now the moment you've all been patiently waiting for...The Gladers reappearing! Yay!:)

thank you for the reviews and your support on this story. I know I'm a little slow on updates but I thank you for your patience.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Not a thing, though I do own Skylar...

on with the story...

Chapter 18 - Just a Group of Boys

One year later...

I was returning from my usual spot. My job was to find out information on WICKED. I'd just discovered that Group A had made it safely to the 'safe house.' Now a group had just escaped. Somehow they'd managed to escape WICKED and now they were lost in the scorch.

I was reporting back to the base when I noticed footprints. Someone had obviously been here...and recently.

I ran. I ran back to my base as fast as I could.

...

My base consisted of a cave. It kept me hidden from Wicked and allowed me to evaluate the situation. I needed to get back to Brenda and Jorge, quickly. This was crucial information. We may have visitors soon.

I'd have to run all day to get back fast enough. It'd take at most two days walking. And I could not afford to waste time.

...

The next day I got up and started running. My long black hair was in a ponytail, with a black scarf protecting my face; a backpack lay on my back. It held important stuff. My medical kit, some food, and the portable laptop with the drive. I didn't feel comfortable leaving it in the warehouse.

On my way there I stopped at a watering hole. Dipping my sweaty hands in, I cleaned my face. My appearance hadn't changed over the past year. I looked the same as when Newt described me back in the Glade.

Thinking of Newt sent a jolt of pain into my heart. I never got over him...and I never would...

I shook my head, getting rid of those thoughts.

I continued to run. I needed to warn Jorge of impending arrivals.

...

When arrived I totally missed the boys he was talking to. "Jorge...I...have...news...Bloody hell! I haven't run like that in ages." I was half bent, trying to catch my breath as I leaned on my knees. "Woo. A group of kids may find their way here. They escaped WICKED!" I paused to suck in some more air when I noticed the stunned group of boys and one girl. I flushed. "Ohh. Well, I'm late. So I'll leave you to it." I quickly left, embarrassed by my late arrival. I didn't even see the stunned faces of half the boys.

...

Later in the evening I went and talked to Brenda. She was intrigued by the group of boys. They seemed to be clueless about the current affairs of the world.

Brenda told me where to find them. I wanted to ask them how they escaped WICKED but I knew being caught by certain members of the warehouse would bring trouble, so I snuck out at dinner, bringing an apple to munch on.

I turned the corner when I saw Barkly whispering something. He was talking to his hand, "yeah we have them. Come soon." He left quickly but I redirected my route. I need to get to Jorge.

...

I found him packing. "Sky, we're leaving this dump. Those boys will lead us to the Right Arm."

I was elated. As much as the warehouse was home I felt useless. We weren't actively against WICKED and they were still killing kids. "Good that."

Then I remembered why I'd gone to find Jorge in the first place. "Jorge, we have a problem. Barkly called WICKED. They're on their way. Now!"

Jorge's eyes widened just a bit as he processed the implication of my words. "Sky, grab your things, quickly and grab the kids. Lead them to the tower. We'll zip over to the other side before making our way to the mountains."

I nodded, running off to do as he asked. I stuffed all my worldly possessions into my sturdy backpack. All I really added to it was another gun, a hairbrush, and some knives. You don't need much if you need to survive.

I put that on my back before rushing to the kids. They were swinging the girl back and forth when I entered.

"Need any help?" They were all tied upside down.

"That'd help." A familiar voice called out.

"Minho?" I questioned as I untied the girl.

The voice answered back. "How do you know my name?"

I sighed, a pang of sadness hitting my heart. "I'll answer later. We need to hurry. WICKED is coming." I was so busy untying kids I totally missed the sharp intake of breath when the moon hit my face.

I handed them each a sharp knife. "You'll need this. If you run into a crank, stab them. It's better than getting infected."

...

"Ahh, look who's helping the subjects. Maybe I'll get money for returning you too?" A voice sneered.

I glared as I caught sight of Barkley. I didn't even bother to ask how he knew I was originally from WICKED. "In your dreams Barkly." It was then I noticed his gun.

"Move and I'll shot." I froze. Dang, now I couldn't reach for my gun.

Barkley shot his gun as I caught movement from the corner of my eye. One of the boys had started to draw the knife I'd given them.

A shot went off.

I held my breath, checking to see if I'd been hit when I saw Barkley go down. I noticed the dark-haired girl behind him, aiming a gun at his unguarded back. "Brenda." I breathed.

She gestured for us to go. "Go, move. We don't have much time." I followed at the back. I was the only one to see the girl pick up Barkly's transmission device.

...

Brenda raced up the steps. I managed to keep up but it hurt. My leg still pained me even after a year of receiving it. I guess it didn't help that I didn't really have time for it to fully heal once I left WICKED.

Jorge met us at the zip line, showing the boys and one girl what we had planned. I pushed the boys down the zip line as Brenda ran to distract the WICKED guys.

I saw one guy follow her. 'What a bloody idiot!'

I zipped down the line knowing it wasn't smart to follow her, no matter what. Jorge caught me and he showed us the way out.

"BOOM!"

I turned to look back. My home for the past year was blown apart. A single tear made its way down my cheek. I wiped it away while catching up to Jorge. I really needed to hear his plan. "We're going to find Marcus. He had connections to the Right Arm. He'll know where to find them."

I sighed, we really didn't have a solid plan. "One can only hope. Do you think Brenda made it?" I prayed my sister wasn't hurt.

He nodded, reassuring me. "She's tough, like you. She made it. I know she did. She also knows where to go. I told her as we were packing." I nodded, happier to know Brenda at least knew where to meet us.

...

We walked in the dim moonlight occasionally stopping for a break.

A boy was beside me now. From what I could tell he was muscular with dark hair. "How did you know my name?"

I shook my head, though he probably couldn't see it; it probably was past midnight judging by the sky. So this was the guy who said he was Minho. "It's a bloody long story." I didn't want to get my hopes up. It could be just a random boy who had the same name as my friend.

He gestured his hands around, "seems like we've got the time."

I paused, thinking it over. "Fine but once we settle."

He nodded, accepting my answer.

"How did you guys escape?" I asked.

Minho just smirked. "I'll trade ya. A story for a story?"

I shook my head, "you're bloody insufferable." The more we talked the more it seemed like my old friend.

We continued walking, Minho tried to get information out of me the whole way. Even if he annoyed me if felt good to have some familiarity again.

So...that happened

Also, it's like pitch dark in this story and Sky is in all black so no one recognizes her, let's assume they all think it's a coincidence that a girl just randomly has the same voice as a dead Glader

If this confuses you don't think about it. It confuses me too ;)

I know you are all wondering who else will Skylar recognize so I'll try to get the next chapter up soon

later Gladers...