Glader Girl

17

Thomas- We've done it! Vince, Newt and I exchanged hugs of relief and celebration as our Berg carried us and the train cart back to our base. "I can't believe we actually pulled this off!" Newt exclaimed, pulling me into his arms. "Hey, after six months of planning, of course we pulled it off, otherwise I would've failed as a leader," Vince joked. My heart twisted at that thought of how long this took. Months of planning, gathering whatever information we could, everything it took to get here, it hurt. But we did it, and we didn't lose anyone, so it was all worth it! A while later, we finally reached the base and landed, working on breaking the lock to the cart, so we could get the kids out. "Aris!" I was relived at seeing him, despite the injuries on his face. "You guys okay?" I asked, seeing Sonya next to him. She nodded, and I started walking through, trying to find Minho. Oh no. I had reached the last row of kids, and my heart stopped. I turned to Newt. "He's not here." We looked at one another, disappointment clear on our faces. "Okay... okay, we'll talk about it later with Aris, see if he knows anything. At least we got them back," Newt said, trying to be positive. I smiled slightly and looked over at Harriet wrapping her arms around Sonya and Aris, leading them out of the train cart, so they could be taken care of. "Yes, yeah you're right," I said, taking Newt's hand and walking out. Newt looked out in the distance, sighing deeply. "I'll go tell her, then I'll meet you after." I nodded and walked off as Vince started talking to all the new kids, telling them our plan to leave and asking for volunteers.

I saw Julia walking my way, more like stomping, face hard with fists clenched at her sides. I reached out to stop her, gently pulling her arm. She nailed me with a hard look of disappointment, but at the corner of her mouth was a soft smile. "At least you guys came back." I smiled and pulled her into a hug. Over the past six months, she and I had gotten close, developing a real bond. I couldn't replace Minho in the dynamic they had, but we became family to each other. She's a great friend, and I learned to love her. It took two months to get Julia back to the person she used to be, and back on her feet. No more self-harm, thank God, she was fully nourished and rested, her sleep practically non-existent because of nightmares. Newt and I took turns staying with her through the night, coordinating with Fry or Brenda, even Jorge and Vince helped, so we could sleep and be together. Julia hated being weak and useless, feeling like a burden to Newt and I, and to everyone else, but we got through it.

I wrapped an arm around her and walked over to the rocks where Newt and Fry sat, waiting for us. No one said anything at first, just watching everyone work on the ship that would eventually take us all to Paradise. "We all wanted Minho to be on that train Tommy," Newt said. Fry leaned over and ruffled Julia's hair, telling her it would be okay. "I just can't believe we're talking about leaving without him," I said, tightening my hold on Julia. She sighed and laid in my arms, and I could see her eyes getting cloudy. "I think Minho would kick our assess if we don't, would make his sacrifice for nothing," Fry said. Julia snorted. "He wouldn't do shit, weak little bitch," she joked. We all laughed; even now, with the thought of never seeing our friend again, Julia still treated Minho the way she always did. I remember the story of how they became friends; their sass and sarcastic ways always put them against each other. Then one day, to prove a point, Julia challenged him to a race. When she won, she was given the right to have a trail as a Runner. Minho had praised her, but Julia said it wasn't for her, not that it would've mattered; Alby, Newt and Gally never would've let her become a Runner.

"You gonna miss him, love?" Newt asked. He didn't need to, he just wanted to hear her admit she cares for Minho. She huffed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'll miss the useless shank." I snorted and butted my head against hers. "This how you talk about me, too?" I asked. She turned and glared at me, but smiled all the same. "Shank, when have I ever not told you up front how dumb you are. Matter of fact, when have I ever hid how I feel about you?" Newt and Fry laughed, telling us to be nice and not start a fight, but they knew she was teasing. Newt leaned over and ruffled my hair, then told Julia to leave me alone. "Your man can stick up for himself, Newt. Don't baby him." I twisted my fingers into her sides, causing her to scream and swing at me. Newt grabbed at her and pulled her over to him, I flipped her off, she just smiled all pretty and tucked her head into Newt's neck.