Till The WICKED End | A Maze Runner Story (English Version)

7. The closest circle

"But where do we start?" Brenda asked after Vince shook his head and left the tent, taking Heath with him. "We don't know where they are at all."
"Could be I have an idea about that..." Francesca's voice sounded tortured. Everyone's eyes wandered over to her. When I saw her look, which perfectly mirrored the tone of her voice, I realized that she was about to say something that none of us would like.
"Well, we have to find out where they're hiding somehow. And maybe I could do that if I could get to a computer that's still connected to their system."
"But the entire city has been destroyed. There's nothing left for us to look for," Fry Pan interjected.
"Unless we don't have to go to the city at all..."
Now she looked even more agonizedly back and forth between Minho, Gally, him, and me.
"No." My voice was toneless.
I suddenly realized what she was up to, and I couldn't let that happen. No way in hell.
"It's the only option we have. There, I know the system inside and out..."
"No, Franci. It's out of the question. We're not going back there."
"But -"
But Gally interrupted her.
"What are you talking about? Where are we not going back to?"
"The Maze... Of course!" Thomas groaned.
Francesca still didn't look happy, but Thomas's reaction seemed to give her new courage.
"The whole building is abandoned. We left everything then, before you escaped. If we could get the backup generator working, then I can log in and probably find out where they are."
"We can get that working," Minho nodded. "Wouldn't be the first time, would it Anna and Thomas?"
But I didn't even respond to his reference to the mall just before we'd been chased by the Cranks. Still I scowled at Francesca. I was realizing more and more that she was right, and I didn't like that at all.
"How likely are you to pull this off?" Gally asked.
"Quite likely. WICKED has always communicated through a certain system. They're not going to have changed that, certainly not as weakened as they are right now."
"Guys, do you really think we should go back there right now?" Fry Pan asked.
I looked at him gratefully. He seemed to be the only one who understood me.
"I'm not sure we want to... I miss the Glade, that's true, but our friends died there. What if they're still there?"
A shiver ran down my spine. I hadn't even seen the whole thing from that side. The image of Chuck dying in my arms popped into my mind's eye. Had he just been left there?
But Francesca immediately took that worry away, as if she had read what I was thinking from my facial expression.
"The building was cleaned by soldiers between your escape and the construction of the last city - they took out all the bodies."
I sucked in air through my teeth at this word. Someone put a hand on my right shoulder and when I looked up I realized it was Gally. Then I remembered that a year and a half ago I had thought that he had died there, too. Again a shiver ran down my spine. I turned directly to Francesca now and my voice sounded desperate.
"I can't go back there. Please, there must be another way..."
The pressure of Gally's hand on my shoulder became a little more definite, as if to show me that he was there. But it didn't help, my heart was beating uncontrollably up to my throat.
Francesca took a step towards me, grabbed me by the upper arms and looked me determinedly in the eyes.
"I know how you feel. I lived there for three years, too. We all know how you feel."
"But no one remembers like I do..."
That wasn't really true. Thomas knew exactly what I remembered because I had shown it to him, but no one knew that except Minho.
"We can do this together. And then we'll take out WICKED once and for all," she said, and her voice was soft.
For a moment I just stared at her, but then I started to nod. She was right. This was our only chance.
"All right," I said. "But most of us should stay here. It's too dangerous."
Gally, still standing behind me, gave an annoyed groan.
"Honestly, lil' one, do you really think we're going to let you go alone?"