Chapter 3

"Hey! Get out of here!"

Ava groaned as she heard sudden yelling, then a loud cawing of a crow. She tried to curl back up against Newt's side, but he had already moved.

"Are they gone?" Newt was leaning on his arms, looking up at Thomas. Reality hit them. Escaping WCKD, the cranks, all of it. They were laying on the ground, after finally getting some sleep. Ava yawned.

"Yeah. I think we're safe. We better keep moving. Come on, Frypan, Winston." Thomas was already up and moving. Ava winced as she sat up, her back aching from the position she had been in. She looked around at the ruins they were in the middle of, running a hand through tangled hair.

She heard a groan and looked over to where Frypan was trying to help Winston up. He looked worse for wear. The bandages were dark red.

"Hang on. I need to look at those fully." Ava let her med-jack skills take over. She couldn't just let him keep walking if they weren't properly cleaned and last night she was barely able to get it done.

"We have to keep moving. We don't know…."

"We can wait five minutes!" Ava snapped, watching as Thomas froze, staring at her. The group looked at her, including Winston who was laying there. "Just keep a lookout." Ava moved over to Winston and began to peel the makeshift bandages she made last night. She got to work, cleaning them up with a rag she had and dabbing it to get the dry blood off. They weren't bleeding anymore, but they didn't look good either. She worked on them quickly but effectively. Soon she had wrapped them back up, tying them off.

"Okay. You're good now." She said, even though her voice cracked. She didn't believe it. But maybe they could get through and help him. Winston nodded, before taking Frypan's outstretched hand and standing up. Ava brushed her hands off on her jeans, before back at the others who were waiting. She bit her lip, taking her pack from Newt and turning to them. They had to keep moving.

They began their trek through the ruins, climbing up a few. All they saw was destruction, buildings reduced to nothing, and a lot of sand. It was sweltering, with no clouds in sight.

"What the hell happened to this place?" Frypan asked as they walked, keeping everyone together.

"I don't know. It doesn't look like anyone's been here in a long time." Newt answered, turning to Ava when she stumbled. She nodded, gaining her footing again with Aris's help.

"I hope the whole world's not like this."

"Hang on, stop." Thomas called, freezing in place. The group turned to look at him, confused. "Do you hear that?" They tuned in to listen, not hearing anything except their breathing.

But then it got louder. Thomas reacted first. "Get down! Everybody, hide! Hide! Hide!" They turned and saw a piece of building, giving them cover from above. "Get in here. In here, in here!" Ava slid in beside Aris and Minho, pushing herself against the block as two helicopters and a berg passed over.

"They're never gonna stop looking for us, are they?" Minho asked, looking at them. Ava knew that answer. They were obviously needed by WCKD. They were going to keep looking for them. Thomas sighed. "Everyone good?" He asked as they began to crawl out of their hiding space. They had to keep moving if they wanted to escape.

"You good?" She asked Aris, taking his hand and helping him up. He nodded, before following the others.

They continued moving, climbing over the ruins to get closer to the top. Ava felt herself constantly looking back. To check on Winston, who was struggling, and on Newt, who was having difficulty with his limp. He wouldn't let on though and ignored Ava when she would check on him. But she didn't mind. She knew he was just stubborn.

"A little further, guys." Thomas yelled as they pulled away from the city and were heading into the hills of sand. They climbed the massive hill, struggling at times as the sand seemed to want to pull them down. Ava gasped for air as they hit the top, looking over the horizon.

"Those mountains, that's gotta be it. That's where we're going." Thomas spoke, looking out toward the horizon. There were mountains all right. But they seemed a long way away.

"That's a long way off." Newt mused.

"Then we better get moving." The group sighed, before beginning to head down the sand dune. Ava gasped as Winston collapsed, sliding down. The group moved quickly. "Winston! Hey, Winston! Winston!" Thomas exclaimed as Teresa cradled his head.

