REDEMPTION.
[ chapter seventeen ]

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

EVEN WITH A BULLET NESTLED IN HER SIDE, Evelyn manages to wrap her hand around Janson's ankle, preventing him from chasing after Thomas. He falls flat on his face, the gun sliding along the floor away from him while Evelyn shakily pushes herself up, a hand still clamped down on her wound.

Janson raises up, "You never give up, do you?"

She shrugs, grunting lowly as she watches his every move carefully, "The same can be said for you," She raises a bloody hand to wipe her hair from her eyes, painting her face with her own blood.

Suddenly, Janson charges forward, his arms wrapping around her waist as he runs her into a wall behind her, her back dancing against the surface. She lets out a bloodcurdling yell as he lands a punch across her face, spraying blood on the floor. She jerks her knee up, driving it into his crotch before kicking him away from her and he stumbles back, tripping on a bit of rumble from the explosion.

Evelyn dashes towards his gun, picking it up from the floor and raising it, but her hands won't stop shaking and the pain shooting through her abdomen causes every shot she makes to miss, until finally one bullet lands in his leg. As he slouches over in pain, Evelyn drops the gun and runs into the room Thomas and Teresa escaped into.

"Eve," Teresa hisses, watching as the other brunette slides down onto the floor behind a set of drawers.

"Yeah?" Evelyn grunts.

Teresa bites her lip, her gaze going down to her hands that are clamped over Thomas' stomach, "Thomas— he's— he's been shot too."

Evelyn's eyes grow wide in an instant, and she's twisting her body around before shuffling quickly over to Teresa's side, looking down at Thomas as he lays his head back against the metal cabinet, groaning as Teresa's fingers press into his wound.

"Eve," He croaks, raising a shaky hand to motion to her own wound which she still has a hand on, "You— you're shot."

"I know, big guy," She hums, grimacing at the sight of the blood staining his shirt, "But so are you."

Teresa looks between the both, watching as Evelyn's face screws up in pain as another jab rolls over her body, "I need to get you both out of here immediately. You're not going to be able to survive long with the bullets inside you."

Not being able to speak properly to reply, Evelyn coughs, dropping down and letting her back slam against the cabinet beside Thomas.

"Is he dead?" Thomas asks, swallowing thickly as he turns his head to stare into Evelyn's brown eyes.

She shakes her head, her chest pumping up and down as she slides a cloth off the table above her, pressing it against her wound while Teresa does the same for Thomas, "I shot him in the leg, but—"

"I know you're still in here," Janson calls quietly, his staggered footsteps carrying through the room.

The three of them fall silent, glaring at one another to keep quiet and Thomas' hand curls around Evelyn, squeezing as Teresa continues to fiddle with his wound. Eve glances at him, keeping her gaze strictly on him in an attempt to ignore Janson's searching steps.

"You gotta go," Thomas whispers, barely making a sound while he nods firmly, "Eve, you. . . you gotta get out of here."

Her eyebrows raise and she shakes her, squeezing his hand once more, "Shut up. If you're dying here, then so am I."

She knows his wound is far worse than hers. He has an exit wound on his back, meaning he's currently bleeding from two holes at the same time when only one is able to be covered effectively. Though her abdomen is on fire, and she can feel the blood dripping down her hip onto the floor, her free hand is still thrown across his lap, latched over his wound.

"Teresa, I admit, you had me fooled," Janson calls throughout the room, creeping as slow as possible, "I thought we were friends."

At hearing his voice once more, Evelyn gaze flows from her boyfriend's pained expression to the tiled floor in front of her, while she listens out carefully for his steps, figuring out that he's still by the door.

Suddenly Teresa shoots away from the bleeding pair, smashing a glass beaker as she rushes past a cabinet, causing the old man to prance around the corner, hoping to have caught his prey, but all he sees is shattered glass littering the floor.

"Maybe it's just in your nature to betray the people closest to you," Janson says, keeping his tone soft and quiet.

Evelyn's jaw clenches as she watches him walk past their place slumped against the side of a set of drawers. Thomas keeps his eyes on the side of his girlfriend's head, his eyes frantically running over every detail of her face, hoping it won't be the last time he sees her.

