James Dashner, The Scorch Trials

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Everyone booked it out of the building, running for their lives from the horrible creatures. All of a sudden, Newt wasn't beside you anymore, he was on the ground with one of those things on top of him.

"Newt!" Thomas yelled before kicking the creature through the glass railing and down over the balcony.

"You good?"

"Yeah," Newt responded, a little unsteady. But nevertheless, he remained strong. You guys ran through a concrete tunnel and as you tried each door was locked. It was a dead end. You took out your gun.

"I'll hold them back!" you shouted and started shooting. Each bullet was perfectly accurate, not missing once. Frypan managed to bust open the door and everyone filed through before a thing grabbed Winston. They scratched at him as you tried to pull him through the door. Finally getting him through you ran.

.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .

Sitting beneath a concrete arch, everyone huddled together. Everyone was quiet, the panicked breathing had to be contained as the monster's groans and cries could be heard just a few feet away. Luckily though, the creatures were unable to find you. And you hoped for everything to be okay.

Winston groaned in pain and you noticed.

"What's wrong?" you whispered to him. He pointed towards his stomach which had a deep gash. You felt around in your pockets on instinct for the extra bandages. You wrapped it up for him as quietly as you possibly could. He mouthed a "thank you" and you nodded in exchange. You were the only med-jack left after all. You missed the rest of them. Everyone from the glade.

You soon felt the drowsiness from all the effort your body had exerted that day kick in. And apparently so did everyone else as you fell into a deep sleep. Newt had you wrapped up in his arms as you were shaking. Everyone was scared, but it couldn't be helped. Your eyelids drooped farther and farther down until Newt whispered into your ear, "go to sleep, love." That was all the incentive you needed to finally relax and close your eyes for good.

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It was light outside. You heard Thomas through your drowsiness, he was shouting at something. A crow? Oh- it was in his bag. You giggled a bit at it. Newt had removed himself from you a while ago, you supposed it was to sleep more comfortably himself. But Newt and Thomas still smiled a bit at your sudden laughter.

Thomas's face turned serious again after a few moments.

"They're gone," Newt observed.

"Yeah, I think we're safe for now," Thomas stated. He was already standing up. "We should get moving. Let's pack it up," he instructed as he grabbed his backpack. "Aris c'mon, Fry, Winston. Let's go."

Winston let out a painful groan. The bandages around his waist were bled through.

"Hey man, you okay?" Frypan asked. He reached out a hand to help Winston up before you ushered him away.

"This is my job, let me do it," you said. You took the spare bandages out of your pocket. "Can I?" you asked Winston.

"Yeah, thanks y/n," he said. The corners of his lips twitched. You smiled at him before looking at his wound. It looked severe and would probably be infected if you didn't get to it fast.

"Does anyone have any water?" you asked.

"Yeah, but don't use too much," Minho warned you.

"Will do, sir." You sat and rubbed the water over his wound after unwrapping it. It looked horrible like the griever stings had. It would be okay though. You applied the gauze pads to help catch the blood instead of just raw cloth. It would also be more comfortable for Winston. You then instructed him to lift his hips. Him complying after a short laugh, and then another sigh of pain. You skillfully wrapped the bandage around his stomach and patted his shoulder when you were done.

"One of my best patients," you stated while smiling at him.

"Thanks." And then Fry helped him to his feet. He seemed to feel a lot better after that. You felt glad to help for once.

When you guys exited the small hiding place you got a chance to look at your surroundings. Tall concrete buildings with huge glass windows stood up high in the sky. Even being half-buried in the sand they were enormously tall. The farther you looked, the more buildings there were. They all looked worn down and broken in various ways. None were left undamaged and all seamed barren. Your small group trekked between the wreckage and debris.

"What the hell happened to this place?" Frypan suddenly asked out of the blue.

"I don't know, it doesn't look like anyone has been here for a long time," Newt answered.

"I hope the whole world isn't like this."

