Disclaimer:

I do not own The Maze Runner, but if I did, I would make The Fever Code come out faster because one of my first disclaimers was about it and that's from like A YEAR AND A HALF AGO.

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When Jorge told us we still had a mile to go until we reached our next destination, I thought I was going to scream in frustration. All of the walking with no sign of life except for us was getting to be exhausting. We also had no source of clean water, which meant my mouth was starting to get so dry I could hardly talk without sounding like a frog. We traveled in silence for the most part, only speaking when we needed to ask a question or complain.

The quiet gave me more time to think than I would've liked. Despite the others walking around me, I felt alone for some reason I couldn't place. Maybe it was because my brother wasn't by my side. I heaved a sigh knowing that I could very well never have him by my side ever again.

I found myself occasionally glancing at Newt, which he never caught me doing. It was undeniable that I felt something strong for him. However, it felt strange to admit it to myself that the strong feeling was love. In my brain, I only knew him for about a month or two, but in reality, I had known him for years. Probably ever since I was young, considering how I had been six or seven when my mom gave Thomas and I to W.I.C.K.E.D.

All I knew was that I experienced an almost burning sensation in my chest whenever I looked at him or thought about him. It was an almost comforting burn- not the kind that made me feel like I was suffocating, but more like one that made me yearn for his touch. I wasn't sure anymore if it was love because I had nothing else to compare it to. The only other person I loved was Thomas, and it was safe to say I definitely didn't feel that way when I looked at him. The burn with Newt was one that made me want to scream at him how I felt. It also made me want to cower away and never admit it in fear he wouldn't feel the same.

The heat was so intense that I actually felt the sunburn irritating my skin, especially my cheeks, nose, and arms. I had rolled up my sleeves in an attempt to cool my body down without having to discard my clothes. Some boys had taken their shirts off for a matter of seconds before Jorge yelled at them to put them back on. I didn't blame him. Fighting off Cranks without the minor protection of clothes seemed like a horrible idea.

Cranks. We hadn't seen any since the building collapsed, and when asked if we would see any of them, Jorge replied that we were all Cranks around here. He was so infuriating that it made me want to kick something at him or throw him into one of the abandoned cars on the street.

Finally, we neared the busier part of town again. It was both reassuring and frightening to be in the sight of other people, if only a few. I felt foreign around them. We were a group of sore thumbs compared to the dusty, grime-covered residents of the town. Some watched us with blank eyes and slack faces. Others pointed at us with dirt-coated fingernails and whispered through cracked lips. It made me shudder to think that the human population was slowly turning into a small number of brain-dead creatures.

We approached another inconspicuous building- that one not a pet store but instead a bank - and entered through a back door that faced away from any suspicious stragglers that could be following. Jorge beckoned us inside the building. It smelled of stale food and rotten bananas, making me crinkle my nose in disgust. Minho gagged dramatically and Newt held his shirt collar over his nose. I couldn't blame either of them.

"Oh, get over yourselves," Jorge snipped with a roll of his eyes at our reactions. "Smell's not half as bad as you think."

"Wonder what he's smelled in his lifetime, then," Frypan mumbled beneath his breath. I had to force myself not to laugh at that remark.

The hallway we had entered was dank and dark. Jorge pulled a small flashlight out of his back pocket and clicked it on. The tiny thing sent a small, barely-helpful beam of white light ahead. He shrugged and waved us along.

We continued down the corridor for a few paces before we turned left and entered a stairwell. The metal steps looked like they would collapse any second, but Jorge tested one and it seemed steady enough, so he made us go up them. I tread as lightly as I could in fear I'd accidentally break one and fall right through. The sound of feet on the stairs was the only noise other than a slight buzz that was rather annoying. The darkness didn't even bother me as much as it would have before.

Once we went up a flight, we finally went back into the main building and followed Jorge down yet another hallway. The buzzing silence was eerie and crept up my neck like a bug on my skin. I shivered and forced myself to shake off the paranoia. If something went wrong, we'd get through it with our new weapons and Jorge's extensive knowledge. It wasn't like we'd be rendered useless.

