Chapter 15
He looked horrible.
His shirt was torn in several places, and there were long bloody scratches showing on the bare skin.
The black veins had spread, now reaching to his hands and up his jaw.
His hair was dirty and limp, patches torn out, leaving bloody scabs.
When he looked up at the sound of our approaching feet, I saw that his eyes were red and bloodshot, his face gaunt and hollow.
His eyes made contact with mine, and I saw complete madness had taken root in his brain.
He turned towards us, slumping to his left side.
When he realized who we were, the madness was replaced with blazing anger.
He slammed his fist on the table, making us jump.
"I thought I told you shanks not to follow me!" He yelled, his voice sounding torn and raw.
I glanced at the others, then stepped forward. Gabe's head snapped over and he stared at me.
"Gabe, just listen. We can help you. Please, just come back with us." I pleaded.
He glared at me, his eyes raging with fire.
"You. I told you to let me go. Let me leave." He snarled at me.
I caught my breath, stepping back as he advanced.
"Seeing you here, ignoring what I told you. It makes me sick." He growled, his voice dripping with venom.
I stumbled back, my heart drowning in a vast black pit.
He lurched forwards, grabbing my shoulders.
"I should kill you! I hate you! If you ever did care about me, you wouldn't be HERE!" He screamed at me.
I panicked, trying to wriggle free, but despite his poor conditions, he was still very strong.
The madness had returned, mixing with the anger pooling in his eyes.
Joan and Will had tried to rush forwards to help me, but the guards held them back.
I realized I was on my own, and I had to try my best to help myself.
I tossed my hair back with a flick of my head, and stared calmly into his eyes.
"Maybe, but what would Vic think?" I asked him steadily.
His eyes widened, and his grip loosened.
I kept going.
"She was your closest friend before me. Do you really think she'd want you to escape the Maze, just to go insane and kill me?" I asked cruelly, my heart racing.
He let go, and took a step back.
I walked up to him, and he scrambled back a few paces. When I looked in his eyes, all I saw were fear and pain.
He held his head in his hands, breaking our eye contact.
"I'm so sorry, guys. But you see why you need to leave me. I'm not getting any better." He mumbled.
I saw a tear run down his face and splash on the ground.
My heart lurched, and I ran forward, embracing him in my arms.
He tried to break away, but I kept holding him, tears streaming down my face. Eventually he gave up, and hugged me back briefly.
When I stepped away, I saw his face was streaked with tears.
His eyes hardened, and a flash of insanity dripped back into them.
My heart sped up, and I stepped back.
Gabe turned to look at his guards.
"Lock 'em up." He said icily.
Then he turned his back to us as the guards dragged us away.
The guards had thrown us into an empty room with an open doorway that was partially boarded up, and guarded at all times.
I sat in the corner, my insides were numb with shock.
Gabe had always been a solid presence, keeping me stable like the roots of a tree.
And now it was like the roots had been ripped from the ground, tipping the tree over onto its side, left to rot.
With a start, I remembered the tattoos on our necks. Gabe's had labeled him as The Roots, and I remembered Janson reading out his name on the list of non-immunes.
All the sadness inside me was burned away by a boiling rage for WICKED. This was all their fault.
I looked up at Will and Joan for the first time since we'd been thrown in the cell.
Joan and Will looked at me expectantly, sensing my change of heart.
I stood up, and stretched.
"We need an escape plan." I stated, my voice rough from lack of water.
Will nodded.
"Sure, but how are we going to do that with only one fully able-bodied person?" He asked, waving vaguely in my direction.
Joan leaned her back against the wall.
"Well, maybe we don't have to do anything." She said flatly.
Me and Will turned to stare at her slowly.
"What the shuck do you mean, Joan?" He asked her.
Joan shrugged.
Will glanced in my direction, then scrambled over to where Joan was sitting.
"What the shuck are you talking about?" He asked more fiercely.
Joan looked between me and him, then put her head in her hands.
"I knew you still loved him, Cleo." She said, looking up at me.
"But I also knew that your love blinded you from the truth, so I got backup." She smiled sheepishly.
Me and Will stared at her.
"What did you-" Will started, but was cut off by a loud banging sound.
There were yells and shouts, and I hurried over to the door.
I peeked through the boards, and saw people crashing through the flimsy walls, waving guns and knives.
