Staring at Thomas, I feel a microscopic flicker of hope.
"Once you get the Serum, get back to us as fast as you can." Thomas orders.
Minho furrows his brows together, breathing at a rapid rhythm. "You want me to leave you all behind?" He asks. "While he's like this?"
Frowning slightly, Thomas nods as he presses his lips tightly together. "Yeah... Yeah, it's the only thing we can do."
"Wait," I chime in, sniffling, "what about the crossfire?"
"I can cover him." Gally finally speaks up, nodding to Minho reassuringly.
Minho, clenching his jaw, glances at the tall boy as he inhales deeply through his nose, staring at Gally for a few moments while he ponders on it. He averts his eyes back to Newt. "I'm gonna get you the Serum, alright? Everything's going to be okay."
Coughing up more of the pure black blood, Newt releases my arm and grasps onto Minho's, staring at him with pleading, dark red eyes. "Take... Take (y/n)... too..." He wheezes heavily as if his lungs can only inflate to a quarter of what they should.
I stare at Newt with wide eyes, my vision beginning to blur with yet another curtain of tears, though not enough to fuzz out the horrifying dark veins that pulse throughout his face. "N-No, Newt. No, I told you, I'm not leaving-"
"I said...go..." Newt coughs out between breaths as his chest heaves with each trembling gulp of air, a soft gurgling sound stutters every inhale as the rotting blood fills his throat.
"Newt, no-"
He suddenly latches his right hand onto my arm, once again, but in an act of violence. "(Y/N), I SAID GO!" He screams in utter rage, blood flying out of his mouth in sick, gooey strings as he digs his nails into my arm, squeezing it so tightly that I can feel the dark, clotting liquid pump through the veins with each beat of his rapidly pounding heart.
I nearly cry out in pain, grimacing as my eyes dart to Newt's hand, clasping my right hand over his to pry it off.
When I meet with his dark eyes, I watch them morph from complete anger to utter terror, eyes flickering about as he looks me up and down, realizing what the virus is making him do. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." He struggles to get out through shallow breaths, his chest rising and falling so much so that the bones and strained muscles bulge out of his neck and collar bone area with every desperate inhale, and he releases my arm with a trembling hand.
"N-Newt," I stutter, swallowing the growing lump in my throat as I keep my hopeless eyes locked onto him. "I-"
"Listen... to me... (y/n), listen..." He coughs up more blood when it begins to completely fill his airway, the black liquid splattering out of his mouth and rolling down his chin in thick, sticky droplets. He averts his eyes to my right hand, shakily grasping onto it and squeezing it tightly with all of the strength he has left.
Furrowing my brows as the burning sensation in my throat intensifies, I watch his veiny, trembling hand hold mine for dear life before I shift my eyes to Newt's.
Staring into my eyes as he helplessly gasps for air, he manages to wheeze out three simple words between each forced breath: "I... love you..."
My face falls as the tears escape my eyes, rolling down my cheeks, and my heart stops along with time itself in that mere instant. The ringing in my ears drowns out the chaos around me, only allowing me to catch the weak, accented voice. "Wh-What...?" I choke out.
"I... I love you...I love you... I love... you..." He wheezes over and over in pure desperation. "I'm s-sorry... I... love you..."
Minho, Thomas, and Gally stare at Newt in complete silence as if the weight of death itself has already crushed their spirits as they witness their ill friend desperately pour his heart out with the little breath he has left.
Newt's bottom lip begins to quiver as he squeezes his eyes shut, wheezing and coughing. "Shuck..." he sputters out, "I wish I had... more time..." He chokes out, blinking quickly as he opens his eyes, fighting back the tears that give his darkening eyes a glossy shine. "Six months... I've had six... shucking... months..." He suddenly jolts forward, spitting up gunky, thick, warm blood all over himself before leaning back in defeat, swallowing down the remainder of dark liquid with his head tilted back and eyes closed. "And I waited... like a... bloody coward!" He hisses through clenched teeth, snarling from the pain and the anger swelling up inside of him.
"Newt, no..." I choke out, squeezing his hand that remains tightly clasped to mine, the warm, salty tears rolling down my cheeks. "It's okay... Newt, it's okay..."
Gasping for air, Newt forces his head upright, looking at me with wide, desperate, watery eyes. "I love you..." He repeats. "I love... you, (y/n)... I love you... so much..."
