"Wake up! Come on wake up y/n!" I think Newt shook the life out of me when he jostled me awake.
"Woah woah what's going on?" I croaked, still groggy from sleep. Newt took hold of both my arms, pulling me up with so much force I stumbled while he led me to walk.
"You see that? Look at it." He jabbed a finger at the sky. Angry purple clouds had bubbled while we slept, a wind had picked up and lightning began to crack in the not so distant area. Looking around I saw that our fate was sealed, we were in the middle of completely flat, the only things standing out. "It's bloody lightnin'! Come on!"
He yanked me forward, starting us off with a full blown sprint. Even in another course of danger, I still found it insulting that I needed help with running from a boy with a straggly limp.
CRACK
The lightning came down on the flat land, shaking the earth with it's impact. The sound was comparable to a gun being fired, it had the same smoky aftermath too.
"Hurry!"
"Go!"
"Run!"
I was being dragged along with such speed in the dark night that I could scarcely identify any voices. They all sort of just blended together.
"Alright keep moving come on!"
"Let's go!"
"Come on y/n!" This time I was certain it was Thomas, he faltered back taking my arm from Newt. Even with the Newt's help I was lagging, so Thomas took over. "Go go go!"
I'm not even sure I was running anymore, all I could feel were the tips of my toes dragging against the dirt.
"We're getting closer! Keep going!"
The unidentifiable person was right. In front of us, all I could focus on were the lights beaming at us from the mountains. They were hope, like little twinkle bells of sunshine. I could see it now, fixated in front of me, a building leading into the mountains. It was so close.
TSSS
The air hissed around me, sizzling the atmosphere. We were so close. So so close.
"Get inside, go!"
BOOM
The frothy air was split in half. I was sent flying forward onto the ground. My knees scraped onto stray rubble, stinging into the now ruddied flesh. A ringing noise rattled my ears.
My hearing was almost completely absent. Whatever I could hear, was thick and made it feel like I was underwater.
Craning my head back I saw two figures lying side by side. Smoke twirling, spinning around them in a dizzy. My vision was still blurred so I couldn't quite make them out. Thomas, who was close to me, staggered onto his feet, over their bodies.
Ice froze in my veins, feeding into my muscles all the way to my heart. Ice cold fear. My vision focused, I saw who was on the ground.
A boy with spiky black hair and one with unmistakable vibrant red locks. I spun up to my feet, head pounding, the world turning back to it's regular perspective. I tumbled over to Thomas's side to help him get the boys up but I was beckoned away.
"Go on y/n!" Newt pushed me towards the building. "Run, just run and don't look back!" I wanted to die. In that moment I wanted to die. Because if my friends were being picked off one by one, if they had all died, what would I do then. Who would I be? So I followed his orders, I ran.
The only time I faltered was to grab the arm of Chuck and tear him along with me. Despite everything, despite how I had hurt him and he had hurt me, I had to protect him. It was buried inside me, deep under any skin or muscles or organs or bones, the innate need to protect him.
As fast as everything went by it felt like the world had slowed. The lightning was manic now, striking everything in it's reach. The strokes of electricity contorted themselves with an inalienable speed till they hit something solid, sending bright spurts of white hot light up with its contact. It was like the Fourth of July, sparklers and all.
"Move!" Frypan shouted, breaking me from my trance. "Come on, hurry up! Come on! Get in."He held the door of the building open, allowing Teresa to jet right in. We were right behind her. All of us, headed in the black abyss.
"Watch their heads. Who's got a light?" Flashlights clicked on, flashing sporadically across the room. Minho and Victor lay side by side, eyes closed. Only everyone concentrated on Minho first.
"Is he okay?"
"Minho!" Thomas grabbed the still boy by the collar, shaking him around.
"Come on, Minho, come on. Minho!"
"Minho..."
"Come on man." Newt's voice shook, he held the flashlight raining down on Minho.
"Victor..." I whispered huskily, my voice aching. "Victor?" All I heard was a groan, but it wasn't from the red haired boy. Minho stirred to life, the others gasped in relief. My eyes stayed stagnant on Victor.
"You okay?"
"What happened?" Minho answered with a question, blinking away the leftover lightning.
"You were struck by lighting." Thomas replied, a smile growing on his face. Minho was helped to his feet but I remained on the floor, seated next to Victor.
"He's not awake. Newt gimme your light." I snatched it away before he could give me the tool. I shone the light on Victor, his shirt was faintly smoking, the part that hadn't been burned off. An ugly burn stretched across his back, fresh and raw. It was shaped like a scraggly tree, red limbs reaching out across his expanse of freckled skin. "Why isn't he awake? Why is Minho awake and he isn't?" My voice quavered, hand taking the front of Victor's shirt.
"Y/n calm down." Newt's tone tried to soothe me, along with a hand on my shoulder. I brushed it off.
"Don't you get it?!" Snapping at Newt, I spun around to him. "I did this!" Turning back to Victor, I tried again to shake him. "It's my fault!"
"Y/n it's not your fault." Newt's pacifying words only made me feel worse. Tears sniffled out jaggedly, I gripped onto Victor's shoulders jolting him back and forth.
"Wake up." I shook him. "Wake up." I shook him again. "Wake up." I shook him again and again and again. "Wake up wake up wake up!" My head fell onto his chest, his burnt flesh wafted in the idea. I began to ramble as I cried. "It's my fault. I broke the rules. I was supposed to die and I broke the rules. Now all of you are going to die. I'm sorry!"
"It's not your fault y/n."
"Y/n you didn't do anything wrong..."
"Come on y/n." Someone tried to pull me away but I held fast, stuck on Victor.
"Wake up. Please wake up." My eyes squeezed shut and I did the only thing my brain found rational. I kissed him. "Come on Idiot, wake up!" I thought if a kiss brought back princesses in novels then how could Victor be any different. I kissed him again, and again, then for a fourth time as if I was performing some kind of resuscitation on him. I kissed him a fifth time, his lips were warm...
I pulled back to see a pleased grin stretched out across Victor's face. His eyes flickered open, his breathing somehow returning. How did he do that? Did I do that?
"You cry for the Victor?" He rasped, a breathy laugh escaping in a huff from his lungs.
"You- You held your breath."
"I've been practicing." Victor said tiredly, his smile melting away as pain and exhaustion took over. Groans echoed around the room, an irritated one escaping from myself.
"You're a total Jackass man." Someone scorned, it didn't work, Victor was shameless.
"You let me think you were dead?!" I yelled furiously, but a part of me felt like I could breathe again. He was safe but a total dumbass. A safe dumbass. "Fuck you!" I shoved him against the concrete pillar he was propped up against. "You are such a fucking pervert."
"Hey hey hey, I was just joking. I didn't think you'd actually think I was dead!" Victor shakily stood back onto his feet.
"It wasn't very funny." Scowling, I crossed my arms, raising my chin toward the sky.
"I'm sorry." He apologized raggedly, raking a hand through his ruby hair. "It wasn't all a joke. I really did get struck by lightning and my back really does hurt. I think I got burned or something. I'm sorry." His mischievous smirk returning, he slipped in. "You're a great kisser if it's any consolation."
"I know." I snarked coldly, deep down finding him funny. I couldn't laugh though, it would only let him know that he'd won. "You're such an ass Fire Crotch."
"I know."