𝐖𝐚𝐫 𝐎𝐟 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 - TMR, Gally

038 - Into The Unknown

A/N: Three chapters in one day?!

~

Valerie's POV

I felt empty. I had lost Ben and I never got to say goodbye. Gally helped me through the night by holding me, but I barely got sleep. I got dreams about both Luke and Ben, which made me feel weak. As if I was asking for attention, somehow. And I missed him. His jokes, the way he cheered me up without even trying, how he took care of both Josephine and me...

And now I sat on a log, with Thomas and Chuck next to me. I didn't listen to their talks, just watched Newt and Zart hit a tree with knives. Chuck was carving something in wood and Thomas was asking questions, as always.

"Wait, what?" I blinked a few times, just when Thomas finally got up to help Newt. "Alby went into the maze?"

"Bloody shuckin' hell." Newt sighed. "We've been talking about this for like ten minutes and only now you understand? And yes, he went to retrace Ben's footsteps." He spoke harsh, close to irritated.

I looked down, feeling my heart crush at hearing Ben's name again. "Right."

He soon realized what he had done. "Sorry." Scratching the back of his head, he lay his knife down, and sat next to me. "You okay?"

"Perfect." I fake smiled, clearly letting him know I wasn't. He sighed and wrapped an arm around me.

"Should've checked up earlier." He muttered. "Sorry I haven't been talking to you a lot, Val."

"It's okay." I assured. "Any progress with your new love?"

"He's not my love." He rolled his eyes. "I don't even like him in that way."

"I'm sure you don't." I smiled a real smile now. Just a small one. "But— wow."

"What?"

"I feel raindrops." My mouth almost fell open. It never rained in the Glade.

"Funny."

"I'm not kidding." I slowly got up from my seat. "See?"

He held up his hand, and a few seconds later, his gaze sharpened. "You're right. Tommy, Chuck, Zart, let's go."

A tiny grin planted on my face. Tommy?

We made our way to places where we could hide for the rain, but I noticed Gally leaning against a wall on his own, so told the others I would go to him instead.

"Hey." His eyes lit up once he saw me. "Everything alright?"

I nodded. "With you, too?"

He nodded too. "The rain does concern me. It never rained before. Things are changing."

I sighed and rested against the wall too. "Do you still think it has anything to do with Thomas?"

"Maybe. I don't know." He rubbed his chin. Both of us stared at the rain now. It was starting to pour, drowning all the small plants.

And I suddenly got an idea. One that Gally would most likely refuse to.

"Gally?"

"Hm?" He didn't seem very bothered.

I got closer. "Can we dance?"

"What?"

Knew it.

"In the rain. Dance. The two of us." I summarized, giving him a crooked smile, but he stared straight forward.

He shook his head. "I can't dance."

"Ah, come on! Please?"

"You'll get a cold."

"It'll cheer me up."

Was that manipulation... maybe, but I didn't care.

He waited a few seconds before he replied, hesitating. "We don't have music, though."

I nearly smiled at my succes. "Doesn't matter. Can we?"

He frowned and stared at the rain even longer. "Fine."

"Yes!" I grabbed his hand, pulling him to the middle of the Glade, the rain already wetting us completely. "I'm not wearing a white shirt again, right?"

"You're wearing the sweater I've been looking for a long time." He confirmed, face blank.

I smiled a little brighter, forgetting all my worries for a while. "Okay. Twist me around."

He took my hand and twisted me around, just not very smoothly, because I nearly landed in the mud. But I laughed at it, and let him try again.

Soon we just ended up holding both each other's hands and jumping around, laughing loudly, even Gally.

"See? It's fun." I twisted around again, glad to be happier for a longer time again. "Wait, don't do t- Gally!"

He lifted me into the air easily, causing me to yell. He seemed to be entertained by this a lot more than dancing and kept me up high, as I hit his back repeatedly.

"Put me down! This is embarrassing, Gally." And yet I chuckled. At some point, he—and I had no idea how—replaced me so my legs wrapped around his waist and we were face-to-face.

I smiled, really not caring about anyone around us. Neither did he. He smiled back as I put my hands on the back of his head, kissing him deeply. Rain still dropped on top of us, but it started to slow down. And after everything that happened, this was one of the best experiences ever.

~

And then the fun was over. The rain had stopped and everyone gathered in front of the Doors, waiting for Alby and Minho, who apparently came back too late. According to Newt, the Doors could close any minute, which was not good.

"Come on, guys, can't we send someone after them?" Thomas tried, biting his lip constantly.

"That's against the rules." Gally said. "Either they make it back or they don't. We can't risk losing anyone else."

A bad feeling filled me again. The chance they would make it was low, because I knew both boys were smart and wouldn't be late if nothing had happened.

"There!" Thomas' finger pointing in the maze caught our attention.

Newt squinted his eyes closed. "Wait, something's wrong."

He was right. I noticed two figures. Minho was struggling to walk, because Alby was lying on his back, looking lifeless. Worry crashed into me. The Runner wasn't able to carry Alby properly, or fast enough.

And I had never seen Newt this stressed. It were his two best friends in there, after all. He was rubbing his lips, chewing on his nails, and more panic formed in his eyes.

"Come on, Minho, you can do it!" Chuck encouraged. Soon more people joined in, but I stared at the duo, frozen in my place.

The ground started to shake; the doors would close. And there was no way Minho nor Alby would make it.

"They're not gonna make it." Newt realized, his eyebrows furrowed deeper than ever.

I kept staring, my thoughts taking over. I had always wanted to be a Runner, why not take my chance now? Why not prove I could do it? Make a difference? Proof everyone girls could survive too?

I bounced on my feet, narrowing my eyes at the closing Doors. And then, I moved forward. Just a tiny step.

"Valerie, don't you dare!" Newt warned, but that actually was my motivation to jump forward this time, starting my run through the Doors.

I had to be fast to get through them. Hoped I didn't get squeezed between the walls, and I didn't. I arrived on the other side safely, still hearing shouts coming from the other side.

But then, most daylight was gone, the Doors closed, and someone fell beside me.