Chapter 37
Mary had been in and out of bed for the past few weeks. Everyday Newt would visit, get her out of bed and help her stretch her back with a walk. Everyday she'd been able to move a bit faster, and altogether her pain was less intense. The only time she really felt any kind of pain was when she had to bend over and really stretch her back out. Other than that, all was fine. Newt was right though, she had one hell of a scar on her back. One morning when she was washing herself up in the washroom, she caught a glimpse of it. It was healed to the point where the stitches had completely dissolved and the skin was able to hold itself together.
Today was different though, instead of Newt taking her through the hallway and down the regular set of stairs they usually took, they veered right instead of left, taking her the opposite way.
"Where're we going?" She asked.
"You'll see." He smiled.
She hadn't seen much of their new base, and anyone other than Vince and Harriet. Harriet came in a few times to check up on her stitches, and Vince only once to make she she wasn't feeling any symptoms of the Flare. She hadn't seen Fry, Brenda, Jorge or even Thomas. Impatient would accurately describe how she was feeling, only hardly though. She was eager to see them all again and to see how Brenda was doing. She kept thinking about her bite and how quickly she had started feeling the Flare affect her. She wondered if she was starting to feel any signs of it returning. Why hadn't she felt that way when she got scratched?
"I don't like surprises..." She said tentatively as they continued down the hallway.
"Yes you do." Newt scoffed. "May I remind you that some of our best moments have been surprises love." Seeing the smile on his face made her smile as well. Every time he smiled at her it was contagious. They got to the end of the hall and Newt opened a big metal door, it reminded her of the map room door. It led outside, but this wasn't in the direction of the water, the opposite actually. She wrapped her arm around his as they walked out of the building she was in and across an empty shipping yard. There were Right Arm soldiers walking past them as they moved in all directions. They all had places to go to prepare for the journey to the safe haven. As she watched the men, Newt led them across the shipping yard and into a big metal building. It reminded her of a car repair shop, only ten times as big. As they walked through, the amount of Right Arm soldiers that were seen walking around had dwindled. She assumed only certain people were allowed at this point, she only hoped they were one of them.
He walked around the corner and into a big, open room with a table sitting in the middle of it. On the table was a map of the surrounding area near the coast. Thomas, Vince, Brenda, Jorge, Fry and Harriet were all surrounding the map, staring down at it talking amongst themselves. Thomas was the first one to notice them come in, running straight for her as he saw his sister come in.
"Thank god." He muttered as he wrapped her in a big hug, he held her tight. He felt her get over the quick shock of impact and wrap her hands around him as well.
"Hello to you too." She chuckled. Thomas pulled back and smiled at her. "Thanks." She smiled up at him.
"We were starting to wonder when we were going to see her again." Jorge smiled at Newt as the rest of them grouped around the two.
"Harriet's the one who kept saying she needed more time to heal." Newt nodded at her.
"How're you feeling?" Fry asked, going in for a hug next.
"A lot better after that much rest. Newt told me you guys might have a lead." She said to them, looking over at Vince.
"We do, yeah. We called a gathering to start planning this out." Thomas told her as he walked back to the map with her next to him. She stood at the table, looking down at the map in concentration as she tried to read the markings they've made. Newt came to stand on the other side of her.
"Well what's the plan so far?" She asked.
Vince pointed to a point on the map. "This is us, we're based all up here on the coast, not just this area." He explained. He moved his finger along the map a few feet to a point in the desert. "There's a convoy scheduled to transfer some kids from one of the WICKED compounds to their main facility. They have one scheduled every other week. Next week its supposed to happen on Wednesday."
"Something tells me the plan is to make sure that convoy never reaches its destination..." She eyed him.
"Exactly. There's still a few kinks, but we need more kids if the safe haven is going to work." He told her.
"Do we know if Minho is scheduled to be on this convoy?" She asked. Vince looked from her to Thomas.
"No we're not sure." Thomas answered. "But its all we got right now."
"Well he's right that's for one thing, we need more kids." She agreed, holding her head in her chin.
"There's a small chance though, the convoy is coming from the same facility Minho was apparently being held in." Newt told her.
