Chapter 01

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Best in Battle

Action has seemed to always be a passion of mine. Whether it be fighting, running, or just being in control of a situation satisfied me in every way. Now, I'm glad I'm not in Thomas's shoes. It's been six months since any of us had seen Minho. The pit feeling of guilt reeked in my stomach. It was so hard for me to fall asleep every night -- I didn't know Minho leaving would have that take on me. Nevertheless, I moved on. Still, I wanted to find him, but I started focusing on other things as well; like mine and Newt's relationship. Half a year later, we're still going strong. All of the little things he did for me over the span of time changed me and really brought me back to our origin: the maze. One week Newt did nothing but stuff for me. One night we took a walk at night by the beach, the next, he cooked for me. It wasn't that good, but, it's the thought that counts.

Another thing he did, when the sun was just about to set, he took me to the beach, again, and drug me to a picnic -- he had Fry cook this time -- with a soft blanket underneath us, a wooden woven basket with food in it and Dandelions that he had given me. The entirety of the night was nothing but laughs and jokes. When we were done eating we played in the water. At the very end of the night, he pulled me in, said, "I'm glad you're here with me. I love you," and kissed me. That was the best sleep I've gotten in years. When I look back on all our progress, I can't fathom that in a span of over seven months, we've managed to escape the horrid maze fairytale, meet the creators, WICKED, escape from the warehouse, I got together with Newt, the group and I lost each other then found each other again, got to the Right Arm, survived the attack from WICKED, lost Minho in the process, build the Right Arm back up, grew closer to Newt, now here we are.

For six months the group and I attempted to formulate a plan to save Minho, Aris, and Sonya. I hadn't spoken to Sonya a lot but I already knew she cared for Aris and vice-versa. If Aris cared enough, that was enough for me. If our information and blueprints are correct, we should have no problem with the plan at all.

The wind whipped my hair back behind my face as I rode in the rusted truck. Vince was driving, Thomas was in shotgun, and I was poking my head out the top to look around. I was looking for a train track, which was easy to spot due to the train whizzing by, guards around our area of entry, and if any cranks were around. Luckily, I hadn't seen any since a month ago. The path we took -- off-road -- was, of course, the bumpiest path, it left me bouncing every second so.

"Brenda, we're coming up behind. Keep 'em busy!" Thomas yelled into the walkie-talkie.

Brenda had changed a lot. She became a better fighter, her hair grew just past her ears, and she successfully survived the Crank bite on her leg. It was Brenda's and Jorge's job to distract the train conductors which served us enough time to board the train. As we came closer, I plopped back in my seat and held on as Vince told me to. We hurdled the tracks and now followed behind the train.

"This is crazy, Thomas!" Vince exclaimed.

Thomas unbuckled and climbed out the window of the truck and onto the hood.

"Get me closer!" 

It was nerve-wracking. Thomas held a grapple out to hook onto the train. When he did so successfully, he signaled me to go next. I did as I was told and stood out the window. Thankfully, the wind pushed my hair out of my face so I could see clearly. I crawled over the roof carefully and got to the hood. Thomas held out his hand, to which I took, leaped over the gap, and gripped onto the back of the ladder.

"Come on, Vince!" I yelled, waving him in our direction.

The truck wobbled and shook, and just when I thought it would be okay, the front tire popped and sent Vince to ground.

"Vince!" 

The vehicle started to lose its speed and fall behind.

"Jump!" Thomas and I yelled.

I held out my hand for him to grab. Finally, he jumped and clutched the ladder in time. The grapple unhooked and flew back, sending the truck into a heaping wrecked pile of metal. I helped pull him up onto the caboose.

"Shit," Vince mumbled, looking back at the vehicle. 

"Let's go!"

"Hey, berg!" Vince pointed to the flying aircraft.

The giant shadow loomed over the ground and whizzed by us with such speed.

"Hey, Brenda? You got company!" Thomas warned.

The loud booming sound of the gunfire and missiles firing could be heard over everything else. 

"Thomas, you're on you're own. Don't die," Brenda retorted.

Classic Brenda.

"Good luck!" Thomas replied, "We gotta move. Come on!"

Thomas and Vince started climbing up the ladders. When they were finally up, Vince motioned for me to follow. We started sprinting across the tops of the cars as fast as we could until we got to the car we wanted. Seeing movement on top of the train in the distance, I finally pulled my glasses out from my pocket and put them on; guards, seven or eight of them. Vince dropped to floor level and started to work on the bomb to blow the cars apart. Thomas rushed to take the bag off his back.

"Throw me the bag!" Vince demanded.

Thomas tossed down the bag and ushered me down next. Immediately knowing my task, I pulled out my gun and waited for the guards to be in sight before starting to shoot. As I see their heads appear over the edge, I don't hesitate to pull the trigger. Bullets that were a little low ricocheted off of a train car in front of us.

"Vince?" I questioned looking back at the man before returning to my duties.

"We're set! Cover your ass!"

I quickly put my gun away, hopped over the gap in the ground, and threw myself around the corner of the train to the ladder. Thomas was still on top, and Vince was on the other side. Soon, a boom erupted and smoke and sparks covered my vision, forcing me to look away with a slight cough. The train slowed to a stop and allowed the three of us to jump off. I watched as the connected cars keep moving, but slowly slow to a halt. Turning my attention away from the train, I hear a whistle to my left and immediately know it's Thomas. I start waving my hands high yelling at the silhouette that just popped out; Newt. The group with Newt started running in our direction as Thomas and I banged on the train cars.

"Minho?" Thomas yelled.

"Aris? Sonya?" I joined.

Newt flew around the corner and rushed to his post.

"This one, this one!" Thomas claimed.

I took my rifle from Newt, reached high for the ladder, and started my climb. Reaching the top, I pulled the scope to my eye and watched the trail of WICKED guards running our way.

"Thomas?" I hollered.

"Not yet!" He replied and started to climb up.

I stood my ground and listened for my signal. When I heard the familiar metallic clink of a bullet hitting metal, I started firing -- head-shot after head-shot. Feeling a body lay next to mine, I shifted over a little and continued to shoot.

"Where the hell are they?" Newt murmured.

Another guard; down. After another minute of shooting, I hear a rumbling over my head. Then, a whirring. Followed right after I hear a "Come on," and "Lower!" I kept focusing on the guards, however, making sure to thin them out.

"Go, go!" Thomas yells.

"Vince, get up here!"

"Now, Vince!" 

After one more shot, I finally am unable to shoot. I stand, sling my gun over my shoulders, and greet the others. Cheers and laughs of victory sounded. I smile and run to hug Newt. We laugh and rock back and forth.

Getting the last word in, I screamed, "Go to hell, WICKED!"

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