{ A U T H O R S N O T E // Hey guys, sorry I haven't updated in a while, so to apoligize, I give you this long chapter! Thank you all for reading, I love you guys! 12k reads! Whaat?! That is INSANE! }
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I should've known. WICKED never goes away. When you finally feel free, they come back. You're never allowed to leave their grasp. Once you are property of WICKED, you belong to them.
All of the Gladers, even some of Group B who had arrived at the Afterlife, had called a meeting to talk about the news Teresa just shared with us about WICKED.
The meeting was held in Alby's home. Having Alby as our leader once again gave me a sense of comfort.
"So, I guess all of you know why we've been called here." Alby shouts, hushing the crowd. "Teresa here says she overheard two of the guards of the Afterlife talkin' about WICKED." He gestures at Teresa, who is standing at the back of the room with her back leaning against the wall.
"Now, we don't even know if this means jack. We should keep our eyes peeled, and stay aware of suspicious events. This isn't any reason to overreact."
The whole crowd is silent, but Gally scoffs.
Newt and I smirk at each other, ready to hear whatever klunk Gally is going to feed us next.
"No reason to overreact, you say?" Gally starts. "You really believe that? Alby, this is WICKED we're talking about! They're insane! We have to . . We have to go somewhere safe."
"This place seems pretty buggin' safe to me!" Alby snaps. Gally had just arrived here, and is already doing a good job of getting on Alby's nerves.
"Listen, I know we're all a little shocked, or scared - whatever. But okay, just say we were going to escape somewhere. Where would we go? This is the safest place we've encountered so far. I don't think we'd want to risk it. Honestly, no. This place isn't run by WICKED. I strongly believe that. It's shuckin' heaven, for gods sake! They can't control that, can they?!"
"Actually . ." Newt speaks up. This is the first time I've heard him express his opinions about this matter all day. "I'm not choosing sides or anything, but I'm just saying, this place is a little buggy. I mean, it's apparently heaven, yet we are able to get injured, and I know that there is lots of weapons and bad people up here. Why would heaven allow that?"
"I'm not God, for crying out loud! I don't know, Newt! Why don't you ask God himself?" Alby answers, frustrated.
Newt just rolls his eyes.
"All I want to add is that this isn't a bad place." Alby reassures him. "No need to worry, all right? Even if WICKED was here, I think they're finally giving us a break."
"A break?!" Newt snaps.
Oh no. Here it comes.
"A bloody break? Are you kidding me? Are you oblivious of everything that has happened? You know WICKED will never give us a break, Alby! You know it!"
With a snort, Alby walks out of the room. "Meeting closed!" He calls.
-
We try not to think about it. We all try to go back to the way things were. Happy and free.
But it's the thought floating in the back of everyones mind; the image we can't erase. WICKED. And all of the terrible things they've done.
I know that Alby had a point about the Afterlife being the safest place we've encountered so far, although I would never tell Newt that I think Alby is right. We have nowhere to go from here, which brings me to the terrible and confusing thought of: where even are we?
Is the Afterlife in the sky? Underground? In space? How is nobody questioning this?
I do the same as I do everyday. Eat breakfast, walk around, talk to Newt and my friends. It gets boring after a while. It's still a source of comfort, knowing we've finally found a place to stay, but would it be wrong to say I sort of miss the adrenaline rush of being hunted by Ratman and his team?
Newt seems more distant recently, too. He just seems distracted. I mean, I know we all are, but it's different with him. It's like, once he starts thinking about something, he can't stop. His mind eats him whole. And it scares me.
I've also come to realize that I've barley been speaking to Chuck. I never really get to see him much anymore, he's always with his parents, which is a good thing, I guess. I just wish we had more time together. So I go to talk to him.
I'm walking through the streets, making my way through thick crowds of people standing about, who are all talking and laughing with each other like usual, completely unaware of the whole theory that WICKED is watching.
