Dynasty // The Scorch Trials [Book 2]

ONE

I woke up with a start as Thomas jolted under me. I sat up and realized only seconds later that Minho had been hovering over us, screaming, "Wake up, we gotta go!" 

The sky had turned pitch black and the helicopter had landed. I got to my feet, still hazy from the slumber I had been in for God knows how long. Minho helped me out of the aircraft and I landed safely on my feet. 

We were ushered away from the helicopter and I knew Thomas would follow, but suddenly, he whipped around and sprinted back. I shouted his name but he ignored me as he rummaged through the things lying inside of the helicopter until he had found what he was looking for. Chuck's craft, the small white man he had made to give it to his parents. 

However, Chuck was dead and Thomas and I swore to keep our promise to give the token to his mother and father if we ever saw them again.  

Just thinking about Chuck sent a painful dagger through my heart. It must've been a few hours since he had died and we'd had no choice but to leave him in the computer room where we had ended up after escaping the Maze. 

Gally had killed him and I never knew that the truth could hurt so much.

The guards who had taken us inside of the helicopter were now dragging us away from it and forced us to run as fast as possible. I didn't dare to look back to see what we were running from, but I heard inhuman screeches and snarls and I prayed we'd make it in time. 

We were ushered into a big building and right as I ran inside, the big steel doors closed and locked instantly while the guards outside continued shooting at whatever it was that had been chasing us. 

Thomas's hand immediately found the small of my back. "You okay?" I heard him mutter as we stared at the doors in disbelief. I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. 

We were locked up again. 

I slowly turned around to check my surroundings and my jaw dropped. We were standing inside of a giant storage room where multiple armed people were running around, shouting things at one another. The guards were unrecognizable as masks and pieces of cloth covered their faces. Crates, containers, and transportation trucks were scattered through the room. 

The next moment, we were harshly grabbed again and pushed inside of a room where a table, several chairs, and a few mattresses were placed. As soon as the last person stepped over the doorstep, the door was locked. 

On the table were a few loaves of bread, along with a bunch of water bottles. Before I knew it, everyone was attacking the food placed on the table and I realized that I was starving. Thomas threw a piece of bread in my direction and I took a grateful bite of it, sighing contently as the sweet flavour spread around my mouth. 

I drank an entire water bottle in one breath before plopping down on the mattresses. My heart was pounding like crazy and I had to take a few deep breaths before it slowed down again. 

Thomas dropped himself next to me. We sat in silence until the door was opened again. A guard stood in the doorway, looking at us with a blank expression. This was the first unfamiliar face I had seen in a while, the last one being Teresa when she had come up in the Box back in the Glade. 

I was the first to stumble to my feet again, Thomas instantly moving me behind him as he got up. A man with greying hair walked inside. "You kids doing okay?" he asked as it were a normal day and he was just keeping a conversation. 

Thomas hesitated slightly before stepping up to the man. 

"Sorry about all of the fuss outside earlier, but this was the closest location to the Maze," the man chatted casually. 

"Who are you?" Thomas asked, suspiciously eyeing the man, who only responded by grinning. 

"I'm the reason all of you are still alive. Now come with me, let's get you cleaned up." He didn't wait for a reply before he turned around and strutted away from us. I glanced at the others warily before following the man. 

We almost had to jog to keep up with the man who was walking ahead of us with big steps. While he was explaining who he was, where we were and what his plan was, I looked around in awe at the machinery and technology surrounding us. 

"Behind this door lies the beginning of your new lives." He slid a keycard through a scanner and with a bleep, it opened to reveal an industrial type of hallway, similar to the one we had walked through when we first left the Maze, only whiter. 

He turned around and clapped his hands once. "First things first, let's do something about that smell." 

Minutes later, everyone was standing under a steaming hot shower. I smiled in content as the warm water streamed down my distressed body, relaxing my tense muscles and washing off all of the dirt. I cleaned the wound on my arm from the Griever. Luckily, the bleeding had stopped a while ago. 

I couldn't help but glance down at my stomach. I placed a hand on it, feeling the slight bump. I gave it a small rub and felt a smile tugging at the corners of my lips. My smile grew as another pair of hands folded over my own from behind me. Thomas pressed a loving kiss to my shoulder and rested his chin in the crook of my neck.

I contently leaned into his touch and remained in this position for several minutes. 

"You're awfully quiet," I stated. He chuckled. 

"I'm just enjoying the moment, darling," he said in a jokingly low voice. I giggled before removing his hands from my body, holding them in front of me after I turned around. 

"Are you okay? You know, after everything that happened?" I asked softly, trying to catch his gaze. He nodded slowly. "Good," I smiled, kissing his lips. 

Very first chapter! Let me know what you think of it and leave a vote :)