Chapter Text
Before he could change his mind he opened his eyes—-which he had previously closed—-only to freeze a second time.
Newt had also closed his eyes but unlike Thomas it was probably not so he couldn't see what happened but more likely to be at peace. It was the first in a long time he had seen his friend so relaxed and at ease, maybe even the first.
Thomas wished that he was only imagining it but he swore that he could see the slightest bit of a relieved smile on the blonde’s mouth. It pained him to know that he was going to be the cause that that smile would soon vaporize.
He quickly shook himself out of it and before Newt could react he had slammed the top of the gun hard in his friend's face so that both of them fell forward so now Thomas was on top of Newt instead of the other way around.
He could hear a disturbing crack as the other boy’s backhead collided with the road and cringed on the inside. The blond crank immediately went limp and Thomas could only hope he was only unconscious.
As quickly as he could Thomas stood up and took a strong hold of the other boy.
His whole body was shaking from shock and it was a miracle that he could even stand, let alone carry Newt.
He had almost shot his best friend.
He had almost shot Newt.
He had almost shot Newt.
He had been about to shoot Newt.
The realization hit Thomas like a stab in the stomach.He suddenly felt light headed and the world wouldn’t stop spinning but he didn’t have time to think about what could've happened. The cranks a little bit away had already begun to glance hungrily towards the duo.
In normal circumstances it would have been a problem carrying his friend but his time on the streets and the virus had made him look like a walking skeleton.
Thomas carried the other boy over his shoulder towards the van despite the shouts from Lawrence. The taste of blood was in his mouth and he didn’t know if it was blood rushing to his brain or if he had bit himself in the chaos and frankly, didn’t care either.
When he reached the van Lawrence was out of his mind
“What are you doin’! We can’t take a crank with us, much less an past the gone crank. Leave him, he’s not your friend, he’s an animal, alright?”
“He’s coming with us. He's coming with me. To WICKED” Thomas growled.
Lawrence looked like he was contemplating a double homicide. Just as it looked like Thomas was about to take a very permanent nap, the soldier let out a deep sigh like he was giving in.
“I'm sorry kid.”
Lawrence sat up and pointed his gun at Newt with pity in his eyes.
“I ain't risking people's lives because you want to play with your pet.”
Before he knew what he was doing, Thomas pulled his own gun and pressed it to the other's throat.
“I’ll tie him up. Keep him drugged or knocked out or some other shit while I get him there. He won’t hurt a fly. I promise.”
“Can’t promise that.” Lawrence argued as his eyes started looking behind them and signaled for Thomas to do the same. He dared throw a glance and his heart jumped when he realized that the cranks had almost finished their trashy dinner. Some had already started slowly limping towards them.
“You’re just dragging out his suffering. There ain’t no cure, Thomas. He’s done. If you really care about him, you’ll give him mercy and end it while he’s out. He won’t know what hit him till he’s in a better place than this.” Lawrence said, swept his hand like he meant the whole world. And frankly, that might just be right. But Thomas wouldn’t, no, he couldn’t do this without Newt. He couldn’t lose another person he was supposed to protect. Chuck’s face suddenly came up in the back of his head. He hadn’t been able to save Chuck, but he was going to save Newt. And maybe it was selfish to make Newt go through all this for the slight chance of finding something, anything that would make him stay just a little longer here with Thomas, but he just couldn’t stop himself.
“We're almost out of time,” the pilot shouted back at them while Thomas heard running from behind. The cranks must have eaten up their food and had now found their dessert. They only had about one minute at max now. Sweat ran down his back and face while his heart pounded like it was trying to escape.
“I have to try.” He finally uttered in a quiet but determined voice.
Lawrence sighed. “It’s your funeral, but for his sake, I just hope you know what your doing”
Thomas lowered his gun and Lawrence quickly turned around as Thomas practically threw himself and Newt in the car. The pilot stepped on the gas pedal and he was again thrown backwards as the car jumped forward just in time. Cranks crashed into the car, their screams followed the car as they speeded away, too fast for any of them to keep up. Blood and saliva were splashed on the rear window.
Silence filled the car for a few minutes before Lawrence sighed. “It’s your funeral, but for his sake, I just hope you know what you're doing” he said as he dug out something on the car floor. A rope got thrown back to Thomas who quickly did as he had said and tied the still unconscious Newt up.
After that, silence claimed the car again. Thomas was still trying to process what had just happened. The stench of sweat, blood, fear and shock were almost suffocating him.
What was his plan?
Take Newt back to WICKED?
They didn't have a cure, and against their belief Thomas was not staying long enough to find one …or was he?
What else was he supposed to do?
Taking Newt back to their friends so he could go crazy with them was just cruel. Newt had very clearly shown that he much rather die than do that. And even if he did that, Newt seemed to be as good as past the gone. Were they supposed to keep him as a pet? No. Of course not.
So WICKED was his last choice?
