flower | newt ✓

SIX

chapter six;
mountain people

THALIA HAD SANDS STUCK IN HER SHOES. It was not fun. They had to run through the sands in storms while hundreds of guards are chasing after their back. Motorcycles were heard from behind them and flashlights were pointed in different directions.

"Okay, everybody go, go! Stay low!" Thomas instructed. Thalia stood up and kept her head down as she walked following the rest of her friends. Aris was at the front with Thomas and Newt was right beside her, holding her hand. They had stayed that was since Thalia got through that door, and even though she won't admit it, she's enjoying his company.

Teresa ran down the sand dunes, Thomas following behind. "Teresa, wait up! We gotta stick together!" Thomas yelled.

"Where are we even going?!" Thalia yelled through the strong wind.

"C'mon, over here!" Thomas yelled, gesturing Thalia and Newt to follow him. Teresa found what seemed to be a broken window and got in. "Wait, Teresa! No, don't go in there!" Thomas yelled, the others followed through with their yells of disagreement.

Thalia shrugged and followed her down, slipping down the sands. "Wait, no! Thalia, don't go in there too!" Newt yelled. She looked up through the broken glass and gestured the boys to come down.

"Come down here!" she yelled. They all hesitated, but followed her anyways. "Is this like a burried building?" Thalia asked, brushing her t shirt. The boys stood behind her and observed their surroundings. It was dark and they can barely see. Minho took a flashlight and turned it on, pointing it on their surroundings.

They seemed to be in an old, abandoned building. The ground was covered in sands. "Where the hell are we?" Minho asked. No one responded. Thomas broke the silence after a couple of minutes.

"C'mon. We gotta go" he said. "We gotta keep moving" he added, walking away, Minho following. Thalia was exhausted, and she wanted at least a small rest before continuing the rest of their quest.

"No, Thomas, stop!" Teresa demanded. Thomas and Minho stopped, turning to her. "Tell me what's going on" she said. She couldn't blame the girl. She must've been confused. She just woke up after whatever Wicked has done to her and was told to run away. Of course she was confused, and she has the rights to know.

"It's Wicked. It has always been. We never really escaped. It was them from the start" Thomas started. "Me and Aris found bodies, tubes sticking out of them" he continued. Thalia caught Teresa rubbing the back of her neck. They must've done something to her. She knew it.

"Wait, like dead bodies?" Minho asked. Thomas shook his head.

"No, but they weren't alive either" he answered. The room was quiet, everyone lost in their own thoughts, including Thalia. She wondered what would've happened if she didn't escaped. Would she have tubes sticking out of her too? Like Rachel? Thomas snapped her back to reality when he said something that caught Thalia's attention.

"They want something from us. Something in our blood" he said. What would be special in Thalia's blood that they wanted so badly? And if they wanted something from her, why didn't they just do it from the start? Why did they have to go through the maze first? Which costs a lot of her friends' life. A lot of questions were running through her head. "We have to get away from them as far as possible" Thomas concluded. Thalia nodded at the boy.

"And what are we gonna do now?" she asked. "You do have a plan, right?"

Thomas hesitated. "Yeah. I don't know" he said, muttering the last part. But Thalia heard that very well. She raised her eyebrows at him.

"We followed you out here, okay Thomas?" Thalia said. She turned to Aris and pointed at him. "And you too. We followed you both out here, and now you're telling me you don't know where or what we're doing?!" she exclaimed. Thomas licked his lips and stared at the ground. Thalia glared at him.

"Wait, Janson said something about people hiding in mountains" Aris spoked up. Newt stared at the boy in confusion. "Some kinds of resistance or army. The right arm" he explained.

"The right arm" Thomas repeated. "If they're really against Wicked, maybe they can help us" he suggested.

"People. In the mountains. Mountain people. That's your plan?" Newt asked. Thalia turned to the boy and pointed at him.

"What he said" Thalia said. Thomas sighed and ran his fingers through his hair before replying.

"It's the only chance we got" he stated. As much as Thalia hated his idea, she knew he was right. If there really was this so called 'Right Arm', and they hate Wicked as much as they do, that's the only shot they got.

"Hey guys. Check this out. Minho give me the light" Winston said. Thalia was the first one to kneel down at him and saw the footprints on the sand. "Someone been down here" Winston stated, turning to Thalia. Thalia nodded.

Minho followed the footprints and saw a garage door. He peeked inside, flashing his flashlight in. He must've found something in there, because he asked the boys to help him open up the garage door.

Inside were supplies. Water, sleeping bags, clothes. They got in and started to look around. Thalia found a flashlight and turned it on. She pointed it at her surroundings. "Someone lived here" Thalia stated.

"Where are they now?" Newt turned to her. She shrugged and walked around the room.

"Let's pack some of this stuff. Pack whatever you need" Thomas said, putting his jacket on. "Let's split up. See what we can find. We'll meet again back here"

"Wait Thomas" Newt stopped him. He tossed him a flashlight and Thomas nodded and turned it on.

"Let's go" he said, Minho following behind. Thalia walked around the room, trying to find the one thing that she needed the most. A jacket. Instead she found something else.

A bow and arrow.

EDITED
31/05/2019