A New World
When Hope's eyes closed, everyone went crazy. Panic shot through their bodies, which also caused disbelief to take its course. There were six stages of grief, and disbelief was the hardest one to hurdle over. Though, it was sort of a luxury. There might have been tears streaming down each of their faces, but disbelief would be the only emotion they'd feel. And again, disbelief was a luxury, because it didn't allow the sadness to take its full course. Disbelief didn't allow the excruciating pain to reach the heart just yet. However, luckily for this certain group of teenagers and one dog, they would never have time to reach anger: the second stage of grief. The cruel world was about to give the teenagers a second chance; the cruel world was about to give Hope a second chance at living a better life. It wouldn't be easy, though, of course.
Those kids would have to fight for their hope.
From the large metal door that opened up into the outside world, men stormed into the area. Those men had guns, cloth covering their faces, and looked precisely like the ones in that video. Moreover, the second that they reached those kids, they started pulling them away from Hope's body. Obviously, the boys started fighting back, not wanting to leave Hope behind in spite of their disbelief. She isn't gone, they kept telling themselves. We have to save her! But, surprisingly, one of the men said something that made those boys stop struggling.
"Don't worry!" the man shouted. "We're taking her, too! Get the dog!"
Almost instantly, Minho ran up to Hugo, who was still whimpering beside Hope's body, and picked up the large dog. Likewise, right when Minho did this, the same man who had just spoken picked up Hope's limp body. Upon seeing this, each of the boys started following the other men toward the door. And for the first time in a very long time, the teenagers ran into the outside world. It was bright. It was hot. It was sandy and barren. Regardless, the teens didn't have much time to dwell on this as they were dragged into a helicopter. BANG! Furthermore, once everyone was inside, another man closed the aircraft's door and shut the kids in; then, it didn't take long for the helicopter to take off into the air.
"You guys alright?!" the same man yelled from within the aircraft. He even took down the mask hiding his face. "Don't worry! You're safe now! And we're gonna get this girl some help!"
Though, nobody necessarily listened to this man, since the second he set Hope onto the floor, they all flocked around her.
"Y-You're going to be okay," Newt muttered with tears still in his eyes. He placed Hope's head onto his lap, combing the hair away from of her face. "You're going to be fine, you hear me?"
"We're not gonna let you die," Chuck promised as well. He grabbed onto one of Hope's hands. "You're going to stay with us. Forever."
"We're not gonna let you go," Frypan added as he held onto Hope's other hand. "We're right here."
"And some of us need you," Minho stated, glancing over at Hugo nuzzling into Hope's side. "We need you to get through this."
Winston shook his head. "Just don't give up, okay? Please."
"You're one lucky girl, y'know that?" Teresa sighed. "Your heart's just fine."
But there was one boy… One boy who couldn't even utter a single word. As Hope lay in the center of that helicopter, surrounded by all of her friends, Thomas could only sit there and stare. He didn't know why, but seeing Hope in such a state made him feel angry, ashamed, hurt, pained, miserable, even lonely somewhat. Thomas lifted his hand to the center of his chest where Hope was shot, cleaning his shirt into his fist. It was almost like… Thomas felt exactly what Hope was feeling. He felt a bullet in his chest, and it was slowly killing him. But why? Why was he feeling this way? Why did he feel so-
"It's going to be okay, Thomas."
That girl's voice.
"We have each other."
Suddenly, Thomas started to see pictures.
"And that's all we need, right?"
They weren't clear pictures, but they were still images.
"I'm right here."
They were images… of a little girl.
"I promise, we'll be together forever."
A lost, distant memory.
"I'm going to protect you, because…"
The memory of…
"You're my brother."
His sister.
"No way…" Thomas' eyes widened like saucers as he stared over at Hope. "Sh-She can't be…"
The teenagers were tired, but they couldn't sleep. They wouldn't. Until they knew that Hope was going to be okay, none of them were able to even close their eyes. As the helicopter flew over the deserted world below, everyone watched as Hope's chest heaved and stilled; sometimes, Hope would take a large breath in, while other times, she would barely breathe for a few moments. They were all so worried for her, but in reality, that worry should have been ten-times worse. Those teens were about to enter a whole new world. A world in which they knew nothing about anymore. This world was demanding, gross, untrustworthy, and it took until there was nothing left. Moreover, Thomas, Newt, Minho, Teresa, Frypan, Chuck, and Winston were about to find themselves right in the smack-dab middle of everything.
"GO, GO, GO!" The men started yelling the instant the helicopter landed. "WE GOTTA GO!"
"HURRY UP, GUYS!"
"CRANKS! WE GOT CRANKS!"
"GET 'EM OUTTA HERE!"
"IT'S NOT SAFE!"
