Divided // The Death Cure [Book 3]

TEN

T H I R D   P E R S O N   P O V

Thomas slammed a map on the table, the Last City already circled with a red marker. "There, that's it. It's only a few hundred miles. Based on the railways and everything Aris has told us, that's gotta be where they're headed. That's gotta be where they're taking Leah and Minho," he said. "We take everyone who can fight and stay on the roads as much as we can. We can make it back within a week." 

"A week?" Vince retorted. His eyes searched for a particular spot on the map, the place where they were supposed to save Leah and Minho today. "It took us six months to get here. We got over a hundred kids here now. We can't just hang out here forever after what we just pulled. You want to wander off to a random place on the map. You don't even know what's there."

"I do." Jorge stepped into the light. "It's been a few years, but I've been there. The Last City, that's what Wicked called it. It was their home base of operations. If that city is still standing, then it's the last place where you wanna go, hermano. That's the lion's den." 

Thomas calmly shrugged. "It's nothing we haven't done before." 

"Yeah, with months of planning, a reliable source of information, the element of surprise, none of which we still have." 

"Vince, listen, I've thought this through. If we just-" 

"The last time we did this, I lost everything!"

The bubble of anger inside of Thomas snapped. "Well, I lost everything too!" he burst out, slamming his fist on the table. "Leah is carrying my child with her and I don't know if she's okay. She was my everything and because of me, I lost them." 

"Thomas-" Newt started, ready to calm his friend down once again. 

"No, you don't get it. I don't sleep, Newt! She could be dead for all we know. The baby could be born already, or worse, dead!" Thomas seethed.  

A silence fell until Vince broke it. "Look, I know that she was your girlfr-"

"Is," Thomas snapped, refusing to believe she was no longer his girlfriend.

Vince sighed. "I know that she is your girlfriend but you can't ask me to put the lives of those kids on the line. I won't do it." 

Thomas exhaled slowly and lowered his gaze. Behind Vince, the radio equipment they had installed started to play a static noise, but Thomas heard the voices. As if on cue, the rattling of multiple choppers outside reached his ears. "Shit, get the lights!" he exclaimed. Jorge rushed to turn off the electricity, successfully putting everyone in the dark. 

Thomas and Vince sprinted outside to see helicopters flying over with searchlights, scanning the buildings only a few miles away from the camp. "They're getting close," Vince stated. 

Thomas sighed, making up his mind. "You're right," he said softly. "We can't stay here." 

Vince exhaled softly, placing a comforting hand on Thomas's shoulder. Giving it a tiny squeeze, he tried to tell the boy how sorry he was. Thomas patted his hand in return before turning away. 

He sat down by the shore, twisting around a pebble in his hand. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't hear the person sitting down next to him. 

"I assume he didn't agree?" Thomas's head shot up to find Marissa sitting next to him. 

He sighed, shaking his head. "How was she?" he asked softly. 

"She's a strong one, I'll give you that," Marissa chuckled. "She's suffering, but we all were. The baby is fine." She exhaled. "She doesn't deserve to be there, Thomas."

"Yeah, I know, why do you think I've been trying to get to her ever since I lost her?" 

Marissa let out a soft breath. "How did you lose her? If that's not too much to ask, of course." 

Thomas chuckled humorlessly. "We got in a fight, she told me to stay away from her for a while, but Wicked came and took her and Minho. Teresa betrayed us and gave them our location." 

"Teresa? That dark haired girl?" Marissa asked. 

"Yeah, you know her?" Thomas frowned. 

"Yes, of course, she's been doing the experiments on most of us, including Leah. You could just see Leah didn't like her. Now I know why," she chuckled. 

Thomas sighed, tossing the pebble into the waves. 

"You'll get her back." Marissa patted his shoulder before getting up. "Get some sleep." 

"Will do. Thanks," he said softly, already knowing he wasn't going to sleep. He waited until Marissa had left his view until he got to his feet and walked back to the sleeping hut, where most of the group stayed. He grabbed his backpack, threw in everything he had, including the little man Chuck had crafted, and made a beeline for the place where he knew he could get a car.

As he walked up to one of the trucks, his attention was drawn to a voice. "And where do you think you're going?" It was Newt, leaning against the truck before he flicked on a small light, looking at Thomas with an amused grin. 

Thomas sighed. "Newt-" 

"Don't be a twat about it," Newt stated, grabbing the backpack from his hand. "I'm already in." 

"Wh-No, no, not this time." Thomas chased after Newt, who turned around with a knowing look in his eyes. He knew Thomas couldn't stand his ground with this. Eventually, he would break and allow Newt to join. "Even if we find Leah and Minho, there's no guarantee that we make it back from this." 

"Well, then, you'll need all the help you can get, won't you?" Newt swung the door of the truck open to reveal Frypan, looking at Thomas with a grin while leaning on the steering wheel. 

Newt leaned against the vehicle, crossing his arms. Thomas sighed, chuckling lightly at the gesture of his friends. "We started this together, might as well end it that way too," Newt said. 

Thomas dropped his head before glancing at the boy. "Okay," he stated and Newt grinned, silently celebrating his victory. 

Newt excitedly clapped his hands and swung open the back door, sitting down in the middle. Thomas clambered onto the passenger seat and Frypan turned on the engine, bringing the car to life. 

As silently as possible, they exited the camp and quickly found the road on the map they had to follow. "Let's go get your family back," Newt chimed, patting Thomas on his shoulder.