Promise Me ➵ Newt [3]

FIFTEEN | car chase

As I leaned back against the bus, I thought about all my good moments and memories.

I thought about the time Minho apologized to me about being a douchebag in our first class in WICKED together, and how he introduced me to his friends. I thought about how Newt and Alby welcomed me with open, friendly arms and accepted me willingly without any complains. I thought about how they, along with the other girls from Group B, tried to get me to crawl out my shy self and be more talkative, and how patient they were in doing so. I thought about all the jokes and silly banters we had in the Maze, how even those tiny little details made life in the Glade so much easier to live and bear with.

"Rose!" A voice sounded from nearby.

My eyes flickered open weakly and I glanced to my left; Brenda was running towards me, gun in hand.

"I've dealt with the guards," she said breathlessly, and pulled me to my feet. "Come on, before more of them charge in here."

We ran towards the bus nearest the exit and hopped on. Brenda threw me the gun and clambered into the driver's seat, turning on the ignition. The bus sparked to life, the lights blinking with energy as they cut through the dimness. The neon orange words on the sign changed and flickered and the bus rumbled with a low hum.

"Let's do this shit," Brenda grinned wickedly, and pressed on the pedal.

I stumbled forward as the bus started moving and quickly sat down in the shotgun seat before I got thrown around like a ragdoll. Brenda gunned the pedal and we shot out the warehouse, tyres squealing against concrete. We thundered down the streets and I clung onto the dashboard for dear life.

"Get rid of that car!" Brenda yelled.

I glanced in the rearview mirror and saw that one of the security cars was chasing us, its headlights blinking rapidly in the darkness. I got up, tossed the walkie talkie onto my seat and opened the bus door. Hooking one arm over the handle, I leaned out the bus precariously and aimed my gun at the vehicle. I fired off a few shots; one of the bullets shattered the window and the car squealed as it swerved dangerously to one side.

"Hold on!" Brenda yelled. She yanked the steering wheel to the right suddenly and the bus turned harshly down a street corner, nearly throwing me off. Another car appeared from behind a building and followed close behind - it was right on our tail.

I shot at it, somehow still holding on to the gun despite the sweat collecting on my palm. The bullets ricocheted off the car hood with loud, metallic pings, but whoever was driving the car sped up insistently until it was on the other side of the bus where I couldn't aim at it.

"Brenda, we have a problem!" I shouted.

"I've noticed!"

She jerked the steering wheel again and I slammed against the bus door once more, knocking the air out of my lungs. I quickly regained my footing and closed the door; it slid shut with a soft hiss as I stood in the bus interior, breathing heavily.

Brenda continued speeding down street after street, trying to lose the security car, but it seemed just as determined as us for it kept speeding up to catch up.

"I am so done with this." Brenda gritted her teeth and slammed on the pedal, and we shot forward. I clung onto the seats for dear life, rocking back and forth along with the violent motion of the bus. She drove at the very edge of the road, forcing the security car to drive on the concrete pavement next to us.

"Wait for it..." Brenda muttered. And then I heard a loud crash; I glanced behind and saw that the car had collided with a streetlight. Its windows shattered in a million pieces as its parts broke away one by one, falling to the road with a clatter.