"Gally?"
"What the shuck is he doing here?" Minho barked, seething as he made an advance towards the woman. The Gladers stood in a shocked silence, their eyes weary and confused as they tried to process Gally's appearance. What is he doing here? What's going on? Sadie thought her head swimming as the woman turned her calculating gaze onto Minho. She seemed unfazed by Minho's outburst, and ignoring his question, responded with a delicate calm.
"You're safe now, calm down." That's it? Sadie felt a surge of anger at the woman's words and clenched her fist, her arms trembling in rage.
"Calm down! You honestly expect us to calm down after all we've been through?" She asked harshly, her eyes narrowing as her gaze shifted from Gally to the woman. "Who's in charge out here? Huh? Who in the hell let you do this to us?" Sadie demanded her legs screaming to move and her fist demanding impact. The woman only tsked warningly, like a mother, angry at her child's tone.
"I expected more maturity out of you to say the least. Especially from a group that has passed the Maze Trials." She scolded. Newt had to grab onto Sadie's elbow and give Minho a sharp nudge to keep them at bay. Sadie couldn't believe it, they had fought Grievers, they had lost half of their own and had barely survived and now this woman was condescending them like children? Sadie wanted to scream; she wanted to yell at them, because they were children. They were still young, and they had started out young when all of this happened, when they had done this to all of them. And what was Gally doing here? How could he have survived the Grievers? But then again, Sadie had.
"Gally," Thomas called out, his muscles tensing as he tried to keep his voice level. "What's going on? What're you doing?" The woman placed a hand on Gally's shoulder, a slight nod causing the Glader's skin to turn sallow and sticky with sweat. Gally turned towards them, his eyes blood shot and crazed, his fingers and eyes twitching nervously, creepily.
"I- I can't… they're controlling… con-controlling me- they want me.." Gally chocked out, his voice hoarse and manic sounding as his other arm scrambled for his throat.
"Gally!" Sadie called watching in horror as his hand tightened around his throat, silencing him, before slowly reaching behind for his back pocket. Sadie didn't know how, but she knew he had a dagger in his hand before she even saw the glint of the blade. His hand threw it with surprising speed and accuracy, and Sadie could only watch as time itself, seemed to stop. She watched the blade soar in slow motion. Its tip wicked sharp as it raced towards its target, Thomas. She felt something brush her shoulder and saw Chuck jump, intercepting the knife so that it impacted his chest instead. A scream ripped through her throat. But she couldn't hear anything other then the thudding squelch the knife made as it sliced into Chuck's chest. Sadie was aware of two things as time sped up again, of Chuck's strangled scream and of the pain in her legs as she fell to her knees next to him.
Chuck was convulsing, the dagger hilt deep in his chest as blood pooled around him, bathing the floor in red.
"Chuck!" Thomas screamed from beside her, pulling the boy into his arms as blood soaked his shirt and stained his hands. "Chuck! Somebody help! Please, get help!" Tears dripped off Sadie's chin as a sob shook her body like an earthquake, she clasped onto Chuck's already cold hand. While Thomas yelled, Sadie couldn't speak, she could only cry and whisper her friends name as he faded away.
"Thom- Thomas." Chuck croaked his voice thick as blood trickled off of his lips. "Find her Thomas.. – find my mom."
"Hang in their Chucky don't give up." Thomas said, his fingers clutching at Chuck. Sadie felt a weight crushing her, slowly, her lungs collapsed and her bones crushed beneath the pressure. Thomas. She wanted to say. He's gone Thomas. He's gone. And then Chuck's body went still, his eyes still open, but not seeing them anymore.
When Thomas stood up, his body trembling with hatred and rage, Sadie felt the weight shift.
Thomas surged forward, tackling Gally. His body slamming into his torso as he screamed in anger, his hands clawed at the Glader's face as he pinned him down. When he started to punch him, his fist making sickening crunching noises as they connected Sadie felt her fingers tremble as fire roared in her ears. I'm going to kill him! She thought her body diving towards the fighting pair, her foot ready to connect with the side of Gally's head over, and over, and over again. But before she could make it two arms encased her in a steal trap. Bracing her against a strong chest as she roared.
She was screaming now, her voice back as she struggled to escape struggled to make her mark on Gally, to cause him pain for what he'd done.
