Just to make things clear, Kate is Sarah's sister's daughter and Sarah and her sister got separated before all this started. Request from ThomasNewt27
Thomas POV
A drop of water splashed on my forehead.
Everything hurts. I opened my eyes slowly. Was I in a cabin? I tried to get up but my leg felt sore. How long have I been out for?
I limped my way outside. The sun shone on my face softly. The beach in front of me gleaned under the sunlight where people were swimming and laughing. Is it over? Are we finally safe? Where are my friends? Are they safe? How did we-
Suddenly I remembered everything. My sister Kate, people chasing us, the stone falling onto me.
For a second, I thought I was we actually safe or is this another WICKED's games? I tried running forward to the beach but my legs wobbled and folded beneath is absolute klunk, I cursed. I'm pretty sure I looked like an idiot at the moment.
"Need help?" I looked up. A smirking Minho held his hand out, pulling me up "How's your leg doing?"
"It's fine. Did anyone else get hurt?" I asked, looking around. He shook his head. He pulled me close into a hug. "You scared me. Promise you won't ever do it again." He whispered into my shirt. "I promise." I closed my eyes. It felt so safe.
He pulled away "Now that you're awake, let me give you a tour of this place."
—
So one thing I realized here is that you are always busy. When you're hanging around doing nothing, someone, like a stranger will go up to you and say "Hey! Stop hanging like a crow. Come help with the dishes!" Or something like that.
Ever since I've woken up, I have been busy non-stop, whether it was cutting wood with Minho and Newt or making food with Frypan. Life was perfect here.
Or so I thought.
One early morning, the red bell rang out. I frowned. It only rang out on emergencies. I rushed out of my tent to see lots of people crowding around a point across the field. What was wrong?
I shoved the tent door open. It was a dark night and everyone was shouting, running to something up the hill.
I pushed all the gladers aside until I was in the middle. A woman with olive skin was on her knees begging the crowd. Her clothes were ragged and she was barefoot. Her feet were blistered and with dirt and sand on them. Her hair was wet and clung against her scalp.
"Please! You don't understand, I'm looking for someone. Listen to me!" She cried. Her blue eyes shined with tears and desperation. She turned around in circles, looking at everyone's faces, one by one pleading. Her eyes fell onto mine.
"Thomas." She breathed out. Her face became completely unreadable. She said it so quietly I almost didn't catch what she said.
"Thomas." She said again, a bit louder this time. Everyone's eyes turned to me. My pulse quickened as everyone started muttering amongst themselves.
"How do you know my name?" I asked the strange woman. She ignore me and stood up. "Thomas." She started taking slow steady steps towards me. Her eyes looked hard and her skin looks sunburned.
She reached out her hand "Thomas." She whispered as she stroked the side of my face. I jerked back, disgusted. How dare she pop out from nowhere and start touching other people?
The strange woman noticed me jerking away and a flash of hurt spread across her face but as fast as it came, it was gone. "Stop this Thomas. It is enough."
My stomach did an ugly curl. "Who are you?" I frowned "how do you know my name?"
"Thomas, my sweet, sweet child. I'm so sorry." Tears swelled up her eyes and ran down her cheeks.
I was too shocked to understand. Child? Was she my mother? Everybody around them gasped. Out of all the possibilities, this one was least expected.
"What do you mean?" My voice slightly sounded louder than a whisper. I was valuably aware that all eyes were glued to me and this strange woman calling herself my mother.
What if she is?A thought bloomed in my head but I pushed it away quickly. There was no way this cranky looking woman could be my mother, can she?
The woman sighs. "I think it will be better if I start from the beginning."
—
"Thomas! Please, don't take him!"
"Sarah! It's too late. We are too late." The woman Sarah whipped around and ran to the man with her face in her hands. They were both in their early 30s.
"Rubo, I failed him. I don't think I can ever bare myself again. He will hate me and think I doomed him. I doomed us all." Sarah cried on her husband Rubo's shoulder.
