Wicked Atmosphere | Aris Jones [2]

14 || Happy and Unhappy Reunions

"Valuable?" Maeve repeated. "What do you mean by that?"

Jorge shook his head. "You kids really don't get it, do you?" We all looked confused, so he went on. "Anyone who comes from WICKED is valuable."

"I find that hard to believe," Thomas stated.

"It's like that other girl that we found a few days ago," Aurora told us. "She didn't think she was valuable, either."

"What other girl?" I asked her, furrowing my eyebrows.

"Some girl we picked up from the Scorch a few days ago. Looks like him," she explained, pointing at Minho.

I looked at the others. "Gwyneth." I turned my head back towards Aurora. "Where is she?"

Aurora folded her arms over her chest, eyeing Jorge. "Want me to go get her?"

Jorge stared at me, his eyebrows raised. "Not yet." He paused, then pointed at me. "She can stay here, but take the others away."

I grabbed Maeve and Lillie's hand, my grip tightening. "They stay with me."

Jorge was getting a bit irritated now. "Take the others away."

I stood my ground, holding my head a little higher, shooting Jorge a determined look. "They. Stay. With. Me."

Aurora's mouth dropped, while Brenda raised her eyebrows. "She's a feisty one," I heard Aurora whisper to Brenda.

Huffing a sigh, Jorge held one finger up. "One. One gets to stay with you, hermana."

The three of us looked at each other, but Lillie was the first to make a move, letting go of my hand. "It's okay," she assured me, nodding her head. "I'll go." With that, Jorge's men led Lillie and the others away, leaving Maeve and I with Jorge, while Aurora and Brenda went to go get Gwyneth.

"So..." I began to say. "We're looking for ghosts, huh? You really think the Right Arm isn't out there?"

He chuckled. "I never said they weren't out there."

"So you believe in ghosts, then," Maeve stated.

Jorge smirked. "You are correct, hermana."

I nodded my head. "Well, looks like you and I have one thing in common."

"You believe in ghosts?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah, I do," I replied. They were all back in the Glen.

After a few more minutes of waiting, Jorge left as Brenda and Aurora came back with our friend, who gasped. "Holy shit," she muttered.

"Gwyn!" Mae and I exclaimed, running up to her, all joining in for a group hug.

"I never thought I'd see you sticks again," Gwyneth said, pulling away from us. "Who else is with you?"

"Lillie, Aris, and some new acquaintances," Maeve replied. "They came from a Maze with a bunch of boys and one girl."

She widened her eyes. "What happened? How did--"

"There's a lot to explain," I cut her off, watching Brenda and Aurora leaving us alone.

"But first, how did you end up here?" Maeve asked.

Gwyneth sighed. "When the Right Arm attacked the facility we were at, I managed to escape with Harriet and Sonya. Then those Cranks came for us, splittin' me up from the others. I found this place and came here to take shelter, tryin' to explain what happened. They didn't really believe me about the Right Arm, except Jorge. But I guess they kept me around, because I was useful to them, thanks to my Medic skills."