"Take my hand."
•••
IGNORING THE PLEADING cries of her friends to stay put, Leanne ran into the glass building without second thought. She moved before her mind could comprehend what she was doing; not that it mattered. She would always go after Thomas.
She runs towards a set of glass doors. Before she can push them open, she catches a flash of herself in the glass pane and winces; her brown hair was matter down and greasy, her lips and chin were covered in whatever black substance had been falling from Newt's lips moments earlier, her nails were caked with dirt and blood, and her hands and shirt were covered in crimson blood that she would surely never be able to scrub away.
God, they really did need showers.
She finds a doorway to the stairwell and begins to run up; she wouldn't stop now. Her legs pumped quicker than ever, taking the steps two at a time without tire.
The sound of gunshots alarms Leanne as she runs up the stairs. Dust falls from the upper levels as the building shakes. Leanne listens for the sound of more gunshots, then stops when she thinks she's on the right floor. Raising the metal bar she had found laying on the ground, Leanne walks through the halls quickly. As she turns a corner, she spots Janson standing with a gun raised. Walking forward quietly, Leanne approaches Janson from the side. Down the hall she can see Thomas and Teresa running. As Janson loads his gun Leanne swings the bar quickly. "Fuck you, Janson!" She yells. But he's able to shoot a couple of times before he falls to the ground. Leanne watches him groan in pain, then turns to run in the same direction as Thomas and Teresa. Before she can get a couple steps away, Janson grabs onto her ankle and pulls her down, making her slam her chin onto the ground. It's her turn to groan in pain. She looks up to see her metal bar a couple feet away. She tries to push herself towards it but Janson clicks his tong.
"I wouldn't try that." She turns to look at him just in time to see him bring his foot down on Leanne's ankle —the same one she sprained in the Maze—. A loud crack resonates through the room and Leanne screams in pain. Behind Janson, outside, another bomb is launched at the building. When it hits, Janson falls to the ground. Leanne takes this chance to pull herself up and limp in the direction Thomas and Teresa had ran in.
She turns into the laboratory where they're hiding. "Teresa? Thomas?" She whispers. "It's me, Leanne."
Teresa stands up from behind a counter. "Over here!" She crouches back down and Leanne makes her way over, gasping when she sees Thomas.
His shirt is soaked with blood and he's shaking in pain. "Oh my god." She exhales, dropping down beside him. "We need to put pressure on it." Leanne doesn't hesitate to press her hands on it, earning a groan from Thomas. "Teresa, you need to find some bandages, or a cloth." Leanne nods to the drawers around them. "Anything we can use to put more pressure on it."
Teresa finds a cloth and hands it to Leanne. She presses it to his wound quickly.
"You both have to go." Thomas breaths out. "You have to leave."
"No." Teresa shakes her head.
Leanne copies her gesture. "Not without you."
They silence themselves quickly when they hear the door opens. "I admit, Teresa, you had me fooled." Janson speaks. Teresa gestures for them to follow her. "I thought we were friends." Leanne shuffles behind them, kicking a beaker over. Her eyes widen and she rolls to the side quickly, out of Janson's sight. "Maybe it's just in your nature to betray the people closest to you." Across the room from her, Teresa knocks a tray over. Janson shoots at her but misses. "Come on. Let's not prolong this." He moves around the room. "We both know there's no way outta here." Leanne watches Teresa try to make her way over to Thomas slowly. "Let's not make this any more painful than it needs to be." Janson walks through the room, speaking their names tauntingly. "Leanne, I have to admit I was proud when I saw the note you left for me." She shuffles to the side as he turns down the isle where she's hiding. "I guess I taught you well."
Leanne sees Teresa move to cross the opening over to Thomas. She waves her hands to try and tell her not to but Teresa doesn't see her. Janson steps out in front of her path. Teresa shuffles backwards as he walks towards her with his gun raised. "I think you have something of mine." Janson says. Teresa stands up and raises the small vile of the cure. "Not that. Where is he?" Janson takes another step towards Teresa. Leanne moves over to Thomas.
"Just take it." Teresa doesn't move. "Leave him alone."
"What is it with you two?" Janson spits. "You think he's so special? He's a lab rat. He was born with a gift. He never had to fight for it, he never earned it. He doesn't deserve it."
"Maybe. But it's his." Teresa responds.
Leanne opens drawers quietly, looking for a knife or anything sharp she can use against Janson, but there's nothing.
"What do you think, Leanne?" Janson calls out. "I'm sure you don't want your dear sister to die." Leanne pauses for a moment and Thomas looks over at her, confused. "What about you, Thomas?" Janson calls out. "What do you have to say? Don't you have enough blood on your hands already?" Janson asks. "You might not have been able to shoot her. But I can." When Thomas doesn't answer, Janson shakes his head. "Okay. Fine. Have it your way."
Leanne watches as Thomas stands up with a large metal box. "Janson." Thomas yells, throwing the box at the glass.
"Missed, you little shit." Janson smiles when the glass doesn't break.
"Doesn't really matter, though." A female voice sounds out. They all turn quickly to see Doctor McDonell standing at the door with a gun raised. Before Janson can say anything, Kate doesn't hesitate to start shooting. Teresa dodges out of the way to take cover behind the cabinets as bullets fly through the air.
Janson falls to the ground, blood begin to soak through his shirt at multiple spots. "McDonell." He spits out. "I should've known."
"I'm not going to let any more kids die. Not if I'm able to stop it." She raises her gun and pulls the trigger once more, sending a bullet right between Janson's eyes.
Leanne stands up and launches herself at the woman. "Kate!" She hugs her tightly. "Thank you!"
"You're welcome! Now go!" She ushers the three teens out of the laboratory. "You need to get out of the building." She tells them.
Leanne frowns as she supports Thomas. "You're not coming with us?"
"Juno is still in the building." Kate tells them quickly. "I have to get her out." She leads them down the hall a little. "Take the stairwell. It should still be fine."
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.