I turned back to Will and Joan.
"It's looks like an invasion. There's about three hundred people breaking in right now." I informed them.
A loud crashing sound came from right in front of our cell. I whirled around just in time to see our guard disappear.
A different shadow crossed the boards. Bright blue eyes peered through the slit at us.
"They're in here!" A very familiar voice shouted.
Charlie.
W
I ran up to the doorway.
"Charlie!" I called through the cracks.
Her shadow appeared right in front of me, her eyes shining with relief.
"Thank the bloody gods Joan told us to be backup. Who knows if you shanks would've even survived the buggin' night before these lunatics ate you." She smiled, a welcome sight.
Suddenly, a sharp blade sliced through the wood, breaking the flimsy boards.
Bits stood next to Charlie, holding an old, rusty axe.
"Whoops, probably should have told you to step back a bit first." She speculated.
I went back and helped Will with getting Joan to her feet.
When we stepped out of the room, we saw two things.
One, was that they had gathered all the Cranks and were herding them into a guarded room.
The second thing was that they had tied Gabe to a chair and were pointing Launchers at him.
I stumbled over a piece of splintered wood on the floor, then rushed over to them.
"What the hell are you shanks doing?" I asked angrily, shoving between the weapon wielders.
Gabe was slumped against the chair, his eyes empty and staring at the floor.
At first, I thought he was dead, but he raised his head at the sound of my voice.
I kneeled down beside him, resting one of my hands on his knees.
"Gabe? Are you okay?" I asked softly.
His eyes stared into mine, suddenly lighting with anger.
He screeched, an in-human sound with no words. He lunged at me, his jaw snapping and his arms struggling against the restraints.
I yelped and scrambled back, as an armed man whacked Gabe in the side of his head with the butt of his gun.
Gabe stopped struggling, coughing blood onto the sand at his feet.
He looked up, and this time the anger in his eyes were replaced with pain.
"Please….You have to-" His croaky words were cut off by a retching sound, and then he collapsed into a coughing fit, spewing dark, bloody mucus all over the sand.
My heart wrenched and my gut twisted.
I turned to the guards.
"Let me be with him. Alone." I commanded.
They looked at each other, then nodded. One handed me a pistol.
As soon as they were gone, Gabe glanced at me.
"You should leave me. I'm close to the Gone, if not already there." He whispered, his voice raw and rough sounding.
I felt tears starting to stream down my face again.
"I-I can't leave you. Not again." I stuttered, sniffing.
His eyes softened.
"You have to. Just promise me you'll remember me from the good days." He smiled sadly, his teeth stained with his own blood.
I nodded slowly.
I got up to leave, but he his head started jerking from side to side. His whole body started spasming.
I jumped back with a yelp when he almost kicked my face.
Then, as suddenly as it had started, it stopped.
His arms twitched, and he started violently struggling against the ropes, making low, snarling sounds.
I stepped back just as the first thread snapped.
He kept twisting his arms and kicking his legs, until the ropes binding him started to steadily break.
He screeched, a loud, jagged cry.
Then he leaped at me.
I scrambled back, screaming as his body slammed into mine.
The force of the blow threw me to the ground, knocking the wind out of me. While I lay there, gasping for breath, Gabe held his weight over me so I couldn't get up.
His hands held down my shoulders, while his knees squeezed my torso to hold me in place.
I struggled against his grip, trying to kick him off.
There were shouts in the distance, but I barely heard them.
My hand was hovering over the pistol, slowly wrapping my fingers around the handle.
Gabe writhed on top of me, screeching and yelling.
"Kill me, Cleo! Make right what you did wrong! KILL ME!" He screamed, little splatters of blood flying from his mouth.
He grabbed my hand holding the pistol, and held it against his chest.
The insanity in his eyes had clearly taken over his whole brain. I could tell the last of his sanity was quickly fading.
I tried to pull away the gun, but his grip was firm.
Then, for one moment only, his eyes cleared.
"Do it Cleo. Please." He gasped, his voice begging for mercy.
I shook my head, my eyes pooling with tears.
Then I pulled the trigger.
For a moment, time seemed to stop.
Gabe smiled for the last time.
"I love you." He whispered, a faint cry in the breeze.
Then he took his last breath, and stilled. Forever.