."

"You'd be too, if you woke up to what I did," Teresa replied softly.

She flashed the light left, and the girls jumped at the multiple mannequins lined up in rows. Mae yelled, and Teresa's hand wrapped around Mae's wrist.

"You alright?" Newt calls out.

"Fine," The girls choursed, turning to each other and smiling just slightly.

"Look," The blond points to a table filled with clothes, "Maybe we can find something for you to wear."

Teresa nods.

There was a heavy silence between them as they picked through the clothes, holding up things that seemed like they'd fit and discarding things that probably didn't.

"So. . ." Mae dragged, glancing at her through her eyelashes, "What happened back there? In WICKED? They didn't let Thomas and I see you, we were worried sick."

"You were?" She asked softly, almost inaudible.

"Of course!" The girl says, squeezing her arm, "You're my best friend."

Teresa flinched a little.

Mae hadn't noticed, "Look, try this one." She hands her a shirt.

Teresa's eyes bulged when Mae pulled off her shirt, exposing her breast. The blonde never seem to care much for personal privacy as she rummaged for her own clothes.

Slowly, Teresa diverted her eyes with a red face, awkwardly pulling off her own shirt too.

"Does this look okay?" Mae asked, holding up a white shirt to her skin as a reference.

"I-I don't think we have many options," She replied softly.

Mae hummed, "Yes, I know. I still want to look semi-presentable."

She pulls the long-sleeve over her head and then shrugs on a faded green, a slightly dirty, thin jacket over it.

Her pants seemed fine as they were.

Teresa was quick to put on her own clothes, glancing back at Mae and watching as the blonde combed through her golden waves of hair with her hands, the strains were as long as her torso, and she braided what she could to the side, the shorter strains resting against the sides of her face in what Teresa could only compare to a curtained crown.

Mae was always beautiful. The kind of girl everyone wanted in some way. She was soft spoken, bubbly in a charming way, never backed down from protecting her friends, even when she was scared herself. She was beautiful, button nose, soft freckles, blue eyes that reminded someone of home.

Everything Teresa felt she wasn't. Though she wouldn't say she was jealous of Mae, it wasn't her fault she was born perfect, ( unknown to her that Mae felt she was everything but.)

And if Teresa was being honest with herself, she didn't want to be Mae. . .she wanted Mae.

It was only then did Teresa notice the short, healed over scar just above Mae's eyebrow. If it wasn't for the flashlight shining against it, it would've been unnoticeable from the distance.

"Where did you get that?" Teresa found herself reaching up to trace the scar on Mae's forehead, the skin soft and warm just like the rest of the girl before her.

The blonde reached up to touch it, "Oh, that." She chuckled softly, "I had it when I came up from the box. Must've rolled in my sleep while the box was going up. . .hit my head."

Teresa's frown deepened, "Rolled?" She repeats.

"Alby once had made a joke that I was pushed but, I'm far too clumsy for it not to be my own fault somehow." Mae waved it off.

Teresa retracted her hand like a touch against fire, her eyes stinging with unwelcomed tears. She knew–and as much as she hated knowing– she knew that it wasn't Mae's fault.

With that in mind, she knew why Mae couldn't be hers.

Betrayal left a nasty scar.

Suddenly, the lights above them whirled to life, shining the room for everyone to see properly.

"Looks like the boys found the power," Mae announced, smiling reassuringly at her Teresa, "I'm sure we'll make it to the mountains, get proper help."

"Do you think," Teresa inhaled suddenly, scared to finish her sentence as Mae turned back to face her, "Do you think that maybe. . .maybe some part of WICKED really is good?"

Mae instantly shook her head, "If WICKED was as good as they say, they wouldn't be named WICKED, right?"

It was meant to be a joke, but Teresa didn't laugh, simply gave a grimacing nod.

"We should go. . ." The raven-haired girl whispered, walking past her and back toward the group.

When the girls regrouped with Newt, Frypan, Jack, and Winston, Mae could've sworn she saw them all let out relieved sighs at her presence, making her smile.

She holds up her lamplight, "What did you boys find–?"

The sound of screaming made everyone in the area tense up. Mae's heart dropped down into her stomach, her eyes snapping down the hallway.

"RUN!"

