THE NEXT TWO WEEKS passed by in a blur of boredom and apprehension. Cassandra and Minho conversed telepathically, refusing to speak out loud because they knew that they were still being watched. Surely, WICKED wouldn't be able to listen in on their thoughts as well. Cassandra could just imagine the notes they'd take; the subjects are showing their rebellion by refusing to speak and are communicating solely through telepathy. She scoffed inwardly. The both of them merely waited with hands clasped loosely together until they were let out of that glass prison.
"So he was Nick's brother?" Minho asked.
"Neither of them knew," she replied. "I only figured it out in the Scorch. They had the exact same eyes."
Cassandra glanced at him and saw the light frown on his brows. He had managed to get the gist of everything when she explained it to him previously, but it was still a lot to take in. Their problems seemed to only magnify each day and she couldn't stop remunerating on them. Seeing Helenus like that, completely losing himself to the virus, absolutely terrified her.
"That woman," Minho started. "She must be the head honcho, right?"
"Of the Psychs, I guess," she responded.
"I'm gonna remember her shuck face."
She couldn't help the small smirk that her lips automatically quirked into. "I could never forget it," she said.
"When we find the others, we should break outta this place." Minho conspired with a thoughtful expression. "I can steal one of those guns no problem. You think Thomas or Teresa could fly that thingamajig?"
"Sure, it can't be that hard." She tried to suppress a grin by biting down on her bottom lip.
"With Thomas' luck, we'd probably crash though."
Her shoulders trembled slightly as she held in her laugh, opting instead to focus it internally and sending it out to Minho in a stream of 'hahahahahas'.
"What are you doing?" he asked. "Are you laughing through my head? Dude, stop, that's such a weird feeling!"
She couldn't hold it in anymore and finally broke the silence of the room with a peal of laughter. Minho smirked widely as she pressed her hands against her mouth and looked around furtively. She betted WICKED was happy to know that she hadn't lost her voice just yet. Then, as if lurking in wait, the door to the room swung open to reveal Rat Man in all his sleazy glory.
"Shucking hell!" Cassandra gasped out loud, a hand flying to her chest. "Why does it always have to be you?"
The man forced a tight smile in her direction. "I'm so happy to see that you're well," he said drily.
"I'd be doing better if I didn't have to see your shuck face," Minho responded sweetly.
Rat Man wiped the smile completely off his face and glared menacingly at the both of them. His presence didn't phase the two teenagers in the slightest and it seemed that he hated them more than they did him.
"If you're quite done," he started. "I suggest you tidy yourselves up before meeting your friends."
Cassandra and Minho visibly perked at the mention of their friends before exchanging glances with one another. It felt like forever since they had laid eyes on the other Gladers or even Group B. Rat Man then left them with some clean clothes before slamming the door shut behind him. In both adjoining rooms that they stayed in, there was a narrow shower stall wedged in a corner between the sink and bed.
They quickly rinsed themselves and changed, then waited for Rat Man to return. Not more than two minutes later, they were walking down the long pristine corridors of the facility again.
"What did you do to our friends?" Cassandra asked almost demandingly.
"As with the both of you, everyone had to undergo a test that's designed to give us the data we require," Rat Man answered.
"And did it involve beating anyone else up?" Minho questioned bitterly.
"Possibly."
The boy scoffed and scowled darkly at Rat Man's back. Cassandra reached over to touch Minho's arm in case his temper got the better of him. She knew he had gone through the initial variable as her, except that his question had been the reverse of hers. Instead of an electric baton to the side, he had been beaten up by the doctor in charge. They continued down the twisting interior, filled with lackadaisical pictures lining the walls in intervals. It was a poor attempt in masking the organisation's true sinister nature.
Finally, they arrived at a door and Rat Man pulled the handle to open it. Inside was a fairly spacious auditorium with rows of seats descending from the back. Most of the Gladers and Group B had already been gathered there waiting. Teresa and Newt were the firsts to greet them. The blue eyed girl threw her thin arms around Cassandra's neck and enveloped her in a tight hug which she returned.
"I'm so relieved that you're okay!" she exclaimed almost breathlessly. "I was cut off from everyone."
Cassandra knew that she meant the telepathy. Newt and Minho exchanged claps on the shoulders before Cassandra went over to give him a warm hug too. She was grinning from ear to ear as she looked at them. They were all clean and looked healthier than when they had been in the Scorch. A few more scars laced Newt's face though and he seemed to have a permanent frown on his face now. Teresa too seemed different, her cheeks looked more gaunt and despite the healthy glow in her skin she was much thinner than Cassandra remembered.