"Which is why we're going after this specific convoy." Brenda told her.
"Why don't we get them at the source, go to the facility and free all the kids?" Mary asked.
"That's too risky, plus there's too many WICKED agents based at their facility's, getting in is almost impossible. Out in the desert they're vulnerable." Jorge told her.
"Okay, so what kinks do we need to work out?" She asked them.
"We need to organize the trip there, what we're going to need to pull this off and who's coming." Vince told her.
"Okay well whatever it is, count me in." She told him. Vince looked over at Newt once she said that. Mary followed his eyes and glared at Newt.
"I don't know if that's such a good idea..." Thomas pulled her attention from Newt.
"Why not?" She asked, eyeing her brother.
"You just got over a serious injury, who knows what'll happen." He told her. Thomas knew getting Minho back was her number one priority right now so why the hell would he be against her coming.
"I'm coming." She said in a more clear voice.
"Okay." Thomas nodded. He had never heard her speak like that. He looked away, back at the map.
"We're heading into this one hundred percent prepared, we aren't half assing it like we did when WICKED ambushed us. It's our turn to catch them off guard." Vince assured them.
The vans were being loaded, the convoy they were supposed to intercept was scheduled to pass by them the next day, just after dawn. Mary was helping load the vans. She carried two rifles on her back and held a backpack in her other arm as she threw it in the back. It was almost dark and they'd be riding all night to get to the intercepting point. She looked over to see Brenda talking to Thomas as they also helped load the vans. They looked like they were getting along really well. She hoped while she was passed out, the two had a chance to get to know each other a little better. The smile on both their faces confirmed what she was thinking.
"They've been practically glued to the hip since we got here." Newt said, tossing a couple more bags into the van and shutting the door.
"Have they?" She asked, leaning against the side of it. "And has Tom mentioned anything to you?"
Newt grimaced. "Nope, hasn't mentioned anything. I reckon he's still trying to get over Teresa." He said, leaning next to her.
"Well Brenda seems to be taking his mind off of that traitor." Every time someone mentioned Teresa, Mary's blood stated to boil. She couldn't wait to see her again, she hoped she could see her again... So she could get some kind of revenge for screwing everyone over and getting Minho, Aris and Sonya taken by WICKED.
"You know, it's not too late to back out..." Newt said as he watched her watching Thomas and Brenda.
"Newt I already told you, if there's even a slight chance Minho is with this convoy, I'm coming." She explained. "I want to be there when we get him back."
"But what if something happens again? You seem to attract bad luck." He said standing in front of her now. Mary smirked, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Well then I guess I'll just have to make it up to you somehow..." She whispered, leaning up to meet his lips.
"Just... Be careful alright. No more close calls, I don't think I can take sitting by your bed waiting for you to wake up again." He eyed her.
"No close calls, promise." She smiled at him.
They were on the road ten minutes after that. The Gladers and the soldiers packed into the vans and road off into the night. When they got to the point, Vince went over the plan one more time and they organized themselves. Soldiers pulled out their weapons and positioned themselves under cover. The whole plan seemed simple enough. When they get in range, the mines set up on the road will hit the first truck, stopping the entire convoy. After that, Thomas and Mary's group start approaching from the rear, furthest away from the explosion and they disarm the drivers and secure the back trucks, then once those are taken, the soldiers with them will have the rest of the convoy surrounded. Fry and Newt's group would come in from the east and Brenda and Jorge's group from the west to secure the rest of the convoy. Vince, from a distance will have their guns locked on the whole thing ready to gun down any WICKED agents that try to mess things up. After that it's just a long drive back to the coast.
That was the plan.
It was supposed to go off without a hitch.
Mary kept repeating it in her head, committing it to memory and imagining the entire thing happening as her, Thomas and a few other Right Arm soldiers hid just behind a large sand dune as the sound of incoming trucks broke her train of thought.