It was Thomas, followed by Minho who was running with Teddy on his back.

"GO!" Thomas bellowed.

Her heart stopped completely when she saw the things chasing them.

"Shit! Mae! Mae, run!" Newt orders her, not looking in her direction as he reached for her hand.

They started sprinting down the hallway.

When the boys had caught up, Newt threw Thomas his backpack and the group made their trek up a set of stairs.

"Thomas! Minho, what the hell are those things!" Winston screamed.

"I don't know, just keep moving!" He responds.

"Teddy! Are you okay!" Mae screamed out.

"We're gonna die!" He hyperventilated in Minho's ear, "We're gonna fucking die!"

They turned a corner, only for more creatures to appear from the other side. The only way up was another staircase.

Aris ran forward, causing the others to scream for him. The boy banged a metal bat against the creature's kneecaps, knocking it down.

"Go! Move!" Mae ushered them up the stairs.

They kept multiplying, then they got separated.

"Mae! Fuck, where are you?!" Thomas bellowed from one side of the staircase.

"Keep going up!" She screamed, running up the other side with Frypan and Jack.

Suddenly, the creatures had appeared behind Jack, pulling at him, "Mae! Frypan!"

Out of panic, Jack grabbed the backpack Mae had, tugging her down, too.

"Mae!" Frypan screamed.

"What? What's wrong?!" Shouted someone from above.

Minho and Winston came running down the stairs.

The creatures slammed Jack off the side of the stairs, causing the glass to shatter, he wouldn't let go.

"Mae, help me!" He cried.

Mae tried to turn and grab his hand but another creature had fallen from the top floor and onto Jack's bag, now, three of them were pulling them down.

"Mae!" Minho screamed, trying to reach her from behind Frypan and Winston.

She couldn't hold them all.

She couldn't pull him up.

So, Mae had done something unimaginable.

"I'm so sorry!" She says breathlessly, and with a firm kick to the face, Jack had released his grip and crashed below.

His screams burning in her brain.

Frypan's arms wrapped around her waist, tugging her up and into Minho's arms, who had never hugged her so tightly.

"Are you okay?! Are you okay?!" He bellowed.

She could only manage a nod.

"Come on! Let's go!" Winston pushed them up the steps.

When the group connected together on a higher floor, the running didn't stop.

"We gotta find a way out of here!" Frypan screamed.

A creature ran out of a store, crashing through the glass and onto Newt, laying over him.

"Newt!" Minho bellowed, running forward.

"Get this bloody thing off of me!" He screamed.

Thomas was closest and slammed his foot into the creature's side, causing it to roll off Newt and fall off the side of the hallway.

"Thanks, Tommy!"

At some point, they had made it down a thin hallway, where double doors wouldn't budge.

They were stuck.

"We're gonna die!" Teddy kept repeating, noticing the creatures crowding in on them.

"Get us out of here, Thomas!" Teresa snapped.

"This one!" He tells them.

Thomas, Minho, and Newt started kicking the door.

"I'll hold them off!" Winston says, pulling out the gun and firing out, "Get that door open!"

Frypan pushes them aside and ramps himself into the door, causing the lock to burst open and the group to turn out.

"Winston! Come on!" Mae calls out for him.

One of the creatures had grabbed Winston, causing him to fall on the ground and pull him back in the door.

Mae was closest, grabbing his hands pulling him, "No! No!"

Minho places Teddy down, running up to keep the door from bursting open.

With each tug for Winston, the more Mae's eyes blurred with tears, his torso being shredded by the monsters in front of them.

Thankfully, he was tugged free. Frypan and Aris started running with him as best as they could, Teddy being dragged out by Teresa.

Mae was trying to keep the door closed.

"Go!" Thomas tells her, panicked, "Mae, go, I'll be right behind you."

"Not without you!" She cried, "We can't lose anyone else, we can't!"

Thomas hesitates, before releasing the door and grabbing her hand, the both of them running out of the building.

The creature's screams had become white noise in their ears.

Huddled under a mountain of rubble the group had scrambled to turn off the lights, keeping as silent as they could.

Minho and Newt were sitting together, trying to stay awake, unlike Teddy, who wasn't as panicked as before. He had drifted off into a solemn sleep, curled up beside Mae as he tried not to shake.