With Hugo back in Minho's arms, and Hope now in Newt's, the group jumped out of the aircraft and ran across the sandy desert. Above them, the sky was dark and desolate, not a single star up there. But standing before them, was a ginormous stone and metal compound that rose high into the sky. It looked mighty, like not a single thing in the world could penetrate it. Thomas stared up at the building with shock in his eyes, and he couldn't seem to look away from it. Even as guns were being shot around him, Thomas couldn't shake the feeling of distress. And no, it wasn't caused by those guns or the shouting men around him. It was that building in front of him. He didn't feel good about it. Not at all. Regardless, wherever his friends went, Thomas wasn't far behind. So, Thomas ran through the large doors of the building, and those same doors closed immediately after his entrance. BAM!
Minho set Hugo down, while Thomas stood beside him, either of their eyes wide with bafflement. And everyone's eyes were exactly the same, because for all those teens could remember, they had never seen such a building before. Metal beams were everywhere, keeping the structure up; machines were in every corner, supplying people with transportation and materials; people were everywhere, talking to someone or working on something; the ceilings were as tall as the Maze's walls, but instead of the sky, the only thing the teenagers saw was more metal. They were far from the Maze now. Very far.
"Doc!" one of the men abruptly hollered. "Over here! Hurry!"
"I see you!" A woman with dark skin, brown hair, and a white lab coat entered the scene. She sprinted over toward the group, her stethoscope already ready to go. "Gunshot wound to the chest, correct?"
"Correct," the man affirmed. "She's still alive. Barely."
"I can see that," the woman said, placing her stethoscope against Hope's chest. "She's lost a lot of blood. We need to get her into surgery. Bring over the bed!" However, when two men suddenly walked up and tried to take Hope out of Newt's arms, the boy took an instant step back. Similarly, everyone rushed to stand in front of Newt, blocking the strangers' way to Hope. "Excuse me? What's this about?"
"You're not taking her," Thomas growled in response to the woman's question. "We don't even know you."
"Look, I get that you're worried, but last I've checked, none of you kids can help her. She's better off with me," the woman argued. "And we need to hurry, because if we don't, your girl's going to die. Now, I need you to hand over the girl, so we can-"
"How do we know you're gonna help her?" Thomas asked, causing the woman to let out a loud huff.
"You're just gonna have to trust me."
"And why should we?" Minho furthered, causing the women to let out another huff.
"Do you wanna argue? Or do you want her to die? Your choice."
That comment made everyone stop. They were sleep-deprived, they were traumatized, and they didn't know how to handle any of… this. None of them wanted to hand Hope to someone they didn't even know, yet they also didn't want her to die. That would have been the worst possible outcome. Thomas, Newt, Minho, Teresa, Frypan, Chuck, and Winston each shared a look, and every one of those looks said something without a single word being spoken between them. Then, once their "conversation" had come to a consensus, everyone's eyes found Newt's. And Newt… Well, Newt being the practical one, knew exactly what he needed to do. Therefore, Newt walked past his friends and toward the medial bed, carefully placing Hope down onto it. But before he let go of her, he leaned over to place a kiss against her forehead.
"I need to tell you something when you wake up, okay?" Newt whispered into her ear. "Stay safe."
Seconds later, Hope was wheeled away on that bed and out of everyone's sight. Hugo stayed at Chuck's side, who was still crying guilty tears. It was true that the dog wanted to stay with Hope, but the dog also knew - deep within his subconscious - that a crying human was something to comfort. And Hugo also knew - deep within his subconscious - that Hope would prefer that he stayed with a crying human. Thus, Hugo licked Chuck's hand, trying his best to comfort the young boy. Oh, but little did Hope's friends know what Hope was about to remember. They had no idea what she was about to go through. Hope was about to remember everything.
Every. Single. Thing.
The next thing that the teenagers knew, they were led through hallways and then pushed into a room. Then, once they were all inside that room, the door had slammed shut behind them, a locking-sound promptly echoing through the room right after. Almost immediately, Thomas had turned around to start banging on the door, demanding whoever was around to let them out. Although, when he heard lights flickering on, Thomas stopped and turned back around. But what he saw in that room lined with boxes, made Thomas forget all about the girl's voice and the uneasiness he felt. Because in the middle of that room, sat a long table with copious amounts of amazing-looking food. Fruits, vegetables, meats, you name it, and they all looked equally amazing to eat. So, before any of the teens could stop themselves, they each lunged toward the food. More so, only hearing the voices of their hollow stomachs, the group ate the entire table without a single pause.
So now, once the table had been cleared, the group of six (plus Hugo) sat around the room in various places. Frypan leaned against a pillar, feeding Hugo some of his leftovers; Chuck sat beside Hugo, petting the fur on the dog's back; Thomas sat in front of the three, his back leaning against some bags of food; there was also Newt and Teresa who sat across from Thomas, either of them actually sitting on those bags; then, finally, there was Minho, who was just lying his back on the table. Either or, they were still missing someone. And that someone made them quieter.
