{WARNING: The following content contains gore and may be considered triggering with its themes relating to death. Continue with caution.}

"Newt, it's me!" The brunette shouts as the Crank sprints towards him, screaming and lashing.
Thomas grasps onto Newt's sides as the vicious boy crouches at his waist, attempting to tackle Thomas to the floor, and Thomas shoves Newt past him, causing the Crank to topple to the ground, rolling along the concrete.
My breath hitches in my throat, making it impossible for me to let out a scream. Clasping my hand over my heart, I watch the scene play out with wide eyes, frozen in horror.
The virus-consumed Newt quickly scrambles back onto his feet, turning and sprinting at Thomas.
Eyes widening as he backs away, Thomas screams, "Newt, it's me! It's me!"
This time, Newt manages to get ahold of his friend and stumbles to the ground, pulling Thomas down with him. The two of them hit the cement with a hard thud, and Newt scrambles over his friend's body. As Thomas attempts to shove him off, the two begin to roll across the concrete, Newt's screams echoing off of the surrounding glass walls.
It's an ongoing battle to overpower the other, both boys attempting to pin the other down; Newt above, Thomas above, Newt above, Thomas above, turning over and over.
As Newt rolls back on top off Thomas, the brunette uses the force from the spinning to push Newt away with a grunt, and the Crank's grip breaks, and he continues rolling along the concrete. In order to stop himself, Newt manages to push himself up onto his hands and knees as he slides along the rough concrete, and he digs his nails into the cement ground with a painful, scratching sound, slowing to a halt. He snaps his head up, snarling at Thomas as the dark blood drips off of his mouth in gooey strings.
"Newt, listen, it's me!" Thomas exclaims, putting his hands out to his friend. I can see his brown eyes flicker to me, and his face falls, jaw dropping as if he's going to utter my name, but he stops himself for my own safety. "S-Stay put!" He shouts to me before shifting his attention back to the wheezing Newt.
Newt shakes his head with his eyes squeezed shut, as if clearing his mind, and his body lurches as he coughs up the thick, black blood onto the ground, choking on the very liquid that gives him life. "T-Tommy!" He looks at his friend, trembling. "Kill me!"
With those two, sputtered words, I get a mental glimpse of the mosaic, and I can see the cracks zigzagging farther along the dimming colors of the glass, consuming well-over half of the aesthetic work.
I immediately dart my eyes to Thomas, shaking my head rapidly.
Thomas shifts his wide, panicked eyes to me in return, and he struggles to conjure up a verbal response, shaking his head as he looks back at the ill boy. "Newt... N-No..."
Roaring ravenously, Newt gets back to his feet and charges at Thomas, tackling him to the ground, once again.
Newt pins Thomas to the concrete, scrambling on top of him and clasping his veiny hands around Thomas's throat, snarling.
Crying out in fear, Thomas grasps onto Newt's arms, trying to pry them away, frantically shoving him off, but the Crank begins to overpower him, grasping for Thomas's neck.
"Newt! S-Stop!" He chokingly pleads in utter desperation. "Please!"
My stomach leaps to my throat, and I let out a panicked cry, unable to keep from intervening. "NEWT!"
The blonde boy snaps his head in my direction, staring at me with bare, blood-stained teeth and pure black eyes, resembling those of a shark.
Heart stopping, I stumble back a few steps, face falling in terror. It's as if he's not in his own body. "N-Newt?"
His vein-covered face slowly morphs to recognition as he blinks a few times, panting heavily in attempt to catch his breath. "(y/n)...?" he stutters, eyes locked on me.
Lip quivering, I nod. "It's me... I'm here..." I say reassuringly, forcing a pathetic, nervous smile to pull up on the left corner of my lips as I take a single step towards the two of them. Maybe if I act calm, he'll calm down.
Looking down at Thomas, who continues to hold tightly to Newt's arms, the dying boy whispers frantically, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry, Tommy..." His voice cracks, the tone molded in fear. He releases Thomas's neck with trembling hands, panting as he begins to realize what the Flare was making him do.
Releasing one of Newt's arms, Thomas uses his free hand to pat Newt's shoulder. "It's okay... It's okay..." He replies breathlessly, staring up at his friend with sorrowful eyes.
The wind begins to sweep through the open stretch of concrete, brushing through Newt's matted hair.
Gulping, I take another hesitant step forward towards the boys.
Wheezes beginning to pick up in pace, Newt darts his head in my direction, staring at me with an expression that I have never seen before, one that cannot be described with mere words.
An expression that seems to be a swirling mixture of anger and regret and fear, yearning for relief; one that I would imagine to see on Death itself. It's one that shoots an icy shiver down my spine yet ignites my fiery fear and lets it swallow me whole. It's an expression that has given up on supplicating for life and, now, only pleads for the sweet release of death.