After many careful, slow steps, Jorge led us to an open lounge area complete with a breakfast bar and a mini cafe. Minho squinted suspiciously at the bagels stacked on the counter as if he thought ants would start crawling out of them at any second.

Jorge pointed his flashlight at the ground as if in exasperation and yelled, "Enough games, Julia! Come on out or I'll send the kids after you."

A few beats of silence felt like a million years. Then, so quickly that I would have missed it if I had blinked, the lights flickered on and I could finally see. Something out of the corner of my eye scuttled behind the counter, but I was sure it was just my imagination playing tricks on me.

A female's laughter sounded from behind the cafe. A girl in her mid-twenties approached us, slightly tanned skin seeming even darker with the dim lighting. Her dark, wavy hair was unbrushed and reached her waist in tangled strands. She watched us under a calculating stare in her hazel eyes.

"Jorge, I thought I'd never hear your voice again," she said almost cheerfully, but her eyes were still on the group of teenagers. "Who have you brought along today? Where's Brenda?"

Jorge visibly stiffened, then relaxed. "These are the kids I mentioned. They're from that high school around the block and needed help getting to their camp outside of town. Who better to direct them than me, right?" He cracked a smile. "Brenda is taking a smaller group. We couldn't all travel at once. You know how the town is."

Julia was still wearing the intimidating smile on her face. Something was off about her, but I couldn't place exactly what it was. Her gaze alone could cut through steel, and her smile was like venom.

"Of course I do," she said, then walked behind the counter and picked up the half-eaten bagel. She examined it offhandedly before speaking again. "I figured you would come. You came for food, then? Refreshments?"

"Why else would I be here?" Jorge asked jokingly. I could see an urgency in his eyes, leaving me to deduce that he knew she was dangerous and wanted to get out as soon as possible.

"I'm going to act as if that didn't hurt." Julia took a bite of the plain bagel. Thirteen stomachs simultaneously growled. She grinned and swallowed the food. "Guess you guys are hungry, huh? Let's see what I have. Take a seat while you wait."

Jorge immediately plopped down onto one of the dusty gray chairs around circular black tables. They each seated three at a time, so Newt, Minho, and I sat together without question. Minho leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table, glancing between Newt and I.

"I don't trust her," he whispered so lowly that I could barely hear him from across the small table. Curse my deaf ear.

"You say that about everyone, Minho," Newt dismissed indifferently. He didn't seem to notice how off Julia was.

"For good reason!" the Runner defended in a hiss. He furrowed his brows together. "She just - I dunno, guys. She's creepy."

"Intimidating," Newt corrected.

"Creepy," Minho insisted with a pointed look toward Newt. He folded his hands together and wore an expression that dared Newt to challenge him.

"Look, I just don't think she's that weird," Newt admitted quietly so nobody else could hear except us. "Everyone we've met has been weird. Take Jorge, for example. He's a basket case."

"I agree with Minho, Newt," I commented, glancing past Minho to see Julia bustling around behind the counter, whistling a tune I couldn't catch. "Even Jorge looks antsy to leave."

Like the idiots they were, both Minho and Newt turned to see Jorge lounging back with his hands tapping his stomach impatiently. He cracked an eye open and rose an eyebrow at the two boys. It took all the willpower in me not to whack them on their heads. They were so obvious it was almost painful.

Moments later, Julia passed out room-temperature water bottles and stale bagels that tasted like nothing. However, it was food, and everyone chowed down like their lives depended on it. We didn't know when we would have our next meal, or if it would be as luxurious as bagels. I had to chew ridiculously hard for it to be safe to go down my throat, and by the time I was halfway finished, my jaw was aching so badly I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to eat the rest.

Newt had a similar expression of pain on his face like I did, but Minho was still chowing down like there was no tomorrow. When we both sent him incredulous expressions, he stopped, shrugged, and said with a mouthful of bagel, "I have jaws of steel."

