𝗖𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗨𝗦, thomas (tmr)

Chapter Twenty Five

"Look, I don't know if this is a good idea."

Newt held the syringe in his hand, inspecting it with great suspicion. Clara hung back, her eyes on the quiet girl besides Thomas.

The girl's name was Teresa. Clara hadn't spoken to her just yet. After she and Thomas came down from the tower, they had gone straight to Alby with Newt, with Clara trailing behind out of sheer curiosity.

Teresa was letting Thomas do all the talking - which Clara didn't blame her for. The boy was both persuasive, and much less intimidated by the uneasy blonde in front of them.

Clara moved then, holding her hand out to see the syringe, and then tilting it so she could peer at it carefully. It simply just looked like a syringe; but its contents were unknown.

"We don't know why this is here, why it came up with you," Newt gestured to Teresa. "It could kill him."

"He's already dying." Thomas pointed out in exasperation.

"He's right Newt. You were talking about Banishing him, remember?" 

Newt's eyes flooded with guilt, but that wasn't Clara's intention. 

"Look, if this works, if this cures him, then we've found a way for people to survive Griever Stings. We won't have to Banish everyone that gets Stung."

Newt stopped then, and really considered it. When he flicked through all the people they had to Banish thanks to Griever Stings, he knew that trying the syringe on Alby was worth it.

"Alright. Do it."

Newt held the syringe out to Thomas, despite the presence of the three Med-jacks in the room. Clara - one of the three - barely knew anything medical related, but she'd still have been a better choice to do it than Thomas.

The dark haired boy advanced towards Alby nervously, clenching the syringe in his fist as he prepared to use it. Suddenly Alby - previously still and unconscious - had surged back to life with some unwarranted anger.

Alby's fingers latched on Thomas' shirt and tugged him closer threateningly. The other was immediately taken off guard, finding himself helplessly trapped.

"You're not supposed to be here! Why are you here?" He yelled at Thomas in growls, despite the boy being inches from him.

As Alby began to thrash around, still snarling and trying to grab at Thomas, the bystanders in the room were forced to intervene. Clara's hands wrapped around Thomas' arm, tugging him away and then trying to unfurl Alby's fingers from his arm.

"Get the syringe!" Thomas' desperate shout to Teresa was only just audible over the rest of the chaos.

Once Clara had freed him from the grip of the leader, she yanked him back so he was safely in her grip. Teresa stabbed the syringe into Alby's skin, and the boy instantly exhaled in relief. His eyelids dropped and then fluttered closed, and once again he was still. 

Clara only just refrained from nervously laughing as everything descended into silence. Teresa raked her hands through her hair, sighing shakily. Thomas shuffled uncomfortably, and Newt's eyes were still trained on Alby.

"You keep on getting into trouble." Clara mumbled lowly to Thomas.

He shook his head, biting back an anxious smile. "Would you believe me if I said I was trying not to?" He replied at the same quiet volume.

The girl only shook her head in response, the same sort of nervous smile tugging at her lips. They seemed to have the same reaction to the awkward situation; the desire to laugh in order to play off how intense the previous events were.