Demolished Love | Death Cure

Unite

  How.
  Is.
  This.
  Possible.

  Here I am standing with my arms wrapped around my mother, shaking and crying uncontrollably, heart dancing with joy.

  I can't believe it. I am scared that the scene will fade away and I will open my eyes only to realize it was just a dream and she is not really here.

  But that's not what happens.

  Every minute passes by slowly as we hold each other, the sobs and words now turned to quiet tears.

  After who knows how long, we pull away, my mother still holding onto my arms, huge cheesy grins plastered on both of our faces.

  She is the same exact woman I remember from when I was a little girl. But I can see her in full focus now. Her face looks exactly like mine, but she has Chuck's curls. She looks even better than she did years ago, she looks healthy and well, as if she hasn't been sick a day in her life.

  "My dear Olivia," She whispers, voice soft and gentle, like honey dripping off a spoon.

  "Mom." My own voice murmurs.

  Still smiling, she looks down at Brenda who is still laying on the ground.

  "Take her to the tent. Go give these guys some soup." She says to her colleagues. She turns back to me and smiles again, eyes lit up.

  I turn to my friends and point at her. "This is my mom," I say excitedly, even though they already realize this. "She's alive!" I burst out. "Mom, this is Bonnie." I say, pointing to Bonnie who waves quietly, smiling.

  "And this is Aris," I introduce. "And Jorge, he led us here, and this is Minho, my best friend." Minho shakes her hand, for once not making a sarcastic comment.

  And lastly, I turn to Newt, who sports a grin so big and genuine that it almost makes me forget what has been happening with him lately.

  "And this is Newt." I beam as they shake hands.

  "Her boyfriend!" Minho chimes in and I roll my eyes.

  My mom, Mary, raises her eyebrows. "Boyfriend?"

  My face blushes.

  "They did the deed!" Minho whisper shouts.

  My mouth shoots open.

  Great, Minho. Thanks for that.

  And my moms eyes grow even wider.

  "Shut up!" I say, thumping his head. Newt's face grows bright red as he shoots a glare at Newt. Bonnie's hand covers a laugh and Jorge whistles. Even Aris lets out a chuckle.

  "Sorry, I couldn't help myself. His face is just priceless." Minho says, laughing, enjoying Newt's embarrassment.

  "Well," Mary says, clapping her hands together. "Off of that note, I'm sure you treat my daughter well." She looks happy to say I'm her daughter, never getting the chance to be a proper mother until now.

  Newt nods his head. "Yes ma'am." His face is still red which makes me laugh.

  But he won't look at me.

  Mary looks at all of us again one last time before speaking. "Well, I better go take care of your friend," She says kindly. She points to a tent to our left. "They have some food in there for you. Olivia, why don't you come with me."

  I follow my mom to one of the biggest tents. She opens up one of the flaps and walks inside. There's medical supplies everywhere, along with a couple portable beds. Brenda lies on top of one of them, gritting her teeth as she pulls up her jeans to expose her injury.

  "Brenda, my name is Mary, I'm going to help with your wound. Unfortunately, we don't have a strong enough pain killer to numb you, so it will feel uncomfortable." My mom says to Brenda, giving a soft smile. Brenda nods her head in understanding and Mary stands up to gather medical supplies.

  "It's nice that you found your mom." Brenda says quietly, smiling against the pain.

  I return the smile. "Yeah, it is." I say, watching as my mom sorts through cabinets and suitcases of doctor stuff.

  She walks over with a tray filled with things and starts to disinfect Brenda's leg.

  "So mom," I say, a warm feeling running through my body as I say the three letter word. "How, how did you survive the Flare?" I ask.

  "I never had it." She replies, a small twinkle in her eye.

  "But, I remember Ava Paige saying you did."

  She nods her head. "You remember that day? Well, she tested your father, but not me. Just assumed I had it. But immunity to the virus is genetic, so you had to have gained the power from someone in your bloodline.

  "She said the first signs of the disease are common cold symptoms. But that was when the Flare was small. There wasn't much research. We've done further studies and realized that the symptoms aren't the same of colds. So I was just sick. I didn't have the Flare." She explains.

  "Then what are the symptoms?" I ask.

  She takes out one of her tools and sanitizes it. "They are much more drastic. You can't make decisions, and you become emotionally unstable. Violence without a purpose," She positions the tool above Brenda's wound. "I am going to take the bullet out now."

  Brenda nods and as her tool pricks the top of her skin she grabs my hand, clenching her teeth as Mary peels away layers of skin that have begun to heal over the bullet.

  "Brenda, talk about something," I say, hoping to distract her. "Anything."

  She squeezes her eyes shut. "Did I ever tell you I had a brother?" Brenda asks, squeezing my hand.

  "No, you never told me that," I say. "What was he like?"

  "He was older than me by four years. When I was ten, we were taken in by one of Wicked's camps. They tested us, we were both immune," She groans as my mom pulls the bullet out of her leg, her grip on my hand tightening. She takes a deep breath. "They didn't want me. I wasn't smart enough for them," My expression changes at that, for Brenda is extremely smart. "They wanted him though. They didn't even let me say goodbye."

  My mom starts stitching up her leg. "What was his name?" I ask.

  She gives a faint smile in remembrance of him.

  "George."

  My mind flashes back to the grave I saw in the Deadheads in the Maze. It read George.

  Newt had told me he was the first one that died.