INTERTWINED ~ THE MAZE RUNNER

~TWELVE~

    The helicopter ride was long and Thomas had managed to fall asleep, his head in her lap. And Minho, he too had been leaning into her as his head rested against the wall. The others seemed to all be hunched against whatever wall they could, some staring blankly out the windows while others drifted asleep. There was hardly any conversation, an oddity amongst the gladers.

    Like the others, she was exhausted. But unlike most of the surviving gladers, she couldn't sleep. Every time she closed her eyes she would watch her friends die once more. But having them open wasn't much better as the state of her appearance- of everyone's appearance- had been just another reminder of how hard she had to fight to be alive. The blood on her clothes was surely not hers, which was something she wished at the moment she could forget about. Another part of her mind argued that she should stay that way, the amber colour being all that was left of them.

    That wasn't all that kept her awake though. She spent the entire time silently watching their "saviours." Addy couldn't put her finger on what made their dark uniforms put her off. It didn't help that no matter how many questions they had asked, they received vague answers. A glance at Teresa told her that the lack of knowledge had itched at her mind too.

    It was dark when the helicopter finally landed. Gunfire could be heard as well as loud screeching. Addison had been through enough chaos to understand the first rule of the maze. Never stop running. So that's what she did. She tugged on Thomas and practically dragged him as she sprinted as hard as she could behind Minho. She followed the others toward a large aircraft hanger as she tried to ignore the inhuman-like people that were being shot at around her.

    The group was quickly ushered inside large doors that closed behind them, locking the screams outside. When she turned around, she finally let go of Thomas' collar. The brunette let out a shaky breath when she spotted the familiar broad shoulders, and pushed her way next to Minho. The group- tightly knitted together- stared at the scene around them in surprise. It was some sort of military base with people quickly moving about all around them.

    "Hey! We need to get you out of here. Follow me!" A middle aged man called to the group. Addison shared a worried glance with Newt, who stood slightly behind her. The group didn't seem to have much say as they were swiftly herded through the busy area.

    The man opened a door for them and they all ran inside. Alarms buzzed along with the thrum of their hearts, and the group finally turned to face the man as he reached for the door. Addison took note of what appeared to be soldiers running around in a panic behind him. Who are these people? Can we really trust them? Are they gonna kill us? What about those things that had chased us? Why did they need so many guns?

    "What's going on out there?" Thomas asked, voicing her concern.

    "Nothing we can't handle." The man responded before he slammed the metal door on them. Addison suddenly felt her stomach drop as the walls around her closed in. The air knocked from her lungs in a sudden state of panic. Her legs burned slightly as she raced toward the door and freely let her fists hammer against the metal.

    "H-hey, hey! Let us out!" She shouted. But instead of getting a response, the lights flickered. The brunette jumped slightly, but allowed her worry to morph into confusion at the complete silence amongst the usually rowdy group. She furrowed her brows and turned to find that her friends had been frozen in place with their eyes glazed over at the glorious sight in front of them.

    "I've been shucked and gone to heaven." Minho mumbled in a daze. Curious, she moved to stand next to Newt who shot her a wide grin. Her shoulders relaxed slightly at his kindness before she looked her forward again. Before them was a large, fragrant feast laid out on a rather long table. She couldn't remember seeing anything so mouthwatering in her life. Even more so than Sandra's mystery cookies. A large smile of her own formed on her freckled face.