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G A M E O F
S U R V I V A L

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*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*

𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐞
𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐭 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞
𝐢𝐟 𝐢 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐢 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐚𝐢𝐦

*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*

chapter eleven
we're sticking together

.·:*¨༺     ★      ༻¨*:·.

      HER HANDS grabbed the jacket throwing it over her face to shield her from the sunlight. An annoying sound of pecking had woken Rosie up from her uncomfortable sleep. She shifted positions before feeling a small rock dig into her side. The girl groaned sitting up as Thomas had started yelling at a bird, "Hey! Hey!" The boy used his hands to scare the bird away, "hey! Get out of here!"

       "Morning," Minho greeted as he started sitting up while Thomas was already up looking around to make sure the cranks had left.

       "Mornin'," Rosie responded undoing her messy ponytail shaking her hair out.

"Are they gone?" Newt sat up to question Thomas.

"Yeah, I think we're safe for now." Thomas nodded, "We should get moving. Let's pack it up." He stated grabbing his backpack as the majority of the gladers had sat up. "Aris, c'mon, Fry, Winston, let's go."

Rosie sighed rubbing her face before covering her mouth letting out a yawn. The three girls stay quiet not speaking a word to anyone as they start packing their stuff into their backpacks. Mara checked the canteens making sure all of them had plenty of water left.

The sound of a struggling boy grabbed Rosie's attention as she turned to see Winston struggling. He couldn't sit up by himself. "Hey man," Frypan spoke grabbing a hold of his best friend's hand who grunted, "you okay?"

Teresa stands up cleaning off the dirt off her pants before grabbing her backpack and putting it on her shoulders. Rosie watched her from afar despising her for last night's interaction. It made her more wary of Teresa. She brought up a personal topic that she forced Rosie to talk about.

"You ready?" Rosie turned back around to see Newt standing in front of her with his hand stretched out to her. His backpack hanging on one shoulder as the girl frowned up at the boy who sighed, "I'm sorry. I lost my temper. I was out of line."

Rosie accepted his hand helping her up. "You really were." The boy dusted her back off and quickly dusting her butt before any of the boys noticed. "But I accept your apology."

"Good." Newt mumbled placing a soft kiss on her cheek. "That's the last time we go to sleep before resolving an issue. Especially if we're arguing."

       The girl hums in agreement still feeling hurt by his words from last night. Anything related to Gally was a sensitive topic to her and especially if it was against him. Rosie brushed it off though focusing on the task at hand as she picked up her backpack off the floor. "Where the hell are we?"

       Jessie replies, "think it might be the border of Colorado but I'm not sure."

       "How do you know?" Minho asks heading to the curly headed girl as he put his backpack on.

       Jessie glanced over to the boy who was already looking over at her. Enough nerves came together causing Jessie to look the other way. She tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear feeling sweat starting to form on her hands, "I tried studying the map back inside the compound. Malakai explained that we'd probably start around Colorado's border. I could be wrong and we could be in New Mexico."

       Samadhi raised her eyebrow up noticing the shift in Jessie's mood once Minho had walked gotten close to her proximity. She could see Jess fiddle with her fingers as she avoided eye-contact with Minho who didn't break his. A little smile showing up on his lips as he listened to Jessie explain herself. The friend analyzed the boy's movements making sure Jess was safe in his presence.

       "We need to get going." Thomas interrupted the conversation walking in between them, "you two can keep talking while we walk."

Jessie lifted her head up from her hands nodding right away when Mara added to Thomas' comment, "he's right. We don't know how long we've been sleeping which means WICKED is probably nearby."

Rosie turned to check up on Winston who was currently leaning on Frypan's shoulder. "You alright?" She questioned the ill boy.

An excess amount of sweat had prickled around his face and the bandage that was put on last night looked like it already needed a replacement. Winston nodded even though he could feel the pain slowly starting to get worse. He didn't want to slow the group down especially now that they've escaped the facility and he's the only one injured.

"Yea," he spoke quietly trying to not worry her even though she already was especially now that his condition had worsened. "I can walk on my own and everything still, look."

Winston walked a few steps without Frypan's help to try and help Rosie ease her mind with less worry. The boy faked a smile holding in the pain shooting throughout his chest. He knew she wasn't completely convinced when she offered to carry his backpack.

"Fine, but I'm carrying your stuff." Rosie accepted before extending her hand out to grab his backpack.

