Soulmates.

It's kind of a funny word. A funny concept. The fact that you could connect with someone on such a deeper understanding was sort of odd to me.

That someone could trust another human being to give their life to them—or their soul. I was never one to believe in that kind of stuff. That you were made for one person on this earth, and that same person would reciprocate those exact feelings. I didn't believe that one could even feel that much. Total and complete helplessness—I didn't believe in it until I met Newt.

I fell for Newt so fast, that it didn't feel real when I sat back and replayed it all. When you spend every day and night with someone, time becomes such an abstract thing. It made me realize that time didn't exist when you live on nothing but a floating rock ball. Man created time, therefore it doesn't matter. I remembered feeling insecure about our relationship in the start, feeling that it was going too fast and would all just crash and burn in the end. But now I understand. The feelings I had for Newt were something I've never experienced. We moved so quickly because we lived everyday like we were seconds away from being taken by WICKED. He's apart of such a dangerous world, and so was I.

The only reason I believe in soulmates now, was because despite everything we've gone through, we were still together. And through all of the hardships, through everything that was tossed at us, through everything we said, the feelings I had for Newt never seemed to dim.

I think I'd figured out I was in love with him for awhile before I finally admitted it to myself. It was all just happening too quickly for my mind to comprehend; I felt stupid that it took the knowledge that he was slipping into madness for me to say it. And even then, I didn't say it to him. I said it to myself.

And as I watched him run in front of me, stumbling over his own feet as he huffed, trying so hard to stay stable, I felt my eyes start to water. He was sweating from head to toe, crumbling in front of my eyes. My chest squeezed as I followed behind him, seeing Newt glance over his shoulder to check if I was close. I sent him a quick smile, trying to comfort him although I knew nothing could.

Ever since we met, the two of us were like two matching puzzle pieces for a puzzle that was too complicated to ever be finished. It was like the world, sort of. How every little detail led to something bigger, and that led to a whole new plethora of problems that all had something to do with our blood or cells inside our body that we couldn't control. But somehow, I guess I had to be grateful in some narcistic way... Without WICKED, and without the obstacles that we've had to overcome, there was a strong chance that I would've never met Newt. That our two puzzle pieces would've never come into contact and clicked right away.

Because even though life was a shit show, and it didn't deserve to be lived, I had him. And I had more than some people did.

Newt's my soulmate, there was no doubt about that. I know it, and I think he knew it too. It was just a matter of fate to decide if we were supposed to be together for the rest of our lives, or not.

As we ran, Thomas suddenly slid on his knees, dipping behind a short concrete wall behind a tree. The rest of us followed him, dropping to our knees as well. Newt fell down next to Minho, and I fell down next to Newt, holding my chest as it started to ache.

"You okay?" A scratchy voice from beside me asked. I turned my head to look at who spoke the words, and I almost laughed when I saw Newt turned towards me, looking as tired as ever. I nodded, reaching in my pocket to grab the inhaler.

"Yeah, you?"

He coughed, the bangs falling from his forehead as his head fell forward during his fit. My face dropped as I looked up at Minho, who met my eyes. I placed a comforting hand on Newt's shoulder, moving in front of him as he lifted his head, looking so tired.

"Hey, it's okay. Deep breaths, in through the nose, out through the mouth." He nodded at my small attempt to try and help, his chest rising with the deep inhale he took, wincing as he blew it out through his mouth.

Seeing him like this was so painful, I was sure to have nightmares about it. I hated seeing the ones I loved in pain, especially Newt. I always have, the fact that he was deteriorating so quickly opened a hole in my heart that had previously been sealed by all of his thoughtful whispers into my ears, or his comforting hugs that made everything seem so much more bearable. But now that hole was beginning to slowly open again, taking me down with it as I continued to watch him.

Impulsively, I climbed over his lap so I was now straddling his legs, sitting on his thighs as my hands found the sides of his face. His eyes lifted in confusion, brows furrowing at my sudden action.