"He's hurt pretty bad."

"What do we do?" Teresa asked, looking to Thomas who had ultimately taken over. Thomas looked lost, not knowing what to do. Ava listened as Newt tried to get him to wake up. "Shit. Winston. Can you hear me? It's okay. Hang in there, Winston."

Ava turned to look, her eyes focusing on the pack Winston had made back before everything went to shit. It was built of sticks and a larger quilt. He had always been good at making stuff. She moved, walking over to the pack and beginning to pull the stuff out of it. "Guys! Divvy this up between all of us. You can put some in mine." Teresa was still with Winston but Newt and Minho moved toward her, taking the supplies. Soon Thomas began to take it as well.

"What are you doing?" Minho asked as he watched her take apart Winston's pack. She laid the blanket out and began to tie the sticks to the sides using scraps. Thomas followed, tying the other side until they had a stretcher of some sort. Soon they had finished. Thomas took the stretcher and walked over to where Winston was laying. With Frypan's help, they hoisted Winston up on the stretcher, before picking it up and beginning to drag him through the sand.

Ava sat there for a moment, staring as they began to walk. Her eyes watered for a moment, as she watched this poor boy reduced to nothing but pain. A hand shot out in front of her. Ava looked up to see Minho still standing there. She took his hand and let him help her up. His arm wrapped around her shoulders, squeezing her gently. "Come on. We gotta keep moving." He spoke softly, leading her away. Newt had taken her pack as they walked. Ava nodded, and stayed in his arms for a moment, before reaching over and taking her bag.

They continued moving through the day, not knowing what time of day it actually was. The boys traded off in dragging Winston on the stretcher. Even Aris began to trust the others and help out. At first, he only trusted Thomas, but now he seemed to get used to the others. He had stayed closer to Ava and Teresa at first. Ava could only assume it was because he was used to being with all girls from his maze trials.

"Why do you keep staring at me like that?" Ava asked one moment when it was just her and Aris walking behind. Aris looked at her, his hands shoved in his pockets as his cheeks burned bright red from embarrassment. "Hey, it's okay. I don't bite." She reassured.

"You remind me of Rachel." She raised an eyebrow. He sighed. "She was kind of the leader in our maze, everyone loved her and trusted her. I loved her." Ava looked at him, realizing what he was saying. He had been in love with her.

"What happened to her?" She asked. He sighed. "She was one of those bodies." Ava swallowed. She was being harvested. Ava reached out, rubbing his shoulder. "I never knew what happened to the others. They were taken out by a different group, and I never saw them after that."

Ava watched as Newt was ahead, trying to help carry Winston. She sighed. "You were the only boy in a maze of girls. I was the only girl in a maze of boys. We have something in common at least. Now our mission is to get the hell out of here." She reassured. Aris looked at her, before nodding and smiling.

Ava stayed behind to make sure Winston was okay, while Teresa led most of the time. She was burning up, the heat from the sun doing nothing. But they were trying to keep as much water as they could. There was no water source anywhere.

The wind began to pick up, whipping sand against their skin. Ava turned back when she noticed Newt was dragging behind, his limp prominent and bothering him. Ava coughed, reaching up and pulling Newt's scarf from around his neck to around his mouth so he wouldn't breathe in the sand.

She turned to watch the others struggling. Winston looked bad, and he had no protection from the sand. She moved quickly, pulling her scarf from her neck and wrapping it around his face. She didn't mind the wind.

But then it got worse. The wind picked up, and they were struggling. Ava had her arm around Newt, helping him. "Thomas!" She yelled to the other boy. "We need to find shelter. We can't keep going like this!"

"We have to keep moving!" Thomas yelled back, stumbling in the wind. Ava shook her head, holding Newt up.

"Thomas! She's right! We have to find shelter!" Minho yelled, still dragging Winston. They couldn't keep going on like this.

