"Gally, stop," I whispered, taking a tentative step forward. But Gally never wavered; he never stopped pointing the gun at Thomas.
"Come on, Gally. We're free. We can leave now. We can go," Thomas said, his voice begging Gally to put the gun down.
Teresa pulled Thomas back and said, "No. Look. He's been stung."
"No. We can't leave," Gally was crying and his hand was shaking but he didn't waver. I couldn't help but feel bad for him. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Minho adjust his body slightly so he could reach his spear. No. I couldn't believe even someone like Gally would shoot anybody.
"Gally, stop," I whispered again.
"No," he cried. "We belong to the Maze." And all in one moment, Gally pulled the trigger, Chuck jumped forward in front of Thomas, and Minho threw the spear into Gally's chest. The boy who had once attacked me and who had once been a Builder and a leader in our family, fell to the ground and closed his eyes for the very last time. I closed my eyes until I heard Chuck whisper Thomas's name and noticed the blood blooming across Chuck's white shirt.
"No!" I screamed, but it was Thomas who caught him and tried to stem the flow of the blood with his hands. Newt wrapped his arms around me as I sobbed into his shirt; but Thomas wouldn't accept it. I tore myself away from Newt and knelt next to Thomas.
"I'm sorry, Chuck," I whispered and brushed my hand against his frizzy curls.
"Don't be," he whispered and gripped our hands. He placed a little carved figurine in Thomas's hand and whispered, "Give this to my parents for me, Thomas. Please."
"No…no…Chuck, you give it to them yourself," Thomas cried and squeezed Chuck's hand. I heard Teresa crying and even noticed Minho tearing up, but there was nothing we could do.
I pulled a knife out when I heard the doors shudder and a group of men with rifles storm in but I was too unfocused and confused to even get into a fighting stance. Newt gripped my hand and pulled me with him as the men shouldered us out what had once been WICKED headquarters. I could hear Thomas screaming and begging for Chuck to come back. I could hear the helicopter whirring. And I could hear our feet pounding against the sand as we ran to freedom.
For the first time ever, I got new clean clothes and a beautiful warm shower without the usual soap of the Glade. I scrubbed at my tears and hair until I finally felt clean. I don't know how, but the people that had saved us had given me clothes that fit me perfectly; soft flexible jeans with a pocket in the back perfect for a knife, haha, a white cotton tank top, camouflage jacket, and new boots. Teresa worked my hair into a braid and promptly shoved me out of the bathroom so she could shower.
I lay on my bed until I heard a knock at the door. It was Minho and Newt, who were also dressed in fresh new clothes and it even looked like Newt had gotten a hair cut.
"Nice hair," I smiled and closed the door behind me. "What's going on?"
"There's gonna be a meeting in the living room; seems like those people are finally gone and Minho here thought that it would be a good idea to get a chance to talk in private," Newt said, brushing away a loose strand of his blonde-hair.
"Sounds good. Should I tell Teresa?" I said.
"No. Newt here just needs to talk to you," Minho winked at us and walked away.
"Come on," Newt smiled at me. "Let's take a walk." The hallways were dark but it seemed like our section of the huge building was just for us. We sat down on an empty couch.
"So, what's up?" I said after Newt fumbled with his shirt sleeve for a while.
"I just wanted to make sure you were okay," Newt gave me a sweet smile and reached his hand over to brush a loose strand away from my face.
I sighed and leaned my head against his shoulder, "In some ways, I miss the Glade more than anything because that would mean Jeff and Chuck would still be alive. But, they're not. So, yeah, I'm okay with the fact that we're out of that hell hole. What I'm not okay with is not knowing what the hell is going on."
"It wasn't a hole, though," Newt chuckled.
"What?"
"The Glade."
"Oh my god, you did not just say that," I laughed, poking him in the stomach.
"Hey!" he protested and rested a hand on my cheek. "I'm sorry about what I said about…about Ben in the Maze."
"Would you just kiss me?" I laughed, placing a hand on the back of his neck. And he did.
Trust me. I still loved Ben a lot; but Newt in a way was better for me than Ben ever was. We sat in a couple of couches until Thomas finally returned with Teresa at his side. Newt's hand was interlaced in mine and I caught Minho and Frypan smirking at us.
