"Hey, Thomas..."

The boy turned around at the sound of my voice. His face was void of expression as I approached, placing a gentle hand on his back to provide some comfort through this time of anticipation.

"Hey, Mae." He sounded solemn—almost heavy as he spoke. He placed the gun he had been loading on the table, turning around to face me. "Are you okay? With—I mean—With everything about Newt? Him being infected and all?"

I sighed, that being a topic I wanted to forget about until I had the chance to swipe some of the serum from WICKED. "As okay with it as I can be, I guess. I mean, I don't care what Gally says, I'm getting him that serum, so..."

"What Gally says?" He furrowed his eyebrows and stood up a little straighter. "What do you mean?"

It suddenly occurred to me that he wasn't there when Gally and I had that argument this morning. He had ran off to go find Newt, per my request. It felt like I hadn't had an actual conversation with Thomas in ages, one that didn't involve a plan that could possibly end up getting us into so much more trouble than we were already in. He was constantly stressed, thinking of a way that he could help our friend.

I shrugged. "It's really nothing...Gally just said he thinks that getting the serum is a big risk." My hand fell limp from his side as I moved next to him, fiddling with the rags that were used to clean the weapons. "Since nobody was willing to take the risk to do it, I said I would be a volunteer. Gally very quickly...uh rejected that idea."

"Why?" Thomas was quick to ask. "What'd he say?"

I pursed my lips and shrugged, wanting to keep the argument that Gally and I had between us and the people who were in the room at the time. "Nothing much, just that he doesn't want me to hurt myself and be reckless and stuff..."

Thomas raised his eyebrows, tilting his head toward the right as he stared at the ground ahead of us. "Well, I mean you can be a bit reckless sometimes."

I dropped the gun in my hands and gave him a sideways glare, causing the boy to widen his eyes and shrug.

"I-In the best way, I mean..."

"Yeah, right." I rolled my eyes as I went back to wiping the rag across the barrel of the weapon. "I just want everyone I love to be safe. And if that means that I have to do something stupid or...or reckless then I'll do it."

He nodded, understanding. Thomas and I have always understood each other in a way that makes people concerned. It's like we had the same brain sometimes, our need to take care of those we care about outweighing all other decisions. We think with our heart rather than our brain, and sometimes we paid the consequences for that.

"I get it." He breathed, sighing. "But, Brenda did tell me something. Just now."

I hummed through my closed lips, glancing up at my friend for a second. "What's that?"

"She said that we couldn't save everyone."

The words hit me like a bullet in the heart—something I've been feeling a lot today. My hands stopped cleaning the gun, and I felt his hand grip my shoulder.

"I'm not saying that we have to stop trying... Hell, I'm not going to stop until I've hit all the checkmarks on my list." He paused to take a deep breath. "But, I am saying that we both need to be prepared tonight for something bad to happen."

My fingers started to drum on the concrete table, anxiety starting to eat me alive at his words. "Are you saying that someone might die?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. That's what's scary about this whole thing." I crossed my arms over my chest as he turned his body toward me, leaning on the surface. "I know about your thing, Mae. About not knowing what's gonna happen."

My head shot toward him. "Did Newt tell you?"

"Newt?" He scoffed. "No. Anyone could see you have a problem with it. We both do. I've known ever since Ben's banishing... Never said anything because I didn't wanna make it worse." I sighed, relieved that he didn't have to find out from someone else. But I also found myself laughing.

"I guess I'm really bad at hiding my problems, huh?" We both smirked as he shook his head and pursed his lips.

"Nah. I think you might've been better if you didn't want anyone to notice it."

I furrowed my eyebrows at his sentence, not understanding what he meant, but wanting to. "What?"

He looked away, trying to find the right phrase to explain. "I can tell when you don't want to talk about something. It's like when your mom died."

"What's that have to do with anything?" I asked, confused now.