Some ruins came into view, giving them the shelter they needed. They quickly moved toward them, shielding themselves. Ava helped sit Newt down on some of the ruins, coughing as she kneeled down in front of him, moving his pant leg up to check.

"Ava. Don't worry about me. I'm fine." Newt coughed, taking the bottle of water from Frypan. Ava shook her head, looking at his ankle. It didn't seem bruised. It was probably just bothering him. She rolled his pants leg back down and stood up. The wind was beginning to die down. Ava took the other bottle and walked over to Winston who was laying on the stretcher still.

"Here Winston. Help me out." She said softly, helping him sit up just a bit to get him to drink. It was a struggle, and she could see he was in so much pain. "I'm so sorry." She whispered, taking some of the water and patting it across his skin to cool him down. She helped lower him back down and brushed his hair from his face. "Get some sleep, okay?" The boy looked up at her and nodded, squeezing her wrist gently.

"Ava." Ava looked up when Minho walked over, handing her a bottle of water and some of the jerky that came from the packs. "Get some rest." He knew she would push herself and wouldn't worry about anything but them if they didn't tell her. "Go." He shoved her gently. She nodded, before moving toward Newt. She collapsed on the ground beside his legs, closing her eyes for a moment.

"I feel like we're never going to make it." She whispered. "Not like this." She looked toward Winston, who had fallen into a fitful sleep, Frypan watching him as he slept. She looked to Aris who was leaning against one of the pillars, hands in his pockets.

"We have to. We have to escape WCKD." Newt spoke softly, leaning against his knees. Ava wanted to believe it. She did. But it was just so hard.

"Get some sleep, love." She looked up when Newt brushed her hair from her face. She sighed, before leaning against his leg and closing her eyes.

She didn't get much sleep, not able to get comfortable. Even when Newt moved so she could lean against him, she still couldn't sleep. Thomas and Teresa had moved out toward the way they were going, talking.

"How's it looking?" Newt called, leaning against the pillar as they sat there. They didn't hear anything. "Not very convincing," Newt mumbled.

Winston groaned, coughing where he was laying. Ava sat up as Frypan moved toward the boy. "Winston, you okay?" He asked.

"I can't do this." Winston groaned, slowly sitting up. "I can't do this anymore."

"Just hang on Winston. We're gonna get there." Minho reassured him.

"No." Ava sat up as Newt turned. "I'm not gonna make it. I can't."

"Winston." Ava spoke, moving toward the boy. Winston moved, grabbing the gun he had from his pack and pointing it toward himself. "Winston!" She gasped as Frypan pushed Winston, grabbing his hand as the gun went off.

"Guys, get down here!" Newt yelled toward Thomas and Teresa as Frypan wrestled the gun from Winston. "Winston what are you doing, man? Give me that!"

"What's going on? What happened?" Thomas asked as he ran down to them. "I don't know. He just woke up and grabbed the gun and then he tried to" Frypan had the gun in his hands, holding it away.

"Give it back, please." Winston begged, coughing.

"Winston, are you okay?" Thomas pulled back as Winston began retching, black goo coming out of his mouth. They all watched in despair, not knowing what else to do. Winston fell back, exhausted.

"It's growing... inside me." He pulled his shirt up, revealing the darkened veins that were growing under the wounds. "I'm not gonna make it. Please. Please. Don't let me turn into one of those things." He begged the others. He didn't want to turn into a crank. He didn't want to become one of those monsters. They all stood there. There was no way they could save him. They didn't know how to save him. And they couldn't put him out of his misery. Not themselves.

"Wait, Newt…" Ava turned and saw as Newt took the gun from Frypan's hand, before walking over to Winston. He slowly put it in the boy's hand. Winston looked up at him. "Thank you. Now, get outta here."

Newt swallowed thickly, looking at the boy. "Goodbye, Winston." He spoke softly, before standing up and turning away. He touched Ava's shoulder. She swallowed thickly, before turning back to Winston. She kneeled down beside him, brushing his hair from his face.

