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G A M E O F
S U R V I V A L

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𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬
𝐢 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝
𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐢𝐭

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞
𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭
𝐢 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐢 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧

*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*

.·:*¨༺     ★      ༻¨*:·.

"I SAVED YOUR LIFE!" Eirene exclaimed throwing her hands up in frustration before she inserted darts into her gun.

Rosie's eyes widened for a split second in annoyance. "Saved my life? You pushed me off a building!"

Eirene shook her head acting shocked, "and?You're alive, aren't you?"

Squinting her eyes at her best friend as she tied her wet hair, "I almost died! And now I'm soaking wet!"

The taller girl rolled her eyes as she handed Rosie the gun, "you'll live."

"You'll live," Rosie mocked as she shivered from the cold breeze of the early morning and could see her own breath. Times like these, Rosie looked up to Eirene. The girl didn't show any signs of weakness. She was soaking wet just like Rosie, but didn't shiver or ever complained. It was as if she wasn't.

"You ready?" Eirene asked checking the watch on her wrist. "The flag is on the top of the building over there, can you see it?" Eirene pointed at the building with a large neon red flag with a few members protecting it.

Rosie nodded blowing into her hands to keep them warm. "Yeah, I see it. What's the plan?"

Eirene came up with the quick plan as the majority of their team were already down. She knew they were going to have a low chance of winning this round since her team were the rookies trained by a different leader. The majority of Eirene's rookies were placed in Jeremy's team.

"I have no idea where Maya is or Malakai. So we have to do this alone." Eirene stated, "can you follow my instructions for once?"

"I always do! What do you mean with that tone—" Eirene covered Rosie's mouth with her hand as she shushed her before pulling her further behind the building.

For example, if Rosie didn't have Eirene with her she wouldn't have known that Jeremy's team had heard them. "Move. Now." Eirene whisper shouted as she pulled Rosie with her. The two girls took off sprinting hearing bullets behind them.

Lawrence watched over the tv display as Jeremy explained to him about the two girls. "Rosie doesn't show her full potential unless she's paired up with Eirene. While Eirene doesn't try at all unless she has Rosie on her team. The two girls work best together. I suggest you do not separate them."

The man turned to the young adult as he questioned him, "isn't Rosalie your girlfriend?"

Surprised by the question, Jeremy stammered to reply back as he didn't know how Lawrence found that out, "I, uh, well, we haven't labeled what we are yet, sir. We're just two people that really like each other."

Lawrence let out a half assed chuckle, "well whatever you are two each other, wouldn't you like her on your team instead?"

Jeremy glanced towards the tv to see Rosie running up a set of stairs by herself and shooting one of Jeremy's teammates before continuing her run up the stairs. The boy smiled enjoying seeing Rosie when she's doing one of the tasks. Lawrence cleared his throat grabbing his attention, "Jeremy."

"I think she's suited best with Eirene." Jeremy stated knowing that Rosie would be better on Eirene's group. "As much as I want her to be on my team. I prefer her with Eirene. They're like a two for one pack. They come together. You shouldn't separate them."

"I'll keep that in mind when I make my decisions." Lawrence muttered as he rubbed his chin waving Jeremy off. "Go, they're about to get to the rooftop."

      Rosie took a deep breath as she had shot three opponents. Obviously the bullets weren't deadly as they were using neurostim darts. It simulated the pain of a real gun shot wound and would only last a few minutes. Counting down, Rosie kicked the roof door open letting her finger press on the trigger whenever she saw any person aiming at her.

      On the other end, Eirene had just climbed up through the ladder attached to the building going unnoticed. Rosie did as best as she could as she had everyone aiming at her. The girl was able to shoot four of them before being shot and falling down to the ground in pain.

      "Fuck!" Rosie cursed dropping her gun to hold her leg. A few tears rolled down her cheeks as she wiped them away and forcing herself to pull the dart out of her thigh.

      "You alright?" Jeremy asked as he used the strap of the gun over his shoulder before crouching down to the girl realizing she was dripping water. "Why are you wet? You know what, never mind. That doesn't matter. Does it hurt a lot?"

      Rosie nodded as one of Jeremy's teammates were the ones to shoot her. Jeremy had been guarding the flag without realizing who they were shooting at.

      "What can I do? What can I do?" Jeremy asked himself even though he knew the pain would go away in a few minutes. The boy still worried for the girl as he didn't want her to feel this type of pain.

      "Let us win." Rosie blurted out as she had noticed Eirene getting up from her hiding position.

     A little chuckle left Jeremy's lips as he shook his head, "you know, I can't do that, beautiful."

      Rosie swallowed trying to speak through the pain, "then, I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"For this." Eirene stated shooting Jeremy's shoulder causing him to yell in pain.

"I'm really sorry!" Rosie spoke actually worried for the boy in pain as Eirene pulled her up on her two feet.

"I'm not." Eirene added letting out a chuckle as she nudged the boy on the shoulder causing him to fall on his injured shoulder. "Losers weepers." Eirene used her two fingers to form a uppercase L on her forehead.

