Sacrifice

Chapter Sixty-Nine

By the time Jorge landed the berg, the ship was nearly ready to go. All the repairs had been done, all the supplies had been loaded on, and all but a small group of people were on board, the rest were ready to receive the newcomers. 

Gally and Frypan came off the berg first carrying Thomas, Brenda close behind. The boy was still unconscious, but Vince was optimistic that he was gonna be okay. 

As all the kids who had been rescued came off and were greeted by the welcome party, Aris and Sonya were frantically scanning all their faces. It wasn't until the last few people got off that Sonya spotted Minho helping Claire walk down the berg platform. 

"Guys!" she cried, running over to them with Aris at her heels. 

Claire broke away from Minho and half hugged, half leaned on Sonya for support. Minho embraced Aris before the four of them all hugged each other. Claire studied Aris's face, relieved to see that the bruises he received were starting to fade. 

"Are you guys okay?" Aris asked. 

Claire exchanged a look with Minho and knew they were thinking the same thing, that right now they were anything but okay. 

Harriet was watching from the sidelines, clutching the book Tony had asked her to hold onto. She searched the crowd and couldn't find him anywhere. Then she caught Vince's eye, and his expression told her everything she needed to know. 

"Wait, where's Newt?" Aris asked. 

Then he saw Claire's expression. 

She couldn't hold back the floodgate anymore. Sonya pulled her in and let Claire sob into her shirt. Aris placed a comforting hand on Claire's back while also reaching out to Minho. 

That was the moment Minho finally let himself cry. The four of them hugged each other and stayed that way until it was time to leave. 

*************** 

The Safe Haven turned out to be a lush island. The Gladers hadn't seen this much green since the Glade. The ocean was crystal clear and the white sand was so soft. 

There was already a group of people waiting there for them, a group of Immunes that had been sent ahead there months ago. Aris recognized some of the girls from the Maze, the girls that had been rescued by the Right Arm along side Harriet and Sonya, but had chosen to move onto the Safe Haven. 

Between the people who had already been there and the influx of new ones, there were now roughly a few hundred people living on the island. There was a lot of work that had to be done in order to make a home for everyone. A bunch of temporary tents had been set up with cots and hammocks while more solid shelters were being built. 

Claire was now taking a break. Her foot was healing, but walking was still a little difficult so there was only so much she could do to help. Though she was grateful for the moments she gets alone. She used them to look through the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. After losing it in the Right Arm camp the night she was captured, Claire didn't think she'd ever see it again. Then Harriet had given it to her on the ship, after realizing Claire was the sister that Tony had lost all those years ago. 

Claire stared at the inscription that she had written in her five-year-old handwriting. 

Maria. 

Claire thought she was supposed to feel some kind of connection to the name, after all it was hers. But since WCKD stole those memories, Claire felt nothing. She hadn't recognized her own brother when he had been standing in front of her. Tony had sacrificed himself for her, and Claire didn't even know him. How was she supposed to grief for him? 

"Thought you might be here." 

Claire hadn't even noticed Vince approaching her. 

"Mind if I take a seat?" he asked, gesturing at the rock next to her. 

Claire nodded. 

"How's your foot doing?" 

"Alright, I guess. I just wish I could be more help." 

"Don't worry about it, just focus on getting better. We don't want you pushing yourself too hard."  

"I can still stand," Claire said. 

"I don't just mean physically," Vince said seriously. "You've been quiet since we got here." 

"Can you blame me?" 

"Not at all," Vince said. "I still think about Mary all the time. I don't know if the hurt will ever go away, but it will get easier. Helps having all you kids around to look after." 

"Did you ever want kids?" Claire asked. 

"When I was young I couldn't even imagine it, I thought they were annoying. But Mary would sometimes talk about them, considered adopting. With her, I thought maybe I could be a decent dad." 

"Now you've got a couple hundred." 

"Just a bit more than I was expecting. But at least you're all toilet trained." 

Claire cracked a smile. 

"Vince, how well did you know Tony?" she asked. 

Vince paused a moment before answering. "He was like a son to me. Known him since he was thirteen, just this skinny little kid we picked up off the streets. He was always brave, and a friend to everyone. Never really talked about his past, all I knew was that he ran away from his parents after they gave his sister away to WCKD. I guess I should have realized it was you, Tony looked like he had seen a ghost the day you and your friends came strolling into our camp. So much was going on that day, I didn't even think about it." 

Another moment of silence hung between them. 

"Listen, Claire, I know nothing I say can make this any better for you right now, but know this, you have a lot of people here who care about you. We've all lost someone. And you were loved so much by the people you're missing. Tony didn't care if you didn't know him, he loved you anyway. What you had with Newt, it was something special. I've seen a lot, I promise it wasn't puppy love, what he felt for you was the real thing." 

Claire fiddled with the necklace Newt had left for her. It was just a small hollow tube attached so some string, but it was the most precious thing she owned. "I know." 

"You're lucky, not a lot of people know love like that."