The only way to save his friend was to give him up to the mercy of WICKED?
WICKED who had tortured and killed so many of their friends was now the only way to save Newt?
how ironic.
When they arrived at the hangers Thomas started half carrying half dragging Newt towards what he was told was his room for the night. People moved away from the couple like they had a deadly disease which in Newt's case was true but it still irritated Thomas.
Seriously they were acting like Newt was some kind of monster instead of the victim he actually was. Weren't they supposed to know more about the flare than the kid who had lost his memory a few weeks ago and had spent most of the time he actually could remember trapped in a maze and empty isolation rooms?
When they came into Thomas' room he carefully put Newt on the bed and then collapsed down beside him. He knew that he should get to work with his friend, Newt could wake up any minute now.
And even though the other boy was skinny as hell he still had the strength of a crank, and the people outside would not even hesitate a second before shooting.
But instead he just sat there, completely dumbfounded and with no idea of what he should do next. Thankfully Lawrence came to the rescue. He slammed the door open and abruptly stopped.
“What are you doin, kid!? Are you trying to get us killed?!”
Thomas just looked up tired.
“He’s tied up, like I said. What more do you want?” Thomas challenged but there was no fight in it.
“Well for starters you can’t have a crank loose here. And second you will need sedatives unless you are planning on knocking him out every half an hour.” Lawrence explained. Then added “ Also you need to clean up, eat something, and sleep. I can help you with the crank but cleaning yourself you are gonna have to do alone. I’ll go get sedative while you make sure he won’t escape until I'm back” And then he was gone.
Thomas didn’t even have time to express his gratitude although he didn’t know How he would ever thank Lawrence. It wasn’t that he didn’t understand Lawrence’s point, it was exactly the opposite. He completely understood, that’s why he was forever in debt to Lawrence, he put everything on risk, just to let Thomas have a shot at helping his friend. This was something he could never repay, or maybe if he helped them destroy WICKED he might. He quickly got to work and found an empty side room that was connected to his room. As carefully as possible he dragged Newt’s limp body into the room and looked from the outside. It was almost as if the room was specifically made to hold cranks.
Just in time to because he didn’t even come to his bed before he heard shuffling inside the room.
"Ow, my head." Newt said groggy.
A second past when everything was still then, so sudden and loud that Thomas felt like he was going to jump out of his skin, Newt yelled
“Is this funny to you, Thomas!?Huh!? You just love to see me suffer, is that it ?!” Newt slurred out the words, Thomas didn’t know if it was the concussion he most probably had or the virus. The crank kept banging on the metal door. Thankfully that’s when Lawrence entered.
“I see he’s awake” He stated.
“You got the sedative?”Thomas asked hopefully.
As answer Lawrence just nodded and threw a syringe for Thomas to catch. They got in place in front of the door and Lawrence whispered loudly to be heard over the continuing banging on the door.
“I’ll open the door and grab him, then you shoot him up with that” He nodded to the syringe in Thomas' hand.
“Okay”
“one …two …three!” Lawrence threw open the door and quickly caught a wild but surprised Newt in his grip. Thomas shot forward and injected the sedative into Newt's arm. Thankfully Newt’s shirt was almost to shreds and the arm was bare so the syringe went right through.
It took a few agonizing minutes before Newt slowly got weaker and finally passed out falling onto the floor with some final insults directed towards Thomas. Lawrence whipped off his hands on his thighs then straightened up.
“The sedative will hold for about six hours so you are goin to need some more right before you go but it will hold long enough for you to sleep in peace.” Thomas nodded as he plopped Newt’s limp body up against the bed.
“Don’t forget to look him in and take something to eat, you look like shit. I’ll be in the cock pit if you need more sedatives.” Lawrence said as he dragged a hand through his hair and walked out.
Thomas took the time to shower and clean himself up before he threw down some food. Then he took to caring for Newt's head which had slammed into the ground when Thomas had knocked him out. He cleaned it up and wrapped a bandage around the other boy's head. He’ll live, that head injury couldn’t have done more damage than the flare already had done. For now, he left him in the same clothes but he did clean up his face. After that he put the blond back into the other room just for safety, if it was his or Newt’s he wasn’t sure of.
Probably both. Then he laid down on his bed completely drained of energy. But just when he was about to fall asleep a thought suddenly crossed his mind.
should he somehow try to contact Minho? to tell him about his plan to save Newt?
No he couldn't, he had seen how losing his best friend, his brother, had affected Minho the first time. He had broken down completely, Thomas had never seen him so devastated. Not when they had lost any other glader. Not even when they were stuck overnight in the maze and Minho had been certain they were dead.
How could he give hope to Minho that Newt maybe could be saved?
What if he gave him hope only for it to fail and Minho not only had to lose him again but any slight chance that he was still somehow alive?
Before he was certain that Newt would live he would not tell Minho. And with that settled he fell into a restless sleep.