𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐋𝐒 || 𝐠𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲

𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠

ALEX GROANED AS SHE SAT UP WHEREVER THE HELL SHE WAS. She wiped her eyes and looked around to see that she was in a tent of some sort. She cried out in pain as she felt a sudden jab of pain in her stomach, and she glanced down to see that it was wrapped in bloody cloth. All of a sudden, everything came flooding back to her — Nick, the gun, escaping WICKED.

She had died.

She heard low breathing, and she whipped around, ignoring how much it hurt to see Gally sitting in a chair next to the bed that she was in. His head was slumped on his shoulder, indicating that he was asleep. She grinned at the sight of him since she thought she would never see him again. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and leaned over to tap him on the shoulder.

He jerked awake and looked around, startled until his eyes landed on her, and the entire world seemed to stop for a moment. He did not say a thing. He just stood up and pulled her into a strong but gentle hug. She smiled. "I missed you too."

"I thought you were dead," he breathed out, and she could tell that he had really been scared.

She pushed him away just slightly by putting her hand on his chest so that she could look up at him. She shook her head as he beamed down at her, so happy that she was safe and there with him. "You can't get rid of me that easily." He pulled her back in, and this time, she let him hold her. She had never felt more safe.

All of the survivors were sitting around a fire in the Safe Haven. There were probably at least a hundred people there, including all of the kids they saved from WICKED. They all had cups filled with a version of Gally's concoction that he made in the Glade. He had to make a few substitutions, but it was just as disgusting as before.

Vince was standing in front of them on the other side of the fire, raising the drink in his hand. Everyone quieted down as he started to speak so that they could hear what he was saying. "We have come a long way together. So many have sacrificed so much to make this place possible. Your friends and your family. So here's to the ones who couldn't be here. Here's to the friends we lost. This place is for you. It's for all of us. But this, this is for them. So, in your own time, in your own way, come make your peace. And welcome to the Safe Haven."

"Yeah!" they all cheered with grins. Everyone was thinking of the people they had lost along the way, the people that had helped them get to where they were then— Chuck, Alby, Winston, Teresa.

"You all want some food?" Vince questioned, and he was met with excited yells. He chuckled, knowing that they had finally found a home. "This is gonna be a good home for us."

As everyone stood up to get food and celebrate the fact that they had finally won, Gally stood in front of Alex and offered his hand out for her to take so that he could pull her up. "Dance with me."

"There's no music," she responded, and he just shrugged as if to say 'So?" So, she just grabbed his hand and allowed him to tug her toward the fire. He pulled her closer to him and placed his hands on her waist as she wrapped hers around his neck. "You know, I could get used to this life."

"Me too." He seemed so happy that she was in his arms. "Oh, and I forgot to tell you. I love you too," he added.

She furrowed her eyebrows, not the most impressed with the delivery of something so big, He had said it before, but that was months ago. His 'I love you' time had expired, so he needed to have a better way to say it. "Wow. You just said that so nonchalantly."

"How am I supposed to say it?" he asked curiously with a confused expression. He loved her. It was as simple as that. He loved her more than anything, and he would do anything for her.

"I don't know," she replied with a shrug since she was not totally sure what she meant. Even though it was not huge or anything, she still got butterflies in her stomach when it came out of his mouth. "Mine was so dramatic."

He shot her a look since there was a very big difference between that moment and the one where she told him that she loved him. There was a bit more blood and tears involved. "Well, you were dying."

"Still I feel robbed."

"Will this make you feel better?" Her eyes widened as he lowered himself down onto his knees and grabbed both of her hands in his, shaking them as he yelled out so loud that the entire crowd could hear him. "Alexis, I love you more than anything in this world."

Minho yelled something about getting a room, but she was so focused on the boy in front of her as she pulled him back up into the dancing position. "Much better."

"It's kind of weird not having anything to be running from," he commented after a moment. For as long as they could remember, they had always had something that they were up against, something to be scared of.

"Well, I love it," she informed him, and she leaned forward to rest her head on his shoulder as they swayed to the sounds of laughter and happiness. They had won. They had made it to the Safe Haven. They were finally free from the reign of WICKED, and as Gally held her, she knew everything was going to be okay. "I don't think I'll ever run again."