I ended up not eating a quarter of the stupid thing, and drank nearly half of my water so I could keep the rest for our trip to the edge of the city. Minho was stupid and drank so much that there was only a swallow left of his, and sent Newt a pleading look. Newt sighed and nodded to signal that he would share his once we left.

"We best be going, Julia," Jorge announced once most of us had stopped eating, his eyes darting around like he expected something to jump out at any second. "It will be nightfall soon and we need to travel as far as possible before the moon rises."

"Are you sure you don't want to stay?" Julia asked with a tilt of her head. When Jorge did not reply, she sighed. "Okay. Let me get more waters from the back."

She stepped out from behind the counter and all but sauntered toward a bolted door diagonally behind the mini cafe. She slid a key from the back pocket of her jeans, which she used to unlock the padlock. The door did not shut behind her as she disappeared behind it.

"Everyone on high alert," Jorge commanded in a whisper. "On your feet. I don't trust her, or that smell."

I didn't smell anything, but I did feel apprehensive about Julia. The group of us slowly stood up from our tables with waters in hand.

"Jorge," Theo said quietly in a slightly shaking tone. "Didn't she get the water from the counter last time?"

Jorge gulped. "Yes."

A creak came from the room Julia had gone into. It was quiet, especially with the lack of hearing in one ear, but still enough to freeze my blood in place. My heart started to pound in that familiar way it always did when I knew something was wrong.

Jorge didn't waste another second. "Run!"

And run we did. The timing was perfect, because by the time the first people were starting to run down the stairs, the 'water' door burst open and revealed a small army of screaming Cranks ready to charge at us.

Aris started to shout in fear and surprise, but Jorge violently shushed him. He waved his arms frantically to keep us moving down the stairs. Eventually, I reached the first landing, but the Cranks were already near. They appeared in the doorway of the stairwell with their hissing causing spittle to fly everywhere.

Jorge whipped out his handgun and started firing. The sound of bullets whizzing through the air hurt my ear, and the calamity of us trying to get down the steps with Jorge standing in the middle was making my head spin.

I had already passed Jorge when another person's gun joined with his. At first I thought it was Julia, but then I turned to see Theo standing beside the older man with sheer determination etched on his face. Even Jorge looked confused to see him there.

"¿Qué demonios estás haciendo?" he shouted above the noise, pausing for a split second to look at Theo with winded eyes. "Go!"

But Theo shook his head defiantly and continued shooting. "No. My hip hurts too much for me to run. I may as well help you."

"You are an absolute idiot, boy," Jorge muttered, but didn't order him to leave again. The two of them stood on the steps with their guns firing at the Cranks as they stumbled over each other to get closer to us, making gargled noises that only intensified my fear.

My hand had barely grazed my gun when Theo looked back and screamed, "Dylan, get out! Go! Go! We'll be right behind you."

I knew it was a lie, so why did I obey? I knew they weren't coming out of there alive. Why did I go? Why?

I took the stairs two at a time, not stepping so much as jumping down them. My feet began to sting from the harsh landings, and I opened the door to the lobby with my ear ringing.

"Oh, thank god," Newt sighed in relief as soon as I burst from the stairwell. He grabbed my hand and pulled me along with him. "Come on!"

"Theo and Jorge - they're still in there!" I shouted. Newt slowed down and turned to face the closing door to the steps. He grunted and released my hand, running toward it. Somehow I knew what his plan was. Moving almost blindly, I shoved a chair in his direction, causing it to slide across the dust-coated floor and into his hands. He propped it up against the open door to hold it there.

The sound of the gunshots increased and the Cranks got louder. Footsteps pounded from above. I sprinted toward the exit with Newt in tow, nearly tripping over my own feet with how unstable my legs were. Adrenaline was causing my nerves to be on high alert and made me move more slowly than I would have liked.

I pushed the last door open and jumped onto the sidewalk, not stopping until I was at least a hundred feet away. The sound of bullets could still be heard, but Jorge and Theo were nowhere to be seen.