"Thomas!" I hear a voice shout, coming from one of the swarms of people.
I turn around, only to be greeted by a smiling Minho. "What's up?" He asks, panting.
"Going to visit Chuck," I say, only to realize I have no clue where Chuck lives. As if Minho could read my mind, he says, "You know he lives with his parents, right? You want me to show you where?"
I nod, and let Minho lead the way.
Cassandra opens the door to her house, greeting us with a smile. "Timothy is out right now, and Chuck is just upstairs in his bedroom."
Minho grins at her, one of his lopsided smirks, making her blush. I laugh, pushing past Minho into Chuck's house.
One thing I've noticed: all the houses look the same. On the inside, on the outside. All identical.
"Hey, bud," I say, entering Chuck's room. He's spread out on his bed, reading a book.
"Hey, Thomas."
Then Minho enters Chuck's room, and settles himself down on a chair.
"Hey, Minho," Chuck nods, putting down his book. "What's up?"
"This shank came to see you," Minho answers, nodding at me.
"I just feel like we haven't talked in a long time." I say, and Chuck nods sadly, then he brightens up.
"Hey! Why don't we all have a camp fire tonight? Just us and our other friends? Just like we used to?"
Minho and I nod at each other. "That sounds great."
Hopefully it would clear everyones mind about the whole WICKED dilemma.
-
The camp fire is a warm sense of comfort and nostalgia. I let the heat hit my hands, and I smile at my friends, all of us gathered around the fire.
I sit between Chuck and Newt. Newt has his head resting on my shoulder. I let my fingers dance down his back.
"All right!" Teresa declares loudly, turning us all quiet. "Let's play something fun . ."
Please don't say truth or dare, I think, Please don't say truth or dare . .
"Truth or dare!" Teresa smirks, and almost everyone cheers.
"Now," she continues speaking, "I get to start."
"Hey, that's no fair!" Winston groans, and Teresa just cackles.
"It was my idea, boy! Hmm . . who to ask first . ."
Teresa's eyes lock with mine, and I feel Newt tense against me. But her eyes keep scanning the crowd.
"Minho," she says, "truth or dare?"
"Dare."
"I dare you to get up and do as many cartwheels as you can." Teresa chuckles. "In a row. Without stopping." She adds.
Confidently, Minho stands up. I expect to see him fail, but I watch him as he flips and twists at least twenty times.
"Ta-da!" Minho drawls sarcastically, bowing. "What are you shanks gawkin' at? The show's over!"
"Woah," Teresa raises her eyebrows. "I'm impressed."
"Frypan," Minho says suddenly, making Frypan jump in surprise. "Truth or dare?"
"Truth . ." Frypan sighs uneasily.
"Have you ever spit in anyone's food? At the Glade? A shank ya' didn't like?"
Frypan bites his lip. "Um . . of course not."
"You lie!" Shouts Minho, laughing. "Confess and you shall be forgiven!"
"Fine . . fine. Yes." He says, ashamed. "But it was only one time!"
Everyone laughs and fake-gags. I can feel Newt shaking with laughter and he looks up at me with a smile.
"I wonder whose food it was," I whisper, laughing and leaning down to kiss Newt's forehead.
"If it was my food, I'm going to throw up." Chuck mumbles.
"Gally," Frypan nods. "Truth or dare?"
"Truth." Gally answers.
"All right, would you please share with us the secret to achieving those majestic brows like yours?"
Gally scoffs, rolling his eyes. "Sorry," he says. "It's confidential. Top secret. Only I have the power to these babies," he winks proudly, pointing at his eyebrows.
"Aw, Shuck. Of course." Frypan sighs. "Just thought I'd try to find out."
Everybody laughs, and even I am laughing. I'm laughing so hard I need to catch my breath. We're all having such a great time.
Until Brenda arrives, that is.
Brenda sits down at the empty spot inbetween Zart and Ben, abruptly hushing everyone and spreading an awkward silence.
