As the day progressed, me, Minho, Newt, and Thomas all took a long walk down the sandy beach, my hand in Minho's and Newt's hand in Thomas's. I listened intently as the boys all told stories about the Maze and what life was like for them. They also listened as I told them about my life back at the compound and before the Solar Flares.
The sun was setting over the horizon, turning the once blue sky into a mix of different oranges and pinks. The sea breeze had gotten stronger and more cold, but it was nice considering the Scorch was always so hot. The sand ran over my bare feet as we walked on and I never wanted to leave this moment. It was perfect.
"You named your dog Puppy?" Minho asked confused and I looked at him seriously.
"Yeah, you got a problem with that?" I asked and the boy shrugged.
"Do you ever miss it?" Newt asked and I knew he was talking about my house, my old life, and I shrugged.
"At first." I told them. "Sometimes I'd cry, sometimes I'd have nightmares, but eventually they stopped. I got used to the new world, cause if I didn't then I died."
"That's a horrible way to live." Newt told me but I shrugged.
"It made me stronger in a way. I wouldn't be the person I am today if it weren't for the Scorch, is that bad?" I asked but the boys shook their heads.
"No, it's reasonable." Minho told me and I nodded.
"It wasn't easy for us. I don't know if you guys noticed but my dad was loosing control of the Compound before you guys came around." I told them.
"Yeah, it looked it." Thomas pointed out. "I can't even imagine what that would have been like to live that kind of life." Thomas then said, letting go of Newt's hand and wrapping his arm around the boy's shoulder, giving him a passionate kiss on the lips.
"You lived in the Maze thing, I'm sure that wasn't much better." I said, resting my head against Minho's shoulder for a second.
"You know what, shut up." Minho said and we all turned to him, confused. "That life is over now, this is what we have now, so let's make the best of it. Can't live in the past now can we?"
"Minho, that is the most sentimental thing I have ever heard come out of your bloody mouth." Newt said and me and Thomas laughed at Minho's offended face.
"I am plenty sentimental!" Minho argued.
"Yeah, for your hair." Thomas said and I laughed at this as well.
I then had this flash of dizziness come over me, tripping over my own feet and falling into the sand. Minho hauled me back to my feet and wrapped my arm around his strong shoulder.
"I think that's enough for today, now come on, we have a bonfire to get to." Minho said and we all nodded, walking back down the beach with the echoing sound of crashing waves filling my ears.
People laughed and talked, sharing stories and playing card games and such, the smell of a delicious dinner spreading across the camp. Brenda, Aris, Jorge, Harriet, and Sonya were all sitting with each other around the fire while Minho was having some kind of competition with Thomas while Fry and Newt judged it.
I ate the food on my plate, not exactly knowing what it was but it was really good. I laughed as Minho was being the cocky ass that I fell in love with, Thomas arguing something to him but Minho not listening.
Everything seemed so perfect, it was strange, as if it wasn't supposed to be this way after everything we had been through. Yet here we are, sitting and living on a beautiful beach, eating a beautiful meal, no more threats from WICKED and no more threats from the Flare. The only thing it was missing was Teresa.
"Hey." I head a deep voice say and I looked over to see Gally sitting down next to me, two drinks in his hand, one of which he passed over to me.
"Hey." I said, giving him a smile as I gratefully took the drink from his outstretched hand. "Haven't seen you all day."
"Just trying to earn my stay." He said and I looked over to him, watching as he took a sip from his cup.
"You already earned it." I said but he shook his head with a scoff. "Yes you did. If it weren't for you, Minho wouldn't be here and WICKED wouldn't be destroyed."
"That's not how I wanted it to end." Gally told me but it was something I already knew.
"That's not your fault." I told him but the boy looked out to the big rock standing in front of us. Then, his eyes shifted over to Thomas as he argued heavily with Minho.
"I still killed Chuck."
"That wasn't your fault either."
"I though that, maybe, if I put his name on the rock then it'd make me feel better or something." He told me and I listened closely, looking over and finding Chuck's name carved into the rock. I might have seen it earlier but I didn't think Gally would be the one to carve it, but it made sense. Chuck's death was probably the biggest regret that Gally had in his young life. It was something he couldn't just put away, it was forever.
"And did it?"
"Not really, just made his death that more real." Gally told me and we were both really quiet as the fire in front of us roared and laughter came from a group nearby.
"Did you know..." I started, grabbing Gally's attention. "That I killed my mother?" I said, taking both Gally and myself of guard.
"What?" Gally questioned and I took a deep breath, looking over to him. Gally was the first person to ever hear the details of what happened between me and my mother that night, but he was the perfect person. It was different with my dad or Brenda, they didn't understand it like Gally did. I knew my dad would understand why I did it, but he wouldn't understand what I'd be going through, wouldn't know how to comfort me probably, and how could he? He had never killed a person as important as my mother before. Besides, I could barely get through one sentence with my father about that night before I lost it.
"My mother, she got sick with the Flare." I told him, taking another breath. "One night, I couldn't sleep so I went to see her but I found out quickly that she wasn't herself."
"What happened?" Gally asked after I had taken a minute before I continued.
"She chased me throughout our compound trying to kill me. That's when I found the gun and I shot her right in the head, it's why I never used a gun." This left Gally speechless. "I blamed myself for it all of my life, thinking I killed her, that maybe if I waited, we could have figured something out."
"If she had the Flare then there was nothing you could have done." Gally said and I looked over to meet eyes with his.
