Bang

For the first time ever, Hope looked up at the blue sky and felt sad. She felt the soft rays of sunshine beaming down on her, and yet she felt so very cold. This could be the last time that she'd ever see this sky, this sun, and this green grass underneath her boots. Hope would never cook with Frypan again, never sit around a bonfire with everyone, and she would never be able to laugh with all of her friends again. The Glade had been divided and destroyed, so the peacefulness and the smiles were all gone. From the moment she met these boys, their smiles were what drove Hope to live. To never give up. But now, their lives themselves were what mattered the most. So yes, Hope was sad that she'd never see the Glade again. But she was also ready to leave it and never have to live through last night again.

Therefore, after helping Chuck with gathering as many supplies as possible, the two walked toward the open doors. Hope had her bow in hand, her trusty dog beside her, and everyone else in front of her. Teresa's arms were being trapped by Dan, while Thomas' "limp" body was being carried by two other boys. Obviously, Hope and Chuck wanted to intervene, but they also knew that they couldn't do anything until the time was right. So, the two stopped walking and merely watched the scene unfold right in front of them.

"Gally…" Winston spoke up. "This doesn't feel right, man."

"Yeah, what if Thomas is right?" Jeff added. "Maybe he can lead us home."

"We are home, okay?" Gally argued, causing Hope to silently clench her jaw. "I don't wanna have to cross any more names off that wall."

Teresa sighed. "You really think banishing us is gonna solve anything?"

"No." Gally shook his head knowingly. "But this isn't a banishing… It's an offering."

"What? …Wait!" Just then, Teresa shouted when Dan suddenly pushed her up against a wooden pole. And while the boy started tying her up, Teresa only continued shouting. "Gally, what're you doing?!"

"You really think that I'm gonna let Thomas back into the Maze after what he has done?!" Gally yelled back. "Look around you! Look at our Glade! This is the only way!" As Gally was addressing everyone, Minho and Newt shared a meaningful look. "And when the Grievers get what they came here for, everything goes back to the way it was!"

"A-Are you listening to this?!" Teresa countered. "Why are you all just standing there?! He's crazy!"

"Will you shut up?" Gally snapped, yet Teresa only continued.

"If you stay here, the Grievers are going to come back! They're gonna come back, and they're gonna keep coming back! Until you're all dead!"

"Shut up! And tie him up!" But when Gally ordered the two boys standing beside a "limp" Thomas, they both hesitated. That only made Gally more furious, though. "Did you hear me?! Tie him up!"

However, the second that the two boys tried to pick Thomas up, Thomas "awoke" from his slumber. He stabbed one of his elbows into one boy's stomach, causing this boy to drop his spear; then, using that spear, Thomas hit the second boy across the head, causing either of them to fall to the ground. Behind him, Newt used the handle of his machete to wack another boy's head, while Teresa kicked Dan where the sun didn't shine. Likewise, Frypan ran up and cut Teresa's ropes, setting her free. And when Gally tried to intervene himself, Minho came up from behind and placed his own machete against Gally's neck, stopping the boy in his tracks. Then, seeing that the situation was "under control," Hope and Hugo led Chuck to the opening. With Thomas pointing his spear toward everyone (Newt, Frypan, Teresa, and Minho standing on either side of him), Hope walked up to stand beside them. She hid Chuck behind her body, her bow and arrow ready to shoot. Even Hugo was growling, ready for anything.

"Wow…" Gally scoffed upon seeing Hope choose her side. "You're full of surprises, aren't you?"

"You don't have to come with us, but we are leaving," Thomas announced, his spear still pointed at Gally. "Anyone else who wants to come, now is your last chance!"

"Don't listen to him!" Gally protested. "He's just trying to scare you!"

"No, I'm not trying to scare you!" Thomas protested right back. "You're already scared! Alright, I'm scared." But when Thomas admitted this, Gally's eyes widened a fraction of a bit. "But I'd rather risk my life out there than spending the rest of it in here… We don't belong here. Th-This place isn't our home. We were put here - we were trapped here. At least, out there, we have a choice. We can make it outta here. I know that."