Rubo stroked Sarah's hair as he watched the truck and Thomas get taken away. A tear escaped his eye. He couldn't imagine what WICKED will do with him and what experiments they will test. Just thinking about it makes him sick in the stomach.
"I know, I know but I'll find a way to keep an eye on him. Don't worry. Everything will be fine at the end."
Sarah stopped crying and looked up into her husband's deep brown eyes. "How?" She whispered with glassy eyes. Looking at her made Rubo angry at WICKED. He will find his son and make sure both Sarah and Thomas get to safety. Even if that means sacrificing himself.
"I've got an idea." Rubo whispered.
—
Sarah and Rubo were sitting on the small wooden dining table, drinking their soup in thick silence.
Sarah swallowed the lump in her throat. "Don't do this Rubo. You can't leave me." The thought of losing both her son and her husband was way too much.
Rubo rubbed his face in his hands. "I have to." He said simply. Sarah started having a headache. Was he really gonna work for WICKED just to keep an eye on their son? Was Rubo sacrificing himself for Thomas and herself?
Just as Sarah was deep in her train of thoughts, an explosion exploded outside their little apartment. Rubo looked at Sarah with widened eyes.
Another explosion exploded closer, right outside the front door. "GET DOWN!" Rubo tackled his wife to the other side of the door. A second later, the windows were blasted open and everything set into flames .
Sarah screamed, grabbing her husband at the corner of the room. The house was so bright, and so warm, as if the fire was licking her face.
"Sarah!" Rubo grabbed her hand and tugged. "We have to go, I know a way." He guided them though the bright flames. Smoke started rising and it started burning his eyes.
The terror in him started to grow. He was scared the back door was also on fire. Beside him, Sarah started coughing from the smoke.
"Come on! Just a little further." Rubo yelled at his wife but he could barely hear himself with the roar of the flames and the screaming outside.
Sarah just nodded weakly. The black smoke filling her lungs hurt and her eyes burned with tears blurring her vision. She felt Rubo give her a reassuring squeeze of encouragement but she can only smile.
Rubo finally found the back room and opened it. He almost collapsed to the ground when he felt the clean air hit his lungs. Tears streamed down his face and his eyes still burned from the flames.
"Are you okay?" Rubo turned to Sarah. She smiled "still alive I guess." Rubo laughed faintly. He knew Sarah would never forgive him for what he did next.
"Sarah, listen, this is for you," Rubo handed Sarah a little wooden square, not bigger than her palm. The sides were marked in some wood burn patterns and the whole surface was as smooth as paper. Sarah looked up in confusion.
"What is this for?" She frowned. Rubo smiled sadly. "For you to understand." Then Rubo gave her a kiss. To Sarah, the kids didn't feel right. Something was off.
"Rubo..." Sarah started but her husband interrupted her. "Do you trust me?" He asked. Sarah was caught off in surprise but quickly nodded. Always." She whispered.
"Close your eyes." Rubo gently used two fingers to shut Sarah's eyelids. "Why?" She frowned. She didn't like where this was going.
"Do you trust me?" Rubo looked at his wife with such warm intensity that Sarah shivered. "Yes." Sarah closed her eyes.
"Goodbye." Rubo whispered and sprinted off. He pounded his feet against the dirt and ran into the fire. He heard his wife scream his name from somewhere behind but that only made himself run faster.
It's for the best. He reminds himself. It's the only way to keep her safe.
He ran into the flames again, across his backyard. He carefully hopped through over the yard walls and towards the chaos on the streets.
WICKED. They are here looking for immunes, like Sarah. Their faces were covered in black masks and they held tranquiliser guns and launchers. They shot it at everyone who was protesting or getting too close.
"Everyone! Stay back!" Rubo screamed but my voice was drowned by the disaster. People were getting shot left and right and all he was doing was watching it all happen.
Something caught Rubo's attention. Two people, a woman and her son were gripping each other. "Please!" The woman begged. Her son was bleeding at the side. One of the guards pointed their launchers at them.
"Move it!" He growled. He raised his gun at them. It's either now or never. Rubo lunged forwards and tackled the guard away. "Run!" He screamed at the woman and the boy.
