Stardust - Thomas - Maze Runner

Chapter 12 - Minho

Selena wasn't sure where exactly she thought she'd find Thomas, but she definitely didn't think she'd find him by himself on the beach, watching as Vince gathered around all of the kids - or the ones who weren't that hurt, at least - nearby, showing them all that the Right Arm had to offer them and the huge ship they had been building for months to get them all out of that hell-hole and toward the Safe Haven finally. Of course, Thomas wasn't in the crowd with the rest of the kids - he was never one for much agglomeration to begin with - but as he stood off the side, leaning against a wall and watching Vince with careful eyes, Selena decided to give him a little bit of space.

"Okay, guys, over here!" Vince called, waving all of the kids over and trying to get their attention. Snapping her head in his direction as well, Selena stood a few feet behind Thomas, watching from afar as Vince talked to the other kids. "All right, listen up. I know you've all been through hell. I wish I could say our troubles are over. But we're not through this yet. WCKD's still out there. They're not giving up. Cause you got something they want. They took you because you're immune to a plague that's wiping out the human race. And they think you're worth sacrificing to find a cure. Well, I don't."

At his words, Selena felt a shiver run down her spine. Because she agreed with him. No matter how well-intended WCKD claimed to be... What they did to those children, the way they treated them... All for a cure they weren't even sure they'd ever find. It was inhumane. And if Vince thought so too, Selena had decided a long time ago he would be the one she'd follow. Well, she'd follow Vince as long as Thomas was also following him. Because if Thomas ever decided to go somewhere else, Selena was pretty sure she'd decide to follow him instead.

"So in two days, when we get this tub of rust seaworthy, we're getting the hell outta here." Vince continued, his decisive voice booming around and snapping Selena out of her thoughts and forcing her to turn back to him as she took a second to look at the ship behind him. "We're gonna go to a place where WCKD will never find you. A place you can start over. A place you can call home. Are you with me?"

And of course, as soon as Vince mentioned a home all of the kids cheered and clapped. After all, wasn't that what they all wanted? A home? Somewhere safe and nice and cozy. Somewhere they could all be happy. Somewhere they would all be able to settle down, stop hiding, stop running. Somewhere they could be actual children, grow up, learn, live, maybe even... Maybe even fall in love. Somewhere they could call their own. Somewhere they could call home.

"Come on!" Vince called out from over the cheers from the kids. "Let's get to work. Come on, I need some volunteers. Let's go. Let's get these crates on the boat!"

The kids started to move then, each one going off to do something different, all very much eager to help out the best way they knew how so they could get out of there as soon as possible. Selena couldn't say she didn't understand. In fact, she herself really wanted to leave - to be as far away from WCKD as soon as possible was everything Selena wanted but she also knew of someone who was less than excited with the perspective of leaving just yet. And, Selena came to find, if he was unhappy with a situation, then so was she.

So there she was, slowly making her way over to Thomas and moving to stand right beside him. Selena didn't announce her arrival. In fact, she didn't even say anything. But it wasn't as if she needed to anyway. With the amount of time she and Thomas had spent together over the past few weeks, it was almost as if the two of them could sense each other's presence as soon as they were close enough. So, when Selena started to talk and Thomas didn't even flinch, she couldn't say she was surprised.

"What are you doing here alone?" She asked, as Thomas just shrugged.

"Needed a moment for myself." He said, causing Selena to hum in acknowledgment at his words. "What about you? I thought you were with your friends?"