"So, what do you think is going on?" Clint asked Thomas.
"I don't know guys," Thomas looked tired, but at least he was able to function; before, on the helicopter, he couldn't even move. Teresa and Minho had to help him into the building. "But we should just be careful. We don't know these people. We don't even know if we're out of WICKED yet."
"Thomas, we saw everyone there die," Teresa whispered.
"Yes, I know. But we never know. And we shouldn't trust anyone just yet, so be careful guys."
I sat up and said, "What are we going to do now. What's our purpose? The world outside is ruined; more than three-fourths has been burnt to ashes. Our families are most likely gone, our homes most likely demolished."
"I don't know," Thomas whispered. "Let's go to bed. We got to face tomorrow with enough strength." Teresa whispered something to Thomas and then disappeared back into our room. The boys shuffled into their quarters until it was just me, Thomas, Minho, and Newt.
"Thomas, tell me what you really think. You always have something in mind," I whispered
Thomas rubbed his face in his hands and stood up, "You're right, Lizzy. I just couldn't say it in front of the others. I don't think we're out of the Maze yet. Gally was clearly out of it; he wasn't himself. And, those people that saved us; guys, I checked. They've locked the doors, so we can't even get out."
"We'll just have to wait and see," Newt said. "But for now, we should get some sleep." We all nodded and Minho and Thomas slipped into their room. Newt smiled at me and tucked a strand behind my ear.
"Nice pajamas," he smirked, observing my huge sweatshirt that had belonged to him, emphasis on belonged, and baggy sweatpants.
"They're comfortable," I protested.
"You okay to be alone tonight," Newt wrapped his arms around my waist.
"I'll be fine. Besides, Teresa's in there; if she found you in there, she would freak. And if Thomas found me with you, he would freak," I slung my arms around his neck. Newt laughed and kissed the top of my head.
"Goodnight, Lizzy," he smiled.
"Goodnight, Newt."
"What did you do with my parents?" I said as calmly as I called. Ms. Paige stared at me from across her desk and smiled.
"I see you are doing better. Have those sessions with Janson helped?" she smiled coldly and placed her hands on top of a file on her desk.
"Certainly, Chancellor," I growled.
"Good. Now to answer your questions, here's a file. You've earned it with all the help you've given us in building the Maze. Please return it to me after you're done. I'm off to the labs," she shoved the file towards me and left the room. I opened it and began reading. It was a letter-tons of them.
Dear Lizzy,
I love you so much sweetheart. This will be the last letter you get from me; I'm not even sure if you'll ever get them. But if you are, that means you're okay. I need you to understand something. I didn't leave. My sister placed me in a very dark section of WICKED as soon as she found out I was a Crank. Don't worry, sweetheart-you're immune. But Ava decided that if I was going to die, I might as well die being useful. That means I was used as an experiment-cutting my body open, electroshock therapy…that kind of stuff. The truth is darling-I've been dying for a long time. But now is when my body is finally shutting down for good. But I want you to always remember one thing, my sweet Lizzy. I love you. Don't you ever forget that.
Love,
Mom
Newt's POV:
It was great to wake up in a comfortable bed and soft blankets and a real pillow. Thomas and Minho were still sleeping, but he decided to slip out and see Lizzy. He creaked open the door but only found Teresa snoring. Lizzy would've taken the chance to sleep in and she never would have made her bed. Newt rushed to and fro but couldn't find her anywhere. Thomas and the other Gladers rushed into the living room when they heard Newt running around.
Minho stepped forward and said, "Newt, what's wrong?"
Newt slammed his hand against the wall, "Gosh, I just got her, why is this happening?"
Thomas grabbed Newt's hand and asked, "Damn it, Newt. What's wrong?"
"It's Lizzy. She's…she's gone."
So…that's the end of Gone. Please please please review and tell me what you guys think of the story. They really mean a lot to me and help me improve my writing. I've decided to wait till the movie comes out to write the sequel for the Scorch Trials but I will be writing a sequel. For now, please check out my new story, I Did It For You, or…I might write a couple of extras from Gone.
Anyway…Thanks for taking the time to read this story. Bye!