"I don't know who these people are," Frypan beamed, "but they can cook."
"But…" Teresa took a deep breath. "Who are they really, though? I mean, we don't know anything about 'em."
"Well, we know they're no friends of WICKED," Newt acknowledged, prompting Minho to sit up a little and lean onto his elbow.
"That's good enough for me. You guys think too much. We're free. Enjoy it."
"...Are we?" Chuck posed a question. But this question made everyone's hair on the back of their necks stand up. Not only because of Chuck's pessimistic words, but also because of his tone itself. Chuck had barely talked since the helicopter, and in spite of that, his voice was raspy. The low, depressing voice didn't even sound like Chuck. "Are we free? Because I… I don't feel free."
Frypan gave the boy a weird look. "What're you talkin' about, man?"
"Without Hope here, I feel trapped," Chuck explained, and everyone could see the guilt in his eyes. "I feel like… l-like there's something wrong. And I don't know how to feel better. I feel terrible for what… for what I did."
""What you did"?" Thomas restated, turning his head around to stare at Chuck. "Chuck, seriously, what're you talking about?"
"W-When I saw that Gally was going to shoot you, Thomas, I jumped in front of you," Chuck confessed as tears started forming in his eyes. "I don't know why I did something so stupid, but I did it. A-And Hope saw that, Thomas. She saw what I was about to do, so she jumped in front of me. So if… if I never did that, then-"
"You know she'd kill you for saying that, right?" Suddenly, Newt's voice interjected Chuck's words. "Really, she'd kill you for even bloody thinking it, Chuck. And you know as well as I do that she'd never blame you. Ever."
"I-I know that," Chuck sniffed. "I just-"
"Chuck, if I have to get up and smack you across the head, I will," Minho threatened with a glare in his eyes. "Don't test me."
"And unlike you, I don't think that Hope regrets her decision," Siggy added and then lifted a hand to place it onto Chuck's head. "She adores you, kid. She'd do anything for you."
"Not even Hugo blames you, Chuck," Teresa chimed in, pointing a smile over at the dog. "See? He still loves you."
"Woof!" Hugo barked happily while he jumped up to lick Chuck's cheek. "Woof, woof!"
"Haha! Okay, okay, I get it!" Chuck chuckled, causing everyone to smile upon seeing the innocent sight. However, when Chuck's expression turned serious again, his friends did the same thing. "I feel weird without her, though. I feel… incomplete."
"I think we all do, Chuck," Thomas spoke up for the first time. "But she's… Hope's a strong girl. She can make it through."
"Yeah…" Newt let out a long breath. "She is strong."
It was safe to say that Newt felt exactly what Chuck was feeling, but also a thousand times more powerful in one direction. In this certain direction, Newt didn't feel this friendly care or this "incompleteness" in his heart. Newt felt something that none of his other friends felt, not even close. This boy felt empty without her, and he felt completely shattered. When he saw Hope so close to death - for the second time - Newt was just as close to dying with her. The feeling took Newt back to when Hope had run into the Maze, because exactly like back then, Newt truly thought that Hope was going to die. He thought that he'd have to live a life without her. And that… that was unfathomable. It was sad. It was depressing. It was lonely. It was not what Newt wanted at all.
More than anything in the entire world, Newt wanted…
"You're amazing…"
Once again, Newt was reminded of his feelings.
"You're irreplaceable, Newt."
He was reminded of how much he cherished that girl.
"Your life is important."
And all Newt wanted…
"I'm right here."
Newt just wanted her.
"I-I'm happy that you're alive!"
He wanted to spend his life with her.
"It's okay…"
Every moment, every second with her.
"I'm not going anywhere."
And if the world was adamant on trying to take Hope away from him, then…
"I could never find a single thing annoying about you, Newt."
Then Newt was going to take the chance.
"I adore you, Newt."
Newt would rather tell the truth than live a lie or die with a lie.
"Newt!"
For the first time in his life, Newt wouldn't let someone go.
Bam! But just then, the door to the room suddenly opened. Everyone instantly got to their feet and walked toward the door, where they were each met with an unfamiliar… man. Yes, just a simple man. This man had no gun, no armor, no nothing; he was actually dressed quite nicely in a white turtleneck and a back coat. Plus, his hair and beard were white and brown, both of them perfectly cut. He had sharp blue eyes, pale skin, and a perfect smile on his face. Then, once he finally spoke, that smile only deepened after he showed each of the teens a knowing glance. "You kids doing all right?"
A/N: Friendly reminder that I do not own 'Maze Runner' nor this story. I only own Hope, who if you thought was dead, actually isn't. Sorry. :+}