"What are you doing?" He weakly asked, and I shook my head, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him in for a hug.

I closed my eyes and buried my face in his neck to hide the tears that wanted to leap from my eyes, squeezing him with everything I had left in me. I pursed my lips as they shook, pressing a chaste kiss to his jawline as I felt his arms snake around my torso slowly, squeezing just as tightly as I was.

"You're gonna be alright." I whimpered into his ear so that only he could hear, my fingers finding their way to the back of his head to provide as much security as I possibly could.

Newt squeezed me tighter, his hand flattened across my spine as he sniffled, pressing his face into my neck just as I did. But he didn't respond, telling me that he either didn't believe me, or that he was just keeping quiet to conserve his energy.

"Hey, guys..." Thomas interrupted our moment with a shy tap to my shoulder, and only then did I lift my head from Newt's shoulder, looking at the boy who let out a huff as he pointed at him. "C'mon, we gotta get him up. Let's go."

I nodded, carefully climbing off of the boy as he tugged at the zipper of his uniform, needing to rid some of the heat from his body. Thomas held a hand out that Newt shook his head at, pushing his legs under him in an attempt to stand on his own. He leaned forward as he got to his feet, stumbling so that Thomas caught him.

As he stood though, I noticed something fall from inside of his jacket. While Newt was conversing with Thomas, trying to gain enough strength to stand, my eyes followed the item that had fallen to the ground.

I took a step forward, moving towards the worn leather journal that was still dripping wet from their fall from the building. Bending down, I picked the item up, brushing the dust off the cover. I glanced up, my eyes finding Newt as Minho and Thomas threw his arms over their shoulders, Gally getting ready to lead us all to the tunnels.

I looked back down at Newt's journal in my hands, wondering what exactly he had spent all of his time writing in here. My fingers grazed the spine, feeling as though the world stopped as I admired the wet book in my hands. As far as I knew, Newt could've been writing a story in here, or something that he created in that beautiful mind of his. It could've just been drawings, with descriptions that he spent ages working on, but somewhere in the depths of my mind, I knew it was something he wrote. And I wanted to keep it safe. Even if I never get to read his scribbled thoughts, see what was really going on in his head, I knew it was an outlet for him. It was important to Newt, therefore it was important to me.

So, I quickly unzipped my jacket and placed the journal in the deep pocket on the inside, where the WICKED guards used to hold any weapon you could imagine. I sealed the pocket, zipping my jacket back up just as the boys started to move.

I ran to catch up with them, following beside Gally as we started to move through the city. The sirens of police cars echoed off the skyscrapers, trapping us within the walls of the city. I wasn't claustrophobic, but the way I felt, with the sweat dripping down my body inside of the uniform, I wanted nothing more than to be out of this city with the cure, and to give it to Newt.

"How much farther to the tunnels?" I murmured to Gally as I glanced behind me at my friends who struggled to hold up Newt, who was trying so hard. He looked drained, half dead almost. The dark colored veins were starting to climb up his neck, and his hair became more damp with sweat every second. The beautiful brown eyes that I lost myself in countless times during a day were beginning to darken, the black of his pupils drowning out the color.

Gally followed my gaze, turning his head back to me. "Not much farther. It's only a couple of blocks. We can—"

A loud explosion interrupted him before he could finish the sentence, causing all of our heads to duck down in reflex as the ground beneath us began to quake. A harsh breath left my lips as I turned my head in the direction of the chaos, seeing a giant ball of fire tear open the entrance to the city. We all stopped in our tracks as debris came raining down, too far away to reach us.

"Oh shit," I mumbled, facing Gally. "That wasn't a part of the plan, was it?"

He shook his head, staring at the destruction with disappointment, maybe betrayal. "They were supposed to take down WICKED, not the whole damn city..."

Heavy breaths of exhaustion occupied the silence around us until Thomas dared to speak, patting Gally on the shoulder at an attempt of sympathy. "Gally, c'mon."