"Woah. Woah, stop," Thomas instructed. "Do you guys hear that?"

When everyone had finally stopped to listen there was a gentle rumbling in the distance. At first, it reminded you of a griever, but then it sounded choppy, more mechanical, and less instinctual.

"Get down!" Thomas yelled. "Everybody hide!" Everybody hid under a cement beam, covering themselves from view.

You saw a few helicopters and a giant flying machine pass overhead. They weaved through the buildings until they were out of sight.

"They're never gonna stop looking for us, are they?" Aris questioned non-rhetorically. But you had an answer for it.

"Not with me here."

Everyone began climbing the piles of rubble. Winston stopped a few times, holding his wound and catching his breath. You coughed a bunch, the dust being a bit too much. When you had made your way out of the ruined city, you stood atop a dune. Then, you saw them. The mountains.

"That's where we're going, right?" Thomas asked.

"That's a long way off," Newt said. "So, we better get moving."

The next second everyone was calling out "Winston!" as he slid his bag off then stepped over the dune and fell over. His breathing was shallow when you came to check him over, he seemed to be hurting worse than earlier.

"Winston, can you hear me? It's okay," Newt tried to comfort him.

Thomas suddenly thought of something. You guys made a makeshift stretcher out of a blanket and some extra clothing from the abandoned building. You laid Winston on top of it and dragged it through the sand. This would be easier for him you hoped. Minho and Frypan offered to man it while everyone else carried their gear for them.

"Hang in there, Winston," you whispered.

As you guys progressed through the sandstorm and over the dunes, you took to carrying Winston on the stretcher along with Thomas. You stood and walked and sat beside him the whole time, ensuring he was okay. It was your job after all, as a med-jack back in the Glade, and now.

After a bit, the sand started to blow into your eyes and everyone decided that the group would take shelter. You sat by Winston again, repeating calming words and watching his breathing. It didn't look good.

Thomas and Teresa ventured out to see how far left you had to go.

"How's it looking?" Newt asked from beside you.

"Just a little further," Thomas answered. You knew this meant it would be far. Then, a shock of pain surged through your body as well. You gripped your arm and hissed through your teeth.

"We'll that's not very convincing," Newt grimaced.

"Ahh," you winced in pain. Newt looked over at you alarmed.

"Is everything alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, just my arm," you responded. You decided that your wound could wait though. Winston was in a much more serious condition. You hurried over to Winston again, checking him over to get your mind off of your own pain.

When you had wiped the sweat off his forehead with extra cloth, and gave him a few sips of water, you sat back down in the sand a bit farther from everything but still in the shadows.

Newt however had decided that your arm needed tending to. After he watched you fuss over Winston for a bit he got up to make sure you yourself were okay. He sat beside you in the sand and pulled your hurt arm into his lap.

"Where are the spare bandages?" he asked, desperately trying to help you. If you wouldn't care for yourself, he would. You sighed handing them over.

"I wanted to save them for when I have to change Winston's again," you explained.

"No can do, love." And Newt unwrapped the layer of bandages covering your forearm. The gauze was soaked in blood by now, from overexertion and you probably using it more than you should.

"Why didn't you say h-how bad it was?" Newt stuttered, staring hard at the wound on your arm.

"Newt..." you started, but he shushed you before running some water over the wound. You hissed again.

"Sorry, love," he apologized. He re-tied your bandages, using the same techniques you had on Winston just with less experience. "There, does it feel better?"

"Maybe it would if you kissed it?" you teased. He jokingly leant down to kiss the bandage. Minho just stared at you guys and awwwww'd. You blushed lightly. "Yeah, now it feels as good as new!" you exclaimed. Now it was Newt's turn to blush. Even in the scorch, you could tell he had a bit of an extra pink hue to his already sunburnt cheeks.

You looked up to see Thomas and Teresa talking closely with one another. You felt a slight pang in your heart. After a few moments of watching them, you had to look away so you stared out at the scorch. Newt was staring at you while you looked across the dunes. Then you heard a bang disturb the tranquil silence.