The guard quickly got over his surprise and rolled away. Rubo tried kicking him in the guts but his foot got caught and he got foot pulled down hard. Rubo's head connected with the ground with a hard thud. Stars danced bleakly in his vision.
He felt a leg kick him over and over again. He threw a flimsy punch but the guard caught it and flipped Rubo over, twisting his arm into a painful position.
"Get up!" The guard barked. He let go of his arm but pulled out his tranquilizer gun. "Or I'll shoot."
Rubo groaned. He ached all over but put his hands in the air. "This way," Rubo shuddered when he felt the tip of the gun get pressed against his back.
He was guided onto one of the trucks. Rubo heard the guard whisper something to another guard which he couldn't really catch. A prickly bag was placed onto his head uncomfortably, making his face itchy.
"Where..." Rubo started. A black shadow connected with his head. Stars swam around. Then, everything went pitch black.
—
"Rubo!" Sarah screamed. She ran down the street. Guards were everywhere, shooting everyone on sight. A building exploded close to Sarah. She ducked but something hit her side.
She gasped and fell to her side. A brick hit her leg. It is definitely gonna bruise, thought Sarah. She got up and ran to find Rubo. That is all that mattered.
She turned around a block where all the trucks were parked. "Rubo!" Sarah cried desperately. Right when she was about to turn around, she saw a man tackled a guard away from a woman and a boy. Sarah stopped in her tracks. a horrible sinking feeling lowered on her gut.
The guard got up and yakked the man's leg. A grunt came out. Rubo. Sarah ran forwards, trying to get the guard to stop kicking him but someone stood in her way.
"Where do you think you're going?" A WICKED guard asked her. A punch was thrown at Sarah. Her head got snapped back by the force.
"Stop!" Sarah screamed when another fist connected with her stomach. The female guard ignored her and jumped but this time Sarah was ready. Just as the guard came for her, Sarah rolled out of the way and gave a swift kick at the guard's face.
"Arughh," She groaned, holding her bleeding nose. Sarah didn't hesitate before running away.
"Rubo!" Sarah looked around. She spotted Rubo lying on one truck, unconscious, with a bag over his head. WICKED guards were with him.
"Wait!" She screamed at the truck but it was already starting to drive away. She started running after the truck but it only went farther and farther away.
Sarah slumped down to the sidewalk. Exhaustion washed over her. She rubbed the little wooden cube Rubo gave her.
The little wooden cube.
—
Sarah waited for Rubo at Vallingby street. Sarah has felt worried and excited for the last whole week. It has been 2 months since WICKED took Rubo and the little wooden cube can prove that.
On the edges of the cube said that Rubo was going to work for WICKED so he can keep an eye on Thomas and that he is coming to Vallingby street every 2 months at 23:30 to deliver news.
Sarah looked at her watch. It's 23:33. Maybe he wasn't coming. She sighed. She shouldn't have gotten her hopes up.
Just as she was about to leave, she heard somebody whisper her name. Her heart caught in her throat. "Hello?" Sarah called.
Someone walked out of the shadows. There he was. Rubo. He looked healthier than before with his shaven mustache and his clean clothes. Something was off though. His eyes were slightly bloodshot and he was slightly limping.
Sarah smiled. Rubo felt his heart burst. Sarah looked as bright as ever. Her eyes were gleaming with happiness, even if her clothes were ragged and dirty. He felt a pang of sadness. Rubo had to tell her right?
Sarah grinned. She never felt so happy seeing him. Sarah ran forwards but Rubo took a step backwards, away from her. Sarah noticed that Rubo saw the hurt in her eyes. "Sorry, I can't stay long, really." Rubo apologized.
Sarah's face became unreadable in an instant. "What did you want to tell me?" She still felt the hurt about Rubo pulling away. Has something changed between them?
Rubo took a deep breath and started to explain. "I have gotten WICKED to make me a research scientist for the cure. I believe that they are taking children and testing them to find the Killzone patterns so they can make a blueprint for the cure."
