The sound of the metal door being welded open fills my ears. I squint my eyes as the small sparks fly around. Thomas opens the door, stepping inside and immediately looking for Minho.
Newt, Harriet, and I follow him, concerned expressions finding our faces as we see the state these kids are in.
"Aris," Thomas says, walking over to where Aris is sitting with Sonya. "Hey, you guys okay?" he asks, his voice soft and quiet as he places a hand on Aris's shoulder. Sonya nods, "yeah, we're fine," she assures.
My eyes widen as I see the bruises covering Aris's face, a small cut on his bottom lip. "Jesus..." Thomas mutters, gently patting Aris on the shoulder before walking further into the crate to look for Minho.
Harriet and I step forward, pulling Sonya and Aris into a group hug. "There you are. Oh, god..." Harriet whispers, "I'm so glad you're okay," I whisper.
More people enter the crate, Harriet and I stand up and turn to them. "I need the bolt cutters," Harriet says, reaching out and taking some from one of the guys. I help her as she cuts the chains that are keeping Sonya and Aris in their seats.
We all work together to get everyone out, giving them coats and tending to any fresher wounds they have. After what feels like an hour, we have everyone out.
"Come on in, guys!" Vince yells, standing where everyone can see him. I walk over to where Thomas is watching him, his arm pressed against the wall. "Alright, listen up," Vince says, "I know you've all been through hell. I wish I could say our troubles are over... but we're not through this yet."
He walks back and forth for a second. "W.C.K.D's still out there, they're not giving up. 'Cause you got something they want. They took you because you're immune to a plague that's wiping out the human race. They think you're worth sacrificing to find a cure. Well, I don't."
"So, in two days..." he gestures to the rusty old ship behind him, "when we get this tub of rust seaworthy... we're getting the hell out of here. We're gonna go to a place where W.C.K.D will never find you. A place you can start over, a place you can call home..."
I watch as Thomas turns around, walking away. I can tell by the look on his face that Vince's words hit him where it hurt... something to do with what he said, it hurt Thomas deep inside, reminded him of something bad.
I'd be lying if I said I didn't know the feeling.
I follow Thomas, watching as he glances at Brenda. I don't know what his deal is with her. I can tell she's into him, that much I don't care... it's the way he's not rejecting her that hurts me.
It's the way he way he continues to look at her as if they had something, as if they had kissed or something.
I jog a little to catch up with him, gently tapping him on the shoulder. "Hey, Thomas?" I say, trying to get his attention. He glances at me over his shoulder, slowing down his movements. "Hey..." he says.
"Uh, look... now may not be the time," I sigh, "just- we need to talk, it's important." He stops walking, turning to look at me fully. His expression is worried and a little panicked.
"Whoa, hey, not breaking up with you!" I say, holding my hands up in the air. He nods, looking a little relieved. "So, what did you want to talk about then?" He asks, fidgeting with his stuff. "It's just..."
I'm interrupted by Harriet coming up to us. "Guys, it's Aris, he's talking." Instantly, our minds move on from the conversation we were having.
We follow her into the hut that the others were in, sitting down across from Aris and Sonya. I sit on the ground, just next to Newt's chair. Aris winces as Sonya wipes the cut on his lip, glancing at her for a second.
Sonya puts the cloth down and Harriet hands her a cup, "here, drink this," she says. She sits down to the left of me, her knee right by my head. Sonya hands the drink to Aris and he takes a sip before smiling slightly.
"Took you guys long enough to rescue us," he jokes, trying to lighten the mood. "It's good to see you too, bud," Thomas says. "So what happened?" He asks. "I fought back," Aris admits, "tried to, anyway." Sonya sighs, shaking her head slightly.
"You're lucky you found us at all," she says, looking at Thomas. "They had us on the move a lot." She looks at the rest of us. "It felt like something big was happening," she says, looking back at Thomas. "Any idea where they were heading?" Newt chimes in.
It's a bittersweet thing hearing Newt talk to Sonya, I feel guilty for not telling them what I know... but it would just make things worse for everyone if I told them the truth, especially after so long.
Aris shakes his head slightly, "all I know is... they kept talking about a city," he says. Confusion spreads across all of our faces, not thinking there were any cities left. "I didn't think there were any cities left..." Harriet says.
"That's because there aren't," Brenda says. I turn to look at her as she continues speaking. "Not still standing, anyway," she says. Thomas furrows his eyebrows and turns back to Aris and Sonya, "okay, wait, but what about Minho?" He asks. "Why wasn't he on the train?"
We all turn to Aris as his expression shifts. Him and Sonya glance at each other, looking conflicted. "I'm sorry, Thomas," Aris says, "...he was."
My heart drops as I turn to Thomas, seeing the look on his face that causes my heart to practically shatter to a million pieces. I know him well enough by now to know that he's beating himself up for this.
I just want to hug him, tell him it's not his fault, even though I know he won't believe me...
A/N: I know it's another shorter chapter and the plot at this point is pretty much the same as in the movies, we're getting closer to the more unique parts! 🤍
It's the school holidays so I'll be a lot more active for the next week!!!! Love you all 💋💋
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The rivers daughter
Fiksi PenggemarWCKD is good. Well, that's a lie. Jades memories are being restored, along with the emotions behind them. The things she's remembering are life changing, things the wished weren't true. Before this all, she was happier. She was free, she was with h...