"You get defensive. If you really wanna talk about something, or if something's really bothering you, you try to act as though nothing is wrong. If you don't completely want to be left alone, then you get defensive, which makes people want to know what happened." I stared at him as he spoke, wondering how he cracked the code of pretty much everyone in the entire world.

"How do you know that?" I spoke, awestruck.

He shrugged. "It's pretty obvious. I'm not completely stupid, Mae. Only when it comes to you guys."

I laughed, nodding my head. "So are you calling me out on being an attention seeker?"

"No. God, no." Thomas was quick to shake his head. "Never. I'm telling you that you're just about the most selfless person I've ever met."

Suddenly I shut up, wondering what he meant by saying that. Just as I was about to ask him, Thomas gave me a small smile, tapping my shoulder gently before he walked away. I turned around, mouth slightly open, following him with my gaze just as Frypan entered. Thomas walked over to the boy, probably going over his role in the plan before we decided to actually go.

His words rang in my head like a broken bell as I made my way over to Brenda, who was busy stuffing two pistols into her holsters. I approached her, scratching my head as she looked up and smirked. "Ready?"

I nodded. "Yeah...just let me get my stuff and uh, talk to Newt quickly."

She nodded, letting a harsh breath go through her mouth. Brenda turned toward me and placed both of her hands on my shoulders, looking me in the eye while I scoffed at her expression. "We are going to do this. And we're gonna fuck everyone and everything. We are badasses."

"Fuck?" I asked, never hearing the word before.

The girl stared at me for a few moments before bursting out in laughter, holding her stomach as she cackled. I furrowed my eyebrows, trying to keep my composure as I watched her and people turned their heads to look at us.

"Why are you laughing?"

"I forgot..." She cried, wiping the skin underneath her eyes as she stood back up, starting to calm down now. "I forgot you've been basically living under a rock for most of your life. Oh my." She cleared her throat, taking a deep breath before she talked to me again. "Fuck is basically your version of...what do you call it...shuck!"

"Oh!" I suddenly realized what she was talking about and chuckled to myself. "Why did we make our own words then?"

Brenda shrugged, the smile still prominent on her face.

We stood there for a while in silence, the happiness slowly draining as the moments passed. There was still a heavy weight on our chests, one that we couldn't rid with just laughter. The realization that we were going to preform this plan in less than an hour finally started to creep up on us, and the fear began to set in. We knew that this was something we had to do, scared or not. But still, the weight pressed down on us as a constant reminder of the worst that could happen.

"Are you gonna talk to Newt?" Her voice was quiet as she spoke to me, and I nodded, taking a deep breath.

"I guess I should do that now, huh?"

She nodded as well, placing a hand on my shoulder and pulling me into a hug. I returned the favor, sighing into her shoulder and staring into space for a few short minutes. She pulled back, giving me a small smile and trying to lighten the mood.

"I'll wait for you by the tunnels, okay?" She was talking to me like I was five years old, trying to reassure me that everything was going to be okay.

I silently agreed. "Okay. Just give me like fifteen minutes..." I sighed for the millionth time. "This won't take long."

"Take your time." She murmured, turning around. "But not too much time."

She walked away, and so did I. Returning back to me and Newt's room, I felt the tears start to already prick my eyes. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I stood at the wooden door, my hand on the handle. I ran a hand down my face before shaking my head once and pushing open the barrier.

He was standing in the middle of the room. Not getting dressed, not crying, just standing. I furrowed my eyebrows as I looked at him, fully covered head to toe in a WICKED uniform. His front was facing the concrete window, looking out at the sky. The room had a different atmosphere than the rest of the place we stayed in, and strangely enough, it was almost... peaceful.

Before my brain had the chance to think over my action, my legs started moving toward the boy. My footsteps echoed off the walls, but Newt didn't turn around. I finally approached him, not saying a word as he stared out at the world, unmoving.

With the curiosity that was suddenly set on me, I turned my head to the window as well, looking at what he was staring at.