Trembling, I lean closer to him and clasp my hands on his face, breaking a sob, the tears running non-stop. "Then don't make me leave you... Newt, please, don't make me leave..."
"Go, (y/n)..." He pleads in utter despair, tears rolling out of his dark eyes.
"Newt, please..." I beg. "You can't-"

Before I can protest, Gally cuts me off. "I'll take them both with me to get the Serum."
Minho, shooting Gally with a momentarily shocked expression, hesitantly nods as he turns back to Newt. "We'll be right back."
However, before Minho can get to his feet, Newt pulls his friend back towards himself by Minho's left arm. "Wait- Wait-" He wheezes heavily, his breaths gurgled and completely out of a steady rhythm.
Minho freezes in his place, looking back at Newt with pained, questioning eyes.
"Th-Thank you..." Newt whispers, inhaling shakily. "Thank you, Minho..."
Minho's jaw tightens even more as he struggles to fight back tears himself. "Hey..." He mumbles, leaning closer to his dying friend. "You just hang in there... You hear me?" His eyes flicker at Newt's chin as the blood continues to flow from his mouth, and, with that, Minho gets to his feet and runs out into the open.
"(y/n), come on; we've got to go." Gally orders urgently, tugging me by the arm.
I stare at Newt's hopeless and broken state, unable to even find the strength to stand. I can't leave Newt. I can't.
"(y/n), we have to go now." Gally says sternly, now pulling me up to my feet by my arm.
Ignoring Gally's command, I shake my head at Newt. "Newt, no... You- You can't make me leave you-"
"I... love you..." is that last thing Newt chokes out to me just as Gally darts across the street, suddenly dragging me behind him.
I keep my eyes locked onto Newt as I'm led away from him against my will, impulsive panic shooting through my nervous system and causing me to immediately act out. "No, don't make me leave!" I scream over the chaotic surroundings, planting my feet in the cement in attempt to slow Gally down. "Newt, don't!"
He stares back at me hopelessly, his chest rapidly rising and falling as his head falls back against the concrete behind him.
Gally manages to get me to the sidewalk at the next block by my arm, so I do what I can to fight even harder. "I'm not shucking leaving him!" I snap at Gally. Using all of the strength I have, I yank my arm away from Gally, but his grip doesn't break, in fact, it tightens, and he continues dragging me along the fire-illuminated street. I begin to use my legs even more, attempting to run, pulling myself in the opposite direction of the masculine boy.
Scowling slightly, Gally releases my arm; however, just as I nearly stumble over and gain balance to sprint back to Newt and Thomas, Gally wraps his entire right arm around my waist, crouching down and scooping me up over his shoulder.
"PUT ME DOWN, YOU SHUCKING SHANK!" I scream as I pound my fists against his back.
Clenching his jaw as he takes the blows, Gally sprints to down the block, carrying me with him.
Realizing that there is no way that I can break out of this boy's grasp, no matter how hard I fight, I dart my eyes back to Newt's limp body in the distance. "DON'T SHUCKING DIE ON ME, NEWT!" I scream at him, tears running down my face as I'm carried down the block. I can see, even at this distance, that is stare has gone cold. Void.
Before I can say anything else, Gally turns around the corner at the end of the block, Newt no longer in sight.
Gally, dropping me to my feet in front of him and forcefully grasping my shoulders to make me face him, looks me dead in the eyes. "(y/n), listen to me." He beginnings, speaking up loud enough to be heard over both the fighting and my crying and staring into my eyes with a stern, yet concerned, look. "If we're going to get that Serum for Newt, Minho and I are going to need you to cooperate and run with all of your might. Can you do that?"
Eyes squeezed shut, I struggle to steady my breathing between sobs.
"(y/n), can you do that?" He repeats in an austere tone.
Taking in stuttered breaths, I nod, opening my eyes and locking them onto Gally's as I force myself to stand taller, sniffling and struggling to recompose myself.
Pursing his lips, he nods. "Good that. Come on." Turning on his heels and swinging his gun towards the front of his torso by the strap, he sprints after Minho, who's farther down the road.
Doing my best to steady my breathing, I wipe my eyes with the sleeve of my WICKED disguise before charging down the road after the boys, the world around us quaking from the surrounding battle.
I do my best to keep up with Gally and Minho, my chest rapidly rising and falling with each gasp for air, swinging my arms and legs as I sprint along the concrete, the soles of my feet aching, body already worn down from all of the running we've done in the first place.