The tan boy took a step back shaking his head, "I told you I'm fine!" Winston responded not knowing who he was trying to convince anymore. Rosie or himself. "I got it. I'll let you know if I can't anymore." The girl narrowed her eyes at him as he rolled his eyes adding on, "fine. I promise I'll let you know."

      The girl pointed her finger at him, "I swear to God, Winston, if you are pretending that you're not in pain I will kill you myself." Rosie threatened the boy, "don't lie to me. We don't have time to be faking—"

      Winston walked over to her placing his hands on both sides of her shoulders looking into her eyes, "I'm okay. Really."

       The older cousin huffed in annoyance as Frypan spoke up, "I'll snitch on him if he's not."

     Newt walked over comfortably placing his arm around Rosie's shoulders trying to guide her away from the two boys. "C'mon, sweet, let's get a move on."

Rubbing her arms, she nodded following Thomas who had already started walking while actively listening to Jess. She tried to remember the map but the lack of proper food intake was already taking a toll on her. Minho had already noticed her shift in energy as she started to quiet down and make shorter steps.

The group of runaways walked through the ruins. Their eyes wondering around piles of debris and destroyed buildings. Rosie's eyes widen feeling a shock of pain rush through her healing shoulder. The girl swung her arm back and forth in discomfort as she tried to cover it with her massaging her stiff neck. The girl swallowed afraid to check her shoulder.

      Malakai had explained that she would need a new dose in a few days to control the infection from spreading. He hoped the dose he gave her was enough till she finds the Right Arm. He didn't think about any side effects. Samadhi walked a few feet behind her already speculating something was wrong with the girl in front of her. But she stayed silent keeping the information to herself.

      The city looked atrocious. Abandoned cars and trucks, a few crushed together and piles of crumbling buildings. A few of the gladers wondered if this was how the real world looked like and if this was what they fought hard for. Rosie, on the other hand, knew most cities looked like this. A few amount of cities remained intact with the help of elite power who pushed out the families that couldn't afford living there.

      Winston stopped for a brief second feeling his stomach grumble. The boy coughed heavily grabbing the attention of all the worried Gladers. "You alright?" Teresa questions standing at an appropriate distance away from him.

       The boy nodded using his palm to wipe away the excessive sweat on his forehead. Samadhi turns to Mara before suggesting an idea, "I could try to give him one of the doses, Kai packed."

      Mara raised her eyebrow thinking the idea wasn't a bad one. "Ask Rosie first and see if Winston is comfortable."

      Samadhi nodded taking a few steps further reaching Rosie and Thomas to explain her idea, "hey, I can give him some antibiotic that Kai gave me for my pain. Maybe it can help Winston—"

       The blue eyed girl interrupted the private conversation between the three before Sam could convince the two. "Thomas, you're not actually letting her are you?" Teresa asks crossing her arms before pointing at Samadhi, "we don't know these girls. She could kill him."

      Samadhi could feel a burning sensation in her chest the moment Teresa had accused her of trying to kill Winston. With a sharp tongue, Sam argues back tilting her head to the left, "If I wanted to kill him, he would already be dead. All of you would be."

     Rosie ran her fingers through her hair as she watched the argument go down. From the little Rosie knew about Sam was she could definitely handle herself. The boys stayed quiet not knowing the appropriate time to shut the fight down.

      Teresa felt standoffish as she didn't know how far to go with her. "I'm just watching over him, alright? We don't know you or where you come from. You could be working for WCKD and sending them our locations for all we know."

       The girl let out a humorless laugh pointing at Teresa before turning to Mara and Jess, "are you guys hearing this crap?"

       Shrugging her shoulders, Teresa tucked a lock of hair behind her ear as she continued, "we're trying to survive here and you're not helping."

       "I'm not helping?" Samadhi scoffed rubbing her face as she took a breath doing her best to hold herself back. "What have you done to help? Hmm?"

      Teresa opened her mouth to respond but nothing came into her mind as she realized all she had done was run and protect herself. "I—I."

      "Exactly." Samadhi cut her off taking a few steps forward while taking her blade out before pointing it on the bottom of her chin. "You know, I remember you." She admitted, "all of the suffering we're going through, what others are going through—it's because of you and people like you."