"Who are we missing?" Minho asked, grabbing onto my arm with a sweaty hand. "Who is still in there?"

"Theo and Jorge," Newt responded since the words seemed to be stuck in my throat.

The gunshots ceased. I waited five seconds without breathing, my hands shaking and legs ready to give out. Minho took the water bottle from my hand so I wouldn't drop it.

And then Jorge jumped out of the exit, empty-handed and without Theo. He started running toward us with no intention of stopping, of waiting for Theo, and my mind couldn't take it.

"Where is Theo?" I demanded because my mouth had found the words this time. "Where is he?"

Jorge shook his head. "He--"

Before he could finish, the boy in question leaped out the door and landed so hard on his feet that he crumpled to the asphalt. I immediately darted forward to help him up, but before I could get halfway there, Minho once again stopped me by looping his arms around my middle and holding me firmly in place.

"Theo!" I yelled helplessly, watching as he struggled to stand, sweat dotting his hairline and teeth grinding together from the effort and pain.

And then he stopped, plopped on the ground, and said, "Ah, joder."

Cranks burst into the open and swarmed over him before I could process it. Theo managed to stand somehow, took four desperate steps toward us, and yelped once they grabbed each of his arms. One of them sank its teeth into his right biceps so deeply blood started to ooze out, staining the Crank's mouth red as Theo's agonized scream echoed through the city.

His eyes locked on mine, on the gun in my hand, ready to shoot the Cranks holding him hostage. His eyes filled with realization.

"Dylan, you know what will happen!" he shouted between his labored breaths. "Jorge - the bite will only make it spread faster. Do it!"

I shook my head furiously, tears blurring my vision. Minho was silently watching with his arms still holding me. I couldn't do it.

"Dylan," Theo said more calmly now, chest heaving. "Shoot me."

Jorge was weaponless. Minho was stone still. I was closest.

I took my gun in both hands and swallowed the lump in my throat that refused to let me breathe. The pain was clear in Theo's shining brown eyes, the ones that used to crinkle at the corners when he smiled. His arm was oozing with blood that the Cranks were lapping up, tugging at his limbs as if they wanted to tear him apart.

I raised the gun.

I had no idea how to shoot it. I supposed I could just aim and hope for the best, but how did I even know what to do?

Minho's hand came up toward mine and flicked a small switch that went from orange to black. The Safety? I wasn't sure, but I did know what to do next. My trembling hand loaded the gun and returned to where the other rested on the trigger.

I couldn't do it. Oh god, I couldn't do it. How was I supposed to kill him?

I sucked in a breath and choked on a sob. The tears had already fallen. I closed my eyes and pulled the trigger before I could think twice.

A failed shot.

You're my best friend.

I positioned the gun once again, braced myself, and fired twice.

I watched. I watched them both land in Theo's abdomen, the way his eyes seemed to clear and his shouts cut off abruptly as blood blossomed from the bullet holes and stained his dark green shirt with red. His head bobbed forward until he coughed up blood that stained his lips and chin. I watched his body go slack.

Minho sucked in a breath and grabbed the knife from my front pocket, flinging it sideways so it landed in the neck of a Crank that had been creeping up on us. He tried pulling me away. My feet were glued to the cement.

"Let's go!" Jorge urged from behind, but my eyes wouldn't leave the scene as the Cranks pounced on Theo's unmoving body. I was sobbing so hard I couldn't breathe. My head was filled with a stabbing pain. I couldn't move.

I barely registered what was happening as Minho somberly pulled me along with him away from Theo. There was only one thing running through my mind as my feet stumbled along to keep up with his quick pace.

What have I done?

gif is dylan looking at theo ):

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rip theo u were the bomb.com

seriously i'm so sad rn bc i always had this planned but I had never expected to become so attached to the lil spanish-speaking bean ):

questions:

-did you suspect julia was up to something?

-how do you think she knew about them coming?

-what was your favorite theo moment?

-are you happy that theo gets to see garret again?

okay i'm super sad so that's all i can come up with

-kristyn