"You're up." Vince said over the radio. Mary and Thomas shared a look as they watched the convoy roll up. The first truck was heavily armed, Mary held her breath as she saw it heading straight for the mines that were hidden just under the sand. The truck ran straight for it, exploding as it made contact with the explosives. Just like they had planned, the entire convoy stopped. Mary watched as the first few drivers near the front started getting out of their cars to inspect what was going on, a few soldiers came out, guns pointed off into the distance ahead of the convoy.
So far so good.
They were distracted at the front. Slowly, Mary and Thomas started moving in, approaching the back truck quietly as the driver was still inside. Mary carefully walked up to the drivers side, just out of view of the mirror and pointed a gun at the drivers head. He was so distracted with what was going on ahead of him that he didn't notice the ambush. When she unclicked her safety, he looked over at her, reaching for his radio.
"Don't even think about it." She glared at the soldier. He stopped moving and held out his hands. "Out of the car, hurry up and keep it quiet." She said to him. He opened the car door and stepped out of the truck, all the while Mary glued her gun to his walking figure. One of the Right Arm soldiers strangled the man, making him drop to the floor. Mary nodded at the man and he motioned for a few other soldiers to follow him to the next truck, quietly securing it as well. Mary climbed into the driver's seat and Thomas opened the passenger side, getting in.
"Alright Newt, Brenda. You're up guys." Thomas said into the radio.
"We've got your back, move in." Vince said into the radio.
"Copy." Brenda replied. Mary started the car, at first the sound distracted the soldiers from the ambush coming from both sides, until they noticed movement. Before any of the WICKED soldiers could fire a shot, there were rifle shots ringing in from all around them. Vince and the other Right Arm soldiers were shooting them down, multiple men dropping quickly into the sand. As soon as the gunshots started going off, the sounds of kids shouting started to distract the WICKED soldiers even more, to the Right Arm's advantage. Mary and Thomas watched as the groups from both sides started closing in.
"So far so good..." Thomas said, watching everything play out. Their group seemed to be doing fine, they had the upper hand on WICKED this time.
"Don't worry, everything's going to be fine!" She said to the kids in the back.
"Do you think they've got back up?" Thomas asked.
"Please, they transfer kids every other week. They do it so often I bet they don't think anything is ever bound to happen on these trips." She assured Thomas. That seemed to make him feel less nervous.
"I just hope this wasn't for nothing." He whispered under his breath. She subtly looked over at him, fully hearing what he said. She was silently hoping the same thing. It would undoubtedly feel good just saving kids from a terrible fate and having more survivors in the safe haven, but she knew she would be disappointed if Minho wasn't in one of these trucks. She glued her eyes back onto what was going on in front of them. There didn't seem to be anymore WICKED agents standing anymore and Right Arm soldiers were already packing into trucks.
"Vince how's it looking from your end?" She asked, taking Thomas' radio.
"We're clear, let's move out before back up comes looking for us." Vince told them. Mary honked her horn at the convoy, signalling them to go ahead and start moving. That was when she realized she had never really driven a car before. Thomas must've noticed her hesitation before moving because he looked over at her.
"You okay?" He asked.
"Yeah... Just never driven a car..." She chuckled. "How hard could it be?"
"Just take it slow." Thomas nodded, regretting not getting in the driver's seat. Mary carefully put the car into drive and pushed down on the gas pedal, starting to move the car. She was right, how hard could it be? It was easy, actually. After the first couple of minutes she got a footing of how fast to actually go, how much pressure to apply to the gas pedal. Thomas laughed at her as he saw how something so small like driving could make her feel so happy.
The ride back was long, not sleeping the whole way there made the day seem even longer. She looked over to see Thomas trying to keep his eyes open.
"We're almost there." She announced to the kids in the back. In the mirror she could see some of their faces. She was sure Minho wasn't in their truck, if he were he would've made himself known. The sudden shouting from Mary must've woken Thomas up a little bit because he was more alert when she looked over at him.
"What's your status Newt?" Thomas asked into the radio. He was driving the truck ahead of the convoy, following just after Vince's trucks.