She wondered how she must look to them—like someone who had just gone through a war perhaps? She certainly felt it in her bones that she was now hardened. It was reflected in Minho's eyes too.
They went around the room to greet everyone else. Frypan. Aris. Sonya. Harriet. Eve. Archie. Cassandra noticed how Newt would linger near Sonya and she couldn't help feeling that there was a resemblance between them too. It was like how she felt when she thought about Nick and Helenus. Another prick of ache stabbed her heart when she remembered what they had all lost.
"Why are the two of you always together?" Frypan pointed out.
"It's 'cause we're inseparable, duh," Minho replied.
"You know they're always watching us, right?" Newt raised his eyebrows with a significant look.
Cassandra smacked the back of his head. "Seriously, get your brain out of the gutter."
He snickered back before grinning crookedly. "Well, at least the both of ya are still the same."
Were they though?
The door to the auditorium opened up again twenty minutes later and Rat Man stepped in. Trailing along behind him was the person they had all been waiting for to complete their reunion.
"Well, I've been shucked and gone to heaven!" Minho exclaimed. "It's Thomas!"
"Golden Boy!" Cassandra traipsed down the steps to the front of the auditorium and embraced him like a long lost brother. Minho and Newt were right behind her, clapping his back with boisterous greetings. Thomas couldn't stop grinning widely, his brown eyes roaming around their faces and the room until he stopped at Teresa. She had gotten up from her seat with them but moved forward at a slower and uncertain pace.
"Well, at least you didn't bloody roll over and die, Tommy." Newt was smiling broadly but his tone was gruff as he held tightly onto Thomas' hand.
"The mighty Gladers, back together again," Minho announced, throwing an arm over Cassandra's shoulders to lean on. "Good to see ya alive, shuck face—I've imagined you dead in about a hundred different ways. I bet you cried every night, missing me."
"You must have been so sad all on your lonesome. No one to kiss your cheek to sleep, aw," Cassandra teased.
"Yeah, I was so sad," Thomas responded before stepping forwards to Teresa. He raised a hand hesitantly before finally deciding to touch her arm. "Hey."
"Hey." She smiled back happily. "You okay?"
"I guess. Kind of a rough few weeks. Could—" He stopped himself short, looking at her inquisitively.
"I tried, Tom. Everyday I tried to talk to you. They cut us off, but I think it's all been worth it." She took his hand in hers, which set off an explosion of jabs from everyone around them. Cassandra clapped her hands enthusiastically and Minho laughed when Thomas pulled away quickly, his face flushed red.
"Awww," Minho said. "That's almost as sweet as the time she slammed the end of her spear into your shuck head."
Cassandra nudged him in the ribs but she couldn't help but laugh herself. Thomas obviously still cared about Teresa but what the girl had said—that it would be worth it, that was worrying.
"True love indeed," Frypan exclaimed loudly. "I'd hate to see what happens when these two have their first real fight."
"Hey, what about us?" Cassandra turned to him, pointing at herself and Minho.
"Shuck-face, do you remember what happened to the kitchen back in the Glade?!" He narrowed his eyes in her direction.
"Oh, yeah." She forced a laugh. They had trashed it while throwing plates at each other once. She couldn't even remember what the reason for that argument was anymore. Frypan had to request a whole new set from WICKED.
Rat Man suddenly came striding down the aisle while clapping his hands as loudly as he could.
"Everybody take a seat. We have a few things to cover before we remove the Swipe," he announced.
A hush instantly overcame the group as everyone turned to stare at the man. Did she just hear that correctly? They wanted to remove the Swipe? That meant the thing that had been suppressing their memories the entire time. Rat Man moved towards the lectern at the front of the auditorium and gripped the edges tightly with another stilted smile.
"That's right, ladies and gents. You're about to get all your memories back. Every last one of them."
[AUTHOR'S NOTE]
the mighty gladers *sniffs and wipes away tears* :') i love cassie and teresa's brotp tho, they are truly the broest of bros in this story. i have some things planned in the future that will hopefully put teresa in a much better light (because jdash decided to make everyone except frypan hate on teresa in tdc. i don't blame people hating on her because that's obviously what jdash wanted). so i'm going to place an opportunity (cassandra) that will show exactly how awesome teresa is because she is my bae. well, everyone is my bae. except janson. bye janson.
ship poll is still ongoing on chapter 5~ i'll let it run for a week!
please leave a review!