To The Shucking End

Chapter 24

To be honest, the only way to describe the aftermath of Teresa's damage was pathetic.

The ordeal with WICKED had lasted long into the night so the sun was just rising as the fires were put out and smoke blanketed the land, the survivors picking through the rubble to see if there was anything salvageable.

Some of them couldn't even bring themselves to do that as they simply just sat there, staring at nothing.

"What do we do now?" Frypan asked.

"Well, we pick up what's left of us. We stick to the plan, and we get you kids to the Safe Haven," Vince answered as he stood. "We start over I guess."

But Tanya knew her answer before he even spoke.

Thomas was going to stand first, but she beat him to it.

"I'm not going with you," she announced, her wrists still sore and bruised from the piece of metal Frypan had stuck inside to pop the handcuffs open. "I lost Alby and I lost Gally but I'm not about to lose Minho. I made a promise to him."

"Hey, kid. Look around you. Alright? WICKED just kicked our ass. You think about where you're headed," Vince advised.

"I'll come with you," Thomas said as he stood, not a hint of hesitation in his voice as Tanya gave him an appreciative nod and any animosity between them seemed to fade away before Newt approached her.

"Tan, listen to me. If there was any way we could help Minho, you know I'd be right up there standing next to you. But this, what you're talking about, it's impossible," he said, Frypan standing at his side.

"More like suicide," Jorge added.

"Maybe. But Newt, the five of us made a promise in that Maze three years ago. To the shucking end. And the shucking end is Safe Haven and it's so close. There may only be three of us left from that pact, but I am not going to leave Minho behind because I know he would never leave me behind or you. We owe it to Gally, to Alby and to him. We're all going to make it to Safe Haven. There is no other option."

She let her words sink in as Thomas picked up her torch.

"It may be suicide, but I know what I'm supposed to do now," he said. "Not just about Minho but about all of us. Not just everyone WICKED's taken but everyone they will take. They'll never stop. So, I'm going to stop them. I'm going to kill Ava Paige," he vowed and that was a moment when Tanya felt like a proud big sister.

Harriet surprisingly spoke first, both Aris and Sonya having been taken by WICKED last night.

"I have to admit, I'd like some revenge," she said to Vince, a rifle strapped on her shoulder.

"That was one hell of a speech kids," Vince remarked. "So, what's your plan?"

Thomas met Tanya's eyes, her brown irises glistening with mischief as his matched.

"We're going to burn WICKED to the fucking ground," Tanya answered with a smirk that Thomas mirrored before he finished her thought.

"Starting with rescuing Minho."