I have to get that Serum. I have to save Newt.
I follow the boys along the cement; however, a familiar, agonized and frustrated cry echoes over the chaos of the surrounding war from the road we had just left. "...JUST TAKE IT!" is all I can catch, causing me to suddenly halt in my tracks by instinct, turning to look back in the direction we came. "Newt...?" I pant, eyes widening.
Gally stops in his tracks once he notices that I'm no longer right behind him. "(y/n), why have you stopped running?!"
"It's Newt!" I exclaim over the overwhelming chaotic sounds of the war going on. "Something's wrong! We just left, and something is already wrong!"
"We can't turn back; we have to get the Serum!" Minho, who slides to a stop in his tracks ahead and turns back at Gally and I, calls. "That's the only way we can help them!"
I keep my eyes locked on the fiery road behind us for a few moments, breathing picking up with anxiety before I force myself to turn on my heels and continue after Minho and Gally.
As soon as they see me running, the boys charge in the direction we're headed, sprinting along the roads that flicker with bright orange hues.
"Alright, you're going to want to cross here at the corner!" Gally calls to Minho, who's running in the front. "It's a fairly straight route from here!"
"Got it!" Minho calls back.
Suddenly, seeming as if the universe is against us, an explosion bursts from the bottom of the building at the corner directly across the street from us.
Eyes widening, Minho immediately stops in his tracks. "Woah, woah, woah!" He throws his arms out to block Gally and I as we stumble to a halt on each side of him, our chests heaving with heavy pants.
The building, losing it's support, begins to collapse from the foundation up, the top portion of the tall, once glimmering, tower toppling to the ground below.
"Shuck, take cover!" Gally orders, waving Minho to the building directly beside us, to our left, before grasping my arm and yanking me past him, shoving me towards the outer wall and charging after to shield Minho and I.
The falling tower collapses onto the road just as Gally protectively jumps directly in front of the two of us and throws his arms out, the building causing the ground to violently shake so much so that the three of us struggle to remain upright, covering our ears as the thunderous roar of destruction takes place, and the toppling tower lands in bits in the road, completely blocking our path ahead.
As the earth's shaking eases, I uncover my ears and peer over Gally's shoulder as he turns to look down the road we were headed.
"Shucking klunk..." Minho gapes.
Clenching his jaw as we watch the wave of dust and smoke rise to the sky from the ruins of the tower, Gally says, "Guess we'll have to go around... Minho," he takes on an authoritative tone, turning to the boy, "take the lead and turn left."
Minho, shifting his eyes to Gally as he catches his breath, coughs into the crook of his arm. "Got it." He nods, making a left turn around the corner and beginning to sprint along the road.
As I follow behind the two boys, bolting around the corner, a second burst of orange flames consumes another building, directly to our right this time, shaking the ground and causing the three of us to stumble through our speedy steps.
Although I manage to stay upright, a sudden bullet ricochets from somewhere amidst the chaos, but I'm too disoriented to figure out the source while I run, struggling to remain balanced.
Panting heavily as I run and run and run, putting every fiber of my being into the sprint, I shield my head as a second bullet flies past my face, and I begin to push myself to sprint faster, the adrenaline pumping through my veins.
Gally immediately begins to shoot back in the direction the bullets are coming from. "Stay low! Stay low!" Gally orders to Minho and I, firing as he runs as fast as humanly possible.
Chest heaving as I gasp for air like a fish out of water, I sprint after Gally and Minho as fast as I can, my legs in absolute pain from the excessive force that I send through them in order to run swiftly.
"Right up here!" Gally orders.
As we go to turn, the ground suddenly jolts with a nearby explosion, sending me toppling to the tar road, and I can feel the heat from the flames. Gasping and sucking in so much smoke that I break out into a coughing fit, I squint my eyes in, both, exhaustion and pain, shakily pushing myself upright with my arms and turning to look over my shoulder at the building just behind me that is now completely engulfed in fire.
"(y/n)! Get up! Come on!" Minho shouts as he struggles to keep balanced when another explosion shakes the earth below our feet.
"I'm coming, but don't wait on me!" I shout back over the roar of gunshots and screaming and fighting. "We need that Serum ASAP!"
Minho, panting heavily, nods slightly before continuing down the road with Gally, and I scramble to my feet, forcing myself to run after them.
