One Day Too Late

04

They made their way into outside of the city and bunched together. It was crowded and rundown; but a lot better than the rubbled cities they'd seen on their way from the Scorch.

"This place has really gone through hell," Jorge said.

"We just gotta stay together," Thomas told the group.

"We are the voice of the voiceless!" a man in a car said. "They hide behind their walls, thinking they can keep the cure for themselves, while they watch us wither and rot! But there are more of us than there are of them. And I say we rise up and take back what is ours! Let's bring back a victory!"

Unbeknownst to Thomas, the tracker in his neck was lighting up, revealing his location.

Thomas noticed the wall and said, "That's it. That's our way in."

The crowd was cheering, "let us in," over and over.

"Thomas!" Jorge said. "This is not what you're looking for. All these people trying to find their way in, you think you're gonna find something they can't?"

"Came this far," Thomas shot back. "I'm not turning back now."

They continued walking closer to the wall and Frypan asked, "What the hell did we get ourselves into?"

Jorge shook his head. "Thomas, this doesn't feel right."

Newt, Lacey and Brenda caught up to the others and Newt placed a hand on Thomas's shoulder. "Hey, guys, we gotta go now. Look."

They saw soldiers with gas masks and guns walking up to them. A sound from the wall hushed the crowd.

Huge guns turned and Frypan and Lacey said, "Thomas, let's go."

The guns fired and they ran as fast as they could.

They dodged bullets and ran down an alleyway. Thomas, Brenda and Lacey were trailing behind the others, and an explosion occurred outside the alley, and they pressed against the wall. Since Lacey was in front of Thomas, he shielded her.

When they exited the alleyway, they were thrust into a dusty blue van.

"Leave me alone!" Lacey cried.

The van spend off and three guys in camo and gas masks stared at them intimidatingly.

The car stopped and the back was opened. They climbed out and the instant Jorge got out of his van, he started punching one of the guys asking where Brenda was.

Brenda said, "I'm right here. I'm right here!"

Jorge slowly calmed down.

One guy, who was obviously the leader, said, "Everybody relax. We're all on the same side here."

"What do you mean same side?" Thomas asked angrily.

"Who the hell are you?" Lacey demanded.

The kid took off his mask. "Hey, Greenie."

"Gally?" Thomas asked in disbelief.

Thomas lunged at Gally and pushed him to the ground readying to punch.

Newt ran up to him and said, "Stop."

"He killed Chuck," Thomas reminded him.

"Yeah, I know. I remember. I was there too, alright? But I also remember that he was stung and half out of his mind. Just calm down. All right? Come on."

"Kind of had that coming," Gally said.

"Anybody else? Fry? Newt? Who's the girl?"

"Do you know this guy?" Jorge asked from behind Frypan.

"He was an old friend," Fry replied. He glanced at Lacey and back to Gally. "Her name's Lacey. She's from another Maze."

Newt asked, "How? How is this possible? We watched you die."

"No, you left me to die," Gally corrected. "And if we hadn't found you when we did, you'd be dead right now."

"I suppose you're expecting a bunch of thank yous," Lacey said in a slightly joking tone.

"No. What the hell are you doing here?"

"Minho," Newt said. "WICKED has him here. We're looking for a way in."

Gally nodded. "I can help with that. Can she be trusted?"

He pointed at Lacey and Newt nodded. "Yeah, she can."

"Good. Follow me."

"I'm not going anywhere with you," Thomas argued.

"Suit yourself. But I can get you through those walls."

Newt and Thomas exchanged a silent look and decided it was better to follow Gally. If he could get them inside, he was their best option.