Newt, looking back down at Thomas, growls through clenched teeth before reaching down to the brunette's right thigh holster with his rotting right hand and swiping out the pistol, and, moving so quick that it's a blur, Newt cocks the gun and holds it to the side of his head.
"NO!" I scream in unison with Thomas, and, before Newt can pull the trigger, Thomas slaps the gun out of his friend's hand, sending the pistol flying through the air and sliding across the concrete, in my direction.
The virus devours Newt's mind again, and the Crank roars in Thomas's face out of complete, unfathomable rage, punching the brunette in the face.
Shouting out in pain and fear, Thomas takes the blow before he grasps onto the collar of Newt's shirt and throws him off of his body, the Crank rolling across the cement and stopping on his stomach.
Darting my eyes to the gun, I sprint towards the weapon, sliding onto my bleeding knees across the concrete, quickly picking up the pistol.
Wobbly, Newt shakily lifts himself onto his hands and knees, sputtering out more blood.
Watching his dying friend anxiously, Thomas quickly rises to his feet, nearly stumbling over. "(y/n)!" He calls. "Hurry! Get out of here while you can!"
The blonde boy slowly lifts his head in my direction, staring at me with cannibalistic eyes, snarling. The cold black eyes that are locked onto mine do not show a single flicker of recognition.
Newt's no longer in the body that belongs to the boy I fell in love with.
"Newt?" I choke out, tears swelling in my eyes.
Like an animal, the Crank suddenly charges at me on all fours.
Eyes widening, I quickly scramble backwards on the ground as he rapidly approaches me. "N-Newt! Newt, stop!" I shriek. "This isn't you! You've got to control it! You've got to fight it!"
He doesn't stop rushing towards me, growling as the blood drips through his snarling teeth.
"HEY!" Thomas shouts from behind, causing the blonde Crank to slide along the concrete to a stop before he can hurt me, digging his bleeding nails along the ground, and the creature that's taken over Newt's body snaps his head back at Thomas.
"It's me you want!" The brunette shouts.
Without a moment of hesitation, I scramble to my feet and sprint in the opposite direction of Newt and Thomas, quickly taking the magazine out of the gun, emptying it, and throwing the clip of the gun as far as I can, it flying onto the roof of the entrances to the left, far out of anyone's reach.
"(Y/N)," Thomas screams, "LOOK OUT!"
Just as I turn around to look back, Newt dives at me, tackling me to the cement onto my back.
Crying out as pain shoots up my spine the second I hit the cold, hard ground with a loud smack, the empty gun slipping out of my hands and sliding across the concrete, I stare up at Newt in terror, quickly shoving at his chest in attempt to push him off.
However, the Crank does not budge as he straddles me, displaying inhuman strength, and he roars in my face, causing me to squeeze my eyes shut as the black blood flings onto my face from his lips. He reminds me of the Crank that tackled me in the Crank infested tunnel. Grasping onto the collar of my tank top, Newt yanks me upright before slamming me back against the concrete.
I scream in horror and agony as pain bursts in the back of my head, immediately sending a flicker of black spots in my vision for a split second.
Roaring in unfathomable anger, Newt yanks me upward and slams me against the the ground again. He begins to do so over and over and over.
I feel as if the back portion of my skull is cracking with every blow against the cold, hard ground, the black spots beginning to remain and take over my vision.
"NEWT, GET OFF OF (Y/N)!" Thomas shrieks, the sound of his rapid footsteps following as he sprints towards us.
Scrunching up his grotesquely rotten face as he uses all of the unnatural strength he has, Newt slams me back against the concrete once more, and, head now lying still against the cement, I can feel my warm, sticky blood oozing from my head, soaking my hair as it begins to form a small pool on the ground. My vision begins to blur in and out as I struggle to remain conscious, watching the cold, black eyes of Crank Newt snarl at me, his bloody drool dripping onto me in long, thin strings.
"N...Newt..." I whisper weakly.
The creature stares at me for a moment with it's abyss eyes, tilting it's head to the side slightly and giving me a split second of false hope.
"N...Ne...wt..." I repeat, eyelids growing heavy as the world spins.
However, his face quickly shifts to that of anger, and the Crank suddenly leans forward and sinks his teeth into the left crook my neck, my hot, red blood splattering in a burst as his teeth break through my flesh and submerge into my muscles.
This instance of pain is far worse than I have ever felt because, while Newt's bite is far more agonizing than the one in my left hand, every state of my being, physical, mental, and emotional, is completely destroyed due to the fact that the person I cherish most is the one inflicting the unbearable torture.