"I promised him!" She yelled her nails tearing at the person holding her back and her legs flailing mercilessly as tears clouded her vision. "I promised him a family. We were going to find his mom, going to get him back to her! I said I was his sister!" She wailed her eyes stinging as she tried to claw her way to where Thomas was beating Gally. They'd both promised Chuck, Thomas and she had sworn to get him out. She'd failed.
"Sadie." Newt whispered his voice strained as she struggled against him. Sadie felt him turn her, his arms crushing her against his chest and tearing her eyes away from the bloody fight. She beat her fist against his chest, her sobs receding as she slumped into him, her knees giving out. "He's going to kill him Sadie, he's going to kill him."
Good.
Her eyes widened in terror at the thought. Had she really become this dark, had the Maze hardened her this much? No. No! She pulled away and called Thomas her voice clear and strong as she ordered Minho and Newt to help her pull him off Gally. The shank deserved it, he deserved to have Sadie's knife in his throat, but they weren't murderer's, she wouldn't let her friend become one. Thomas flailed and screamed like she had, struggling against the trio as they dragged him away his legs kicking out and even connecting with Sadie's arms a few times. She bit back a yelp and grabbed his face her fingers clutching him as she forced him to look at her.
"Chuck Thomas, think of Chuck!" Thomas stopped, pushing the three away as he rushed to the boy's side, new screams echoing against the walls as he yelled Chuck's name.
"I promised him! I promised him!" All Sadie could do was fall to her knees silently, her heart breaking as she watched Thomas weep over, and hug Chuck's lifeless body. An innocent beacon, a hopeful promise was gone, it had died with Chuck.
"Everything that has happened happened for a purpose." The woman said, her voice as cold and unfeeling as before. Sadie had forgotten she was there in her sorrow, and her reappearance filled her with anger once again. But before she could do anything gunshots rang out around them and screams sounded from the doorway the woman had come from. She seemed as shocked as them, her face draining of color as she whipped around to face the door.
The door seemed to explode outward, as grime covered men and women swarmed out, guns and rifles in their hands as their shouts echoed in the cavernous room. Before the WICKED woman could even let out a scream, she was tackled. A man held a gun up and in the blink of an eye three bullets lodged themselves into the woman's body. Killing her instantly.
It was impossible to tell what was happening, the new arrivals, donning dirty and faded clothing fired rustic looking weapons their bullets peppering the glass window as the scientist inside screamed. A man approached them, tugging a bandana from his mouth; his face was young but wrinkled with years of worry as he motioned for them to move.
"I can't explain now but you need to move, you need to run." At the word run Sadie's feet did what they were trained to do, her hand clasped Newt's as the Glader's surged forward, and pushed through the glass doors, leaving the gunfire and bloodbath behind them. Everything was a blur of hallways and stairs as they ran, elbows shoved Sadie from every side, but her eyes were focused on the floor, her ears straining to hear the shouting rescuers that were leading the way. They broke out of another set of doors into a thick and heat, heavy rain that pounded down on them. The rescuers ushered them towards a beat up and dented bus, pushing them into a line as they tripped over themselves attempting to file in as quickly as possible.
A memory, just a small one, flashed in Sadie's mind. She was six, her backpack straps tight over her shoulders as a yellow school bus loomed over her. She turned back to see a smiling woman, her face kind and her hair curly. She waved as Sadie struggled to walk up the steps onto the bus, her heart pitter-pattering in her little chest as she left her mom behind.
Sadie's eyes were wide as she watched a woman get yanked off of Thomas through the grimy windows. She yelled about the Flare, her voice a hacking cough as a man with a gun tossed her away and pushed Thomas onto the bus.
Teresa and Thomas sat in the isle across from Sadie and Newt, the rescuers from before pilling in around the Gladers as a man gunned the engine. Sadie wasn't aware of much else, except for the two loud thumps that shook the bus. She turned back and saw the woman that had attacked Thomas lying behind them. Sadie's stomach turned and her eyes widened as the outline of the dead woman disappeared as they drove off into the rain.
The next hour or so was a blur. The bus raced at a breakneck speed through cities swarming with people that pelt the bus with angry fist. Their faces, covered in sores and scratches watched them eerily as they drove by, their cries echoing in Sadie's skull. Finally, breaking the confused silence, a woman, her black hair dripping stood in the isle.