It took a few moments, but eventually, boys started walking past Gally. Some stayed put, but others moved on. And despite the tense situation, Hope had to smile upon seeing Thomas move so many people. His words made them want to follow him, and his bravery made them brave as well. It was true that Thomas' appearance may have set in motion the destruction of the Glade, but it also set in motion their freedom from the Glade. For so very long, this place had caused so much heartache, trauma, and misery. And it took until Thomas came along for those boys to find the courage within themselves to fight against it. To rage war against what life had chosen for them. Undoubtedly, Thomas could move people; he could wash all of the uncertainty away. Thomas was a leader: someone that Hope would follow… anywhere.

"Gally, it's over," Thomas eventually said once Winston, Jeff, and a few other boys were standing beside him. "Just come with us."

But when Gally didn't respond, Hope's smile vanished, because she knew exactly what he was about to say. Hence, putting her arrow back into her pouch, Hope carefully took a few things out of her pocket. Then, without a single worry in her mind, Hope walked up to Gally and smiled up at him. "Hey."

"What…?" Gally mumbled in complete confusion. "What're you-"

It was safe to say that Gally - and everyone else - was completely taken aback. Particularly when Hope's hand found Gally's wrist, lifted up his hand, and she placed her hand atop of his own. Furthermore, after delicately placing her two things onto Gally's palm, Hope smiled the warmest of smiles. "These are for you. Mine are a little withered now, but I still cherish them as much as I did the day you gave them to me. And I always will. I will always cherish what you've given me, Gally, because I cherish you. Even if you're angry, even if we're on opposite sides, I will never let my feelings for you wither."

Hope softly swiped her hand away from Gally's, allowing the sun to finally shine upon her two little things. Orange flowers with a black and yellow center lay on Gally's hand: the same flowers that he'd gifted Hope. He'd seen her admiring them on her second day, so when she'd fainted, Gally wanted to give her what she admired; but now, Hope was giving Gally what she admired. The things that Hope saw as beautiful, that she saw as precious, she was gifting Gally. After all he had done, her feelings hadn't changed. He was still worthy of her kindness. Similarly, seeing that Gally wasn't able to respond, Hope backed up and stood beside her friends once more. They were each showing her surprised looks except… for Frypan.

"Be happy, man," Siggy told his best friend, causing Gally's eyes to turn even sadder. "Just be happy."

With that, everyone on Thomas' side made their way into the Maze, never seeing the Glade again.

Amongst the group running through the Maze, there was a quietness. A silence between them. They understood that there was no turning back, and they understood how close to death they were getting. Nevertheless, the group ran through that old, decaying maze without a single stop. The act of running was the only thing keeping them from freezing with fear, because they knew, around any corner, a Griever could be waiting. Their deaths could be waiting. And, for some, they sadly would die. Today, they would lose their lives and become yet another victim to the Maze. But, at least, they had tried. They had tried to do more than just survive - they fought for their lives. They wanted to know whoever did this to them that, in fact, they weren't tools to be used. That they weren't worthless or disposable. That they'd fight for their freedom regardless of what trauma they'd been put through. They were alive. And they were brave.

Their imprisonment had given them strength.

So, Thomas' group was able to run through the Maze without any problem. Following Minho and Thomas' lead, the group found themselves right next to the Grievers' home. They all hid behind a stone wall next to the entrance, and Thomas peeked his head around it to find that someone was home. A Griever was at the end of the large corridor, and Thomas gulped while fully hiding his body behind the wall once more.

"Is it a Griever?" Chuck asked, seeing the dire expression on Thomas' face.

"Yeah," Thomas replied honestly, making everyone let out huffs or scoffs. "One's there."

"Chuck, you take this," Minho acknowledged as he held out the "key" to Chuck. "Stay behind us."

