𝐒𝐀𝐅𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 ★ 𝙏𝙈𝙍

[38] secret plan.

Elsie sat at the top of an old destroyed structure, her legs dangling off the edge. she watched from a distance as Vince spoke to all the WICKED hostages they had rescued as she braided Katie's long brown hair into two plaits. it made her think of Alby. he had often braided Elsie's hair whenever he felt stressed or needed something to do. Elsie's hair was like a form of therapy to some of the Gladers, funnily enough. People often twisted and braided her hair into elaborate hairstyles. 

"Tommy is Upset" Katie spoke into the silence, turning to look at Elsie, who gave her a sad smile. Minho hadn't been in the carriage they had stolen, and everyone was upset. "Im scared, Els. you know how he is, right now he's probably making some crazy plan to sneak off and rescue Minho and put himself in danger!" Katie muttered. Elsie rolled her eyes, a smile forming on her face. "Well, that's how Tommy is, unfortunately. life would be much easier if he wasn't wandering off and almost getting himself killed all the time" she joked. 

But Katie wasn't in the mood for laughing. she mustered a small smile, looking down. Elsie bit her lip. "hey Katie bear. chin up chickie" she whispered, lifting Katie's chin. Katie bear was the nickname Thomas had given to her. the mention of the nickname made the young girl smile. "Now, we both know he's probably concocting some stupid plan, so we've got to be a step ahead of him. look, I'll think of something, okay?"

Katie nodded, leaning forward and hugging the girl who was like an older sister to her. "Thank you Elsie" she whispered. Elsie smiled, holding the younger girl close. The little eleven year old reminded her of herself in so many ways. she was determined to be the girly companion to Katie that younger Elsie always wanted. 

"Now come on, we should probably go see the others" Elsie muttered, standing up and giving Katie a helping hand, pulling the girl up onto her feet. the two girls ran off hand in hand in search of the Gladers. 

"Hiya" Elsie chimed as she and Katie walked into the Glader's hang out spot. Newt, Thomas, Harriet, Frypan and Brenda were sat around Aris and Sonya who were recovering from their experience. Katie skipped over to Thomas, who gave her a quick hug. "Hey Katie bear" he whispered, ruffling her hair as she sat down beside him. 

"Those WICKED Bastards really bashed you up, didn't they" Elsie joked, noticing the bruises and cuts on Aris's face. Aris chuckled, rolling his eyes. "Still Sassy and sarcastic as always, I see. some things never change" he muttered. 

"We all love our Dearest Elsie" Harriet laughed as Elsie walked over to her and took a seat perched on the windowsill beside the tall girl. "Jokes aside, tell us what happened" Thomas asked Aris, handing him a mug of water. 

"I fought back" Aris replied. "Tried to, anyway" he chuckled. "You're lucky you found us at all..." Sonya said softly, her blonde hair glowing in the sunlight. "They had us on the move a lot. it felt like something big was happening"

"Any idea where they were heading?" Newt asked, the Gladers all waiting for an answer. "All I know is they kept talking about a city" Aris said, sounding a bit uncertain. Thomas frowned. "I didn't think there were any cities left," Harriet said, sounding confused. 

"That's because there aren't." Brenda spoke up from where she was leaning against the wall, her arms crossed. "Not still standing anyway."

"Okay, wait, what about Minho??" Thomas asked. "Why wasn't he on the train??" Aris and Sonya looked at each other, the silence loud and overwhelming. "Sorry, Thomas" Aris said, the tone of his voice filling Elsie with dread. "He was"

they had left him behind, again.

---

Elsie sat cross legged on the large table in what she liked to call Vince's man lair, his own private office. "Feet off the table" Vince dead panned. "Feet off the table" Elsie echoed, grinning at him as she uncrossed her legs and dangled them over the edge, only to lift them up and cross them again as Vince was distracted by Thomas who brisk walked into the room, a large scroll of paper in his hand.