The moon was front and center. A big, white orb that lit up the area around it in its fullness. My heat melted, the moon meaning so much to the both of us. And now that we both had a perfect view of it, it was like the world was bidding us goodbye as well.

I turned my head to Newt, only to see him continue to stare at the floating rock. His face was expressionless, but at the same time, holding all of what he needed to say.

I didn't speak. I couldn't. This moment was too precious.

My hand slowly moved to grasp his in mine, such a familiar feeling. Almost immediately, his calloused fingers wrapped around mine, squeezing three times. The gesture was simple, something we've done so many times before, but I couldn't help but feel like this would be the last time I ever ran my thumb over his knuckles.

"I still think you're a very beautiful woman... Still remind me of the moon." He whispered, making my heart skip a beat. I remembered the night where we spoke about the moon. It was the night where everything really started to change.

Thomas had came, Newt and I had cracked open the jar of vulnerability with each other, and things in the Glade shifted from a peaceful safe haven for us, to the cause of almost all of our problems. Little did we know that we would be where we are today.

"You're still the sun." I whispered back, letting my thumb trace patterns on the back of his hand. Newt breathed a laugh, finally turning his gaze from the moon, to me, and I did the same. He was a little bit paler now, the bags underneath his eyes prominent.

He was still beautiful. He always will be.

The boy looked down at his body, almost to examine himself in the uniform he was wearing. "How do I look?" He asked, taking a step back, allowing me to see him in his entirety.

I sighed, shrugging. "Like a WICKED guard."

The corners of his mouth turned upwards into a weak smile, making another hole appear in my heart. Seeing him dressed with the logo of the organization that ruined our lives was heartbreaking, something I never thought I would be seeing from someone who hated them as much as Newt. If this were any other circumstance, Newt would be wearing his jacket, and he would get the job done like he always had. But since this was a life or death plan, the boy was willing to do anything that he needed to do to make the situation a little easier.

But the sight made me want to barf.

"Here." He turned around and made his way to the other side of the room, grabbing something from a stray chair. "Since you're gonna be with Brenda, I want you to wear this."

Newt faced me, his eyes down on his jacket in his hands. The same one he had given me when we were walking through the crowd of people yesterday at the riot. It seemed like ages ago that we had saved them from the Cranks, and we had to run from the bombs that were set off by WICKED, trying to kill us for good. But we were too powerful for some random bombs. He also held my red inhaler in his other hand, something I had temporarily forgotten about.

I took the jacket in my hands as he approached, and I stared down at it for a moment. I don't know why the gesture meant so much to me, but it did. Everything around me began to feel hot as I searched for words to say, maybe a thank you, maybe the words that were on my mind...

He must've noticed that I was at a loss, because the boy just smirked and gently gripped my shoulder, turning me around. He grabbed the jacket from my hands and slowly helped me into it. The piece of clothing was big on me, the sleeves stopping about a couple inches away from where my fingertips ended. The bottom of the coat was to mid-thigh, warming me up and providing the same amount of comfort as one of his hugs. Needless to say, I loved this jacket. But the fact that he was giving it to me made my thoughts wonder to why—was it a goodbye gift? Something to remember him by? Did he know something I didn't?

"You look good in that." He murmured as I turned back to face him. "You can have it."

"I don't want it." I immediately spoke back without thinking. His face dropped, and I covered my face with my hands, mentally cursing myself. "I-I didn't mean it like that...sorry. I just mean that I think you should keep it for when you come back. When we get to the Safe Haven I mean."

He sighed, staying quiet for a moment too long. "I know. And it's okay. I just want you to wear it tonight, okay?"

Despite the screaming in my mind, and the weight on my chest, I nodded. "Okay."

"Okay." He murmured. "And here's this. You need this." The boy handed my my inhaler, and I actually took it without an argument, knowing that I had to take it with me. I placed the tool into the front pocket of my jeans, not wanting to risk the danger of having it in the back.

