Disclaimer: I do not own anything. This is simply a work of fiction, and no profits are being made
Rating: T for Glader language, violence, and some disturbing imagery
Author's Note: I've always wanted to go to Alaska. I've no idea what it actually is like, especially in the future, so just bear with me.
Chapter 29
Thomas was transported to a world in which he'd never experienced. It was almost magical. He could barely believe what his eyes were seeing; the trees had green leaves on them, just like in the Glade, and the ground was covered in snow without any scorch marks. The sun wasn't burning like it had been in the Scorch, either.
"What is this place?" Thomas asked in wonder.
"Alaska," Teresa replied, a small, wistful smile on her face. "One of the only places on Earth that wasn't totally obliterated by the sun flares. Our home of many years."
"I can't believe I don't remember any of this," he remarked. "It's beautiful."
"Gets annoying after a while," Annie said, stepping off the Berg. "Once you've tried walking in the snow for any distance you realise how awful it is. But it's home to me, and I'm glad to be back."
"There's a lot more than just Munie camps so we'll have to be careful," Teresa warned them. "WICKED—" She cut off, a face full of snow shutting her up and leaving her shocked.
Thomas saw Minho and Newt retreat to the other side of the Berg, lobbing snowballs randomly and running. Teresa slowly wiped the white substance off her face, a war-path look to her eyes.
"It is on!" Teresa yelled, and she scooped up snow before chasing after them, yelling widly. Thomas and Annie exchanged confused glances as the others exited the Berg. They looked around, coming to the same conslusions Thomas had.
"Where's Newt, Minho, and Teresa?" Brenda asked. And idea blossomed in his mind. Thomas smirked before scooping up snow and throwing it in her face. She yelped at the coldness before narrowing her eyes at Thomas.
"You did not," she threatened, and Thomas turned and started sprinting away. He heard her laugh as she chased after him.
Everyone was brought into the fight, and soon snow was flying everywhere. Thomas was slugged from behind and he turned and found himself tackling Brenda. They rolled in the snow, bumping into people's feet. Newt didn't see them and he tripped over Thomas and landed face-first into the drift. Teresa, who had been chasing him, jumped on him and started rubbing his face into the snow while he cursed and begged for her to let him go. Minho decided it was a dog pile and he simply jumped on the four of them.
"Get off, you shuck face!" Thomas shouted playfully. Minho turned his face and scowled at him.
"No way, Greenie." He slammed a fistful of snow down Thomas' shirt and Thomas jumped at the cold. He didn't remember ever feeling anything so icy as the white flakes.
Brenda and Thomas ganged up on Minho and soon he was the one trying to escape. Caught up in the moment, no one worried about what the future held. They were just normal teenagers having normal teenage fun.
Out of the corner of his eye Thomas saw Harriet and Sonya sneaking up behind Teresa. They pelted her before running straight into Newt, who ambushed them. Teresa joined in, and soon the four were practically buried. The distraction caused him to lose focus off of Minho, and he was pushed, flying several feet before landing softly. Laughs echoed around the area, and for once, everything was good.
Finally, everyone was tired—and cold—and they helped each other up and back into the Berg. Newt was jumping up and down, shaking out his clothes.
"Bloody hell! That was some cold klunk!" he cried. Thomas laughed and slapped him on the back, dislodging several of the white flakes.
"Welcome to Alaska," Teresa said, and she had a sly smile on her face that led Thomas to believe there was more surprises out here.
Thomas made a mental not to thank Dr. West for the snow gear. No one had really felt the cold when they were running around and playing, but the mile hike to the camp would be very cold.
Even though he felt ridiculous in the fluffy layers the coat provided, it was warm and he appreciated it. Everyone also decked out in snowpants, boots, gloves, hats, and scarves.
The two guards made sure everyone had concealed weapons under their clothes in case things became ugly. It was a habit that was ingrained in all of their minds: prepare for the worse and something even badder will happen. Thomas once again had a shock stick, and he noticed the guards and the doctor each had a special shiny silver gun with a clear tube.
"What's that?" he asked. He'd never seen one before.
"It's a Transvice," one of them replied. "Basically it disintegrates the target."