"That didn't help me back then, but I know that now, and I think I've come to terms with it." I said, taking a quivering breath as the words just escaped my mouth. "I heard what happens when you get stung, that you loose your mind. It wasn't your fault. Chuck was not your fault."
Gally let my words sink in, but not saying anything in return, just letting a tear run down his cheek. I didn't think I'd ever see this in my life, ever, yet here we are. I wrapped my arm around his shoulders and gave him a quick embrace before I let him go.
"You have to forgive yourself." I told him and I heard a quiet sob leave his mouth.
"How?" He asked, trying to hide the fact that he was crying.
"You let him go." I told Gally and boy wiped away his tears and regained himself, looking into my eyes.
"I'm glad your not dead shank." He said and I smiled.
"Yeah, me too." I said, taking a deep breath and looking out. "I just wish we were all here."
After that, me and Gally sat in a nice silence, a silence that I enjoyed. I looked back at the rock of names and realized that there was one missing, one that I had to carve in. I stood up slowly, patting Gally on the shoulder before I slowly made my way over to the rock.
I stood in front of it, admiring all of the names covering it. I rubbed my hand over Teresa's name, finally accepting the fact that she was gone no matter how hard it was to admit.
"Need a knife?" A voice asked from behind and I knew it was my father. I turned to him, not knowing whether I was as ready for this as I had originally thought I was. He pulled out my own knives, the ones I thought I lost in the Last City, and handed them to me.
I clutched the handles tightly, turning my knuckles white as I placed the tip of the blade against the rock. But when I was about to begin, I stopped, freezing in place and not being able to continue. I then felt my father's hands steady my own which were trembling and I looked over to meet his eyes.
"We'll do it together." He promised and I nodded, taking a deep breath as we began the carving. Slowly, we got the first letter.
J
Then we moved on to the next.
O
I felt everything inside of me break as I continued, but my father held me up as we craved the next letter.
Y
And the next.
C
And the next one.
E
Finally, me and my father backed away from the rock, the tears streaming down as I looked at my mother's name carved into the rock.
Joyce.
My father held me tightly from behind, shushing my trembling body as I held back the sobs that wanted to come out of my mouth. I wanted her here, I wanted to be able to enjoy all of this with her. I wanted her to see what we worked so hard for. I wanted her to take long walks with me on the beach on an early morning, singing our favorite song. I wanted what was impossible. I wanted her. I wanted her so badly.
"She'd be proud of you." Jorge said and I nodded, wiping away my tears and turning to face him.
"She'd be proud of you too dad." I told him and my dad let a tear run down his cheek and I smiled, wiping it away. "We survived."
"We survived." My father repeated and I saw his eyes wander off to behind me and I turned to see Gally join Minho, Newt, Thomas, and Frypan, starting some kind of fight thing. "Go, have some fun." He said and I turned back to him, giving him a kiss on the cheek before I ran off.
Minho saw me come over and I ran up to him, wrapping my arms around his torso and kissing him passionately. Minho, not expecting it, eased into the kiss, making Gally and Fry cringe. When we pulled back, Minho put a hand on my cheek with a smile.
"What was that for?" He asked but I shrugged.
"Just wanted to." I said and he laughed, wrapping an arm around my torso and holding me close.
"Alright then, I won't object." He said, kissing my temple.
"How 'bout round two Gally?" Thomas asked and the boy laughed, looking away and then back to the brunette, looking him up and down. Gally then glanced at me and I nodded, as if he needed my approval to have fun.
"Alright Greenie, but the loser has to jump in the ocean..."
"I'll do that..."
"In their boxers." Gally finished and Thomas stopped mid sentence, making us all laugh.
"Come on Thomas, you can do it." I told him but he looked at me uncertain.
"Yeah, give it a go, I'd love to see how red you'll get when Newt'll see that little ass of yours." Minho said and I elbowed his as he laughed.
"Hey! My ass isn't little and it won't be mine you'll be seeing. Your on Gally!" Thomas said as he walked over to Newt and gave him the most passionate kiss I've seen those two boys share. Then, I watched as Newt whispered something in the boys ear that I was close enough to hear.
"Don't listen to that shank, you have a fine ass." Newt told him and that made Thomas turn red in return.
As I watched the two boys begin their little bet, and me and Minho had sat down with me on his lap, I could feel a tear run down my face. Minho noticed and turned me to face him.
"Hey, what's wrong? Why are you crying? I know Thomas has a pathetic ass but it's nothing to be upset about." He joked and I smiled, shaking my head and nudging him cause he was was getting the wrong idea.
"It's nothing." I said, leaning back and having Minho wrap his arms around me. "Everything is just fine."
Minho left it alone after that, cheering on Gally as he was kicking Thomas's butt.
After everything that had happed, after everything we had been through, we were all okay. We were safe and we were happy. I never thought I'd ever feel so whole before, yet here I am, sitting in the arms of the boy I love, my best friends all together, and my father and sister still with me.
The world could throw whatever they wanted at me, but the only thing it gave me was strength. The Scorch taught me to be tough, Minho taught me that I was worth it, Newt taught me that I can cry, Thomas taught me how to hold on to hope, Gally taught me to be protective for all, Brenda taught me to be kind, and my father taught me to never let go of who I am. And as for myself, I taught me how to be strong.
I held on to Minho and let the world finally make sense. I felt safe, I felt strong, I felt wild, and I felt free. And being free was all I ever wanted to be.