Jeremy shook his head trying to fight back the pain as he pulled the dart out of his shoulder. Eirene rushed towards the flag before lifting it and waving it signaling that her team won the round. "Sometimes I wonder how you're friends with that devil." Jeremy mutters rubbing his shoulder as Rosie helps him sit up.

"I heard that!" Eirene exclaimed on the other side of the roof.

"That was the point!" Jeremy yelled back.

Rosie let out a short laugh before pressing a kiss on the boy's lips. "You get used to her." Rosie murmured rubbing the boy's cheek before he rested his head on her chest in comfort. The girl closed her eyes rubbing the back of his hair feeling content with him in her arms.

"You guys just don't get it okay?" A voice familiar to her spoke close to her ears. "She doesn't want my help."

A sense of reality rushed back into Rosie's body as she heard the familiar voices of the gladers. She didn't want to open her eyes, for she knew that once she did, the happy memory would shatter like fragments of broken glass. It was just a memory what she was going through. It wasn't the present moment.

Frypan tensed up with annoyance filling up in his body. He didn't want to move or talk much as Rosie's head was comfortably laying on his lap. Rosie had snapped out of the memory she had recovered wanting to cry again.

"I don't know what goes through that England head of yours but what I do know is that Rosie needs all the support she could get." Minho explained, "at the end of the day, she's just a girl with unprocessed emotions."

Frypan cleared his throat adding on, "I'm with Minho on this one, Newt. She tried killing herself, man. It's like that just flew over your head."

     "It didn't fly over my head, guys. I didn't know what to do." Newt muttered annoyed that everyone was listening to their conversation.

      Minho shook his head getting mad at his friend, "I've always defended you man but Rosie's not just some person. She's your girlfriend. The one person you should be making sure is okay first is her."

      Newt was ticked off as his tone went higher grabbing everyone's attention. "You guys don't get it! Last time I tried to help she called me a killer!"

      The girl could feel her own regret running through her body after Newt's statement. "Every time I hear her speak it reminds me of what she said to me. I'm sorry you're the ones taking care of her but she's also your friend—"

      "No. Don't spin this on me—we're talking about you, Newt. You and Rosie ain't the same people you were back in the glade. You're both just hurting each other." Minho explained not finished with his explanation but was cut off. 

      "Mate, can you stop now? I get it. But this isn't your business to resolve. What me and Rosie are going through is our business. Not yours." Newt responded rather harshly as he wanted the conversation to end. He might have sound rude but the boy was hurting.

      Rosie was hurting him and he was hurting her. The two didn't know how to really resolve what they were going through. Even their friends could see the disaster they've created. Frypan had once rooted for them back inside the glade but seeing them now outside of the glade, he wished he hadn't. One of them had to really apologize and take the blame but knowing both, Frypan knew this would just end in a bigger disaster.

      "Shank." Minho muttered before moving his body towards the window to watch the view.

"Piece of advice, hermano?" Jorge grabbed Newt's attention who looked over at him. "If you're not going to man up and take care of the girl than end it. You might love her but there ain't no growth from what I'm seeing. And sometimes, love just ain't enough."

Teresa leaned her head on Thomas' shoulder wondering about her own inner battles and what she should do. Thomas didn't mind Teresa's head on his shoulder, he found it comforting. While, he focused on the short haired girl who had her head against the wall with an arm draped over her eyes. He made sure to focus on her the entire ride if in case something happened. Aris, on the other hand, was sound asleep dreaming about the days back in his glade.

Hours passed by as Jorge had turned off the engine having no way through the tunnel with all of the blocked cars. Rosie got out of the car following Frypan and looking around her surroundings. The other car, the girls were in had just pulled up after everyone in Bertha got off.

Jac got out of the car taking a look around before opening Celia's door. The three other girls got out rather quickly as they were cramped inside the small car. "It's a dead end," Jac stated the obvious, "no way we can get through."

Samadhi took a few steps closer to the group as her senses were telling her something she couldn't quite figure out. Mara rubbed her chin having an off feeling to where they all physically stood. Jessie felt herself being pulled by Mara as the girl made sure Jessie stayed in between her and Samadhi.

"Well, I guess we're on foot." Jorge stated before adding, "look for anything useful you think we might need."

Kicking a pebble out of her way, Rosie took a notice of broken windshields on the abandoned cars. A similar pattern of bullets being the cause of it. Rosie opened a car's trunk having no luck in finding anything. Every car was either empty or full of useless items. There was something wrong, Rosie could feel it. The majority of the girls could feel the off feeling.

"Guys," Samadhi spoke looking up around the mountains before alerting the group as she figured out what it was, "we're not alone."

Jac twirled around motioning to Celia to stay close to her. Celia moved quickly before intertwining her arm with Jac's as she looked around trying to figure out what Samadhi was talking about.

"Hide!" Samadhi screamed covering her head as Thomas fell back as a gunshot landed near him.

"Get down!"

"Take cover!"