No wonder the world had fallen apart so quickly, Thomas thought. If you could just scatter someone into extremely tiny pieces like they'd never existed then you could surely release a terrible virus to eliminate millions of innocent people.
Then everyone wobbled out of the Berg and started waddling towards the camp like fat penguins. Thomas found it quite humorous, though he knew must look just as ridiculous.
Alaska was still full of life. Thomas spotted a few bears, a few moose, a small and gaunt wolf pack, and rivers with fish jumping out in the distance. It gave him hope that one day the Earth could recover and be like this everywhere.
The mile was the longest mile that Thomas had ever walked, though it was entertaining due to the beautiful, untouched landscape and the fresh air. Annie had been right: snow was really hard to walk in. When the group neared the camp he felt a little sad, and he knew that he might never again see such beautiful sights.
The camp itself was a wreck, a human trash sight in the midst of paradise. Hastily constructed structures sat snow-covered inside of a large fence topped with barb wire. It was large, and from the cliff they could see it all. There was one well built structure with the WICKED logo plastered across it in red letters. It was like the survivors were to be reminded that their entire existence was dominated by the department.
Little ants of people scurried around, moving from one building to another. Smoke rose up from chimneys and large stacks of firewood helped support the walls. There was a front gate where trucks sometimes drove in or out of. Thomas knew if they were going to get in they would have to go through there.
The group climbed down from the little cliff overhang and started down the slope towards the front gates of the camp.
"That WICKED building didn't actually have anyone in it when I was staying here," Annie informed Thomas as they walked. "In the initial panic after the sun flares many people with important jobs or in government moved here due to the preservation of the land. After the Flare and after WICKED was formed they erased all evidence of the other governments, but they left the buildings up and just painted their name on everthing."
"Then how do supplies get here?" Thomas asked.
"The trucks that are leaving go about twenty miles north to the biggest city left in the world. The secondary WICKED headquarters isn't in the city, but about forty miles north from here. The city is where all supplies come to, and the camps within several hundred miles go to pick up their supplies."
"So everyone just lives poor, desolate lives there?" Newt inquired. He had caught up to the two of them.
"Everyone has a job. Some of them have to go outside the walls and chop wood, some have to go pick up supplies in the trucks, others have to tend the fires, some cook, etc. Just simple, boring chores. But everyone is grateful for their lives. I guess that is enough for them." Annie shrugged. "Everyone that came with me were about to die of boredom. We're young, and WICKED needed young and healthy workers. Now we're leading a revolution." Annie smiled wryly. "I almost miss boring. Almost."
"Will they follow us?" Thomas said. If they were to have a successful revolution then they would need allies. The small surviving group couldn't take down WICKED by themselves.
"They will. Once they learn that Janson is a threat to their peaceful lives they'll fight for liberation from him. And if they know that the head of WICKED is with them they'll definitely be won over. We just need to word everything carefully and precisely."
"So don't let Minho be near the bloody megaphone," Newt summed up. Minho looked up and smirked, proud of his talents to annoy, antagonize, and upset just about everyone.
"How many people live here?" Thomas said, bringing the conversation back to the topic.
"Maybe three hundred that will come with us. But we can move on to the next camp and the next until we have a sizable army." Annie smiled confidently. Thomas felt a little alarmed.
"Wait. You're serious about an army."
"Of course. The people have trucks and supplies, and we'll drive down to the secondary WICKED headquarters and take it over. If Janson is there then we'll win, and if he's not then we'll stake out there until he shows his rat face and then we can take him out." Annie was so confident when she spoke. Thomas didn't feel the same way.
"That plan is full of shuck," Minho commented. "I'm up for it."
Newt sighed. "It's doomed. Guess I'm in."
Thomas looked over at the thirty remaining Gladers and Annie's group. Everyone was so weary and so, so tired. Deep down in his heart Thomas knew that it ended soon or it would never end. After all they'd been through…they just couldn't drag it on any longer. They'd either win to go out with a bang.
"Doomed to fail, full of technicalities, and the very barest of plans. Sounds fun. Let's go assemble an army and take out the most powerful organization in the world. Why not?"