"I can see the coast, shouldn't be long now." He told Thomas. Just as he said it, their truck got to the top of a hill and started riding down a steep slope. Ahead there was nothing but open water. The kids must've seen it too because as soon as the water came into sight, they were all cheering. It was a surprise probably to most of them that the plan went off so smoothly. They hadn't suffered a single casualty and that was nice for a change. They knew that's not what it would be like all the time, but for now they could celebrate.
Mary pushed down hard on the break when they rolled into the base, everything in the car slid forward, including herself.
"Sorry..." She winced, looking over at her brother.
"I'm driving next time." He teased, unbuckling his seatbelt and leaving the truck.
"Oh please, it wasn't that bad." She rolled her eyes, following him. They were the last ones to arrive, the other trucks were already starting to be emptied as kids started piling out of trucks. Mary went around their truck to the back, helping Thomas open the back door. They yanked it open, illuminating the inside with their flashlights. The kids stuck to the walls, holding each other. They all seemed anxious to find out where they were and who had rescued them. Mary could relate, they probably thought they were still in WICKED's custody. When they had first escaped the maze they thought they were safe from WICKED, but they were still in their compound.
"Hey, it's okay. We're the good guys." Thomas gave them a reassuring smile and moved away from the door. None of the kids seemed to move at first.
"You're not with WICKED, you're safe." Mary smiled, doing the same. Again, no one moved for the first few moments, Mary and Thomas tried to give them space as they started to shuffle out of the truck in pairs. They walked over to the rest of the kids they had rescued, all of them forming one massive group. They had about fifty, maybe sixty new kids.
"Damn..." Fry muttered, coming up next to Mary and Thomas, looking at the massive group of kids. "You think we'll be able to feed all these kids?"
"That's what you're worried about Siggy?" Mary laughed. "Not where they're going to sleep?"
"We have lots of room." Brenda said, walking up to them as well. "We have an entire building we've been getting prepared for some kids to arrive. They'll have to bunk up though."
"They're probably used to it you know, sleeping on the ground together while stuck in a giant maze..." Mary shrugged.
"Did anyone find Minho?" Thomas asked his friends. Everyone looked at each other, blank stares on their faces.
"I don't think he was with the convoy..." Harriet said to him. Thomas looked discouraged, tried to hide it, but everyone could see the panic that flashed onto his face instantly. He muttered an excuse and walked off toward the water. The group watched as he was walking away.
"I'll go talk to him." Mary volunteered, following her brother down to the water.
When she got to him, she saw him sitting in the sand, looking out at the tide coming in.
"Hey." She spoke softly getting his attention from the water. Mary took a seat next to him, legs crossed, staring at his face. "It was a god plan." She told him.
Thomas looked angry, didn't look up at her, just back out at the water. "I know there was a big chance he wasn't going to be there." He nodded. "I know that. I was just hoping the odds would be in our favour this time." He looked at her.
"We aren't giving up yet Tom, we only tried once. We'll have another shot, I know it." She told him.
"We've gotta go to the safe haven soon, what if we don't get him back in time?" He asked.
"I don't know about you, but I'm not planning on leaving this damn place unless Minho is with us." She assured him. "I told you how important it is to me to get him back." She told him clearly. "Look, while I was in the maze, Minho was the closest thing I had to a brother. Sure, I didn't know I actually had a real brother but that didn't come until later." She mentioned.
"Sorry..." He snickered.
"No don't be. Better late than never. But what I'm trying to say is if you and Minho's rolls were reversed I would be trying just as hard to get you back as I am to get him back." She explained. "He's a part of our family and we don't leave family behind. No ones giving up here Thomas. Hey, look on the bright side. We may not have gotten Minho yet back but we sure as hell saved a bunch of kids from getting killed."
"It does feel a little good." He admitted.
"And imagine how good it'll feel when one of those kids ends up being Minho." She smiled.
"We're so close to getting out of here." Thomas said, looking out at the ship.
"Don't worry, we'll be on that ship and setting a course for the safe haven in no time." She nudged him.
After sitting with Thomas on the beach for a bit longer, Mary got up and decided he needed some time to be alone. That and she also got a radio call from Vince to help situate the kids before it got too late in the night. As she was walking back up to the base, she saw Brenda walking up to her.