"You're probably wondering what's going on." She began, her voice surprisingly warm and friendly. "We don't know when, or even if, you'll get your memories back. But I'll tell you the basics. They call it the Flare, it came out of nowhere and killed thousands, then millions, and then a sickness spread. It's an awful thing. Its physical symptoms are painful, but it does something to your brain." She said, tapping her temple for emphasis as her eyes began to get a far off look, not really seeing them anymore. "It wipes out your humanity, turns you into a monster. It's better to die than catch the Flare. You all were orphaned and chosen to study, to be tested in hopes of finding a cure. You're only a small fraction of the thousands that were taken." Another man rose from his seat, the one from before that had told them to run.
"That's why we're here. We have been fighting WICKED for a long time. They think their cause is worthy, but we know the truth. We have to keep our humanity, and testing children- it- it's disgusting." Couldn't agree more.
After another two hours of bumpy driving and brain shaking speed bumps, the bus pulled into a muddy and crater filled parking lot. What came next was probably so shocking that Sadie could have sworn her heart stopped. They were herded up into a dormitory. Soft looking beds with bright sheets and colorful blankets were lined in rows on either side of them. Curtain covered windows were stamped along the walls, their patterns bright and the wall colors happy. It was almost too much, too strange after sleeping in the Glade.
"I've been shucked and gone to heaven." Minho whispered beside her, causing Sadie's lips to crack into a smile, which seemed impossible after what they had gone through. A group of friendly and clean looking adults attended to them. And Sadie was overwhelmed with a number of feelings. She felt like she was standing on the edge of a cliff, a swirling swarm of suspicion and sadness swirled below her as the bright walls and smiling workers drew her in with a small flicker of… joy? Hope? She wasn't sure. But it was enough to cause her to smile even wider.
What came next was better. They each took turns showering. It felt so good to rinse the grime and blood away from her body, and to have her cuts and scrapes cleaned up by the gentle caretakers around them. She was given new clothes, a simple maroon shirt and jeans. Sadie felt strange wearing clothes actually designed to fit a girl. She was going to miss the roominess, and the pockets.
"Holy shuck." Sadie breathed in awe as they were fed real, greasy, cheesy, pizza. If she hadn't been happy before than she definitely was now.
Once they had eaten their fill, everyone agreed when the workers told them to get some rest. Sadie was only startled when they started moving her and Teresa out of the room.
"What? What are you doing?" Sadie asked sleepily, her stomach full and content.
"It would be inappropriate to place you in a room with nineteen boys miss." A woman replied her smile sugar sweet as she tried to tug her out the door. Sadie pulled away and snorted her eyes connecting with Newt's as she stood by hesitantly.
"You're kidding? I spent every night with these dumb shanks in the Maze and no one was concerned then." Sadie argued her old fire coming back despite the warmth the food and shower had brought her.
"Well we have different standards here honey." The woman replied her smile still wide and a little unnerving in Sadie's opinion. Sadie cast a final glance over her shoulder at Newt. He mouthed the words 'goodnight' as the door shut closed behind her. Teresa and she were led into an exact replica of the room before. They chose a bunk right by the door, a small table next to it with nothing but a lamp. Teresa climbed onto the top bunk while Sadie settled for the bottom, somewhat begrudgingly, and she could have sworn she heard a lock click as the workers shut the door behind them leaving Sadie and Teresa in total darkness.
"Teresa?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you-" Sadie whispered her voice soft in the empty room. "Do you think we're safe now?"
"I don't know. Maybe. I really hope so." Sadie wanted to ask her more, but she could tell they were both tired so she turned on her side and settled under the warm sheets. She peered curiously into the darkness, her mind fogging with sleep as her eyes drooped. Could it actually be possible, were they finally safe? It all seemed too good to be true. Sadie was sure that any minute she would wake up, she'd be back in the Glade, forced to live day after day with survival always on her mind. At least Chuck and Alby would be alive. She thought sadly, her heart crumbling as she thought of the little boy and the fearless leader that had been left behind. You're safe now. Sadie thought, trying to reassure herself, but she couldn't shake a certain feeling deep inside her gut. But with sleep calling and with her body screaming in exhaustion, she eventually drifted into a sound sleep. But she couldn't shake the feeling that something was definitely not right.
I'm afraid that's it... for now.
Thank you to James Dashner for creating the wonderful books this was inspired by. None of theses characters were my own EXCEPT of course for my little pain in the ass Sadie.
All rights reserved to James Dashner blah blah blah so on and so forth.
The sequel is already out, called "The Bridge II: Scorch Trials" The title will probably actually be explained in there too. Thanks for following and reading, comment if you want.
And thank you for sticking with me and Sadie.