Rubo took a deep breath before continuing "I saw Thomas, he's alright and he's made friends." He heard Sarah let go a breath of relief. "I looked at the data WICKED showed me but nothing matched up with what they are doing so I decided to dig deeper."
Rubo threw a computer chip into Sarah's hand. "There is all the evidence of what WICKED is doing to kids." Sarah smiled. This little chip can run down WICKED forever. When she looked up, Rubo wasn't finished.
"Eventually they found out that I hacked their system so they threw me out for the cranks." He pulled his sleeve where a cluster of inky black veins stood out. Sarah gasped. Tears welled up, threatening to spill.
"How long..." Sarah trailed off.
Rubo sighed and shook his head. "Three weeks now. I will be past gone in five weeks." Sarah couldn't believe her ears. 5 more weeks for them to be together.
"I'm gonna run to a place where I can't hurt you, Thomas, anyone." He started walking away. Sarah couldn't do it. After all this time, he's just gonna walk away?
"No! Take me with you. I don't care if you're a crank, just take me too!" Sarah begged but Rubo shook his head.
"If you come with me, who's gonna take care of Thomas? Are you just gonna abandon him?" He asked. A tear rolled down his cheek. "I know this is hard and it feels like you're all alone but it's better this way. Sarah, you need to let go."
Sarah just stood there stunned in silence. Who was she to choose between her husband or her child? "Choose Thomas. Take care of him for me." Rubo stepped towards and kissed Sarah one last time before walking away. Forever.
—
Sarah made it to WICKED's maze trails quarters. She ran inside. Everything was shattered and broken glass was everywhere. It looked like there has already been an attack not so long ago.
She went into every room, looking for Thomas. "Choose Thomas. Take care of him for me." That was the last thing her husband told her before he ran away 11 years ago.
As she emerged to the lab system, she heard a gurgling sound. Her instinct was to run away but she kept her ground and inched forward. What she saw caught her completely off guard.
A boy, around 17 years old, lay on his back with a spear in his chest. blood was bubbling out of the wound and blood spilled on the floor. He couldn't have been stabbed more than a few minutes ago.
"Oh my god!" Sarah cried and fell to her knees beside the boy. "Hello? Can you hear me?" She pulled out a small medical box and started getting to work. Remember all the medical education you learned before, Sarah thought to herself.
After an hour of hard work, Sarah was finally done securing the boy. "Here, drink some water." She gave the boy a cup of water.
He took the cup hesitantly from Sarah's hand and took a small sip. "Who are you?" He asked, narrowing his eyes.
"I'm Sarah." I answered "Who are you?" I asked back. That's when I noticed bruises on the sides of his face. "What happened to your face?"
He took another sip of the water. "I'm Gally and as for your second question, these guys Minho and Thomas..." Sarah didn't hear the rest. Thomas, did he know this Gally? Where is he now?
"Gally, does Thomas have brown hair, green eyes and is has a kind and stubborn personality?" Sarah could hear her heartbeat from excitement.
Gally grunted "Mostly stubborn." He shrugged "Why do you care? Are you his sister or something?"
"No, am I really that young?" Sarah laughed. Gally just nodded. "I'm actually his mother." She smiled when Gally's eyes widened into the size of cooking pans and his mouth opened, making him look like a gasping fish.
"There's not a shocking way..." Gally gasped but Sarah just grinned "There is a way and guess what? You are gonna help me find Thomas again."
—
It has been a year. A lot can happen in a year. So far, Gally and Sarah found some people who drove them to Last City where they found Lawrence and started working for him. Life was all about surviving and Sarah was just to do anything for survival.
"Come in!" Sarah got called into Lawrence's office a few minutes ago. It seemed urgent so she came as fast as she could.
"Sarah! Greetings!" Lawrence greeted her. "Please, sit." He gestured at a small broken coach in front of his office spin chair.
Sarah shook her head. "I prefer standing thanks." She declined politely. Lawrence sighed. "Suit yourself."
"Why did you need me?" Sarah wanted to go straight to point, not wanting to be near him for any longer. "Going straight to the topic, I like it." He took a sip of water from his cup.