"Hey." She smiled at Brenda.
"Hey, how's he doing?" She asked, looking out at Thomas on the beach. Mary looked behind her at Thomas and sighed.
"He's upset Minho isn't here, that much is obvious. He's just a little stressed about everything... We all kind of are." She told Brenda. "How're you feeling?"
"I'm fine." Brenda sounded a little annoyed.
"Sorry, I guess it's none of my business..." Mary said awkwardly, beginning to walk past Brenda.
"Sorry." Brenda winced, running after her and falling in line next to her. "It's just that everyone's been asking me how I'm feeling. Jorge's breathing down my neck, watching my every move. It's exhausting." She explained.
Mary laughed. "I know how that feels, believe me." She looked over at Brenda. "I haven't had a chance to ask you since we left the Hell Hole."
"Things have been crazy since then." Brenda agreed. "I'm okay though, really I am. I haven't been feeling the Flare since that doctor injected me with the serum." Brenda explained.
"I thought that was only supposed to last a few weeks?" Mary asked.
Brenda shrugged. "Maybe she was wrong?"
"There you are. We need someone to start assigning rooms in building B over there." Vince said to the two girls as they showed up to the hectic scene. There were WICKED kids chattering, some trying to wonder off but were stopped by Right Arm soldiers. Newt and Fry were trying to keep a group of ten boys together but they kept trying to wonder off. Mary laughed, watching them trying to control things. Vince handed her a clipboard that was in one of the WICKED trucks. IT had a list of names on it. "These are all the kids we saved, these are the ones you're going to be giving rooms." He pointed to the left side.
"Got it." She nodded.
"We have to sort through all the other stuff we got from WICKED." Vince told them.
"Other stuff?" Brenda asked.
"Yeah, some trucks were filled with a bunch of gear, not just kids. Must be our lucky day, huh?" Vince laughed.
"Alright, listen up!" Brenda shouted, getting the kids attention. Mary jumped, never hearing Brenda speak that loud before. The kids seemed to be frightened of her so they listened up right away, following the two girls toward building B. They spent the next hour piling kids into different rooms and trying to answer all their questions. Most of them were the same repetitive ones like 'Who put us here' and 'What's going on'. It was all a little hard to explain quickly so Brenda and Mary told them to save all their questions for the morning. Vince was planning on explaining everything to them then anyway.
"But just one question!" One of the girls asked as Mary and Brenda were leaving their room.
"Carol what?" Mary groaned.
"Is there really a place for us out there, away from the virus?" She asked, eyes wide and looking up at Mary. She seemed around the same age as Chuck. Mary looked over at Brenda.
"Um yea, the safe haven. That's where we're all headed." She told Carol.
"When are we going there?" Carol asked.
"That's enough questions for tonight guys. Everyone in bed. You'll get more answers tomorrow." Brenda told the girls, changing the subject. They didn't even know when they'd be leaving. The girls all groaned, sitting up in their beds. "You better not be groaning, we can send you back to where you came from-"
"Brenda." Mary glared.
"I mean good night." Brenda smiled at the girls as she shut the door. Brenda let out a long breath. "Jesus that's five, one more room right?"
"Yeah, one more." Mary looked down at the clipboard. "Let's check on them." She said as they walked down the hall in silence. They were both trying to conserve their energy for the last group. The only thing on both their minds were sleep. When they got around the corner they could hear yelling.
"Hey watch it!" Fry shouted, running out of the room. Mary and Brenda looked at him confused.
"You throw one more bloody pillow Chris I swear you're sleeping outside!" Newt gritted his teeth as he shut the door angrily, looking at the girls. "These bloody kids are worse than anyone in the Glade." He ran a hand through his hair.
"Are you guys done?" Fry asked.
"No... We have one more room." Brenda groaned.
"We're done." Newt smirked, clapping Fry on the back.
"And you did amazing I see." Mary scoffed.
"Hey we're done. Vince said to put them in rooms and we've done that." Newt crossed his arms.
"Whatever." Mary yawned.
"Why don't you head off to bed." Brenda said, eyeing her and Newt.