"Just stay with us, okay?" Hope said in a calming tone. "Teresa and I are gonna help you."

"Right." Teresa nodded. "We got you."

"...And Hugo," Hope looked down at her dog, "stay by Chuck."

Immediately, Hugo walked up to Chuck and licked his hand. This managed to make Chuck smile, which was something almost impossible to do at that very moment. Still, with the key now in Chuck's hand, two girls and one dog protecting him, Thomas knew that it was finally time.

"Once we're through, the key will activate, and the door will open," Thomas stated, showing every single person a stern stare. "We stay close, we stick together, we get through this. We get out now, or we die trying… Ready?" Then, without hearing any objections, and seeing everyone nod, Thomas readied his spear. "Alright… LET'S GO!"

The events that happened next, happened too fast and too sporadic to actually put into full detail. Every single person in that group had a role to play, and each of their actions caused a rippling effect for the other members. They each ran toward the Griever, ready for anything and everything that life would throw their way. If one person put up their spear, another would as well. If one of them charged at the Griever, many others would as well. They followed one another's lead, and weren't afraid to risk everything to accomplish their goal. Even when Chuck had the key thrown out of his hand, the boy ran after it without a single hesitation; even when it flew over the edge, Chuck dangled over that edge to catch it. Though, of course, Teresa and Hope (plus Hugo, if you count him biting onto Chuck's clothes) caught the boy and pulled him back up.

"Nice, Chuck!" Hope beamed with pride. "That was awesome!"

"Th-Thanks," Chuck gulped, "but look!"

A few days ago, this boy wouldn't even step into the Maze. And now, Chuck was facing multiple Grievers at once. Obviously, he wouldn't face them for long, because the group of four instantly turned around and ran away from the monsters. Chuck yelled for Thomas, who immediately rushed into action and used his spear to push the Grievers back. Again, this caused a rippling effect, since all the other boys instantly helped Thomas out with this. At that moment, they each were one brave weapon. Likewise, the group of two girls, one boy, and one dog spritinted over toward the wall at the end of the corridor. This was supposedly where the key was supposed to work and open something up. And, well, it surprisingly worked.

"It works!" Chuck cheered as the stone wall slowly started lifting upward. "It really worked!"

"Then go!" Thomas shouted, still fighting off a Griever. "Go now!"

Hearing this, the group sprinted into the smaller corridor, which had even more stone walls that lifted upon sensing the key's entrance. Then, once the group reached the end of the corridor, Hope turned around and readied her bow with an arrow. As Chuck and Teresa were trying to figure out how to open the final door, Hope pointed her weapon toward the monsters. She started firing her arrows at the Grievers, striking them in various places. Though, Hope could tell that nothing was going to stop those things. Even with multiple spears and arrows hitting it, the Grievers kept pushing forward. But all of a sudden, after Hope had shot yet another arrow, she noticed a bright red light illuminate the space. There was also a machine-like sound, which made Hope turn around and see a circular red screen with numbers on it. However, unlike Hope and Chuck, Teresa seemed to know what to do.

"Thomas!" Teresa yelled after turning around and standing beside Hope. "There's a code! Eight numbers!"

"...Eight sections of the Maze," Thomas muttered to himself, his brain clicking almost instantly. Moreover, while he continued to spear the Grievers, Thomas looked over at Minho beside him. "Hey, Minho! What's the sequence?!"

"What…?!" Minho yelled, prompting Thomas to say it once more.

"The sections of the Maze! What's the sequence?!"

"S-Seven! One!" Right when Minho started shouting this, Teresa turned back around and started tapping on the red screen. "Five! Two! Uh, Six! Four!"

Right then, Newt noticed something from above. Something quite terrifying, actually. "HEADS UP!"