Jac pushed Rosie down to the ground as several gunshots started to aim at the gladers. Rosie felt the push before her hands saved her from face palming on the dirt. The girl quickly moved closer to Jac and Celia who pulled her closer to them.

The gunshots stopped rather quickly causing Thomas to speak up, "hey, is everyone okay out there?"

"We're fine!" Teresa replied in between Brenda and Aris.

"Does anyone know where those bloody gunshots came from?" Newt asked looking around in a hiding position.

The three girls hiding behind a car away from Rosie stayed still as Samadhi tried to concentrate. "Sam?" Mara asked looking towards her wanting an answer.

Samadhi tried to listen to her senses but couldn't figure out where the bullets were coming from. It felt like they were coming from everywhere. "I don't know. I can't pinpoint. It's like they're everywhere." Samadhi explained.

Rosie crouched down turning the opposite way almost sure that she had heard footsteps but backed away once she heard more gunshots. Celia hung tight onto Jac who had her gun out not knowing where to shoot.

"Everybody get set to sprint back to the trucks!" Jorge exclaimed, "and hold your ears!"

Celia widened her eyes towards Jac who did her best to keep her calm. Rosie rubbed one side of her chin moving her feet getting ready to run back to the truck. Everybody seemingly got ready to run but waited for Jorge to tell them but his call never came.

      "Drop it!" A voice was heard stopping Jorge and Thomas. "Now!"

      "What's going on?" Celia asked the two girls she was hiding with.

      Rosie took a peak to try and see what was happening. "I said drop it! On your feet! Let's go! Let's go! Move! Back up!" The same voice yelled as Rosie tried to take a peak at the person before the shotgun the person held pointed at her.

      "Get up! Now!" The girl with dreadlocks demanded finding Rosie with Jac and Celia.

      Jac did her best to be discrete about switching off the safety on her gun. But before she could even do so, the blonde girl stopped her. "I don't think so! Drop it! Drop it or I'll shoot her!" She exclaimed pointing her gun at Celia. Jac clenched her jaw dropping the gun on the ground and kicking it away from herself.

      "You two! Over here now!" The tan girl demanded, "don't be stupid! Move!"

      The two girls gathered the entire group together. They counted how many there were before one girl seemed to recognize somebody. The girl with dreadlocks hesitated before lowering her gun down and asked, "Aris?"

      Everyone turned their attention to the quiet boy who had no idea who the girl was. The blonde girl had a similar realization before the other girl took her mask off revealing her face. "Oh my god! Harriet?!" Aris exclaimed in surprise.

      "Oh my god! What the hell are you doing here?" Harriet questioned before rushing and pulling the boy towards her and hugging him tightly.

      The blonde girl took her mask off when her realization was set in stone surprising Rosie. "Sonya!" Aris exclaimed before being pulled into another hug from her.

      "Aris! You're lucky we didn't shoot you, dumbass!" Sonya responded before looking around his face for any wounds. "You alright?"

      Rosie tilted her head to the side almost being certain that she'd seen the blonde girl before. Somewhere in her cloudy dreams, she remembers seeing that similar face. She just didn't know from where.

      "Uh," Minho spoke up with his hands up in the air, "what's happening?"

      The three reunited friends turned towards Minho as Aris explained happily, "we were in the maze together!"

      All the gladers looked at one another with concern and slight distrust. Harriet walked a few feet towards the edge and whistled. "We're clear guys! Come on out!"

      Distant voices were heard as Rosie could clearly hear, "stand down!"

      People at almost every section of the mountains where appearing posted with guns in their hands. "Oh my god, you're alive." Sonya expressed rubbing one side of Aris cheeks before adding, "come on, follow us."

      No one spoke a word letting themselves be guided by the two girls as they walked through the tunnel. "Back it up, Joe!" Sonya ordered.

      "We're taking them to base."

       Aris followed right behind Harriet and Sonya as he asked questions. "Wait, so, how'd you guys get here?" He questioned.

      "The Right Arm got us out." Harriet explains reaching a car door before being interrupted by Thomas.

      "Wait, wait, the Right Arm?" Thomas asked in shock, "do you know who they are?"

      A little smile showed up on Harriet's lips as she opened the car door, "hop in."

      The gladers looked at each other hesitating before Aris gladly took the opportunity to get in the car first. Frypan shuffled inside right after making sure he'd get a window seat. Everyone started to shuffled into four separate cars. Jorge and Brenda being the last ones to get in. No car had two spaces available together. Meaning they'd have to ride in separate cars.

      Jac and Celia shuffled inside the last truck sitting in the middle section as Rosie turned to Jorge responding, "I got her."

      Jorge nodded turning to Brenda who hesitated knowing that Rosie had her suspicions about her. Rosie grabbed a hold of Brenda by her hand and guiding her inside the back of the truck. The group of friends were hoping this wasn't some sort of trap knowing that if it somehow was—they might really give up.

      Brenda could feel tears rolling down her cheeks as she faced the road once the car started moving. She could feel the change in her body with the infection spreading through her body. Watching the scenery, Brenda's fingernails started to scratch her own arm not taking a notice of the gashes she was making.