The Priceless Variable

Don't Go

That sound...was a gunshot!

"HEY!" Mallory yelled.

"GUYS, GET DOWN HERE!" Aris yelled to Thomas and Teresa.

The two of them ran down to the shelter.

"Winston, what are you doing, man? Give me that." Frypan said.

"What's going on?" Thomas asked.

"What happened?" Teresa asked.

"I don't know. He just woke up, grabbed the gun, and tried to..." Frypan explained.

Thomas went over to their wounded friend.

"Winston, are you-" he started to say.

Then, Winston threw up some black tar, then he laid right back on the sand. His friends looked over him, wondering what was wrong. Winston slowly lifted up his shirt. The scars were deepening into his stomach and the infection is spreading.

"It's growing. All inside." he cried.

The others stepped back a little bit because of how gruesome it looked. Mallory put her hand over her mouth in shock and disgust.

Winston started to take some deep breaths to calm himself down.

"I'm not gonna make it." he admitted.

It was sad to hear, but it was true.

"Please, please, don't let me turn into one of those things." Winston begged, holding his arm out to his friends.

Frypan stared at the gun that was in his hand. They realized what they had to do. Newt walked over to Frypan and took the gun out of his hand.

"Hey, Newt." Thomas told him.

He stood over Winston. Newt bent down to his level and laid the gun on Winston's chest with his hand holding it.

"Thank you. Now, get out of here." Winston said.

"Goodbye Winston." Newt said.

Then, he got up to grab his backpack, then started walking away.

Aris followed right behind Newt. Minho and Frypan knelt down beside Winston to say their goodbyes.

"Go." Winston said.

With that, the two of them got up and grabbed their stuff. Only Thomas, Teresa, and Mallory remained.

Mallory stood over Winston.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't do much more to help you." she cried.

"It's okay, Mallory. You did everything you could." Winston said, but it was very quiet.

Frypan noticed her still in the same position, like she was frozen.

"Come on. It's gonna be okay." he said, coming beside her.

He maneuvered Mallory away from Winston and they started to walk them both out of the shelter. She grabbed her backpack and walked beside Frypan.

Teresa just looked at the suffering boy. She didn't have any words for him, so she grabbed her backpack and walked behind Frypan and Mallory.

Now, it was just Thomas. He looked like he was lost for words.

"It's okay." Winston croaked.

"I'm sorry." Thomas whispered as he started to cry.

He looked away for a second to see that the others have already walked a good distance away. So, he grabbed his backpack and started to catch up with them.

"Thomas, take care of them." Winston said.

When his friends were gone, Winston laid there still. A tear rolled down his face.

The group was walking across another sand dune. The sun looked like it was starting to set for the night.

A few minutes later, another gunshot went off.

They all knew in that moment that Winston had taken his own life in order to end his pain and suffering.

~~~~~~~~~~

Night fell and the group had to find another shelter. Minho found a good spot to spend the night. It was up against a big ship and it looked zombie-free.

Aris brought more wood and placed them in the fire. Everyone is sitting around in silence. They were all thinking about Winston.

"I thought we were supposed to be immune." Minho said.

"Not all of us, I guess." Teresa said.

"If Winston can get infected, we can assume so could the rest of us." Newt said.

"I never thought I'd say it. I miss the Glade." Frypan said as a tear trickled down his face.

Mallory was laying on her stomach on a blanket. She was drawing a circle in the sand with her finger. Her eyes were getting heavier and heavier by the minute, so she decided to go to sleep for a few minutes.

Just then, a dream started to form in her mind. It was weird because she hasn't had one since the Maze.

*Dream*
            (it's 0:00-1:53 in the video above)

A man was laying on the ground, staring at the sky. Then, he started to sing.

I am here, you are there, lying side by side
Out of touch, out of reach in the great divide
Parallel lines, ooh

He stood up and there was a woman standing against up his back. She started to sing as well.

Hear the rain, count the drops on the window pane
Wide awake, stale mate, why do we play this game?
Oh God, I hate this game

The man and woman alternated with singing the next part.

Throw open the doors
You know my heart is yours
What are we waiting for?
Yeah

The two of them sang the next part together, while walking towards each other on volcanic rock.

Let's be pioneers
And we'll build our home
In the great unknown
Yeah
Let's be pioneers

They reached out to grab hands, then the woman just vanishes into thin air. The man stood there all alone, in shock.

*End of Dream*

Mallory shot up and gasped for air.

"Don't go." she said to herself.

"What?" Minho questioned.

"Mallory, are you okay?" Thomas asked.

"Yeah. I just had a dream that felt so real. But, I'm fine." she said, then laid back down on the blanket.

No one else said a word for the rest of the night. They all eventually went to sleep.