Behind Janson, Teresa jumps across a gap between two tables, clanging a medical tray in the process, causing the man to whirl around in an instant and shoot a bullet in her direction before advancing over.

"Come on," He tuts, "Let's not prolong this. We both know there's no way out of here."

Releasing Thomas' hand, Evelyn drags herself along the floor, leaving a trail of blood as she presses her back against the front of the set of cabinets, her head whipping over her shoulder to look at Thomas, who's shuffling over to the front of other drawers beside her, his jaw grinding in pain.

"Thomas," Janson calls, "Eve," She can hear his smirk from his perky tone, but the sound of his staggered footsteps causes a smirk to break out on her own lips, "Teresa," He sings.

Evelyn slowly turns her head from the floor to Thomas, and she nudges her head to the side, telling him to shuffle once more around the drawers so he's from Janson's sight. With tears on his cheeks, Thomas does as told, his eyes never leaving hers as she begs for Janson not to find him.

Feeling a hand wrap around her ankle, Evelyn let's out a bloodcurdling scream as her body is dragged out into the large opening of the room, her back slamming down onto the tiles and another roar passes her lips as her abdomen smashes against the hard surface. From his hiding spot, Thomas' eyes widen and he turns quickly to look around the corner, a shout passing from his lungs as he watches Janson laugh before stepping over Evelyn.

"Find you," The man beams down at her.

Her expressions falls as she stares up at him, her body too weak to move a single inch while she feels her legs begin to loose their feeling.

"EVE!" Thomas bellows from his position, reaching a shaky hand for her, his body immobile too. He lets out a gasp of desperation when her head falls to the side to look at him, "Please," He begs almost silently, his throat too scratched from him to shoot anymore.

Janson hand snaps around her jaw, clamping it shut before she can reply and turning her head back to him. She watches as his gun raises from his side to press against her forehead, the red hot barrel scorching her skin, but she can't even bring herself to react.

"Go on," She whispers, causing Thomas' head to shake frantically as he attempts to hear her, "Do it."

The man's face falls at her words, almost as if he's upset that she's so willing to die in his hands. At the other side of the room, Teresa's hissing quietly at Thomas, but his ears are too focussed on Evelyn to listen as she manoeuvres him away from the fight slightly, ensuring that Janson won't get to him.

"You can't," Evelyn says, feeling the gun shake against her forehead, "You can't kill me, can you?"

His head shakes slightly, and he swallows thickly, adding more pressure to the gun, "I can. Of course I can."

"Then why aren't you?" She breathes, raising her hand to curl it around his wrist and keep him still.

"Because. . . because. . ."

Before he can even mutter out a response, Evelyn's hand shoots up from his wrist to the back of his head to smack his face down on the hard surface beside her own face. Letting out a loud of pain at the quick movement, she pushes herself backwards along the floor, trying to get away from him while he curses, rubbing the reddened area on his forehead.

"Because you're scared of me," She laughs, hearing Thomas and Teresa whispering behind her as she comes to a stop, shakily using all of her strength to pull herself from the floor, "You don't believe in yourself to kill me. But, come on, Janson. I'm just a kid who's life you ruined!"

From his place on the floor, Thomas sobs, listening to his girlfriend's tone while Teresa keeps a hand on his wound, "Eve," He says quietly to her, "You— she can't die. You can't let her die."

"I know, Thomas, I know," Teresa rushes, "But you're more important. You're blood—"

"I'm going to die, Teresa," He swallows thickly, his eyes falling to his side where all his precious blood is falling from his body and to the lab floor, "But, Eve. . . she can't die. No. She won't."

Watching as he proceeds towards her, Evelyn lets out another shout of pain as her legs give way below her before she drops to the floor, allowing him to step over her again, his head tilting daringly. His hand drops from his side, and curls around the back of her head, dragging her up from the floor by the hair on the back of her scalp. A scream erupts from her lungs as he holds her before him.

At the sound of her terror, Thomas pushes Teresa away with all of his might before turning his body and shuffling along the floor, his jaw clamping shut while he attempts to remain silent. He comes to a stop beside a stool, his hand curling around the leg but as his eyes land on Evelyn's dangling form in front of Janson, his expression drops even further, and all that runs through his veins is hatred, and pure anger for the man clutching her.