"Ah, you see, somebody reported to me that your friend Gally here was spotted running around with a group of teenagers instead of doing what he was supposed to do." Sarah frowned. She didn't like where this was going.
"I want you to follow him and find out what he is doing without him knowing and then, knock him unconscious and bring him here to me."
"Isn't that stalking?" Sarah quirked her eyebrow slightly. Lawrence chuckled but it didn't sound like a laugh. It just sounded like he was choking on a tomato. "Exactly what you should do."
He threw a little bag at Sarah. "Your money." He jerked his head at the little bag. Sarah bowed her head as a quick thank you and slipped out of the door without making a sound.
Time to play hunt the Gally.
—
Chattering can be heard around the block. Sarah listened closely.
"Gally, it's the only way we can stop WICKED and save the immunes," Sarah heard a voice protest.
"Guys, he killed Chuck and now he shows up from nowhere. Are we seriously gonna trust him?" Another voice called out.
"Seriously Thomas, stop being childish." Thomas. He's alive and here with Gally. Her eyebrows shot up faster than you can say Mississippi. She really wanted to believe that that's Thomas but she can't be sure just quite yet.
Just as she was about to come out of the shadows, she felt herself hesitating. What if he thinks she's a stranger and pushes her away. Sarah shook her head. Just go for it. Sarah told herself but then she sighed and closed her eyes. I'll just do it later when I find out what they're up to.
Sarah trailed after them, always hiding in the shadows and not being able to think about anything else except the fact that she finally found her son. She found Thomas after 12 years.
Eventually Sarah found the group's tails in the WICKED compound. What in the world are they in here? She asked herself.
The group opened themselves up into this big grassy field with enormous stone walls at the sides. There were people here, both young and old, working together.
This is where the maze trials take place. My head provided helpfully.
Everyone's heads turned to us. Thomas, Gally and the others started shouting "Everyone listen up, this is a test like a trial and you are gonna get killed if you don't follow us now!" Thomas shouted. I felt a pang of proudness for my boy.
The group started running to the entrance of the maze. "You're gonna get yourself killed by the robots in there!" An old man yelled at them.
"You have a much better chance in the maze than out here, trust me!" Thomas yelled at everybody. When nobody moved, Thomas started screaming and urging everyone to move.
That's when the strangest thing happened.
The ground started to shake and the 300 hundred feet walls started to collapse. One of the walls fell straight to the floors, crushing several people in a splat. You can even see a bit of blood on the edges of the stone.
Everything bursted into chaos. Some people screamed, others just stood there in pure shock. Some people ran around the fields while other people followed Thomas and Gally into the maze.
One woman with dark skin and bushy hair ran around, looking for someone. "Sam! Sam!" She cried out loud. As Sarah watched her, she remembered the night where WICKED took both her husband and my son.
A wall was falling down onto the woman but she didn't notice. She was too busy looking for this Sam.
"No!" Sarah screamed and jumped into action. She ran to the woman and pulled her arm right before the stone fell onto her. Sarah pulled the woman so hard that they crashed against each other and went tumbling across the grass.
I stood up and picked the woman up who was lying on the grass coughing. "You need to go! Go into the maze with the others." I yelled.
She looked up with glassy eyes. "Have you seen Sam?" She asked me. "No but I promise I will take him to you but you need to go!" I yelled. She took one last look at me and nodded. "Thank you." She said and ran off.
Now Sarah needed to find this Sam. "Sam! Sam!" She yelled. She ran around the lawn, hoping to find someone named Sam.
Sarah sighed. Nothing. Just as she was also about to go into the maze with the others, she heard someone call out for help.
"Hello?" Sarah ran over to a man lying on the ground calling for help. "My fingers are stuck under this wall." He cried. "Please! Help me."
"Okay, but this may hurt a little." Sarah put her hand under the rock and grabbed the tips of the man's bloody broken fingers. She wiggled them slightly. The man cried out in pain.