My lungs burn from the heavy gasps for air and the smoke and sparks of the explosions, and every cell of my body cries out to me in pain from the overwhelming heat of the battle. The surrounding flames are so hot that I feel as if my sweat will evaporate the second it escapes my body, and my throat pleads for water as I charge through the smoke, coughing and wheezing.
The smoke engulfs the three of us as we make another turn down the road, completely clouding my vision with thick puffs of grey smoke that are illuminated in a flickering, bright orange by the flames from the surrounding explosions. I can't see Gally or Minho, so now I have to rely on my ears, which is nearly impossible because my pounding heart is washing out all of the sounds around me.
I cry out with the remaining strength I have, pushing myself to continue running while my body begs for me to stop altogether, on the brink of collapsing.
From deep within my over-worked heart, I can see the gigantic mosaic that Newt and I had mended together, as if it is displayed just before my eyes. It's shimmers fade as it begins to get lost within the cottony clouds of smoke, and I can see the colors lose their vibrant saturation slowly, as if they are being drained from the glass itself. Suddenly, I see a crack quickly web from the bottom right corner of the art, darting it's way up the bottom half of the beautiful piece, zigzagging.
I have to save Newt. I cannot let our mended hearts shatter.
Another explosion, much closer than the others, brings me back to reality and sends me stumbling to the floor with hot, waving flames that nearly brush up my back with their intense force, causing the glass and foundation of the tower that the fire consumes to burst, and I skid across the concrete, shouting out in pain.
I hear Minho grunt as he hits the ground not too far ahead, and Gally curses as he, what sounds like, trips over Minho.
"Get off of me, shuckface!" Minho shouts.
"You're the shank that was on the ground in the first place!" I hear Gally retort.
Wheezing heavily and coughing as my lungs begin to shrivel up from the overwhelming smoke and sparks, I look out into the grey clouds, the mosaic completely vanishing in the wall of smoke, before rolling onto my back, staring up at the golden glimmers of fluttering sparks and thick, puffy smoke and fire above me. Now that my body is at rest, the intensity of fatigue prohibits me from moving another muscle.
"(y/n)?! Where are you?!" Minho calls, frantic. I can hear him grunt as he likely rises to his feet.
"Here..." I cough weakly, the blood in my veins pulsing with hot, forceful beats throughout my entire body as my heart struggles to continue functioning. My head throbs with every heartbeat, my brain definitely not getting enough oxygen due to the thick, dark clouds getting sucked into my lungs with each desperate breath.
I can hear footsteps rushing about.
"Say where you are again!" Minho calls.
"Here..." I say, trying to be as loud as I can, although I cannot take in enough air to properly project my voice.
"We're coming!" Gally calls over the sound of gunfires.
Panting heavily, I close my eyes, trying to rest for the short time I have.
Suddenly, through the chaos, I hear a faint agonized scream in the far distance.
Opening my eyes, I sit upward with a jolt, suddenly rushed with adrenaline, although my body is still weighing me down as if it's made of lead, and nausea spins the world around me. "Was that...?"
Another scream.
My eyes widen. "Newt..."
Something's wrong, and there's no more time to waste.
Looking to my left, I see a shadow within the clouds of smoke, and, with the little, trembling strength I have left, I force myself to get onto my bloodied hands and knees, crawling towards the source.
"(Y/N)! (Y/N)!" I hear Gally and Minho call, but I can't respond, even if I wanted to.
As I approach the shadow, I make out the raised concrete of stairs, and the metal handrail alongside it comes into view. That will help.
Gally and Minho continue to call for me, and I can hear their anxious footsteps getting closer.
I almost stop to shout back, but then I hear Newt's distant screams again, and I force myself to crawl to the stairs.
Shaking, I tightly grasp the handrail with both of my hands, pulling myself up to my feet with an agonized cry of pain, forcing every muscle in my body to work to hold myself upward.
"She's this way!" I hear Minho shout, his footsteps rapidly approaching me.
As soon as I get to my feet, I lean against the railing for support, panting heavily. I need to decrease the amount of smoke entering my lungs. With trembling hands, I frantically fumble through the pockets of my WICKED uniform, finding Newt's lucky bandanna. I shakily tie the bandanna around my face, covering my nose and mouth, and, while it hardly eases my ability to breathe, I'm thankful for the partial support, and I force myself to stand straight now, growling through my breaths as I fight the pain. With trembling hands, I unzip the