Teresa led us out of the building. We all clutched our weapons as we looked around. On all sides we were surrounded by dry, hot desert. In the distance there stood a small shack and behind that, there was a huge hazy spot. Maybe a city? A yell from Teresa got us moving. We trod through the desert for hours. Most of the girls talked among themselves, but Teresa stayed silent. I took my chance to talk to Harriet. At my request, Aimee grabbed her arm and brought her to the back of the line, then stayed with us. "Sonya-" I cut Harriet off. "What the hell, Harriet?" I whispered angrily. "She almost killed me and you haven't spoken to me once. How am I going to get my position back if you don't help me?" Aimee nodded. Harriet sighed. "Sonya, hear me out. I'm terrified to show any disloyalty to me. I don't want her to hurt me. And she tells me everything. The things that happened to her in that maze, with one boy in particular-" I interrupted again. "Harriet, where exactly are we going?" I asked seriously. She looked at Aimee, then back at me. "There's a boy in the other group that she has to kidnap. WICKED's orders. She needs our help. We have to get to some safe place in order to not be..." She trailed off and Aimee and I share a look. "What happens if we don't make it, Harriet?" Aimee asked quietly. Harriet took a deep breath. "It's between us and the boys. Whoever doesn't make it is stuck out here."
My mind immediately flashed to Newt. "So...it's girls versus boys?" Aimee asked sarcastically. "Basically." Harriet shrugged. I sighed. "We have to rescue Newt." I insisted. Now it was Harriet and Aimee's turn to share a glance. "Teresa will kill him. I don't know why, but she hates boys." Harriet informed me ruefully. "We can't leave him." I insisted. I was still waiting for one of them to respond when Teresa stopped. "Girls! Assemble!" She yelled. We stood in a misshapen blob. "Okay. We're almost to the house. All of you are to stay in the back room and when Thomas comes, don't say a word. Harriet, come with me." She snapped as she ran ahead. Harriet gave Aimee and I a rueful glance as she left me with more questions than I had before, and even less answers.
Aimee and I sat in the corner of the back room in the hut, next to a small window. Everyone spoke in hushed tones until we saw a small figure approach the shack and silence fell. He was tall, with messy brown hair. They appeared to be in a heated conversation. But the sight that made my breathing stop was the two figures farther behind the boy. One was shorter, Asian, with spiky hair that looked like it had ten bottles of hairspray in it. The other was Newt. I could recognize him from that far away, with his long blonde hair and lanky build. The sight of him made my heart leap with hope. I shook Aimee's arm, pointing. She nodded to show she saw. Teresa didn't matter anymore. I just had to find Newt.
Days passed. Teresa explained more to the group about what Thomas did. I won't go into details, but I could see why we had to punish him. I would have felt bad for her, except for the fact that I hated her. Anyways, we trudged in the desert to absolutely nowhere for several days until Teresa finally saw the boys group. "Okay. This is our chance. We'll give them a chance to hand him over peacefully. If they decline, hit them with your spears. Not the pointed end, but the dull end. Hurt them but don't kill them." She commanded. I stayed quiet, even though I wanted to yell that she shouldn't be giving orders. As we approached the group, I slowly made my way to the front to stand by Harriet. There was no way I was missing my chance to see Newt.