𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 ༒ minho {the maze runner trilogy}

twenty-six ~ the way station

Londyn's eyes opened as if they had previously closed by force, and she remembered that they were still hundreds of miles above in the helicopter. Her neck ached from where she had slept against Minho, and she looked around slowly. It was almost dark outside.

Some of the others were asleep, while the rest were still wide-eyed, trying to take in the events of earlier that day. It still didn't feel real, losing Chuck, losing all of them.

It almost felt as though they had left some people behind, by how small the group in the helicopter felt. Londyn's eyes met with Teresa's, who was wide awake already. She held up her thumb at Londyn to ask if she was okay, and she nodded in response. 

Teresa was calm, but the dark circles around her eyes still showed her previously livid state. Thomas was fast asleep next to them, and though he was now silent, Londyn could still hear him screaming Chuck's name in her head.

She felt a shudder when she remembered he was gone. He was just a kid, he never deserved that. She didn't think she would ever get over the lifeless look on his face when he passed. She looked out the window, feeling her face heat up again as she covered her mouth to cry quietly. 

Minho woke up as he felt her sobbing against him where she lay between his legs, lifting his chin from her head. He tightened his arms around her chest, kissing the crown of her head. "Hey."

Wiping her eyes quickly, Londyn looked up at him. "Hey."

He smiled weakly at her, still exhausted. Inhaling audibly, he stretched out his shoulder muscles. She held one of his hands when he relaxed, rubbing it with her thumb.

They were filthy, covered in blood, their own and others, sweat, dirt, and tears. Minho couldn't care less, he was just thankful he had Londyn there. He had to try not to imagine what it would've been like if it had been her taken instead of Jeff, but that didn't matter now.

Frypan awoke also, grunting as he shifted for comfort slightly. "Wish I had someone to rest on like that," he joked, before closing his eyes again.

Londyn and Minho chuckled, about to also close their eyes again when one of the men who saved them clapped his hands twice to wake everyone up. "Okay, kids. We got some trouble down below, so we gotta do this fast."

Forcing themselves awake, all except Thomas who was still out cold, they prepared to embark from the helicopter to God-knows-where. "As soon as we land," he continued. "I need you all to go straight inside. No stopping, no questions, just run, and you won't die."

He pointed at a large, illuminated compound which they were flying closer to. The Gladers weren't sure how they were meant to run yet again, as they could barely bend their legs after earlier.

They nodded in agreement hesitantly, wondering why they would ever have to make a sudden break for it until they saw distorted figures flailing over the sand dunes near the compound. They looked like people but did not seem to be acting like them at all.

Gunshots could be heard over the helicopter's propellers, the sound clearing as they got closer to the ground. There was a bump as they landed, and the door was immediately slid open.

"Move, move, move!" the soldier yelled, pushing them out of the helicopter once they had shuffled to the hatch. They were being directed towards a massive door, running straight for it with their legs hitting the sand like weights.

Noticing Thomas was still asleep, Minho bolted back to wake him up as the others continued, and they caught up with the others, ducking at the sounds of guns and what seemed like human screaming. 

Bodies were dropping in the dark, it was not clear in the slightest what was going on. Amidst the confusion, the soldiers continued to urge them all inside until the door shut and locked behind them.