Dynasty // The Scorch Trials [Book 2]

TWENTY-SIX

"Thomas..." Leah weakly reached out to him as Janson held him at gunpoint. 

Right as he was about to pull the trigger, a bullet pierced his own shoulder and he let out a shriek as he sunk to the floor. He clutched his hand over the wound and as he was occupied by keeping his blood inside his body, Thomas scrambled up from the floor, rushed to Leah's side and helped her to her feet. He held his arm firmly around her waist as he took her with him. 

Vince unleashed a rain of bullets into the crowd and Thomas had to hurry to prevent getting hit. Leah didn't want to look over her shoulder but did it anyway, a Wicked guard was hot on their heels and it wouldn't be long before he would catch up to them.

In the distance, Brenda peered through the spyglass of her shotgun before shooting down the guard. 

Thomas and Leah ran past Minho, who held the guards away by shooting them, only he wasn't fast enough and the next second, a taser shot him square in the chest and he fell to the floor, squirming around as electric shocks ran through his body.

"Minho!" Leah screamed as she pulled away from Thomas's grasp before he could protest and she rushed to her friend's side, trying to get him back on his feet. 

"LEAH, GET BACK!" Newt bellowed as the guard approached them quickly. Thomas moved to help them, but Newt held him back. "Don't, they'll get you too." Thomas ignored him and sprinted in their direction, determined to save Leah. 

Newt quickly caught up to him and grabbed his arm to stop him, Thomas ripped himself free again and ran. Newt didn't want to admit it, but he knew they were too late. Leah was going to get captured and so was Minho. There was no point in Thomas getting himself caught as well.

Two guards hooked their arms through Leah's and dragged her back, though she tried to free herself. "NEWT! NEWT, HELP ME!" To hear her cry out Newt's name instead of his own, broke Thomas' heart.

Thomas ran to save her, but Jorge grabbed him in time to keep him back. "NO, LEAH! MINHO!" Thomas screamed, fighting for Jorge to let him go, but the man only tightened his grip. 

"THOMAS!" Leah screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks and blurring her vision. The Wicked guards unleashed their guns on the group and they were forced to run or else they'd get hit. 

Thomas kept fighting to get to her. He would not give up on her. He would not give up on their baby. "Thomas, we're too late, we have to go!" Newt shouted over the havoc but by the cracking of his voice, Thomas knew that it was the last thing he wanted to do. 

Newt hated to leave her behind. He hated to abandon his friend but in order to save his other friends, he had to make this decision. He lost Minho and he lost Leah, but he refused to lose anyone else.

Thomas had to watch in horror as the back of the plane slowly closed, hiding the broken expression that Leah held in her eyes, hiding Minho's unconscious body, hiding Janson's smug face and hiding the sympathetic gaze of Teresa. 

They were gone. 

Thomas dropped himself to his knees and let out a frustrated shout, punching the ground in the process, only resulting in a snap in his hand and leaving his knuckles bloody and bruised. 

Newt let out a shivering sigh and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. 

Brenda placed a soft hand on Thomas's shoulder but he shook it off, knowing she was the reason that had caused the gap between him and Leah. 

Frypan squatted to the floor, hanging his head low. 

Minho and Leah were gone, Wicked had taken them away.

Thomas looked up, staring at the disappearing plane in the distance and the heartbroken look in his eyes left, making room for a stone-cold one. 

"They are going to pay for this," he declared with a crack in his voice. He got up from the ground and walked away, leaving his friends staring at the plane in the far distance until it vanished in the clouds. 

No one slept that night. 

Thomas sat on the rock where Teresa had betrayed them and watched the horizon as if he was expecting Wicked to return and bring back his love.

Newt and Frypan helped the other people in the camp to distract themselves from thinking about what had just happened. They checked how many others had been taken and it turned out that Wicked had also ripped Aris and Sonya away from Harriet. 

They had suffered many losses tonight. Not only had Thomas lost his girlfriend and one of his best friends, but he had also lost his child inside of her. Newt had lost his sister-figure and his best friend, and Frypan two of his best friends. 

Right after the sun came up, the boys started packing everything useful to them. Frypan was sat on a piece of debris as he asked, "What are we supposed to do now?" 

"I would pick up what's left of us," Vince spoke up. "And stick to the plan, get you kids to the safe haven." He stood up with a sad expression on his face. "And start over, I guess." 

Thomas pondered over his words. "I'm not going with you." 

Vince frowned. "What?" 

"I made a promise to Leah and Minho, I wouldn't leave them behind so I have to go after them," Thomas said. 

"Kid, look around you, Wicked just kicked our ass. Think about where you're heading," Vince stated. 

Thomas shook his head. "I'm not asking anyone to come with me." 

"Thomas, listen to me," Newt spoke up. "I have known Leah and Minho for as long as I can remember so if there is any way that we can help them, trust me, I would be standing there with you. But this, what you're talking about, is impossible." 

Jorge and Brenda joined their group. "More like suicide," the man said. 

Thomas decisively looked at them. "Maybe," he stated. "But at least I know what I'm supposed to do." He tightened the strap of his bag and grabbed a shotgun from the ground, heaving it on his shoulder. "It's not just about Minho and Leah, it's about all of us. It's about everyone Wicked has ever taken and everyone they will take. They'll never stop so I'm going to stop them." He paused for a second, thinking of the right words. "I'm going to kill Ava Paige for stealing my child away from me." 

Harriet spoke up, "I have to admit. I'd like some revenge." 

Vince shook his head. "It's a good speech, kid. So what's your plan?"