Deadly Atmosphere | Aris Jones [3]

3 || Another Chance

By the time we got back to camp, the wait for the others became long and tiring. I was beginning to grow impatient, wanting to rip my hair out. It was going to be happy and weird seeing our friends again. I was excited and nervous all at once.

"Piper, will you just relax? I'm sure they're on their way back," Gwyneth assured me. "Thomas is smart...well, he is sometimes..."

"I can't help it," I said. "We shouldn't have left them."

"Look, I already said they'll understand. We really didn't have much of a choice. We almost died."

"Yeah, I know that," I retorted, then composed myself. "Shit. Sorry, Gwyn, I--"

"It's okay," she cut me off. "It's been a long six months of this plan and now we're about to see if it was all worth it."

"They're back!" someone shouted, making us head outside.

With the rippling of the water and the wind hitting against the ship, the Berg placed the cart on the ground carefully. I felt my heart beat faster as Thomas jumped down from the cart, along with the others that accompanied him. One of them was Aurora, who came storming our way.

"Thanks for leaving us behind," she snapped.

"We didn't have much of a choice with being chased by a Berg," I told her in a harsh tone.

She rolled her eyes. "Well, don't bitch at me when I decide to leave you behind on another rescue mission."

"Whatever." I walked past her, with Gwyneth right behind me. I wasn't sure if we would go on another rescue mission, but hopefully this was it.

Once we got to the Berg, Thomas and Newt were the first to go in. I waited outside, ready for us Glenners to be reunited again. I was annoyed with how many reunions there had been. I wanted us to stay together this time, no more separation.

Thomas and Newt came out of the Berg, looking disappointed. "What is it?" Gwyneth asked.

Thomas shook his head. "Minho isn't here."

"What?" I spoke up in shock. "So WICKED still has him."

"Piper, he's not the only one," he told me.

"Who else is still with WICKED?" I questioned, my heart sinking.

I thought it was going to stop altogether when Thomas said, "Aris and Lillie."

My heart began to sink. I walked around the camp for a bit, breathing heavily. I needed time to think, to process what Thomas just told me. Six months for us to develop a plan. Six months to rescue our friends and three of them were still not with us. It was almost a waste of time.

Vince had the kids that were rescued all huddled around outside, getting ready to announce something, it looked like. "All right, listen up! I know you've all been through hell. I wish I could say our troubles are over. But we're not through this yet. WICKED's still out there. They're not giving up. Because you got something they want. They took you because you're immune to a plague that's wiping out the human race. They think you're worth sacrificing to find a cure. Well, I don't.

"So in two days, when we get this tub of rust seaworthy, we're getting the hell out of here. We're gonna go to a place where WICKED will never find you. A place you can start over. A place you can call home. Are you with me?" The kids cheered as he rounded them up to get working.

"Hey," Thomas came up behind me. "Are you ready to see your friends?"

"You mean, the ones that are here?" I asked, then regretting my choice of words. "Sorry, I--"