Transport(Aris Jones x reader)

26) Good Points

Being dragged was obviously absolute hell. Rocks did in fact peirce my skin, some going as far as to draw blood. No matter how hard I tried to keep myself off the ground my arms kept giving out, and my head would slam against it. At some point I was to tired and had no choice but to give up.

There were several things to think about throughout the horrific trip though. What wasn't I supposed to fight? What exactly was Aris apologizing for? Why would we say WICKED was watching? He said I was supposed to trust him, but how was that possible if he wouldn't answer any of my questions?

"Here. Drop them,"Teresa's voice directed. I protectively put my hands over my head to brace for the impact. Sure enough I crashed onto the rough ground. It tore up my elbows, but that wasn't even so bad anymore. After all the pain I had felt on the way here it was childs play.

"If you run we kill you."

"Because you're definitely not going to do that if we stay,"I said through gritted teeth. Her eyes seemed to flash in rage as one of the girls picked me up. She tied my hands behind my back, tight enough to give me rope burn. I didn't show any reaction. I won't show give them what they're looking for.

ᕙᕗᕙᕗᕙᕗᕙᕗᕙᕗᕙᕗᕙᕗ

I was tied up on a tree by Thomas. They actually told us not to move when they left. I kept my mouth shut that time. Now they were by a nice warm fire while we were waiting for the freezing cold night.

"If we work together do you think we could get out of this?"Thomas asked.

"I highly doubt it. Where would we even go? There's so many of them and two of us. There aren't any good hiding spots here. We are totally screwed."

"What did we even do?"

"I don't know. Aris did tell me to trust him before we were dragged off. He told me not to fight it. He wouldn't say what,"I confessed. I can't deny it sounded almost identical to what Teresa to Thomas, but they had no reason to 'betray' me.

"Teresa told me the same thing. She said she was sorry for what she was going to do but refused to say what."

"That's exactly what he said too. I still don't know why though,"I admitted.

"I'm going to sleep. Keep an eye on them,"Teresa barked. Now was the time to sympathize with them. Even if it's fake, but they don't need to know that.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"Thomas asked.

"Definitely. It's time for some good old fashioned empathy."

The girls all watched Teresa leave. After a minute they stood up and walked over to us. My heart started racing at the thought of this failing. What would happen to us then?

"Listen. We're not sure what you two have done because Teresa won't tell us. You two need to tell us what you know,"A blonde girl said. She was probably Newt's sister. Despite the position we were in I couldn't help but feel actual sympathy for her. Newt too. They would never know the truth. There was no time to think of that though.

"We didn't do anything. Look, we're clearly all on a somewhat similar side. You were all put in a Maze, right?"Thomas asked. They all glanced at each other.

"It's WICKED we should be against. Not each other,"I added.

"Look. We're giving you a chance to share your side. Spill."

"We don't have a side. We're just trying to get to a Safe Zone. That's all we want. For us and our friends,"I told them.

"WICKED is the enemy. Not us and not even you guys,"Thomas pointed out.

"Tell us this. Why would Teresa hate you guys so much?"The girl next to Sonya asked. Judging by her dark skin and the fact that she also seemed to be a leader she must be Harriet.

"I've never even met her. I was at my home, and then I was with them. All I know is that she was the one screaming earlier. Nothing else,"I swore.

"I don't know what I did either. Honestly."

Sonya and Harriet looked at each other. Almost as if they were speaking telepathically they nodded.

"You two seem nothing like what's been described, but we still can't let you go. It's not enough."

"WICKED is lying to you. Whatever they promised they can't be trusted. They have something to do with this, don't they?"I asked.

"They promised us a cure,"Harriet admitted.

"If that's true why would this be something they want? They've lied to all of us over and over. They've done nothing but ruin our lives. We can't believe what they say,"Thomas pointed out.

Sonya and Harriet looked at each other again. Then, Sonya pulled out a pocket knife. I couldn't help but shake as it glistened in the setting sunlight.

"We're not going to kill you. You guys make some good points, and once again are nothing that's been described. Plus, we just don't really like her attitude. You two are coming with us to the Safe Zone."

"Won't she try to do something else?"Thomas asked.

"She is not the leader here. We don't do leaders, and we don't appreciate her trying to be one,"Harriet explained.

With one quick slice our ropes were cut. I rolled my wrist to try to help with all the cramps.

"That was probably the best knot I've seen,"I complimented.

"Yeah yeah. Flattery really isn't needed."

"No. I'm serious. I can never get mine right,"I admitted. She was trying to hide it, but I could see a small smile on her face as her eyes glistened with pride.

"Hey. What are they doing out?"Teresa asked, storming over. I took a deep breath to avoid lashing out.

"We're letting them go, and there's nothing you can do. There's only one of you so don't try anything. You've seen that we know what we're doing,"Sonya warned.

"Fine. When they hurt you too I don't want to hear it,"She huffed, before storming out of sight. She reminded me of a child throwing a tantrum.

"Okay. Here's what happens now. You two are going to stay with us. We camp for tonight. Tomorrow we move out."

"That sounds good to us,"I agreed without hesitation. With that they gestured for us to follow them. I could think of everything that can happen later. Right now I just wanted to rest my aching body.