Mary looked over at her. "We've got one more room left." She told Brenda.
"I can help her with it, how hard could it be?" Fry shrugged, taking the clipboard from her.
"You two look like you could use some sleep anyway." Brenda winked as she walked down the hall with Fry.
"Real subtle guys." Newt smiled at them as they left.
"They weren't wrong though. I'm exhausted, come on." She pulled Newt's hand in the direction of his cabin. As soon as they got there, she pushed the door open, feeling comfort inside. The room smelt like him, the comforting, overwhelming scent of him everywhere. He closed the door softly, trying to not wake up anyone who was sleeping in the same section as them. As soon as the door closed, he bent, scooping her into his arms, and her little squeal of surprise made him laugh. She joined him, once the shock wore off, and though he went to merely put her in his bed, she firmly kept hold of his neck, pulling, rolling until he tumbled into the bed, pinned comfortably beneath her.
She grinned at him delightedly, bending her head, her lips finding his again, one hand supporting her, the other carefully brushing his fluffy hair away from his head, and he gave into the kiss willingly. Her lips feathered from one corner of his to the other, teasingly, just out of reach of the kiss he wanted to give her, but finally, she gave in, her nose pressed to his as her lips finally, finally settled on his.
He kissed her gratefully, his hands knotting in her hair, clenching gently when she settled her weight gently on his hip, her knee between him.
"I think today was a success." She whispered against his lips. He moaned, pulling back and looking up into her eyes.
"And why's that?" He asked.
"Well for one thing I didn't almost die..." She smirked, lightly ghosting her lips onto his. "And we save a bunch of lives today. That's gotta feel good."
"That does feel good." He groaned when she gripped his scalp.
"Saving those kids?" She asked.
"What? Sorry, love you can't expect me to be able to listen when you're playing with me like that." The reply was breathless. Her hips had involuntarily rolled her onto his hip when he moaned, her hand pulling his hair gently again, and he let out a little whimper after the words. She carefully loosened her grip, lifting off him just a little, and her hand gently nudged his head to look at her.
"Hey." His eyes opened, slowly, and his pupils had doubled in size, now dark and heavy. "Maybe we should go to-"
He lifted his head, kissing her softly, slowly. "I want this. Do you?"
Her smile was wide and delighted, and she kissed him back, happily, lingering against him. "God, yes."
He felt his gut clench, and he lifted back to steal her lips once more, kissing her again, letting out another little noise when her hand slipped back into his hair.
In return, he bit gently in to her lip, pulling softly with his teeth, and the soft hiss she gave him gratified him endlessly, but her hips rolled against his again, and it nearly made him lose his breath. This wasn't their first time doing this, they had briefly decided one night, feeling mischievous, to sneak off into the deadheads and do this. Their first time had been messy and fumbling, learning each other timidly in the dark, the moment he'd climbed on to her, the moment he'd finally settled his hips against hers, blanketing her with his body, kissing her, he'd been certain they were made to be together.
He'd counted their kisses, at first, feeling they were limited, but that night, ten kisses blended into one and they'd pressed until lips were sore and breath was short, and he'd explored her neck, pushing further than he ever had, tasting the skin at the edges of her shirt, his hand slipping to the hem, dipping beneath, exploring her body. Tonight was a lot different than that first night. It felt more serious, they both could feel how heavy the air was between them. Not just with how things were escalating at the moment, but with the stress of everything in the air around them. Their responsibilities were increasing now more than ever. With more kids showing up they knew they were going to have to take on a new kind of role, be the rock for them as they got used to their new lives. They weren't ready for such adult-like responsibilities but times were tough, and they always had to make sacrifices. Now wasn't any different. Everything would be over soon. They were holding onto that safe haven now more than ever. As they laid together tonight they tried their best to help the other relax, to silently say that things were going to be alright, and they were.
Getting close to starting the events from TDC, let me know what you guys think!
Also wanted to just take a minute and thank you guys for all of the support with this story, it it wasn't for all of you guys reading this I wouldn't even bother finishing it, so THANK YOU THANK YOU!