"Hey, hey, hey, what's going on?" Thomas asked as he ran over. You saw Frypan holding a gun.

"Winston just woke up, and he tried to shoot himself!" Frypan exclaimed. Winston got up and onto his hands and knees, keeling over and throwing up black gunk, you crouched next to him patting his back. You had flashbacks to watching Ben's banishment. Winston then flipped over onto his back and laid against the sand, he reached down to his wound.

"It's growing," he said, pulling up his shirt. You watched in horror seeing the black veins and almost rotted-out-looking stomach. You kneeled beside him pulling his shirt over it and putting your hands against the sides of his face.

"Look, you're going to be okay," you said. But he just leaned back and glared at you.

"I'm not gonna make it," he said. "Please, please, don't let me turn into one of those... things," he said trailing off. You took the gun from Frypan, still kneeling beside him.

"You won't be one of them," you assured him. "We'll find the Right Arm, maybe they can help you."

"Don't you get it y/n? IT DOESN'T EXIST!!! God, I wish you would've just stayed mute like you were at the beginning!" Winston screamed at you. You stared at him sadly as he calmed down from his fit of rage and lay there, dying. You blinked a few times, before finally deciding how this was going to work.

"y/n, please, he didn't really mean that. It the changing," Newt said. You said nothing in return, your lips now sealed shut. You didn't feel like talking. In fact, at that moment the only thing you wanted was for Winston to get his wish. You lay the gun on his chest and draped his hand over it carefully.

"Thank you," Winston said. "Now, get out of here."

Everyone stared a moment longer before you got up.

"Goodbye, Winston," you heard some of them mutter. You yourself kept silent. Newt placed a hand on your back as everyone retreated. Heading towards the mountains once more. You felt sorry, sad, and empty. You heard Winston tell Thomas, "It's okay."

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Walking away was your biggest regret. But there was nothing anyone could do. Your dad was right. Your eyes watered. You weren't sure if it was guilt or the wind in your face. But the longer you trekked away the more you regretted it. And then you heard the shot, everyone paused for a moment. You let out a loud sob and tried to muffle it by covering your mouth with your hand. You forced your tears back down your throat. Then, you continued on. Though somehow, it felt all too familiar. Had I experienced this feeling before? The want to... no, that's not right.

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Aris added logs onto the fire. The clanks made you flinch and the fire crackled louder, hungry for the food. It roared a bit before dying down to a soft crackle as usual. You watched the flames dance, completely absorbed in the light. Their freedom of movement and the ability to remain unharmed unless put out made you stare at it in awe. At that moment, you wanted to be that flame. Freely dancing with its friends, unable to be harmed, and always be beautiful.

Minho cut through the silence. "I thought we were supposed to be immune."

"Not all of us, I guess," Teresa explained. She seemed certain of this. It was almost suspicious, but you didn't have the mind to be thinking that way at that moment.

"If Winston can get infected we should assume so can the rest of us," Newt said from beside you. You could hear the rumbling of his chest as you watched the sparks flit around and fly through the air. The tears on your cheeks seemed to reflect the flames and though you willed your eyes to stop they had not. A waterfall of tears poured out and would not stop. Everyone's eyes were glossy, and the fire blazed in each person's irises. You watched them all, their movements, then, the fire's.

"I never thought I'd say it," Frypan starts. "I miss the Glade." You could see his tears as well. Teresa did not look upset at all though, just tired.

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2479 words

Yeah, this one was a bit sad. I cried so hard during the movie when I first watched this scene. It's even hard for me to write it.

QOTD: What movie have you cried to, if any?

Mainly pet movies like A Dog's Purpose get me, but also I've cried to Avengers (if you're a fan you know why), and I guess I tend to cry at a lot of movies in general. Sorry if I'm translating that into y/n because that's just me.