Divided // The Death Cure [Book 3]

EIGHT

In the distance, an army of Wicked guards came rushing toward the remainder of the train and Thomas didn't hesitate to call to Newt, "Newt, how far are you?" 

"Don't rush me!" the blond boy snapped as he continued detaching the container from the train.

Thomas clambered on top of the train with Vince and started tying the chains to the strong points of the container. Brenda and Jorge would hijack the Berg so they could fly the train back to the camp of the Right Arm. 

The guards opened fire, startling the Gladers. Thomas ducked and grabbed his gun, shooting back as precise as possible. "Newt, get up here!" Thomas shouted. 

"Almost there." Newt refused to give up when they were so close. He finished his job and climbed on top of the train. Vince covered his back as he continued shooting at the soldiers. Newt dropped himself on his stomach next to Thomas. "Where the hell are they?" he asked.

"I don't know," Thomas replied in between gunshots. Everyone finished their task and joined Newt and Thomas on the train. Vince covered the ground but had to hide behind the wagon to prevent getting hit. 

The familiar sound of the Berg reached Thomas's ears and he looked up, finding the Berg flying right above them.

Inside, Brenda slammed a red button and a large, metal hook fell down. Thomas jumped to pull the hook down even further and hooked it through the joined chains that were attached to the container. 

Once all chains were secured, Thomas shouted, "Go!" to Brenda, who quickly caught his signal and told Jorge to take off. 

Vince was still left on the ground, hiding from the gunshots. He waited until he saw his opportunity and ran to the side to grab the ladder as the container was lifted into the air.

Thomas shot the remaining guards and as they were in the sky, he let out a victorious cheer. "YES!" he shouted gleefully, embracing Newt and the others. He couldn't suppress the butterflies that had jumped to life in his stomach at the realization that he was going to see Leah again after more than seven months. 

***

Once back at the camp, Thomas instantly went to work, using an electric saw to open the steel door. He slammed it open, probably scaring a few kids inside.

As soon as Aris and Sonya reached his view, he sped up to them. "Aris, Sonya, are you guys okay?" he asked, patting Aris's shoulder with care. The boy had a bruised eye and a cut on his right cheekbone. 

"Yeah, we're fine," Aris sadly said, knowing that if they were saved, Leah and Minho weren't. 

"Don't worry, you're safe now," Thomas told the kids surrounding them. He stepped aside and Harriet immediately embraced her friends. 

He slowly walked through the aisle and the closer he got to the back, the more his hands started to tremble. As he scanned the last row, it was as if someone had punched him in the gut. He frustratedly ran his hand through his hair, blinking away the tears. He slowly turned around to face Newt. "They're not here," he said with a trembling voice. Newt lowered his gaze. 

"I'm sorry, Thomas," he said, patting his friend's shoulder. 

"Thomas?" a female voice spoke behind him and he turned around. A girl with light brown hair was looking at him with wide eyes. 

"Sorry, do I know you?" he asked. 

"You're Thomas, right?" He nodded softly. "You're Leah's boyfriend," the girl said. 

"You know her?" Thomas breathed. 

"Yeah, we were roommates for a while," the girl said. "I'm Marissa." 

"Oh, my God," Thomas mumbled, running his hands over his face. "I'm sorry." He stumbled backward and escaped the train. 

He distanced himself from the others and landed an aggravated punch on a large boulder. He immediately groaned at the pain shooting up his arm. He held his bloody hand to his chest. "Dammit," he muttered under his breath. 

He lowered himself to the floor and closed his eyes for a second, calming himself down. This wasn't the first time he'd had a panic attack. He would get them very often, mostly after nightmares, but especially after that time they almost got to the choppers that held them in it. 

He heard Vince's voice in the distance and decided to join in. He stood behind the mass of kids and listened to Vince's words. He leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. 

"I know you've all been through hell. I wish I could say our troubles were over, but we're not through this yet." Vince paused. "Wicked's still out there, they're not giving up 'cause you've got something they want. They want you because you're immune to a plague that is wiping out the human race and they think you're worth sacrificing to find a cure." Vince pointed at himself. "Well, I don't." Cheers arose from the crowd. "So in two days, when we get this pile of rust seaworthy, we're getting the hell out of here." He motioned to the large ship behind him.

Thomas's heart sunk. He couldn't leave, not now. Not when they had been so close to saving Leah and Minho.

"We're gonna go to a place where Wicked will never find you. A place where you can start over, a place you can call home." 

Thomas inhaled deeply and turned away from the crowd. 

Brenda and Jorge didn't mind listening to Vince's speech. Brenda was reading a book, sitting on the hood of an old car, her legs resting on the one Jorge was working on. As Thomas passed by, their eyes locked for a second before he disappeared from her view. 

Jorge rolled up the leg of her pants, inspecting the scar that the bite mark of the Crank left. "May I help you?" she asked amusedly. 

"It looks good, how are you feeling?" Jorge asked, his fatherly instinct rising to the surface. 

Brenda smiled. "Awesome." She closed her book and put it away. 

"I'm just asking," Jorge defended. 

"I know, I know. You're just asking, everyone is just asking," she sighed. "Don't worry, when I crank out, you'll be the first to know." She patted the man's shoulder before going after Thomas. She found him with the others. 

Sonya was cleaning up a cut on Aris's lip. Aris smiled after Harriet handed them two steaming cups of tea. "Took you guys look enough to rescue us," he joked. 

Thomas felt a pang in his heart but chuckled anyway. "It's good to see you too, bud." He patted Aris's knee. "So, what happened?" he asked, referring to the injuries on Aris's face. 

"I fought back. At least, I tried to," Aris chuckled. 

"We're lucky you found us at all, they had us on the move a lot," Sonya joined in. "It felt like something big was happening." 

"Any idea where they were heading?" Newt asked. 

Aris shook his head. "All I know is that they kept talking about this Last City." 

Thomas glanced over his shoulder at Newt. 

"I thought there weren't any cities left," Harriet stated. 

"That's because there aren't," Brenda joined in. "Not still standing, at least."

"Okay, but what about Leah and Minho? Why weren't they on the train?" Thomas asked. 

Aris sadly averted his gaze, so did Sonya. "I'm sorry, Thomas. They were."