      Teresa moved away feeling guilt consume her chest as she didn't know what was the right thing to do. This time Thomas intervened not allowing for someone to attack Teresa, "hey, that doesn't count anymore, okay? We're not like them anymore. She's a survivor just like us—"

      Samadhi cuts him off pointing at her again, "oh really? Have you checked her—"

       "That's enough, Sam." Mara stepped in grabbing a hold of her friend's arm to stop her from continuing.

      Thomas furrowed his eyebrows in confusion wondering what Samadhi was going to spill before Mara stopped her. Samadhi laughed for a second before turning to her two friends, "tell them I'm just trying to keep him alive!"

      "I know, honey, I know." Jess comforted her friend by rubbing her arm. "But, just leave it alone, okay? It's their problem if they don't want our help."

      Rosie walked over to Samadhi who was going to explain what her antibiotic did until Teresa spat back, "we don't know them! Why are they still with us!?"

      "Watch it, Teresa." The Latina had tried to remain calm during the argument but she was soon about to lose her control. "They're survivors just like us and they're heading the same place we are."

       Mara clicked her tongue being over Teresa's unsureness as she pulled her sleeves up. "You know what? You have every right to doubt us. We'll leave if you want."

      "Great!" Teresa exclaimed, "please do so!"

       Rosie rolled her eyes before realizing the three girls were grabbing their stuff talking to each other in low voices. The girls had taken a few steps before Rosie stopped them. "Stop it! We're staying together."

      "No," Teresa grabbed a hold of Rosie's injured arm, "let them leave." Out of an instinct, Rosie grabbed a hold of the girl's hand twisting it watching Teresa's eyes widen in pain. "Let me go!" Teresa cried out in pain as she felt herself being pushed harshly down to the ground.

      "Rosie!" She could hear Thomas and Newt yell at her as they rush to help Teresa up.

       "What is wrong with you?!" Newt questioned in confusion and anger as he kneeled down to help the girl on the ground. "Rosie! Apologize!"

       The girl avoided her boyfriend as she looked down at the girl who was still on the ground. Rosie crouched down close to Teresa's proximity. A few tears had run down Teresa's face fearing the girl in front of her. Her shaking hand grabbed a hold of Teresa's chin, "touch me again and next time I will hurt you."

       "Rosie!" Newt yelled as he had hoped she would have actually apologized, Rosie removed her hand before standing back up. "Why you acting like a fucking twat? Come back 'ere and apologize!"

       Newt tried to bring some sense into her as he realized he had seen a mild version of the violent acts Rosie told him about. The boy watched her slip her backpack on before announcing, "if they go, I go."

       Newt immediately butted in cursing in almost every sentence, "are you out of your fuckin' mind? You ain't leaving!"

      "No one's leaving!" Minho raised his voice silencing everyone. "We are sticking together to survive! Alright! Shut your traps and let's keep going!"

       Everyone went quiet silently nodding and doing what he told them to do. Nobody ever said it out loud, but Minho had a type of authority that everyone listened to. Including Rosie who she used to fight it but let herself follow him. It was an authority Thomas wished he had at times. Times like these when he had begged them to remain calm and he couldn't. How Minho spoke a few words and everyone did as he told.

      The group walked in silence for a good amount of time taking in the abandoned city. The silence was quickly cut by Frypan, "what the hell happened to this place?"

      Samadhi turned her body around grabbing the attention of the three other girls. "What is it?" Jess questioned quietly as the boys continued their conversation.

      "I don't know," Newt replied his hand shielding his eyes from the blazing sun, "but it doesn't look like anyones been here for a long time."

       "They're here." Samadhi announced

        "I hope the world isn't all like this." Aris spoke up for the first time in awhile. He had felt severely out of place since everyone else were friends and he was the lonely tag along.

       "Woah! Woah! Hang on stop!" Thomas yelled, "do you hear that?" The sound of a distant helicopter was heard by the gladers, "Get down! Everybody hide! Hide! Get in here! In here!"

      The group of gladers rushed to hide under a piece of freeway construction. The sound of the helicopters became louder as they passed them. "They're never going to stop looking for us, are they?" Minho asked as they all watched the helicopters get farther and farther away.

Samadhi turned her head to look over at Mara and Jess after Minho's question. Mara lifts her pointer finger up and brings it up to her lips as she shook her head. Sam nodded feeling some guilt starting to eat her alive. Sam knew that even if WICKED gave up on searching for Thomas, they'll never give up in search for their best prodigy, which was herself.

"Come on, we have to keep going."

