Him || The Scorch Trials

Thirty

Pure content clicked inside Mara's heart. Her friend was back and safe, and she couldn't have asked for anything better. He was alive, and it was at that point that Mara had realised just ow much she had missed him.

She ran at him almost immediately, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. He returned her hug after a moment of surprise, but then quickly pulled away to face Mara head on.

Thomas looked tired and discombobulated; his eyes were droopy and surrounded by dark circles. He had scratches and fight marks along his skin, but then again, so did everyone else. It looked like he had found himself in some tough situations, but it wasn't the time or place to ask him what had happened.

"It's been quite the trip to find you, shuckface." Mara smiled, ruffling his hair jokingly.

"What happened to you guys!?" He exclaimed, directing this at the other Gladers as well as Mara. "Where have you been?"

"Hey, it's Thomas!" Frypan roared, only just noticing him. "As ugly and alive as ever!"

Newt came up to him and Mara stepped back, allowing the two of them to reunite. "Glad you're not bloody dead, Tommy. I'm really, really glad."

Mara nodded in agreeance, the idea that Thomas had been dead had been eating at her brain, trying to convince her that it was the truth. Words couldn't express how great she felt knowing that she had been wrong. That he was alive.

"You too." Thomas nodded, smiling back at him. "Has everyone made it so far? Where'd you guys go? How'd you get here?"

Newt nodded happily. "Still twelve of us. Plus Jorge."

"We got lucky." Mara added, sliding back into the conversation. "Real lucky."

Thomas seemed relieved to hear that, and Mara didn't blame him. Still, she could tell he was still on edge. "Any sign of Barkley and the rest of them? Were they the ones who set off the explosion?"

"Not Barkley," Mara answered him, crossing her arms. "We did have a run in with the others the other day though, but it was a smaller group than before. They found our hideout, and some shuckface re-opened my stitches. Haven't seen them other than that though."

"They re-opened your-"Thomas began with wide eyes, but was quickly interrupted.

"I'm fine, Tommy. Honestly, no need to worry." Mara interrupted; she didn't want him to worry about her when everything had been fixed up. She was still feeling a little groggy and there was still a slight pain in her stomach when she moved, but she was okay, and that was good enough for her.

"We got away pretty quickly after the explosion, and most of them are too scared to come deeper into the city." Jorge jumped in, changing the subject, to Mara's relief. He was still standing over the men he had prevented from running away, making sure they wouldn't attack him or the other Gladers.

Mara looked back over to the group of Cranks that the other Gladers were still guarding, and they were all looking rather agitated. They were going to have to move soon, otherwise they would have to fight their way through a diverse group of angry Cranks, and Mara wasn't very keen on that idea.

"We should get out of here soon." Mara addressed their small group in a low hushed voice and nodded towards the group of Cranks their friends were trying to control. "They're getting aggravated and looks like their hangovers are wearing off."

Minho, Newt and Thomas all nodded in agreeance. They needed to leave before anyone else managed to stop them.

"You wanna start roundin' everyone up?" Minho looked at Mara, who smiled lightly.