Life out here was a lot different than it was before Teddy was taken from his brother.

Mae wrapped a single arm around him in the dark, trying to ignore the growls and screams of the creatures moving above them.

She was crying, her other hand pressed over her mouth to silence herself like she always did━accept now her life depended on it.

"Mae. ." Thomas whispered, moving over to her as silently as he could.

She turned her head away, so he wouldn't see her.

"Don't do that," He orders softly, reaching up to pull the hand from her mouth, holding it into his own.

She sniffed, "How's Winston hold up?" She tries to redirect the conversation from herself.

He sighed, "He's okay. . .the last of your Yarrow is keeping it from getting infected, I think. . .I'm not a MedJack."

She hummed, "You know, people out here call them doctors." She reminded, saying the word felt odd, "MedJacks sound better."

There was a pause, "Frypan told me what you had to do," He continued to whisper.

Mae shook her head, turning away, eyes burning with tears all over again.

"Mae, we should talk about it."

"Please, don't." A small bubbled sob coming out that turned a few pitied heads.

"You did what you had to do," He continued, "Hey, look at me."

Sniffling slightly, she forced herself to look at him, his soft brown eyes look at her like she hung the stars.

Yet, she was the one who felt like she was falling.

"It wasn't your fault."

"I killed him, Tommy." She whispered back, shaking her head, "I kicked him down. . .he was scared and I couldn't━"

"You would've died, too." He reminded, "I'd rather have you━"

"Don't say that." She whispered firmly, "Don't say that, he was a person."

"That's not what I meant," He muttered, "I just mean, I'd rather have you alive than dead."

She sighed, giving a soft nod.

Thomas quickly wrapped his arms around her, tugging her into his side and she dropped her head into his chest, keeping Teddy close by.

Teresa frowned at the pair, turning to her side.

"Get some sleep," He tells Mae.

She couldn't.

Because the faces of the people she loved, the people who were no longer here, clouded her vision, telling her that she should've done more.

She thought of Gally specifically, twisting the ring against her finger.

She wished he was here.

He always knew what to do.

-

     IN THE MORNING THE GROUP HAD awoken to Thomas screaming at a bird that was poking its beak in one of their bags, standing up to check the area.

"Are they gone?" Newt asked.

"Yeah, I think we're safe for now," He nods, reaching his hand out for Mae, "Okay, we should get moving. Pack everything up."

Mae rubbed at her eyes with a soft yawn, quickly tugging Teddy off of the floor.

"Good morning," She tells him softly.

"Yeah, yeah." The child waved off grumpily, his hair sticking in every direction.

Winston grunts, unable to stand.

"Hey. You okay?" Frypan asked, holding his hand out for his friend to take.

They continued their trek up the rubble.

"Mae?" Teddy says, "I'm thirsty. ."

Mae pulls his canteen out of her back, handing it to him, "Don't drink it all, we don't know when we'll get more."

He nods.

They walked out to what was now an abandoned city, buildings were torn apart and sanded down.

Cars shattered the streets and there wasn't a single person in sight.

Though, Mae knew it was a good thing.

"What happened to this place?" Frypan asked.

"I don't know." Newt replies, "But it doesn't look like anyone's been here in a long time."

"It was the Flare," Teddy educates, remembering when his brother explained it to him, "I wasn't born yet. Peter was four when it happened. It destroyed everything."

"That's what Doctor Paige said in that video," Mae recalls, frowning, "I just didn't think it caused this much. . . mess."

"It didn't," The child shook his head, "The people did."

That seemed to silence them.

The sound of whirling made Thomas stop, "Woah, Woah, hang on. Stop."

They did.

"You hear that?" He asked them.

They did.

It was a helicopter, moving overhead, looking for them.

"Get down! Everyone hide!"

Mae ducked under a pile of rubble, tugging Teddy down with her.

They waited until the helicopters passed them, still staying hidden even after just to be safe.

"They're never gonna stop looking for us, are they?" Winston asked.

"They'll be looking a long time," Mae says optimistically.

Knowing that, deep down, she didn't believe her words.

[ back on my mae bullshit-]
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This goes out to heavenlyobrien for that mally edit which inspired this update, everyone say thank you!