The Gladers slip out of their hiding spot and continue their path in search for the Right Arm. Newt glances behind himself before stopping in his tracks to be at Rosie's pace. Rosie acknowledged the boy by nodding at him and letting him walk next to her.

"What was earlier about?" Newt asked out of the blue as they came to a stop noticing the tall hill a few of them would have trouble crossing.

"What was what?" Rosie asked avoiding the elephant in the room as she figured how much more energy she had to get up the sand hill.

Newt pursed his lips as he didn't want to fall into Rosie's games so he stated bluntly, "your aggressiveness against Teresa. You hurt her."

The girl blinked registering the last sentence in her brain as Newt waited for her response. "I hurt her?" Rosie questioned him as he nodded, "I pushed her to the ground, Newt. I didn't fucking stab her. You're so dramatic."

Newt raised his eyebrow at the girl's hostility. "What's up your ass, Rosie?"

"Maybe the fact that you care more about Teresa's wellbeing than mine." Rosie stressed knowing that wasn't the real reason she was acting on her emotions.

"Since when?" The boy asked in surprise not understanding what was wrong with his past actions.

"The moment you took her side instead of mine." The girl grumbled as she watched the Gladers start to walk up the sand hill. "Especially when you tried to force me to apologize." Rosie turned to face her boyfriend, "don't ever think you have that type of authority over me."

Newt rubbed the back of his neck thinking he was actually in the wrong as Rosie started to explain her point of view. "I—okay, I understand where you're coming from but you literally bruised her wrist, Rosie. How? I don't know, but you did. Why are you so against her?"

       The boy followed behind Rosie's actions as she started walking up the hill. "I don't trust her."

       "But you trust them?" Newt motioned to the three girls walking a few feet behind them.

       "A lot more than her if I'm being honest," Rosie replied grabbing onto a piece of metal as she felt her foot slipping. The girl pulled herself up with her other foot before pointing at the spot she almost slipped on, "don't step there."

      Newt took her advice and avoided the slippery step. "You're acting like a nutter, Rosie. We don't know those girls."

      "We don't know Teresa either." Rosie interrupted him, "but I know Jess. I remember her and she remembers me. I'm starting to remember more things, Newt. Things you wouldn't like, so, please, stop putting me in some sort of pedestal you have me on. I won't be able to control my actions. You'll soon see who i really am."

      The boy loved the girl with everything he had. At times, it felt he loved her more than she loved him. Rosie consumed every part of him. She was it for him, whether she wanted him or not. Newt was blinded by the girl in front of him.

      "Nothing you've done or could do can change the way I feel about you. Alright?" Newt spoke trying to reassure her.

      Newt was completely hers. And oh, how he wished Rosie was his. But the moment Rosie glanced back, he didn't see it in her eyes. He didn't see the way he loved her. All he saw was this guilt and emptiness roaming inside her. It was a pity smile she forced herself to show before continuing her walk up the hill.

Jess had been struggling to walk up the hill and also noticed Winston was too. She didn't tell anyone though knowing how stubborn that boy was. He would never ask for help even at times like these when he could barely keep going. It didn't take very long for Samadhi and Mara to notice her lagging behind though.

Mara had already announced to Rosie that they'd stop to let Jessie rest. "Go on, we'll catch up." She stated to Rosie who had offered her help but was told instead to keep walking.

Rosie reached the top of the hill hearing Thomas pointing miles away, "those mountains that's gotta be it. That's where we're going."

The British boy looked ahead noticing the big distance between them as he started to get wary. "That's a long way off."

"Than we better keep moving." Minho murmured glancing behind himself to see where the three girls were at. Mara and Samadhi were at Jessie's sides helping her up.

Minho was a second close to offering his help before the Gladers next to him yelled after their fallen friend, "Winston!"

"He's hurt pretty bad!" Teresa exclaimed as Rosie tried to check his pulse noticing it was at a racing speed. "What do we do?"

Panic showed across Rosie's face as she didn't know what to do. Winston was worn out and didn't have much energy left to keep going. It took a lot of strength to keep herself together as things like these triggered her.

"Winston can you hear me?" Newt asked

The three girls arrive to the scene taking a notice of Winston on the ground unresponsive. Everyone trying to figure out what to do. "I've got an idea." Mara blurted out as she started to explain, "we can use some of the stuff we have to construct a lift and help carry him."

     And rather quickly the Gladers came together to build the lift.