Gladiolus ~ The Maze Runner

3~3: Vince Is Being a Whiny Pissbaby

 I sit back against some stacked crates next to Brenda while our group surrounds Aris and Sonya, whose injuries are being tended to.

"Took you guys long enough to find us," Aris smirks, accepting a glass of water from Harriet.

"It's good to see you too, bud," Thomas replies, crouched in front of them. "What happened to you guys in there?"

"Fought back," Aris sighed, gesturing to his black eye. "Tried to anyway."

"You're lucky you found us at all," Sonya says. "They had us on the move a lot. Felt like something big was happening."

"Any idea where they were headed?" Newt asks, his gaze fixed on Aris.

Aris shakes his head. "All I know is... they kept talking about a city."

A city. Most cities were gone. All but one: WICKED headquarters.

"I didn't know there were any cities left," Harriet speaks up, voicing the other's thoughts.

"That's because there aren't," Brenda replies. "Not still standing anyway."

"There is one," I say. "But I'd be surprised if it's still around. Is Minho there? Was that why he wasn't on the train?"

"I'm sorry," Aris apologizes to me. "He was."

"...What?"

"He was a car or two behind us, I think. But I know he was there. WICKED knows you guys are looking for him, so they've been keeping a special eye on him."

"Shit," Newt mumbles.

I look down at my feet. Brenda's hand is on my shoulder, gently offering support. We were so close.

Thomas, however, is already thinking of a plan. "If they're taking Minho to the city... that's where we're going."

***

Night has fallen as our team meets back at the tech shop. I find myself next to Brenda again, this time sitting on one of the makeshift couches as we listen to Thomas explain the plan.

"That's it," Thomas taps his middle finger on the map that he had laid out for Vince. Curious, I hop off the couch and look around his shoulder at the circled area on the map. Yikes. That's a hike.

"It's a few hundred miles," Thomas continues, leaning forward and resting his forearms on the table. He quickly gained a good amount of muscle since the Maze. I admired the definition in his arms as they pressed into the table. Those arms could...

I need to touch some grass and take a walk. Holy shit, get a grip man.

"Based on the railways and everything that Aris told us, that's gotta be where they're at," Thomas explains to a very skeptical Vince. "That's where they're taking Minho. We take everyone who can fight. Follow roads where we can. We can make it back within a week."

Andddd that's where you lost Vince, honey. "A week?" Vince scoffs. "It took us six months to get here," he points down to the map, where we are currently stationed. "We got over a hundred kids here now. We can't just hang out here forever! After what we just pulled...? You wanna wander off to some random point on the map?! You don't even know what's there!"

"I do," Jorge's voice comes. He saunters into the room, obviously done working on machines for the day. "It's been a few years but... I've been there. The Last City. That's what WICKED called it."

"He's right," I nod. "It's their main headquarters."

"Exactly," Jorge agrees. "If that city is still standing... that's the last place you wanna go hermano." He stares right at Thomas. "That's the lion's den."

"It's nothing we haven't done before," Thomas shrugs.

"This needs months of planning, reliable information, the element of surprise, none of which we have now!" Vince exclaims.

"I've thought this through..." Thomas promises. "Will you just hear me out?"

"Last time I went off half-cocked..." Vince shouts. "I lost everything! You remember that? Look, I know it's Minho, alright? But you can't ask me to put those kids on the line for one man."

"Then don't," I say. Vince's eyes snap over to me, ready to challenge anything I'm about to offer. I shrug, taking a step closer to the table. "A few of us go. You stay. Take care of the others. If we're not back before your timeframe... get outta here."

"I'm not risking anymore lives, I won't do it," Vince argues. The crackling of radio static interrupts us. WICKED search party.

"Hit the lights!" Thomas orders, and we all break off. I slide over to the main power station and pull down the red lever, shutting off everything. I duck outside, eyes on the sky. Vince and Thomas appear next to me, and I point silently to the two Bergs that are scanning overhead, looking for signs of life: looking for us.

"They're getting close," Vince whistles lowly.

Thomas sighs, still watching the Bergs. "You're right... we can't stay here." He looks back at Vince in a mix of understanding and defeat. Vince claps a hand on Thomas's shoulder, wordlessly apologizing. He knows how much Minho means to all of us. He understands. But there's bigger problems for him to worry about.

Vince leaves, and I pull Thomas into my arms. Neither of us say a word, holding onto each other while the waves crash against the docks. After a few minutes, his grip loosens and I pull back slightly, just enough to stay in his grasp but still able to look at him. "You okay?" I ask gently.

He sighs, nodding.

"Good."

We stare at each other for a bit before wordlessly coming to an agreement.

What was the agreement, you may be wondering?

You're about to find out.

***

Fully dressed and backpacks packed, Thomas and I snuck out of the facility, heading for the machine shed. We had barely made it down the stairs before we were caught.

"Where do you think you're going?" Newt's snarky voice comes out of the dark. A lamp flicks on in front of us and Newt stands directly in our path, looking very sassy and proud of himself.

Thomas rolls his eyes, sighing. "Newt..."

"Don't be a twat about it," Newt interrupts, slowly walking towards us. "I'm already in. C'mon." He snatches our bags from us and heads for the car that's parked right ahead. Thomas and I share a look, this time disagreeing. Clearly, I was all for having Newt come with. Thomas, however, wasn't.

"No, no, Newt, not this time," Thomas starts following the already committed boy. "Even if we find Minho, there's no guarantee that we'll make it out of the city."

"Well, you'll need all the help you can get then," Newt snorts, opening the driver's side. Frypan grins at us, waving.

"Hi Fry!" I smile. I look up at Thomas, who meets my happy gaze. "Oh, come on, we both know that we would die out there by ourselves. Ever since getting together with you, you've dumbed me down."

"I have not-"

"AND" I continue, purposefully cutting him off, "Minho is their friend too."

"Mhm," Newt grins, crossing his arms over his chest. "We started this together. May as well end it that way too."

"Alright!" Thomas grumbles, throwing his hands up in surrender. He's trying to be serious, but we all see him smiling. "Let's get on the road then."

***

A/N: I'm so sorry this is a super short chapter. This week has been absolutely bananas because of the 4th of July for the US gang RAHHHHHH and life in general has been pretty busy so I haven't gotten around to writing AT ALL.

that being said, I hope you enjoyed this short chapter. We're getting closer and closer to this being finished (that's actually insane to me). I'll plan on getting more chapters out early next week so stay tuned!!!

thank you guys so so much for your support, it genuinely means the world to me. I would have given up on writing/posting publicly if it wasn't for you guys.

y'all are the best :)