"Can I play?" Brenda asks quietly.
"Sure, bitch." Teresa grins sarcastically. "Just so you know, everyone knows what you did."
I think I like Teresa even more now.
"Gally, it's your turn to ask someone." Frypan says awkwardly.
"Oh, right." Gally says. "Hm . . Thomas."
Gally's mischievous gaze locks with mine. "Truth or dare?"
"Dare," I blurt, instantly regretting it. God knows what Gally has going on in that little brain of his.
"Not a good choice," Chuck whispers.
Gally smirks. "I dare you to makeout with Newt."
I know that he only dared me to do that to spite Brenda, and I'm okay with it. Newt lifts his head off of my shoulder and looks me in the eyes.
"And here we go again," I grin, leaning in, locking my lips with his. He tastes like warm sugar from the marshmellows we've just been roasting.
When I pull back, I smile at Newt and then at Brenda. Her face is red, but I can't tell if it's burning with anger or with embarrassment.
"Thomas," she growls, "you know I don't like that . ."
"But you know that I don't care if you like it or not." I tell her. "That's just the way it is."
"Don't do this here, Thomas." Brenda nags. "Not in front of everyone."
"Don't do what? I was just playing the shucking game!" I laugh bitterly, and Brenda just shakes her head. I pull Newt closer to me, feeling protective, as if Brenda would do something to him. I want to say I know Brenda would never hurt him, but what do I know?
"So, my turn." I say, breaking the awkward silence. "Alby, truth or dare?"
"I'm not playing this stupid buggin' game." Alby snarls in a low, strange voice. "Not with you Shanks." His crazy, wide eyes dart from person to person, and he's smiling a creepy grin.
"I think that's enough for tonight." Teresa declares, and we all march to our tents.
-
Newt and I share a tent. I pull the blanket that we share up to my chin, and rest my head in the crook of Newt's neck, like a pillow.
"Alby was acting so strange," Newt whispers.
"Yeah, something's not right . . I'm sure he'll snap out of it soon enough," I try to assure him, but I don't know if I believe my own words. I feel bad for Newt. Alby was his first best friend here, and Alby was acting really weird tonight. Newt was alredy devistated when he thought Alby had died, imagine if something worse happened. But what could be worse than death?
I feel around underneath the blankets until my hand touches Newts. I lace my fingers with his, and he squeezes my hand as a way to say goodnight.
"Night, Newtie the cutie." I wink, even though he cannot see my face, and I laugh quietly at myself.
"What did you call me?" Newt chuckles, yawning.
"Nothing," I drawl, still laughing. "Goodnight."
-
I don't know what time it is, but it's still dark outside, so I'm guessing it's around midnight. Inside the tent, I can see the flames from the outdoors, still flickering brightly. Someone must have forgotten to put out the fire. Sluggishly and quietly, I gently remove Newt's hand from my chest, and lift my head off of his shoulder, and I climb out of the tent.
The fire is still going as I suspected, but it is not unattended. Alby is still sitting around it.
"How long have you been out here?" I ask, making Alby jump slightly in surprise.
"You need to leave, Thomas. Please." Alby mumbles, his eyes still darting around nervously. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry . . I'm so sorry. But please . . Go back to bed, Thomas, make sure you check on Chuck, too. I won't be back in my tent for another hour or so."
I forgot Chuck and Alby were sharing a tent. I make my way over to the tent Chuck is resting in, and he is snuggled up safe and sound, sleeping peacefully with a trace of a smile on his face.
I zipper back up the tent, and find Alby again.
"Are you sure you're all right?" I ask, just to make sure.
"Yes. I'm just not tired tonight. I have to stay awake. Now, don't worry about me. Go to sleep, Thomas. See you in the morning."
"Okay," I agree, "but come wake me up if you need anything. Goodnight, Alby."
I told him I would sleep that night, and I was planning to do the exact opposite, just to make sure he was okay.
But sleep eventually took over my body.