teenage wasteland ;; the maze runner

3.1

the past six months had been nothing short of chaotic. from scrambling to hide an entire village of people to being one of the only medics on base, florence had barely had a moment to breathe. every day was a cycle of endless meetings—vince, thomas, newt, the remaining gladers, plus jorge, brenda, and gray—and mornings and nights were spent checking in on her frequent patients. that, of course, included lyla, her lovely sister-in-law-to-be, whose due date was fast approaching.

that was an entirely separate storm waiting to break. one that, frankly, terrified florence more than she was willing to admit.

she had other medics, sure, but not nearly enough to keep up with the sheer number of people who spent their days throwing themselves into danger. and as expected, most of them were her friends—including herself. still, it was irritating having to patch up thomas every time he did something reckless. which was often.

but now, for the first time in months, florence had a chance to focus on something other than sterilizing tools, taking inventory, and treating wounds. because after weeks of planning, they were finally moving. they were going to hijack the train transporting hundreds of children to wicked's new facility.

they could actually save minho and sammy.

the thought sent a shiver through her, but she shoved it aside, unwilling to let personal worries cloud her focus. instead, she let the rumble of the jeep's engine fill her ears, her fingers absently tracing the grooves of her gun as the desert landscape blurred past.

she sat in the back while vince drove, closing the distance between them and the train in the distance. thomas, in the passenger seat, kept a sharp eye on their surroundings.

all of a sudden, a noise crackled from florence's waist, and she looked down to see her walkie talkie lighting up. a voice fought through the static, the teasing tone all too familiar as she heard gray tsk at them, "you guys are late."

thomas scoffed in the front seat, and flo felt a smile pull her lips upward. quickly, she reached and grabbed the small radio, bringing it to her lips as she pressed the button. the static disappeared as she spoke into it, "yeah, we're working on it."

"come on, flo," gray drawled through the crackling background noise, and she rolled her eyes. "give me a pos or eta or something. we don't have all day."

"patience is a virtue, big brother," she leaned forward, squinting ahead. the train was still a ways out, moving fast enough to make catching up a challenge. "i'd say five minutes, give or take. you guys can start—it might not be a bad idea."

"aye, aye, capitana." clearly, gray had handed the walkie over to jorge, and florence exchanged a grin with thomas at the sound of their friend's voice. "we're on it."

then, despite the distance, she saw it—a small blue truck tearing toward the train. jorge's favorite ride. "well, shit," she muttered. "i think that's our cue."

"alright," vince mused before nodding. all of a sudden, the engine roared a bit louder. "i guess i'll step on it, then." the jeep lurched forward, wind whipping through the open windows. florence barely had time to adjust before a laugh bubbled out of her. the rush of acceleration, the pulse of adrenaline in her veins—this was what she lived for.

"alright," she called over the roar of the engine, fingers tightening around her gun. "what's the good word, thomas?"

thomas braced himself, knuckles white against the jeep's frame as he stared at the train, mind working through the next steps. florence could practically hear the wheels turning in his head as everything slowly clicked into place the closer and closer they got to the last train car, but her observations were cut short when the tires jolted over the thick tracks, nearly throwing florence forward.