A third Griever entered from above, falling through the darkness and right onto Minho. In a stroke of luck, Minho was able to stick his spear into the monster's mouth, making it unable to bite it; regardless, that small stick didn't help him get the enormous creature off of him. From where Hope stood, she could hear Minho yelling in fear, and a terror shot through her own body. Not Minho, Hope thought. Please, not Minho. However, right when Hope was about to run up and help, someone else took her place. Jeff charged the Griever with his spear, piercing through its head. This action gave Minho the time to move away from the Griever's grasp, but sadly, it didn't give Jeff enough time to get away as well.

"JEFF!" Winston bellowed, seeing his friend get stung. When he tried to help his screaming friend, though, Frypan held him back. This caused Jeff to get pulled away by the Griever, never to be seen again. Now, the group was much closer to the end of the corridor, yet the door was still not open. The red screen continued to lock everyone in.

"Minho! The sequence!" Chuck ordered. "Come on!"

"Uhm, Six! Four! Eight! Three!" Minho replied, allowing Teresa to punch in the final numbers. "You got it?!"

A green light. A green light replaced the red one, illuminating the area. Hope looked behind her and saw the word 'Complete' on the screen. BOOM! But just then, Hope heard a loud sound and something shake the ground. She snapped her head back toward the group, seeing that portions of the corridor were getting blocked by falling stone walls. Those walls were even large and strong enough to start squashing and trapping the Griever's within them. With two Grievers down, there was only one more to go; this one was closest to the group, but the moment it tried to run toward them, Thomas threw his spear straight into the creature's mouth. This allowed the final wall to squash the Griever, effectively making its body spalt in all directions. But unlike last time, no one got to see the grossness before another door closed… and darkness enveloped them all.

Click. It was a low-sounding click, but it was a click nevertheless. And with that click, came a dim white light. It looked like a large door had opened up, which was where the light was coming from. Teresa was the closest to the door, so she carefully opened it up further. Hugo was the first to walk through the door, sniffing his nose on the ground like any dog did the first time they'd been somewhere. Similarly, upon seeing this, Teresa followed behind the dog and walked into the dimly-lit room. And when Teresa walked in, everyone else - naturally - did as well. They were still in a shake of shock, of course, but the fact that they'd finally found the way out, made them unable to stop walking. In those moments, none of those teenagers could cry about their lost friends. All they could do was keep walking and figure out the truth.

"Holy…" Hope murmured once she'd entered the space. What she saw was a hallway that went far, far, far in either direction. You couldn't even see the end of the hallway - it was merely blackness. Lining the stone walls were pipes, which somehow made the space even eerier. But then, once everyone had fully walked into this hallway, the ceiling lights suddenly started turning on. Boom, boom, boom! They went. Boom, boom, boom! And they continued to make this noise for as far as the hallway went. Everyone looked at one another in surprise, yet they already knew what they needed to do. They needed to follow the light. If not, they'd get stuck in the darkness once more.

As the group walked, the only sound being heard were their footsteps echoing through the hallway, not a single word being spoken. There were scars and wounds and blood and sweat lining everyone's skin. They had been through a battle. A battle that didn't last very long, yet had taken years to accomplish. Again, those teenagers were in a state of shock for multiple reasons, so there truly was no reason for them to speak, since they were all experiencing the same things. They felt sad, but also relieved. They felt uneasy, but also content. They felt scared, but also couldn't run anymore. There were no words to describe such mixed emotions, so they could only walk. Together.

All of a sudden, however, Hope felt something warm wrap around her hand. It was a familiar warmth. A comforting warmth from a comforting person. Usually, Hope would freeze or pull away. But not this time. No, she couldn't pull away from that warmth. Therefore, Hope intertwined her fingers with Newt's, and the boy squeezed her hand back. It was true that Hope still didn't know what this warmth meant. She didn't know why Newt had such a power over her. Nonetheless, Hope would accept it, because she couldn't resist it. Newt was the only person in the whole world… that could make Hope choose and want to be comforted.

