Like Ashes We Fall

Chapter Four

A piece of me knew this was a plan doomed to fail.

But another piece was so desperate to get Minho back that I didn't care what the risks were. I gazed at the large cement dome building, impenetrable from every side.

What the hell were we thinking?

I turned away from the mouth of the cave and walked deeper into the gloomy darkness where the rest of the Right Arm and my friends were hidden. They were clustered around several campfires, the horses resting nearby. Newt and Thomas looked up as I walked past. I sat with a thud next to them, Frypan on my other side.

"You look stressed," Thomas observed.

I leveled him with a stare. "Ya think?"

"Come on, Ari, we've been over the plan hundreds of times. It's foolproof, even Vince admitted that."

I sighed, feeling the tension gathered in my shoulders. "I know. But I can still worry."

Newt placed a hand on my shoulder. "The time for worrying is past. We need our bad-ass female Runner Ari back."

I managed a small chuckle at that.

"I know she's still in there," Newt prompted.

I waved him off. "Yeah, yeah. Don't worry. She'll be back."

Frypan clapped his hands together. "There we go!"

Thomas pulled his knees up and rested his forearms on them. "WCKD is finally going to get what's coming to them."

I twisted my head to the mouth of the cave, the mountains were just faintly visible through the open.

Revenge. Finally.

____________________________________

We rose before the sun. Silently, like ghosts slipping across the desert, we approached that massive black fortress. In the dark, it looked like nothing more than a shadowy blob, nondescript against the night.

Half a mile from the walls, we abandoned the horses and set them free. They turned tail and ran in the opposite direction like they knew what was coming. I tightened my hold on the small cylindrical object gripped in my palm and waited for 800 meters from the massive door to the compound.

All around me the Gladers and Right Arm had circled WCKD's fortress but kept their distance so as not to trip the motion sensors. I squinted, scanning the darkness around me and waiting for the signal. My heart hammered in my chest, an erratic drum beat.

I'm coming, Minho.

A chilly breeze tore at my jacket, shoving the cloth about in the wind. I shook strands of hair from my face. Then to my left, I saw it- the three-timed flash of light. The signal.

I swallowed, my mouth suddenly feeling packed full of cotton. I started forward, silently counting in my head how many steps I had left until I tripped the alarms. The desert was silent around me, only my thudding footsteps to keep my company.

300 meters from the entrance the entire compound suddenly lit up, lights blinding like the heavens opening. I squinted, throwing my arm in front of my face as two massive spotlights pinpointed my location.

Now, now. I silently willed my companions to move in, using my distraction.

On the wall, I knew over a dozen guns were aimed at my head and chest. I slowly raised my hands up, my left sleeve tugged over my palm to hide the object.

"This is a restricted area. You are trespassing. Turn around now or face the consequences." The voice boomed from a loudspeaker seeming to echo every around me.

I kept moving.

"I repeat, you are trespassing in a restricted area. Turn around now or face the consequences." The voice grew sharper.

I lifted my head, hood and hair spilling back so WCKD could see my face. "I've come to turn myself in. You know who I am."

Silence.

I waited, heart in my throat. My palms had grown slick and I shifted my weight from foot to foot.

"Keep your hands above your head. Advance slowly."

I took a slow shuffle-step forward. The massive door to WCKD gave a groan, a beast rising from the depths. The metal creaked and then began to retract. Light spilled onto the floor. Four black clad figures emerged from the depths, starting toward me.

I clutched the object in my hand. Prayed everyone was clear. The WCKD soldiers had nearly reached me, their faces obscured by the black helmets they wore. The gap was closely rapidly. I continued to walk forward.

The first came within striking distance, lowering his weapon slightly to reach for my elbow.

Now or never.

I clicked the button on the underside of the cyldaner and let it drop to the desert floor.

"What was that?" The first guard asked, attention divert.

I took the opportunity to step back, yanking the pistol from the waistband of my pants.

"Gun!"

I squeezed the trigger, hitting the distract guard squarely in the chest. He went down, jerking the sand. The other three advanced, and I backpedaled, squeezing off another shot. It hit the second guard in the thigh. The third aimed his weapon.

"We need her alive!" The fourth guard barked.

The third squeezed off a shot, the electricity bolt arcing for me. I rolled to the side, hitting the dusty ground with a thud. A tumbleweed scratched at my face. Rough hands gripped the back of my hair, yanking me to my feet. My eyes water, the skin pulling.

"Stupid girl," the guard snarled in my ear. He knocked the gun from my hand. It clattered to the floor.

"Let's go." The other guard gripped my bicep tight enough to bruise. They started to drag me to the entrance. I dug my heels in, fighting. Panic- real panic- shot through me. It should be taking this long, where the hell was-

A massive explosion rocked the ground beneath my feet. Fire split the air, flames clawing the night sky. The force knocked me and the guards backwards a few feet. My head struck the ground and I let out a groan, shoving myself to my feet. I beheld the sight before me.

A gaping hole had been blown in the side of the compound. Every last explosive the Right Arm possessed had been stacked there. A final attempt to breach the fortress. It had worked. Inside WCKD an alarm began screeching.

Beside me the guards stirred. I clambered to my feet and stomped down hard on the throat of the guard closest to me. He choked and then fell still. Retrieving his weapon, I spun just as the last guard lunged for me. I let the round fly, the electricity striking him. His body spasmed, twitching as he fell to the floor.

I turned to face the gaping door of WCKD. And then I began to sprint.