The Defender - Chronicles of the runner

Its a girl?

She pulled down the mask letting loose a long braid down her back, she was pretty, she had steel blue eyes that stood out in the dark, she had a pale complexion with dark circles under her bright eyes. She held my gaze for a while as if she were trying to see inside of my head before turning away to the sound of newt's voice echoing out through the deafening silence.

"Bloody hell it's a girl" he said, voicing what we were all thinking

"Genius that one is" she mumbled under her breath "Now before you start assuming I'm some cowardly little shit just because I don't do what you want-" her voiced was laced with venom when she spat that back at me, but was interrupted from the opposite side of the room.

"Matilda?" I heard Jorge's voice echoed through the room.

She looked around the room, looking for the person that spoke before her eyes landed on Jorge and Brenda, her gaze softening at the sight of the pair of them.

" Jorge, Brenda...I..." her voice seemed to catch in her throat, as she stood there staring at them. Jorge and Brenda did not waste another second, running over to the girl enveloping her in their arms she hugged back as if they were a family reuniting after being separated for years. They stood there for a moment. I looked over at Newt, then Fry and then Gally, all returned my confused gaze, I was about to ask just what the hell was going on but the girl spoke before me.

"I'm sorry, I left.. it was wckd one of my contacts told me they found me... you don't understand I had to leave... I could risk them hurting you"

What. The. Hell. SHE WAS FROM WCKD??? AND KNEW BRENDA AND JORGE???

My eyes widened and I turned to look at newt, he returned the same expression. This was certainly an interesting revelation, maybe because she knew Brenda and Jorge she would help us now. I was counting on it.

TILLY'S POV:

God, I had missed their warm hugs, I guess I also just missed having someone there, I missed having a family and they were the closest thing I had to family in a long time. I had missed them more than anyone. Jorge was like my father, Brenda like my sister back when I first left WCKD, after the great escape when I left my old life behind, they were there, they got me on my feet and from there I became the Defender, but, even now that title felt strange, I don't really know why people gave it to me.

I pulled away from the hug looking at both of their beaming faces before my face twisted into a one of confusion.

"What are you doing with these people, how do you know them?" I gestured to the rest of the boys in the room by looking back at them, the one that was annoying me before just looked at me blankly, it was a bit funny really.

"Well it's a long story, but we could ask you the same question." Brenda replied looking up at me, "you look different as well" she added "you shot up, your now taller than Jorge, and you grew out your hair like you always wanted to" reaching up to ruffle my hair, beaming.

"And you buzzed yours and still stayed small," I replied smiling down at the brunette as I fixed my hair "oh and it's Tilly now". She raised her eyebrows and looked at Jorge,

"Tilly it is then" they said in unison, pulling me back into the hug, oh how I wished I could just stay here forever.

Gally cleared his throat behind me and I turned to look at him.

"As touching as this moment is, we really need a decision, what will it be, yes or no?"

If Gally, Bren, and Jorge all trusted these idiots, then I gotta help them, if this kids as special as they are making him out to be them surely it's worth it, but then again, what if it all goes wrong, then I would be stuck back in that hell hole with being stuck with all sorts of things all over again. Wait, no, this was it, the pieces had just clicked in my brain as I realised that this was the very thing I had been looking for, and opportunity to hit WCKD so hard that they could come back, I would not just get their friend out but they could also pay for what they did to all the others I loved, for Isabella, for Ted, for Isaac and finally, for what the bitch Ava did to me. I could finally kill her and her little henchman Janson, ew just the thought of him disgusted me, he was usually the one that was instructing the masked men to attack me on the orders of Ava. But worst of all, he was the one who shot Bella and made me separate from ted and Isaac who I can only assume were then killed. I would Kill him and Ava, maybe take down some of those scientists too.

"Alright, I'm in"

The three boys I didn't know exchanged looks of hope at the thought they might get their friend back. I didn't really want to wreck the moment but they had to know what they were in for.

"Don't get too excited though, your still gonna own me a favour, I can cash that in at any time alright"

They nodded and headed out of the room. I told Gally to take them to their rooms but to wait up for me, I was needed to move my equipment and belongings to where they were staying so I don't have to walk to Timbuktu just to get back to where I was camping out. As I walked through base and out a side alley, I went over our conversation in my head, something about the boys seemed vaguely familiar... it was strange, almost like I had seen them before...It does not matter now, I shook away those thoughts, I had to focus now on getting to my place and back safely.

MEANWHILE WITH THE GANG (3rd person):
Gally led the group up a few flights of chipped old concrete stairs, leading to a hallway that opened up to a large room at the end, this was normally a store room so there were a few boxes of weapons and WCKD uniforms crammed into the corners but most were gone, moved to somewhere Gally was unaware of. The room had a large table in the middle covered in blueprints of the WCKD building, courtesy of Lawrence, he controlled most of the outskirts and had been trying to get into WCKD for years, he had the blueprints and everything but only one person he knew had gotten in and out she was the one who supplied these maps in the first place but all other attempts had failed.

The group stayed silent before they reached the room and Gally pointed them to two doors on the side, bathroom and a bedroom filled with bunks, where they would be staying. At last Thomas broke the silence "That girl, whats her name, Tilly, Jorge you knew her, how?"

Jorge looked back at Brenda, then Thomas, "Well hermano, it's probably better you ask her yourself, I only know a small part of her story and I don't know if she wants to share that. But," he paused, "to give you the briefest summary, she came to us from wckd and needed help and we provided it before one day, she just disappeared, vanished, poof, gone"

Thomas thoughts raced about what she had done that had pissed of WCKD so much that they had been searching for her this long, maybe she was like him and had worked there, or maybe she had more powerful blood that could heal the flare. There could be so many things, was it really wise to trust her, then again, if what Gally said was true, she was their only way in, they had to take it. He was drawn out of his thoughts when a voice called out.

"I can't be assed to fill in what happens after that, it's a long story I don't want to tell, not now anyway" Tilly's voice came from the door frame, making all of them all jump. She had climbed up the stairs and had been standing listening to their conversation with none of them noticing.

"Nah that's scary how she can just come up on us like that, pretty impressive though" Fry commented.

"Thanks...uhh"

"Frypan, well fry for short"

"Interesting name..., you two?" She said hesitantly, turning to Thomas and newt

"Thomas"

"Newt"

"Funny, you're like me, got a weird accent, not like everyone else round here" she said after newt said his name chuckling a bit to herself before becoming serious again.

"Alright I recommend getting some sleep we are up early tomorrow, we need to make a plan and are pressed on time so try and get as much sleep as possible" and just as quickly as she had arrived, she picked up the bag she dropped by her feet, turned on her heel and exited a small door not seen by other others earlier. Thomas could only assume this was where she would be sleeping, but unfair though, why did she get her own room.

"Well you heard what she said, get some sleep hermanos" Jorge said, pulling open the door to the bedroom, walking through and climbing into one of the bunks and dozing off, Brenda swiftly followed climbing into the one above.

They all filed in, Thomas observed the bunks, walking up to one, getting into bed, as the rest did the same. Sleep slowly crept over all of them, well, all of them, except a certain boy who was worrying, worrying about how he had been infected with the flare.

Felt like a good place to end the chapter hope u like it so far

- Till