Fast As A Bullet {Maze Runner}

t h i r t y o n e

Leanne nods. "Be safe!"

"You too."

Kate runs off in the other direction and Leanne pushes the door to the stairwell open. They're about to go down but stop short when they see sparks flying and fire down below. Teresa and Leanne pulls Thomas towards the stairs to go up and work together to take them out onto the roof. Leanne coughs roughly, unable to breath with all the smoke in the air. She limps out beside Thomas.

The entire building around the was engulfed in flames, which continued to grow up the sides of the building. Teresa turns them around to go back inside but fires blows out of the door aggressively. They were trapped.

Thomas falls backwards between them. "Thomas!" Both girls kneel down beside him. Leanne looks down at his abdomen to see his hands covered in even more blood. Her head begins to get fuzzy as more smoke clouds around them.

Teresa begins to cry, and Leanne reaches over to grab her hand. Thomas rests his on top of theirs. "I'm sorry. I tried." Teresa sniffles.

"We all did." Leanne manages a sad smile. "We tried our best, Teresa. It's okay."

Thomas coughs before sitting up a little. He looks between the both. "What Janson said... about you two being sisters?"

"Surprise." Leanne laughs through her tears, making Teresa smile. She was going to die, but she realized she was okay with it. Because if she was dying now she was dying surrounded by the two people she loved the most. Leanne's laugh turns into a rough cough, trying to get air to her lungs through the smoke. Teresa steadies her sister as her coughing slows.

A bright light blinds Leanne, and for a moment she thinks it's death. However, her eyes adjust to the light and she looks up to see a berg hovering at the end of the building. Teresa's the first to stand, yanking Thomas up with her. "Come on!" She yells. Leanne manages to pull herself up and wraps an arm around Thomas' waist.

They walk, but with Thomas' condition and Leanne's ankle, Thomas falls to the ground. "No, Thomas. Get up." Leanne winces as she puts weight on both her ankles and pulls Thomas to a standing position. Together, the sisters work to bring Thomas to the edge of the building.

The hatch of the berg opens and Vince and Minho are there with their hands out, calling for Thomas to grab on. The berg gets close enough for Vince to get a hold of Thomas' hand, but he drops it. The berg shakes, but they continue to try and get it closer. The fire around the teens continues to grow, and the building behind them continues to fall. With all of their energy, the sisters push Thomas through the air and into the berg.

They can hear the building behind them shift, and their friends yelling at them to jump, but it's almost quiet for Leanne. Teresa steadies her, holding her tightly. "I love you, Isla." Teresa cries. "I want you to know that. I've always loved you."

"I love you too, Deedee." Leanne smiles. Without warning, Leanne feels the ground below her disappear. Multiple pairs of hands grab onto her and hoist her up into the berg. "No!" Leanne screams, turning around to see Teresa on the roof. "Take my hand!" Leanne extends her hand out, watching Teresa with pleading eyes. "Please!" She sobs.

But it's too late. The building behind them falls onto the one where Teresa stands. Slowly, the roof behind Teresa begins to fall. And with it, Teresa falls as well. She looks up at them, and both sisters watch each other until Teresa disappears in the cloud of smoke and debris. And suddenly, Leanne feels more empty than before; she had lost two siblings tonight, and was beginning to lose herself.

She could feel a lull in her chest. An empty ache where something should've been. But what, exactly? Teresa? Newt? Or her own life that was slipping through the cracks of a broken foundation and a bruised body.

Leanne is pulled further into the aircraft by someone, but she can't see their face. The smoke filling her lungs makes it difficult to breath. The tears cloud her vision, but she can make out Thomas, and the people who crowd him, and try and bandage him up.

Leanne lays back, and she feels a pair of cold hands on her neck. Then, yelling. But she can't tell what they're saying; it's like they're blocked by glass. Her vision goes hazy as her breaths begin to shallow. She feels nothing. That empty feeling in her chest seems to spread everywhere, until she's paralyzed and it darkens her vision.

What she can't see is Minho performing CPR on her. She can't see Juno barely able to watch him do it in fear that it won't work, or Brenda standing to the side crying for she lose might another friend tonight. She can't even see Thomas, holding himself together just to know if she's okay. She doesn't see Thomas reaching for her hand, holding it so hard anyone would believe it was his lifeline.

All she sees is loneliness. Tired, dark, maybe even welcoming; loneliness.