Sacrifice

Chapter Seventy

Once Claire had another moment to herself she reached into her pocket and took out the envelope. During the boat ride over, Frypan had found it in Thomas's pocket and it was addressed to her. It was from Teresa. 

Inside there were two items. One was a gold necklace, the one Claire had seen her wear back in the city. The other was a tiny black box. When Claire pressed the button a screen projected in front of her. It was a file containing records of Subject A-0. 

Teresa had given Claire her past. 

There were so many files to go through. Files containing her daily schedules, medical records, security footage. 

Claire learned that she had been kept isolated from the others until she was ten-years-old. She had been considered to be one of the elite subjects but was beaten out for the job by Rachel, Aris's friend who had been lost back in the WCKD compound. 

There was footage that showed her that she, Newt, Minho, Alby, Thomas and Teresa used to sneak out at night in order to hang out. 

Claire knew that she would eventually have to share this information with her friends. But she wanted to keep this to herself for just a little longer. 

*************** 

As soon as Thomas opened his eyes he immediately sat up. As he took in his surroundings, he realized that he was inside a hut made of bamboos. He had been laying on a cot and there was a table full of medical supplies next to him. As he shifted his body so that his feet were touching the ground he felt a sharp pain go through his stomach. He pulled up the clean shirt he was wearing and saw that the bullet wound had been patched up. 

Thomas stepped outside the hut and found himself facing a vast ocean. The sunlight felt so much more gentle than the harsh heat he had grown accustom to in the Scorch. He looked to his right and saw where most of the people were gathered. He recognized some faces from the Right Arm but didn't see any of his friends yet. No one paid him any attention as he walked by. 

It didn't take long for his friends to find him. Minho, Brenda, Gally, Jorge, Frypan, Aris, Harriet and Sonya all approached him. 

Then he froze when he saw Claire limp into view. Out of all his friends, she was the one he was most terrified to face. Part of him wanted to run, but his guilt held him in place. He had killed Newt right in front of her. Thomas wanted her to yell at him, punch him, scream, kick, anything to make him pay for what he did. 

Claire did none of those things. 

Instead she walked over and hugged him. 

Thomas couldn't decide if this made him feel better or worse. But all the pain and grief finally caught up to him, and he cried into Claire's shoulder as he hugged her back. Minho then came over and wrapped one arm around each of them, followed by Gally and Frypan. 

Back when Thomas had first come up in the Box there had been roughly thirty Gladers. 

Now there were only five of them left.