"It's okay." Winston croaked. She smiled weakly. How many more were going to die? Reaching down, she kissed his temple, taking a few shaky breaths. "I'm sorry." Her voice broke. She felt his hand shaking as he brushed her hair from her face. "Take care of him." He meant Newt. He knew the boy too long. He knew how he could be. And he knew how much he relied on the others, especially Ava. Ava nodded, smiling weakly as she held back tears, before standing up. She grabbed her bag and turned, following the others out. If she turned around she would go back to him.

They walked a few miles away, continuing on without Winston. Ava moved, slipping her hand into Newt's. She needed him at the moment. Newt didn't pull away, squeezing her hand gently.

They heard the shot, echoing. They froze, knowing. Ava whimpered, holding back the tears, squeezing his hand. Newt squeezed back, looking straight ahead.

They stopped once it got dark. None of them had spoken a word since they had left. Since they had heard the shot. They didn't need to.

They managed to get a fire going. The night got cold. Ava watched as the others sat around the fire, dividing up the leftover water and food. No one wanted to speak. Or say anything.

"I thought we were supposed to be immune." Minho finally spoke, breaking the silence.

"Not all of us, I guess." Teresa mused, as if angry with everyone.

Newt sighed, throwing a stick into the fire. "If Winston can get infected... we should assume so can the rest of us." He spoke. They all thought they were immune. That's what Janson told them. But Winston got infected. It made no sense. Maybe they couldn't get it from the air, but maybe in a different way.

"I never thought I'd say it... I miss the Glade." Frypan spoke. Ava looked over at him, seeing the tear tracks down his face. She moved to him, wrapping his arm around him and holding him to her.

They stayed like that until Frypan moved to get some sleep. Ava sat there in the silence, watching the fire crackle. No one spoke and it just made it worse. She stood up quickly a few feet away from the fire. She sat down for a moment, staring off into the vast horizon, the mountains barely visible.

Jeff, Ben, Clint, Gally, Winston. She wrung her hands, watching the mountains. It was like they got farther away. Mason, Alby, Chuck. All those boys. Her family. Gone. Dead. Or worse.

Damn this world. And damn WCKD for doing this to them. Throwing her into a maze full of boys, waiting to see the consequences. Then throwing her in more tests because she survived the first one. Making her lose her brothers. Her friends. Her family.

Someone moved and sat beside her. She already knew who it was. "Hey." She turned to look at Newt as he raised his hands, wiping the tears from her eyes. She hadn't realized she had been crying, too into her thoughts.

"Is this worth it? Are we gonna make it?" She sighed. "We're working on blind faith. That we can make it there, and even if we do, are they gonna help us?" She sniffled, reaching up to wipe fresh tears from her eyes. Would they be able to escape WCKD? And survive?

"Come here." Ava shifted when Newt pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her and holding her to him. Her hand instinctually made it to his chest, feeling his heart beat against the palm of her hand. "Weren't you the one that trusted Tommy when he went into the maze to save Minho and Alby?" He asked. Ava nodded slowly, her head against his chest.

"And he got them out. And he got us out too? From the maze and from WCKD?" She looked up to him, trying to understand where he was going with this. She nodded again.

"I know he's an idiot. But I trust Tommy to get us to these people. And that we'll finally get away from WCKD. We just have to keep going." He explained. "We're gonna make it. And we're gonna be safe from them."

"We can start over." She said softly, eyes closed as she listened to him breathe. They could start over.

They could be together.

She looked up at him, tucked into his arms as he stared off into the darkness. She smiled weakly,

"Let's go get some sleep. Gotta keep moving." He looked down at her, smiling at her. She sighed and nodded, standing up with him.

"Newt." Newt turned around just as she moved to him. She reached up, kissing his cheek. Her face flushed red before she headed back over for the group. He smiled as he watched her go.

They were gonna make it.