Burn; TMR ➵ Thomas

Fourteen | ✓

He was young. He did not know what was happening. He remembered his mother pushing her way to the front of the crowd. She carried him. He watched as adults shouted—protested.

His mother put him down. He was unable to hear the last words due to the crowd. He heard a faint 'I love you' before being carried away by a stranger in a weird-looking suit.

The next thing he knew, he was on a train. On his way to somewhere, he did not know. He caught a glimpse of the guard next to him. The suit was weird-looking, WICKED was spelt out on a badge. The guard ignored his gaze.

He looked straight ahead. A blond boy and a blonde girl sat next to each other. In the corner of his eye, he noticed another boy, with darker skin and a shaved head, staring at him. He let his eyes drift to a girl, sitting next to another guard.

He could not see her face, due to the darkness and her long hair was covering it. She was focused on the ground. He snapped out of his dreamland when a woman dressed in white spoke to him.

✿✿✿

"You fancy her, don't you?" a boy spoke in a thick British accent. Thomas nodded shyly. He saw the boy raise his brows and smirk.

"Perfect time to tell her. I'll leave you alone," Thomas turned around to see Amelia standing awkwardly behind him. Silence filled the air as Thomas attempted to gather his courage.

"I like you," he blurted out. Her eyes darted from the ground to meet his.

"I like you too."

"No. I like-like you," he tried to find the right words to express the feelings he felt. She smiled at his words.

"Maybe, I like-like you too," she said cheekily. The corners of his lips twitched as he suppressed a grin.

✿✿✿

Thomas sighed heavily. He knew it was his job but he refused to agree to this.

"You know we have to," a pale girl his age spoke to him. She looked at him sympathetically. He shook his head.

"You know either way. Whether you like it or not, they'll still do it," he knew she wanted him to understand. He did understand. He just did not want to betray the girl he loved.

"I know you love her, but we did to do this in order to save the world. Just tell her that ... It's paradise that she's going to.".

Thomas scoffed. They knew it was hell, not paradise. Paradise does not exist anymore. They were silent for a moment. Thomas took the time to ponder.

He did not want to betray her, but he also needed to do his job. He knew he would regret his decisions.

"Fine.".

✿✿✿

It hurt him whenever he saw her on the screen. Sending her to that so-called paradise was a decision he would forever regret. He remembered their last conversation before they took her away.

"I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do," he cried.

"I hate you, Tommy," was the last thing he heard from her.

She had found out what paradise really was. It hurt him to remember the look on her face. He hated himself for doing what he chose to do. A woman dressed in white stood behind him. Her hand on his shoulder. He wanted to push her away but he knew he could not.

"I know you loved her," she said as Amelia popped up on his screen.

"But remember, Thomas. Wicked is good.".