Tilting my head back as I let out a blood-curdling, agonized scream, my legs kick out and fingers curl into fists by reflex from the overwhelming torment.
Suddenly, Thomas yanks Newt off of me by the back of his jacket, throwing him to the concrete in the opposite direction of my body.
Taking in rapid, shallow, stuttered breaths, vision clouding, I stare up at the dark, smoke-filled sky with wide eyes as I take my right, trembling hand and press it against the wound where my neck and left shoulder meet, my warm blood oozing between my fingers. As I slowly turn my head towards Thomas and Newt, my vision blurs completely, head pounding with overwhelming pain as the blood trickles down the back of my head, through my hair. Gasping for air like a fish out of water, eyelids growing heavier and heavier, I watch Newt attempt to tackle Thomas.
"N...No...No..." I wheeze, body jolting, almost convulsing, with the inability to tolerate this level of agony.
I roll my head back to face the sky, breaths growing shallower. The pain begins to consume me, the black spots expanding over my eyes, and, within a matter of seconds, I slip from consciousness, everything going black.
• • •
Agonized cries. Loud agonized cries.
The chaotic shrieks echo in my head, wracking my skull as they ricochet inside, causing me to resurface to consciousness.
Eyes slowly fluttering open, I stare up at the dark night sky, a few sparks here and there managing to flutter to our part of the city from the distant burning buildings.
My head spins, and I re-clasp my hand over the wound on my neck, gulping in attempt to ease my burning throat.
"TOMMY, KILL ME!" I hear Newt's familiar accent shriek between choked coughs.
Turning my throbbing head to look at the boys, I spot Newt reaching to his belt and slowly taking out a dagger, turning to Thomas, who is trying to get to his feet, and swinging the blade at the brunette.
Yelping, Thomas dodges the blade, rolling onto his back.
Newt immediately takes advantage of the vulnerable position of his friend, and he quickly crawls on top of Thomas, taking the knife in both hands and holding it in the air above his own head.
Panic flashes through Thomas's eyes, and, just as Newt swings the weapon down at the brunette's chest, Thomas manages to grasps onto the Crank's wrists, pushing against the boy's weight.
Snarling and growling viciously, Newt leans forward on his arms, now pressing all of his weight into the knife, and the blade slowly sinks lower to Thomas.
My eyes widen as I watch the tip of the blade press against our friend's chest, and Thomas cries out in torturous agony, the veins bulging from his neck as his scream tears at his throat.
The world seeming to spin around me, I dizzily roll onto my stomach and push myself upright with a groan of pain, sitting on my knees and holding my spinning head.
Shifting my eyes back to Thomas and Newt, I see Newt on the ground now, and Thomas punches him in the face.
I need to help before something terrible happens.
Using my left hand to push myself to my feet, my right covering the bite wound, I stumble onto my feet, the world around me whirling at such a rapid pace that it blurs.
"(y/n)!" Thomas call as he scrambles to his feet, but he's cut off when Newt jumps up and charges at the brunette with the knife, swinging it back and forth, causing Thomas to rush backwards.
"I- I'm coming!" I pant weakly, taking wobbly steps towards them. Feeling the sticky blood from my neck, I look down to see that my entire shoulder and the left portion of my chest are stained with bright red blood.
"No, (y/n)!" Thomas shouts, putting a hand out towards me as he continues to back away from Newt. "Stay there!" He orders.
Although I don't want to listen, I stop in my tracks, too weak to argue.
The Crank growls and screams at Thomas, swiping the dagger back and forth as he sprints after the brunette in a contorted manner.
"NEWT, STOP! STOP IT, MAN! IT'S ME!" Thomas exclaims frantically as he backs way from his ill friend, the dying boy quickly gaining on him. "IT'S ME! IT'S THOMAS! NEWT!"
Just as Thomas screams his name, Newt manages to get a grip on Thomas's shoulder with his rotting left hand, swinging the blade in a stabbing motion as he yanks Thomas against him.
The second the two boys make chest-to-chest contact, I can see Thomas's face over Newt's shoulder as the brunette gasps, staring ahead with wide eyes.
Jaw dropping in horror, I scream shrilly, "THOMAS!"
The two boys remain clinging to each other tightly, taking in forced, shallow breaths of air.
Newt lets out a ravenous growl, tightening his grip on Thomas's right shoulder before taking in a gasp for air, the sound of the inhale on an octave that sound's like Newt's voice, not a Crank's.
Drawing my brows together as my heart beats rapidly against my chest, I call, "N-Newt? Thomas...?"
The Crank boy slowly stumbles a few steps back from Thomas, and his brunette friend flickers his brown eyes to his chest.
Following Thomas's stare, I spot it: the handle of the dagger sticks out of the left side of the boy's heaving chest.
Newt's heaving chest.