But then, the group came to an abrupt stop. Hope looked up from the ground, looked at Thomas at the front of the line, and then followed where his eyes were looking. They were now standing in front of a door that had a glowing green sign that read 'Exit' on it. Frypan just had to scoff. "Seriously?"

Trying his best to ignore the irony of the situation, Thomas walked up, pulled down on the door handle, and opened it up with a creak. However, what the group saw behind that door, made all of their eyes widen in shock. Bodies. Dead bodies. Blood. Blood leaking from dead bodies. Alarm. There was an alarm going off as well, which was accompanied by flashing orange lights. Thomas slowly stepped into the long room, everyone even more slowly following behind him. So as Hope walked into the room, she gulped at the terrifying sight she was seeing. Because not only were there bodies lying on the floor, there were also bodies lying in other rooms; these rooms had a window looking into them, so everyone could see the horrid, bloody sight. Whatever had happened there, had ended very badly. Someone had been angry. So very angry.

"What happened here?" Winston asked the million-dollar question, but no one was able to answer it. Hence, after they'd all reached the end of the room, they stepped through another set of doors. These doors lead into a larger room, which was in the same state as the one previous. Worse even. Everything was broken, there were more bodies lying around, and more blood everywhere. The biggest difference, though, was how technological it looked: there were computers, monitors, futuristic machines that no one could put a name on. Still, the first thing that Newt and Hope walked up to were the monitors they saw off on the far wall. Once they were standing in front of them, they both shared a knowing look.

"So they were watchin' us?" Newt muttered. "This whole time."

"Seems so," Hope sighed and then looked back at the monitors. They were showing multiple angles of the Glade, and you could even see some of the remaining boys in them. "They were watching our every move, waiting for us to do something."

"This is crazy…" Frypan shook his head, staring at the monitors as well. "Completely crazy."

"We really were just test subjects," Minho added while glancing around the whole room. "That's all we were to these people."

Chuck gulped. "But why…?"

Beep! But unlike Winston, Chuck would get his answer right away. Thomas had pressed a red button on one of the monitors, which caused a beeping sound and the largest of monitors to appear at the end of the room. On this monitor, a woman with blonde hair and an older face appeared. She had perfectly white clothes, red lipstick, and behind the woman in the video, everyone could see people with white lab coats walking around. The white lab coats were what all the dead bodies were wearing, too.

"Hello." But when the woman actually spoke, Hope's heart stopped. "My name is Doctor Ava Paige."

"...Hope?" Newt whispered, immediately noticing Hope's distress. "Hope, what's-"

"Th-That's her," Hope stuttered out, causing Newt's eyes to widen in response. "That's the woman's voice."

More so, her name: Doctor Ava Paige. It made Hope's baffled, sacred heart feel even worse.

"I'm Director of Operations of World in Catastrophe: Killzone Experiment Department," Ava Paige continued, while everyone, beside Newt and Hope, walked toward the screen. " If you're watching this, that means you've successfully completed the Maze Trails. I wish I could be there in person to congratulate you, but circumstances seemed to have prevented it. I'm sure by now, you must all be very confused, angry, frightened. I can only assure you that everything that's happened to you, everything we've done to you, was all done for a reason." Behind her, they could all see the people in white lab coats start running around in a panicked state. "You won't remember, but the Sun has scorched our world. Billions of lives lost to fire. Famine. Suffering on a global scale. The fallout was unimaginable. But what came after was worse.

"We called it the Flare. A deadly virus that attacks the brain. It is violent, unpredictable, incuracle." Furthermore, horrifying pictures popped up on the screen. Despite the woman's calm tone continuing on with her story, the pictures were anything but that. "Or so we thought. In time, a new generation emerged that could survive the virus. Suddenly, there was a reason to hope for the cure. But finding it would not be easy. The young would have to be tested, even sacrificed inside harsh environments where their brain activity could be studied. All in an effort to understand what makes them different… What makes you different.

