Deadly Atmosphere | Aris Jones [3]

13 || No More Suffering

"Gwyneth, it's okay. We're getting there, just keep going..."

Sonya's words of encouragement were no match for Gwyneth's state as we struggled to get out. With WICKED's soldiers ambushing us left and right, it was getting more difficult for her to keep up.

"Do you think she'll make it out?" I asked, getting more concerned.

"Well, if we keep moving, she might," Beth replied, helping Gwyneth by holding her arm.

"Where the bloody hell did Thomas and Newt go?" Maeve spoke up.

"Probably went looking for Minho. He got out before those doctors could sedate us," Lillie explained. "But most importantly, where are Teresa and Aris?"

That was a question I wished I had the answer. Wherever Teresa went, Aris went after her, and I had a feeling that they weren't anywhere near the medical wing.

"I see a door!" Sonya yelled, dashing towards it, but her expression grew worried as she attempted to look for a way through it. "We need some kind of thumbprint ID to open it."

"And the thumbprint we had is gone, thanks to the stick ditching us," Beth pointed out.

"Aris went to go find Teresa," I told her.

"Yeah? For what reason?" she retorted. "Admit it, Piper, he's still on WICKED's side, and he'll always follow them as well as Teresa."

I shook my head in disbelief. "No, that's not true," I snapped. "Otherwise, him, along with Teresa, wouldn't have helped us get inside here."

"They only helped us, because we didn't give them any other option."

I remained silent, not being able to think of another comeback. I didn't want to believe Beth's words, not after my moment with Aris. It seemed like in a flash things were different now. Maybe I was too quick to assume that. Maybe my feelings were beginning to interfere with the harsh truth.

"So what are we gonna do now?" Maeve questioned, sounding almost annoyed. "We can't get out but we can't just keep fighting while Gwyn gets worse."

My eyes slid over to her as her black and purple veins traced all over her neck and arms. Her face was just about drained of color, her life being sucked away little by little. All of us hated to see her like this, which was why we were more determined to get that serum that hopefully Brenda already had by now.

"We keep looking for a way out," I told them. "Come on."

"It's like being in the Glen all over again," Sonya commented. "Trying to look for a way out in this place."

"Yeah, doesn't feel any different," Beth muttered. "Let's go."

So we turned back around and went on with figuring out another exit. Our fighting came to a halt for now, which relieved us. Still, with the adrenaline pumping through our bodies, we couldn't stay relaxed for long. What seemed like forever, we continued on, treading lightly, but still rushing for a way out.

"Wait...stop..." Gwyneth breathed out. "I need to stop."

"We can't stop now," Beth told her.

Down the empty hallway, we gave in and decided to let Gwyneth rest. She was panting, the blood oozing out of her mouth. "Just go ahead and end me now."

"What? Gwyn, you're crazy for thinking that!" Maeve responded. "We told you that we'd figure this out and we're sticking to it. So stop being a crack face and--"

"Maeve, stop!" she growled, which caught all of us off guard. She did her best to compose herself, then continued. "I didn't want things to end like this, but it has to. I'm turnin' into one of those damn Cranks and we all don't want that, especially me."