"This will hurt a lot so take a deep breath." The man did as he was told. Sarah made the man curl his fingers before pushing them all out at once. The man screamed and tears streamed down his eyes but other than that he seemed okay.
"Come on, we have to go!" I told the man once he got up to his feet. I guided him through the maze tunnels. There weren't many people anymore since they all started running before us.
Up ahead were there 2 boys and a girl. Kate. Sarah's sister's daughter. Was she also immune? "Come on Thomas! You can do it!" one of the boys encouraged. Was Thomas injured? The thought of Thomas being hurt made Sarah dizzy.
The Flat Trans straight ahead started to shimmer away. The group threw themselves into the Flat Trans right before it closed. Sarah breathed out a sigh of relief. They made it.
The man by her side collapsed. Right. She forgot all about him. That's when she understood. They made it but we did not.
—
It was day 6 of being in the maze. Over the days, she learned that her companion is in fact the Sam she was looking for.
It was horribly quiet in the maze now and Sarah was thankful for Sam's company. She still had a bit of water in her bag and they already finished both canned soups Sarah had in her bag before.
Sam still had a piece of stale bread in his pocket and 2 carrots he had plucked right before the maze collapsed. They only eat one meal per day and 2 sips of water so they can save what little they have left.
"We have to keep moving. There's another Flat Trans here. I know it." Sarah said even if they both knew there was very little hope for that.
The lack of water and food was slowly making Sarah insane. She started having small hallucinations that Thomas is right before her, smiling.
It was rainy today and the clouds were dark. Sarah and Sam hid under one of the fallen down walls. Sarah started shivering violently as she tucked her wet face between her knees.
"Hey Sam?" Sarah's voice trembled. "Yeah?" He answered. Sarah licked her purple lips. "If I die, I will meet my husband in the afterlife. We will be together again, watching over Thomas everyday."
Sarah closed her eyes and smiled. "We will hear his every laugh, watch him eat his meals. We will never be separated. It will just be us three again. Me and Rubo will wait for him until he's ready to join us on the other side. For now I just hope he will live his best."
"I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be excited about dying. Death seems so scary but when your time comes, you've just gotta go you know? Are you excited about dying?"
"WHAT?"
"I asked you if-"
"No, I heard you the first time- look over there!" Sam pointed up ahead. At first Sarah saw nothing but rain but when she squinted her eyes, she saw a little swirl, connecting into a single point in the middle.
"Is it just me or am I hallucinating?" Sam asked Sarah.
"I don't think it's just you.." Sarah jumped onto her feet "Come on!" They grabbed their things and ran to the other side. Icy rain splattered on her skin, but this time, it made her feel more alive than ever.
They skidded to a halt when they reached the end of the tunnel. Sarah reached her hand into the swirl. Her hand passed through into another place.
Sarah whipped around. "You're right! This is a Flat Trans!" Sarah screamed excitedly. Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around Sam. She would have felt embarrassed but this time she didn't care.
"We did it!" Sam screamed into the rain and laughed "What are you waiting for? Let's go!"
Sarah pushed her body into the Flat Trans and the second she stepped in, soft green grass wrapped around her feet and the sky was dark blue. It must be night here, thought Sarah. There was a beach at Sarah's right and fireflies danced around across the slope.
"Whoa..." Sam appeared next to Sarah. Him too, was drinking in this beautiful sight.
Tears rolled down Sarah's cheeks. She couldn't believe it! They made it! She laughed loudly. Sam too was laughing loudly. But then Sarah remembered. Thomas. Kate. Gally. She had to find them. Just as she was about to turn around, she felt something pointy against her back.
"Who the shruck are you and what are you doing here?"
—
Gally joined their little circle, "I can in fact confirm everything she said." He stuffed his face with a chicken leg.
"Same here!" Sam raised his hand from somewhere in the crowd. Upon hearing all of this, Thomas looked at Sarah with a shy but big smile.
"Hi mom."
Hi guys, Thomas' name is supposed to be Stephen but I decided to change it up a bit. I hope that this chapter will make up for the long wait. Thanks for reading!