FORGE OF OAK, Thomas ✓

030

"Hey," Thomas said as we climbed the small rubble. "You okay? What'cha you doing up here?"

"Just thinking." Teresa replied.

"Alright-.. we'll let you be alone." Thalia nodded to her.

"Do you remember your mother?" Teresa asked them.

"No." Thomas said, looking at the floor.

"Yes." Thalia said at the same time as Thomas said no.

"I remember mine." Teresa muttered. "She as a beautiful woman. Everybody loved her, before WICKED she was all I had."

"When she got sick.. I didn't know what to do. I just kept her locked up, hidden. I thought she'd get better.. every night she'd make this awful sounds, like.. screams. And then one night, she just stopped. It was finally quiet, I went down to her room.." she paused, the tears in her eyes almost flowing. "There was blood everywhere. She was just sat there, calm. Like she was feeling better."

"She took her eyes out, guys." Teresa muttered. "There are millions, of people suffering out there. Millions of stories just like mine. We can't turn our backs on them.. I won't."

"What are you saying?" Thomas muttered.

"I'm saying I want you to understand.." Teresa was crying now.

"Understand what?" Thalia asked, tears in her eyes as well.

"Why I did it."

Thomas let out a shaky breath, Thalia was staring at Teresa like she had just eaten the last box of Twinkies. Which, according to Mark, were her favorite thing in the world.

Besides messing with Anna.

When Mark gave her a Twinkie, it was like heaven formed over itself. This was not the time to be thinking about Twinkies.

They heard a chopper, multiple actually, they turned towards the sound to see helicopters and there lights coming towards the camp.

"Teresa.." Thomas muttered.

"Please don't fight them, Thomas." Teresa begged.

"What have you done?" Thalia asked, "What have you done?" She repeated.

Her and Thomas ran down the rubble, "No!" She yelled, a small bomb going into the camp. They watched as chaos emitted across the camp, bombs being thrown left and right as helicopters dropped on the ground.

Guards came and knocked some people out, people yelling everywhere. They made it to the camp, Thomas running to find Brenda.

They were pushed from behind, "you dumbasses!" Brenda said.

"Wait wait! I have to find Mark." Thalia said, nodding to them as she left.

She ran through the chaos, spotting Mark talking to a WICKED agent. "What?" She breathed out, Mark turning around to her.

She turned to see everyone lined up on the ground, Janson looking around as it was just her, the guards, and make standing up.

The Gladers looked at her as if she was the one who did this, but she wanted to tell them it was Teresa's fault.

"Where's Thomas?" Janson asked.

"Right here." She turned to him, the guards pushing him over to Janson.

"Thomas," Janson said, then pushed him to the floor. "Get him in line."

"Why didn't you run?" Thalia heard Minho ask Thomas.