"You may not realize it, but you're very important. Unfortunately, your trials have only begun. As you will no doubt soon discover, not everyone agrees with our methods. Progress is slow, people are scared. It may be too late for us, for me, but for you. The outside world awaits." Suddenly, behind the woman, muffled shouts and screams were being heard. People were running, things were exploding, and there were people with guns entering the scene. "And remember," Ava Paige unexpectedly put a gun to her temple, "W.I.C.K.E.D is good."

BANG! The gun went off, and her blood splattered everywhere. Everyone prompting looked away from the gruesome scene… except for one person.

"...Mph." Hugo nuzzled Hope's shaking hand. "Mm."

There was no doubt in Hope's mind: that was the woman in her dreams. The way they spoke, the way their voice sounded, the way Hope felt: everything was spot on. But what scared Hope the most was that this was the woman that caused all of her friends' trauma. This woman, who always told Hope kind things in her sleep, was the person that had hurt her friends. Whatever the Flare was, whatever the Sun had done, didn't compare to the fear that Hope was feeling toward that woman. Since, however hard she tried, Hope couldn't seem to hate this "Ava Paige" for what she'd done. Not fully, at least. Moreover, Hope's heart practically ripped in two upon seeing that woman's suicide. Hope couldn't seem to accept it. She didn't want to. It hurt too much.

Ava Paige was someone special to Hope.

But why?

However, a metal door unexpectedly opened up with a loud siren attached to it. This made Hope snap out of her trance, while also allowing her to notice the scared and sympathetic look on Newt's face. The look made Hope smile sadly. "It's okay."

"You sure?"

"Not really, but I'll get through it."

In response, Newt nodded and then showed Hope over to the others. They were all standing before the now open door, which led into yet another dark corridor. Everyone was just standing there, uncertainty and anticipation swirling in their eyes.

"I-Is it over?" Chuck asked.

"She said… we were important," Newt mumbled. "But, well, what're we supposed to do now?"

They all gazed toward Thomas, hoping that he'd have an answer. But in the heat of that moment, the only thing Thomas could come up with was something quite simple. "I don't know… Let's just get outta here."

"No." It was a familiar voice that objected, but it wasn't at all an expected one. One of the most unexpected of all, really. It was so unexpected that every ounce of relief that the group had felt, swept away the second they heard that voice. Slowly turning around, the group saw a shaking boy with tears in his eyes. His name… being Gally.

"G-Gally?" But when Thomas tried to walk up to him, Teresa stopped him.

"Don't. He's been stung."

"We can't leave," Gally sobbed, and it was then that everyone noticed… the gun in his hand. "W-We can't."

"We did," Thoams tried to console. "Gally, we're out… We're free."

Hope's eyes started to water. There was so much pain in Gally's eyes, and he was obviously going through so much suffering. Mentally and physically, Gally was suffering more than anyone. Hope didn't know how Gally had gotten through the Maze, she didn't know why he'd suddenly changed his mind, she didn't even know why he had a gun, but… but what she did know was that her friend was in pain. And she wanted to help him. However, maybe he was beyond saving.

"'Free'?" Gally growled back Thomas' final word. "Y-You think we're free out there? No. N-No, there's no escape from this place."

"G-Gally…!" Hope shouted when she saw Gally lift up his gun. "Gally, please don't! It's… It's going to be okay."

"Just listen to us, okay?" Thoams added, deliberately lifting his hands. "You're not thinking straight. You're not. Now, we can help you. Just put down the gun."

Gally's hands started shaking more. "I belong to the Maze."

"J-Just put down the gun." Thomas continued to try. "Put. It. Down."

"Gally…" Hope shook her head. "Please."

"We all," a tear fell down Gally's cheek, "belong to the Maze."

BANG!

"Ruff!"