He started moving along again, carrying Newt's arm over one shoulder while Minho carried the other. As they moved past me, Newt and I locked eyes, and I knew that we both had the same thought. If cranks from the city outside fought their way in, then that means WICKED would have to fight back. We didn't have time to be stopped again.

But we continued to run, the fear of losing our friend or being captured again weighed on our chests as people started to fight their way through the crack in the wall. The sound of screams reverberated through the city, creating a chill up my spine as Gally took his place in front again, leading us carefully as he held the launcher tighter in his hands now. I did the same, checking if my gun was loaded in my holster.

Turning another corner, Gally kept low as we followed, not having any idea where we were going, but knowing that we just had to follow him a little longer. I refrained myself from looking behind at Newt—to save myself the anxiety that would come with it. I could hear his exhausted grunts, and that was enough to tear a permanent hole in my heart; he didn't deserve this.

"The tunnels are right up ahead." Gally shouted back to us as we turned another corner, going between two buildings. "Shit..."

Just as I was about to ask what happened, he dropped to his knees, hiding behind another set of trees and plants. "Stay low, stay low!" He ordered, fear laced in his voice.

I jolted my head up to see police cars spread across the street barricading the road behind it as they blocked our way to the tunnels. I dropped down to my knees next to Gally, watching and reaching my arms out for Newt to take as Thomas and Minho carefully lowered him onto the ground. He reached out as well, and I wrapped my limb around his neck, pulling him close as he coughed once again and wiped at his mouth.

I turned my head toward Gally, who was peering over the slab of concrete we hid behind, watching as the sound of guns getting ready to shoot caught my attention. He quietly groaned and relaxed, muttering a curse as I shook my head in confusion.

"What's going on? Wh-Why can't we go?" I asked, trying to keep my panic on the down low although it was starting to become obvious that I was becoming desperate for the person laying helpless in my arms.

Gally shook his head, almost as if he didn't want to answer the question, and I kept my eyes on him, waiting. The boy looked straight ahead, the gears in his brain visibly turning, thinking of another plan to get us out of here. When I realized he wasn't going to give me an answer, I huffed and tightened my arm around Newt, feeling him lean his head on my shoulder in a moment of weakness.

Nothing but our breathing filled the silence until Minho broke it with another question. "What are they waiting for?"

Almost as if on cue, an explosion sounded to the right of us, causing a small yelp to leave my lips as I placed both arms around Newt's head and leaned in, trying to protect him from whatever it was. I could feel the warmth of the fire all the way from where we sat, only adding to the fright as I relaxed and lifted my head, watching as Thomas turned his body to get a look at what was happening.

A roar of battle cries echoed through the city center, and I didn't even have time to register what was happening before Tommy scrambled to crouch behind the concrete, motioning harshly for us to get down as another explosion sounded; this time closer.

Just like that, the town broke out into a war, privileged versus the needy. Gunshots started, screams, bombs... Night was destroyed as new light shed across the area from fire and the shots that cracked the peaceful silence that this city once held. And all the while, I held Newt's head to my chest with everything I had, feeling his weak grip tug on the back of my shirt as he tried to pull me closer.

"Stay down, stay down!" Thomas yelled to us as we tried to cover ourselves behind a bush and a piece of concrete, hearing the commotion behind us as the ground shook with the eruption of different chemicals that were only meant to harm. Minho leaned towards me, wrapping a hand around my body and grabbing Newt's jacket to hoist him only a few inches up, giving me a better grip on his body as Minho practically laid on top of me.

I clamped my eyes shut, wanting to cover my ears as everything escalated so quickly around us. Another terrified yelp left my mouth as another boom sounded about less than ten feet behind us, causing the ground to quake beneath our legs.

"We gotta go, we gotta go!" Gally spoke from my left. I nodded, opening my eyes from their clamped state as I let Minho crawl in front of me, moving towards Newt as Thomas peeled his arm from around my waist. I unwillingly let go of his head to allow the boys to hoist his frail body into the air, staying low as they began to run in the direction we had just came from.

