To The Shucking End

Chapter 26

They didn't get Minho.

Thomas had picked the wrong train car because in the one they picked was Aris and Sonya but no Minho, who had confirmed that Minho was on the train.

They liberated around 50 kids, but they still failed to find Minho as they returned to the abandoned shipyard that was their base of operations, Vince and most of his crew attempting to fix an old ship that they'd use to get to Safe Haven.

But Tanya knew that she couldn't leave in good conscience without Minho.

Especially when Aris told them about a city.

Everyone else didn't think it could exist seeing as Cranks were everywhere, but Jorge claimed he'd been there. The Last City. The last place where people could live freely, where there were no Cranks and where WICKED was said to have their base of operations.

Vince was against the idea seeing as it took them six months alone to plan and execute this rescue mission and they now housed over 100 kids, and even if this mission took a week like Thomas estimated, they may not be able to stay hidden for that long after what they just pulled.

And his point was proved when they picked up WICKED radio chatter and they had seconds to shut the lights down and usher everyone inside before Thomas, Vince and Tanya rushed outside to see how close the helicopters were to their base.

So that night, Thomas packed a bag as he prepared to leave to get Minho back...at least before he was stopped by Newt who didn't give Thomas a choice or a chance to let him and Frypan stay behind.

But when Thomas questioned about Tanya, Newt had only said that she'd been through enough, seeing as she took their failure at rescuing Minho pretty hard, and she didn't need to repeat that feeling if they failed with was a very high chance considering that Jorge had said the Last City was the lion's den and the last place they'd want to go. Not to mention that Tanya was WICKED's most wanted Munnie, and he wasn't about to let them get their hands on her. Not again.

So, the three boys snuck out while everyone else slept.

Or so they thought.

And it was a good thing too because the boys didn't even last a day before they got into trouble that almost got them killed.

On their way to the city, they were forced to go through an old, abandoned infection checkpoint that led straight through a dark, damp tunnel.

A tunnel, like Newt predicted, was full of Cranks.

And in their attempt at escaping Frypan had managed to crash their car, flipping it over and rendering it useless after they climbed out and ran before the Cranks surrounded them, leaving them nowhere to go.

At least until they heard the revving of a car engine as it approached and they saw a familiar face.

"Get your asses in the fucking car! NOW!" Tanya ordered as she stood up, the car having no roof and an open trailer as she balanced a rifle on her shoulder and opened fire on the Cranks.

"Go, Jorge! Go!" Thomas shouted as Brenda jumped up and pulled out a handgun, sticking it and half her body out of the window.

And he gunned the engine as the girls stopped firing and they saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

But boy did they grimace when Tanya sat down in between Thomas and Newt, Frypan behind them as they saw the pissed look on her face.

"I had half a mind to leave you fucking shanks with the Cranks seeing as you left me behind. What the fuck were you thinking?!" she snapped, the boys opening their mouths to answer but the girl cut them off as she flipped her long braid over her shoulder, letting it flop to the middle of her back. "I don't want to hear whatever pathetic, yet endearing explanation you idiots have. But I promise you, if you shanks ever pull shit like that again, you're going to wish that those Cranks fucking killed you. Am I clear?"

"Crystal," Frypan muttered from the backseat as Thomas and Newt nodded and Brenda and Jorge shared amused smiles from the front seats.

"I'm impressed," Jorge laughed as Tanya dug through a bag at her feet and handed out water bottles to the boys. "You almost lasted an entire day."

"Thanks for saving us, by the way," Newt added.

"You're welcome," Brenda replied as Tanya just scoffed.

"What would you do without me?" she remarked as he rolled his eyes at her.

"Hey, don't get your hopes up," Jorge continued. "That checkpoint back there, that was the city's last defence. If that was overrun, chances are the city is too."

"Yeah, unless they figured out some other way to keep the fucking Cranks out," Newt said as they all looked out his side of the car before Jorge slammed on the brakes and they all climbed out of the car.

The hair that had fallen from her braid blew in the wind as the saw what was in the distance.

Tanya had never seen a city that wasn't in ruins and this one was far from that. It was surrounded by a huge wall that looked all too familiar as the silver buildings reached for the sky, smaller buildings as ruins still standing around the walls.

It would've been an impressive sight if it didn't give her flashbacks from the Maze.

"It's funny," Newt said. "Tan and I spent 3 years trapped behind walls tryna break out and now we wanna fucking break back in."

"Life's come full circle, hasn't it, Newtie?" she sighed as she hugged his arm, leaning her head on his shoulder as he huffed a laugh.

"Yeah, it's fucking hilarious," Frypan said dryly as he stood in the trailer of the truck.

"Jorge, how do we get in?" Thomas asked.

"Don't look at me, hermano. Those fucking walls are new. I guess that's WICKED's answer for everything," he answered.

"We'll get in," Tanya assured him. "Whether we have to climb over, break them down or blow them to fucking smithereens. We'll get in."

"Well, we won't figure it out up here. Let's go," Brenda said as she and Jorge headed back for the truck, Frypan sitting down as Newt and Tanya moved closer to Thomas who couldn't stop staring at the city.

"You really think he's in there?" Newt asked, his blonde hair that had grown longer blowing to the side of his face.

"I guess we'll find out," Thomas answered.

"You know, she's gonna be there too," Newt pointed out and Thomas didn't have a reply for that. Everyone knew about his feelings for Teresa, but Thomas refused to discuss her with anyone, except Tanya.

They were actually in a similar situation, having loved someone everyone thought a monster. As terrible as the things that Gally and Teresa did, they were doing what they thought was right. But where they differed was that Gally would've never sold out his friends, not for anything. He would've gladly damned the rest of the world if it meant they were safe.

Teresa on the other hand would've damned her friends to save the world and she had - she was the reason why Minho was undergoing what was essentially torture as they harvested enzymes from his brain. Enzymes that were the strongest WICKED had ever seen, bar Tanya's.

And they would get him back. No matter what.

And though Tanya and Thomas had grown closer over the last year, even reaching nickname status, Tanya wouldn't hesitate to put a bullet in Teresa's brain if it meant Minho could come home.