Wake Up

6

Happy reading!
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The group was bombarded with questions and excited greetings. Minho tried his best to answer them all but was quickly saved from it by Gally.

The boy's voice bellowed like it always did when he was giving irritated orders, "Alright! Everyone shut the shuck up! They'll tell us everything back in the hall. Give them a God-forsaken break already." Thomas didn't miss the indescribable look Gally earned from Minho. He hadn't seen someone look at another like that ever in his memorable life. His brain corrected him with a flash of an image. Oh. He had seen his mother look at his father like that. The image lingered for another moment and Thomas relished its presence.

Thomas, Frypan, Gally, and a few others stayed behind after the mob went back to the dining hall. The former runners didn't waste any time greeting their friends. The reunions turned into what Thomas could only describe as a hug-fest. There was so much genuine love radiating around them - being reunited with someone felt so good. Gally waited his turn to hug Minho, letting Frypan and Thomas go first. Thomas didn't hesitate to tackle his best friend with a long-awaited bear hug.

The bear hug was easily returned, along with some words, "Thomas! I missed you, you ugly shank. You seem to be doing better -" There it was " - How's Newt?"

Thomas laughed into his friend's shoulder, "I missed you too. And, yeah, I feel a bit better. Newt's still asleep." He answered each comment in turn and reluctantly stepped out of Fry's way. Minho was engulfed by another hug and an exchange of loud words.

What shocked Thomas even more than the now-abandoned wheelbarrow was when Minho and Gally hugged. No, Thomas had been prepared to expect something like that. It was how different  the hug was. Gally wrapped his arms around Minho, tracing lines on his back. Minho rested his head on Gally's shoulder and mumbled a few words. Gally responded with something equally soft. Thomas didn't know how to feel. He glanced over at Frypan who was not-so-discreetly watching them with an awing expression. So much had changed.

He heard the next thing Gally said, it was slightly louder and gently irritated, "If you ever do something like that again, I'm going to have to kill you."

"Right. I guess I won't pick up any more engines then..." Minho commented cheekily. Thomas hadn't ever seen either of them act like this before, so he didn't even register what Minho said.

Well, until Gally reacted, "You found an engine?"

Minho turned his head around to gesture at the wheelbarrow, his hands still loosely occupying Gally's shoulders, "Yup." The wheelbarrow did not, in fact, have many items in it, but one, beat-up, mud-caked engine resting heavily in its center. He twisted his head back around to give Gally a signature smile.

The gears seemed to be turning in Gally's head as his smile slowly grew. He let go of Minho - who shot a glance in the boys' direction - and practically ran over to it. He knelt in front of it and traced its filthy edges. At this point, his eyes were almost shining. Thomas hadn't seen him like this either.

Minho was hovering behind him, savoring the sight before him. When Gally stood back up, he turned around and pressed his lips against Minho's, who happily smiled into it. Thomas felt more confused than he did when he first arrived in the Glade.

Minho laughed and pulled them apart, "So you like it then?"

Gally scoffed at him after a nod, "Go to the medics; get your cuts checked out."

He received an eye roll, "Alright, but you're not on afternoon duty, 'kay?"

"Fine."

Thomas intercepted his best friend as he was walking by, "Minho- can I talk to you later?" He needed to clear his frazzled mind.

"Sure, dude. But give me some time to relax!" He mocked his offense and went away to the medical area.

The rest of the group went back to the dining hall to finish their interrupted lunch. Thomas' soup hadn't gotten as knocked around as some unfortunate victims. Steph was there waiting for him as she finished her soup.

"Hey, Thomas!" She greeted. "How are they?"

"Scraped up, but they'll be okay. Most are stopping by the medics before coming here."

She nodded, "Figured. Can't wait to hear about what they found."

"Yeah, me too. I know what's in the wheelbarrow, though."

"Really?" Steph gave Thomas a look.

He laughed, "You'll find out in a minute."

She scoffed at him, "Don't tell me then."

Thomas ate the rest of his soup and listened to Steph ramble on about a girl named Rosa. Fry stopped by a few times to listen in and make a few sparse comments; Oh yeah's, and sure, she's pretty. It wasn't long before the venturers came into the dining hall, bandaged and hyper.

The chattering stopped as soon as they entered, and they took the remaining seats at the counter. Minho stayed standing, ready to share about their trip. "Now I know you're all wondering about the trip," he began, stating the obvious. "So I'll get right into it. Alright, we went out without really knowing where we were going, as always. We planned to travel for two days and then head back, but... we found an old neighborhood. You can check out what we found, but please don't take anything until we decide what we need. We plan to head back out there soon for a longer trip." He turned around and sat on the other side of Stephanie.

Thomas could feel the curiosity radiating off of her, "So, what did you guys bring back?"

Minho thanked Fry for the soup before answering, "The coolest thing, I think, would be the engine. That's what was in the children's wheelbarrow if you saw that. We found some other things too, like paper and pencils in one of the basements. Oh, and there was this huge chalkboard that we couldn't bring back with us. I think it would be really useful for construction."

"Woah. That sounds awesome. I would go on your next trip with you, but I gotta stay for construction and stuff," Steph humorously pouted, tracing a fake tear down her cheek. She received a few small chuckles in response.

"Yeah, it was awesome. We didn't get to check properly, but we're almost sure the place is free from cranks. It would be perfect to use the buildings that are still there."

"No cranks? That's even better!"

"Well, we think there aren't any. We're gonna check better next time we head out."

Thomas furrowed his eyebrows, "How long are you staying back for?" Did Minho really come back just to leave again?

"I wanna give us at least a week back here to prepare for heading out again. We all really need to rest." The three made small talk as Minho finished his soup. More ranting about Rosa, comments on afternoon runs, and some mouth-filled responses. Minho pulled Thomas to the side before he left, "Meet me at the coast in about three hours. You can talk to me then, 'kay?" He didn't wait for Thomas to respond and instead followed a waiting Gally out of the hall.
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Yup, deserted town

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