"Go, Mae! Go!" Gally encouraged as I got to my feet, following after them and ducking my head in reflex as the shots barely missed the two of our bodies, and he only pulled me along faster, taking a hold of the black uniform.

"What the hell!" I impulsively yelled as the air around us began to become smokier, and I squinted my eyes to see Thomas turn a corner, stepping through a broken window and into a building, the other two having no choice but to follow him. I looked over my shoulder to Gally, who waved at me to go in, and I did as he said, pulling the inhaler out of my pocket as I stepped into the room.

Thomas and Minho carefully lowered Newt onto the ground, and I collapsed down next to him, shaking the inhaler before putting it in my mouth and pressing the top, feeling the artificial air open up my airways. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath of relief, the ache in my chest and throat starting to die down as I swallowed, listening to Thomas scramble around for something in his pocket before he finally pulled it out.

"Brenda, you there?" He practically yelled into the walkie, and only then did I open my eyes, the smoke from the bombs and shots beginning to sting them as the world turned orange outside of the broken glass.

"Thomas, I'm here." She responded almost immediately, sounding almost as frantic as we felt.

The crashing of glass from my left made me let out another startled scream as I ducked down, feeling Newt lean down on top of me as I felt a piece of glass against my cheekbone. I quickly swatted it away before scooting far away from the window, everyone moving with me.

"We're not gonna make it." Tommy told Brenda through his pants of exhaustion. My head shot to him, only to see his eyes already on me as I shook my head, that being the thing I least expected him to say.

"What are you talking about?" Brenda asked back, and another scream sounded from outside the room, making me cover my ears for only a moment before I shook my head and ran my fingers through my hair, listening to their conversation.

But to my left, Newt let out a small whine, and just like that, all of my attention was on him. I crawled so that I was now in front of him as I sat back on my thighs and pushed my lips into the best possible grin I could muster in the moment, willing myself to comfort him although I knew nothing would.

"Hey," I breathed, placing both of my palms gently on either side of his sweaty face, turning it slowly so that he was facing me. "How are you?"

It was probably the stupidest question to ask, but my brain physically couldn't think of anything better. I needed to talk to him, but through all of the desperation and fear, the only thing I could say was a question I already knew the answer to. An answer I didn't want to believe, but it was obvious with one look you took at his pale face. His under eyes were more purple than I'd ever seen them, the virus mixing with the fatigue I knew he felt. His hair was a stringy mess on the top of his head, sweat combined with the water he had jumped into not even fifteen minutes ago. Lips cracked and red, Newt breathed through them, chest heaving with every inhale and exhale.

The boy let out a breathy laugh at my question, his eyes close to shutting as he formed an awkward smile. "Bloody terrible, Maisy."

My heart sank at the reply, the words immediately causing my tear ducts to swell. I didn't know what I had been expecting, but I guess the verbal conformation that he was feeling shitty was something that I couldn't bring myself to accept.

My head fell as I took his hand in mine, squeezing it in an attempt to never let go. A hand brushed against my grimy skin, cupping my cheek in his grasp and causing me to look back up. My eyes met Newt's once again as his hand fell flaccid from my face, my eyes meeting his in a sea of distress. The light that they once held was beginning to dim, the darkness of his pupils beginning to take over as the madness continued to destroy the little bit of sanity that was left in his angelic body.

As I stared into his eyes, I thought the same three words over and over, like a prayer. Hoping that they would somehow transfer from my brain to his, I chanted them in my head, feeling the tears in my eyes start to well as I fell back down to his side, pulling my knees to my chest as I clasped both of my hands around his tightly.

I love you. I love you. I love you. I kept repeating them in my head, not being able to think of anything else as I began to picture everything that we'd been through today. So much. There was so much that happened today, and although the sun had set, there was still so much more of this day to be lived. And as Thomas spoke to Brenda only a few feet away, I couldn't help but begin to lose hope.