"Thomas!" Teresa hisses, sliding down to his side again, her eyes flicking frantically from his wound and face.

As Evelyn lets out a cry of pain, Thomas too lets out a sob, pushing himself from the floor quickly with the stool in his grip, "JANSON!" He roars, and as soon as the man glance his away, he throws the metal chair to the glass behind him.

As Janson ducks below the soaring chair, his hand release Evelyn and Thomas drops to the floor as she hits the ground with another shout, before dragging herself away from the man, watching as the glass slowly cracks behind his head.

"Missed, you little shit," Janson snarls, his gun now pointed directly at Thomas.

Thomas coughs, "Did I?"

The glass barrier behind him that was keeping the experiment cranks from attacking him begins to crack quickly, the jagged lines littering the translucent surface as Janson turns to look at it, not being able to process the moment before the two jailed cranks jump through at him. Both of them immediately catching him, arms wrapping around his body as their teeth digging into his flesh, leaving him in a pile of agonising yells.

"EVE!" Thomas shouts, eyes flying around in the room in search for the injured girl. His back straightens at her absence as he attempts to look over at the tabletops, "EVELYN!"

But she's unable to reply, watching silently as Janson gets eaten alive. With one hand cradling her wound, she stares at the scene, a wicked smile working it's away onto her face when Janson's thrashing gaze lands on her to the side of him. He gargles out her name, one hand shooting from below the crank to reach for her as she continues to shuffle back.

Teresa drops to her side, pulling her from the floor and throwing her arm over her shoulder to drag her through the room towards Thomas, who lets out a relieved sob when his girlfriend's betrayed form comes into view.

"Eve," He croaks, "Eve, are you okay?"

Staggering away from Teresa, she ignores his question before grabbing his bicep and pulling him from the ground, Teresa at his other side.

"We gotta get out of here," Teresa breathes.

"Well, I wasn't planning on staying," Evelyn coughs roughly, her body lurching forward as blood falls from her mouth and Thomas' arm drops from her grasp.

Teresa throws her head over her shoulder at the slumped girl, "Eve, I've got him, okay? I can't— I can't help both of you. Can you walk?"

"No, no," Thomas pants, his eyes fighting to stay open as he tries to turn his head to Eve, "Help— help Eve."

Evelyn raises a shaky hand, waving them away as she attempts to bury the pain blooming through her body, "I'm— I'm fine. Just— just get outta here. I'll catch you up, okay?"

Teresa's brows furrow, "Eve, are you—"

"Yes!" The girl yells, "Go! Get him out of here, and lord help you, Teresa, if he dies, I'll fucking kill you."

Teresa nods firmly towards Evelyn, before continuing out of the room and down the hallway while Thomas struggles under her grip, his girlfriend's name roaring through his throat and echoing down the hallway. Evelyn stumbles out of the lab after them, noticing them ahead as they shuffle around flying sparks and flames before escaping into the fire exit towards the roof.

The two of them stare out across the roof in shock, the whole city around them burning, but there's also no escape rout from there, causing Teresa to turn them once more.

"Come on, let's go. . . back," She grunts, shifting Thomas' weight slightly.

But as they take a step back towards the roof doors, a burst of flames flies out at them, causing them to shoot back in shock. Watching as the fire curls around the door, Thomas' body falls still as he stares at him in horror, his mouth dropping open.

"Eve," He whispers, head beginning to shake quicker and quicker as he fights Teresa to rush towards the door, "EVE!"

Teresa drags him away, "Thomas, stop! She's. . . she's gone."

He collapses to the floor, her at his side while he begins to hyperventilate, the pain in his side almost seeming small and meaningless now, "No, no, no. She's not— she's in there! I need. . . I need to go get her."

"Thomas." Teresa bites her lip, a hand landing on his back as the city collapses around them, their building will be next, "She's gone."

Her words never flow into his ears, his mind too distracted by the horror of Evelyn's death replaying to him. Ever since his first day in the Glade when he laid eyes on Evelyn running back through the maze doors, he knew she was someone special to him. And then when they were trapped in the maze for that nightmarish night, she was fearless, and as he watched her kill the griever, he knew she would be the one to make WCKD fall.

Never would he have thought she would fall with it.

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authors note.
ah...
ta-da!

lmao
god awful chapter