I nodded, and he hummed through his closed lips taking a step closer and wrapping his arms around my neck, hugging me. I returned the favor, clutching onto his waist like he was my life support. I guess in some ways, he was.

We stayed like that for a few moments, never wanting to leave each other's side. but when he pat my upper back once, I let go, and Newt stepped away. I watched as he walked over to the bed, grabbing something from within the sheets. He turned, facing me as he stuffed his tattered and worn leather covered journal into his uniform. I shook my head, taking a single step toward him.

"You're taking that with you?" I asked, and he nodded, zipping up the jacket he had to wear.

"If—When we come back out, we're not gonna have enough time to make a pitstop back here just so I can get my journal." He shrugged. "So I'm bringing it with me."

I pursed my lips and matched his previous action, nodding my head in agreement. I hadn't realized how important that journal was to him... Of course, I noticed him writing in it every possible chance he had, but I thought it was just a hobby of his, not something that mattered so much.

"Okay."

Newt zipped up his jacket and took a breath, coughing once, then placing his hand flat on his chest like the action surprised him. He raised his eyebrows, then looked at me, and I felt the corners of my mouth tugging up into a sympathetic smile. With nothing but a shake of his head, the boy stepped forward and grabbed my hand.

"Let's go find the others."

We walked out of the room, taking slow steps toward the place where everyone else was. Our steps echoed throughout the hall as we walked in unison, and my mindset changed. It was no longer sentimental, hanging onto the last moments with Newt and wanting to delay the plan that we had out of fear. Instead, it went into game time mode. The flip switched, and my mentality where I was prone to being reckless was turned on. The one that thought with her heart rather than her brain, and the one where all of the ninja skills were ready for performance.

In conclusion, my badass switch was turned on.

As we entered, I noticed that everyone was in here. They were all doing their own things, probably getting their own mindset ready like I had done. Thomas and Gally were in their uniforms, while Brenda was standing against the wall, her arms crossed over her chest while she stared at the floor, her mind somewhere else.

Gally lifted his head up to see Newt and I walk up to Thomas, and he placed the finishing touches on his outfit as we all gathered around.

"Hey." I spoke, making his head shoot up to look at Newt and I. His eyes met Newt's, and the boy nodded, silently telling Thomas he felt fine, which was an obvious lie. But we all knew Newt wasn't going to sympathize for himself and make everyone change the plan just for his sake.

Gally walked up to us. "We all ready?"

I looked around at the faces of my friends who stood around. There was determination, fear...but I think that everyone was on the same page about wanting to get Minho back. I nodded, being the only one to answer his question. He looked at Newt, then at me, and I nodded again.

"Alright." Thomas murmured, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "Fry already left to get to the crane, and Brenda, Mae," He spoke to us girls. "That's where you're gonna drive a bus to get us out of there, okay? Jorge should be waiting with the Berg when we get there, so we get Minho, get as many kids as we can, get the serum, jump in the bus, and we get on the Berg to take us back to camp."

I nodded, listening as he explained the plan a final time. "Lawrence should be trying to turn the cameras off, so we should be good. Just as long as nobody notices who we are."

We were silent for a while, everyone knowing their parts already. The four of us stared at each other for a bit, eyes flashing from one face to the other. I didn't know what to say, this moment was so serious I could practically feel it all over. I began to wiggle my fingers in anticipation, the adrenaline already beginning to take its toll on me. I could feel the anxiety start to pick up, but this time, it was the kind of anxiety that made you want to run a mile rather than hurt yourself. I guess it was the good type of anxiety.

"Well what the fuck are we doing just standing around?" I blurted out, using the word that Brenda had taught me earlier. Everyone looked at me, furrowing their eyebrows while Brenda just chuckled and shook her head.

"What?"

"New word I learned." I murmured quickly, waving it off. "Now let's go or else we're just gonna waste time."

"Okay." Thomas' voice lowered. "Let's go save Minho."