Sacrifice

Chapter Twenty-Six

One Year Ago 

The next day went on like normal. Minho slept in like he did every time he had a day off, Frypan made interesting smelling meals, and the Fielders collected more dirt on themselves than they had the day before. The only difference was Newt taking over Nick's duties as the Second-in- Command. 

The most exciting thing that happened that day was Nick arriving back late. He still made it back with time to spare, so he wasn't in any real danger of getting trapped in the Maze overnight, but it still made Alby uneasy. Nick didn't even come to dinner. According to Frypan he just grabbed some food and went off to be alone. 

That didn't sound like the Nick Alby knew. Or maybe it was life in the Maze finally catching up to Nick. There were days, especially early on, when boys would slip into states of depression. That's why Alby always kept the boys busy with work, so they wouldn't have time to fall into despair. Alby always had to work at it, but for Nick, staying upbeat was as easy as breathing. 

The next morning Newt performed Nick's duties again. Clint told Alby that Nick wasn't feeling well and resting in the infirmary. 

Now Alby knew something was defiantly wrong. Nick never missed a day of work. Even the time he woke up sick as a dog he came to work, Alby had to drag him to the infirmary to get some rest. 

A moment later Jeff came running up to them. 

"What's wrong, Jeff?" Clint asked. 

"It's Nick, he's gone." 

*************** 

Present Day 

Because of all the fallen debris, many streets were blocked off. In order to get out of the city they had to climb over a large pile of rubble, almost the size of a house. They had to be careful as they climbed so that they wouldn't accidentally grab onto a loose piece of rubble and fall. 

Once they were out, the teens were met with open dessert. 

"We need something to cover ourselves with," Newt told the group. "We shouldn't even be out in this heat." 

The teens dug into their bags and found scarfs and sheets they could use to shield themselves from the sun. Frypan held a sheet over himself and Winston, using this as an opportunity to help his friend, sho was having a hard time walking due to his injury. Teresa paired up with Claire and the rest of the boys used scarfs to shield themselves with. 

"How are you doing?" Teresa asked as they were walking. 

"Not great," Claire answered honestly. 

A moment of silence hung between them. 

"Well, if you want to talk, I'm here for you," Teresa said. 

"Thanks." 

Soon the teens came across a large sand dune they had to climb. They had to put the sheets and scarfs away in order to climb up it. Getting up was a struggle, they were sinking into the sand as they tried to climb it. At one point Aris slipped halfway up and fell down the dune. Claire sank down to her knees and Frypan and Newt had to help pull her up. Once they were finally able to get to the top, they had a clear view of what was ahead. 

"Those mountains," Thomas said, pointing ahead. "That's gotta be it, it's where we're going." 

"It's still a long way off," Newt pointed out. 

There were miles between them and the mountains. The most terrifying part was how open everything was now. In the Maze they had been surrounded by walls, now there wasn't anywhere for them to hide. If WCKD flew over with their aircrafts they'd be caught. But if they wanted to escape they didn't have a choice but to cross the dessert.