Mere moments. That was all it took for five things to happen all at once. First: Gally shot his gun toward Thomas. Two: Minho threw his spear toward Gally. Three: Chuck jumped in front of Thomas. Four: Gally fell to the ground with a spear through his lung. And five: Hope fell to the ground… with a bullet in her upper-abdomen. This girl had seen Chuck jump in front of Thomas, so Hope jumped in front of Chuck. No, she couldn't allow herself to let either of them die. Yes, she'd rather die herself than never seeing Chuck or Thomas die. There was no question about it. No hesitation whatsoever. Hence, Hope did fall to the ground with intense pain coursing through her body. Hence, the second that Newt felt Hope's hand leave his, utter terror coursed through his own body. Same with everyone else when they saw Hope fall to the ground.

"HOPE!" Everyone shouted her name, yet despite how close their bodies were to her, they sounded so very muffled. Far away even. As Hope lay on that cold, hard ground, she saw everyone she ever cared about either kneeling beside her or hovering over her. Her vision was blurry, but she could still see the worry on their faces. Hope… didn't want to see them worried. That was the last thing she wanted. If her friends were in pain, then Hope was too. If her friends cried, then Hope did too. And some of them were crying, and all of them were in pain. She heard them. She felt them.

"Hope, why?!" Chuck yelled. "Why would you do that?!"

"W-We need to put pressure on the wound, right?!" Winston stammered. "What would Clint and Jeff do?!"

"We don't have anything to help her!" Teresa acknowledged. "Even if we did that, the bullet's still in there! And we have nothing to get it out!"

"Hope, no…" Frypan murmured as he shook his head. "Please don't be doin' this to us."

"You gotta make it!" Minho protested. "You have to! You're stronger than this!"

"C'mon, Hope!" Thomas pleaded, placing his hand onto hers. "Stay with us! Don't go anywhere!"

Even though their voices were muffled, Hope heard every single word. And their care for her, their heartfelt words, made Hope start crying. Especially when she heard Newt's voice. "Y-You better not do this to me, you hear me?" Newt's voice was shaking, and Hope could just hear that he was crying. Furthermore, she felt his hand fall against her cheek, his touch somehow… cold. "You gotta… You gotta stay with me, okay? You're not bloody leavin' me. I… I can't… I can't lose you, Hope."

Now, once Hope had heard everyone's voice, the tears got even worse. Because of their words, Hope had started to remember her time in the Glade - the memories she'd made. She remembered her first day when she awoken to everyone staring down at her; she remembered trying Fry's food for the first time; she remembered her first bonfire; she remembered Alby giving her her room; she remembered finding those flowers in the woods; she remembered her first time seeing the Wall of Names; she remembered cooking with Frypan for the first time; she remembered making chocolate for Frypan; she remembered Chuck finding her in the shower; she remembered cleaning with him; she remembered Gally helping her make her bow and arrows; she remembered those fireflies Newt showed her; she remembered having her first real conversation with Minho; she remembered the food war; she remembered the boys barging into her room; she remembered Thomas' arrival; she remembered running into the Maze with him like an idiot; she remembered everything that she'd experienced, and regardless of all the pain of today, Hope could only smile. She may have been crying, there may have been a bullet in her chest, yet Hope smiled.

If this was the end for her, then Hope was content with that. She'd been happy. She'd accomplished something amazing. She'd helped her friends. And that… that was all Hope needed. However, there was one thing that she still needed to say.

"L-Look… Look after Hugo for me, alright?" Hope said through the pain. Then, after giving Hugo one last head rub, Hope moved her hand upward. That same hand found Newt's cheek, and when she felt his skin against her own, Hope could feel his wet tears. "Don't… Don't give up, Newt. You are the most… amazing person I know."

Blackness. In the next second, Hope only saw blackness. And, at that moment, the blackness was welcomed. If this was the end, then Hope would be fine with that. Hope… had been lost.

A/N: I apologize, but the next chapter will probably come out later than usual. I'm a little behind, since this chapter took a long time for me to write. Though, I guess that that's a good thing in regards to building suspense, right?