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"DO YOU HAVE ANY KINGS?"
I glance down at my hand before looking back up at Ethan.
"Go fish," I tell him. Ethan huffs and draws a card from the pile, adding it to his hand.
"Do you have any tens?" I ask Ethan as I look down at my hand of cards. Ethan is quiet for a moment before letting out a sigh and handing me a ten. With a slight smirk at my victory, I place my hand that consists of 8 books of cards down onto the crate we're using as a table.
"No fair! You must be cheating!" Ethan whines while I simply smirk and lean back to rest my back against the metal wall.
The cart rocks suddenly, causing the crate to move and the cards to go flying everywhere. The train then releases an ear piercing whistle.
Ethan is quick to scramble after the cards, quickly putting them all back into their box which is placed into the pocket of his bullet-proof vest.
"Should we play I-spy next?" Ethan suggests. I give him a look and gesture to the empty train cart the three of us are seated in.
"Can you stop with the games? It's been three hours and some peace and quiet would be appreciated," Lucas says grumply from the corner he's sitting in, the corner furthest from Ethan and I.
"You're the one that suggested we bring a pack of cards!" Ethan retorts, crossing his arms in annoyance.
"Yeah well I didn't think you'd be so loud and annoying."
"Your face is loud and annoying!"
I roll my eyes at the boys childish behavior before taking a twizzler out of my pocket and munching on the red candy.
"How much longer do you think it'll be till we get there?" I question aloud, stretching out my sore and stiff legs.
"I heard some of the guards saying it's about a 9 or 10 hour trip so we've still got a long journey ahead of us," Lucas answers. I nod while letting out a small yawn.
I didn't get much sleep last night between crawling through the vents to warn Aris and Minho and also the worry that gnawed at my stomach.
Tessy left in a Berg a few hours ahead of us along with Janson, Rose and a few of the other scientists while a majority of the people stayed behind at the facility.
"Can you pass me the beef jerky please?" Ethan asks me. I hand over the packet that lies beside me and we fall into silence again.
I hope Minho and Aris are doing okay. My thoughts are pulled back to when I managed to talk to Aris last night…
Finding the boys room empty, I make my way into the hall and towards one of the dining halls before quickly hiding behind a wall as footsteps walk past me.
I peer around the wall to see the kids in Minho and Aris's dorm being led back to their room. Right as Aris walks past me, I quickly pull my hand out and yank Aris towards me, quickly covering his mouth to muffle his surprised yelp.
"It's okay Aris, it's just me," I whisper as I let go of him, along him to turn around to face me.
"What's wrong Cassie?" He questions with wide eyes as he looks into my scared eyes.
"You're going to be moved early tomorrow morning; they're taking you to the city," I quickly explain.
"City? I didn't think there were any left," Aris interrupts me. I nod.
"Yeah well turns out there is one at least. It has better facilities for testing than here and more resources. You and the other immune kids are I'm a lot of danger." Aris gulps as he stares at me with wide eyes.
"Well what do we do? We can't stop them," he worries. I hesitate for a moment.
"Janson is bringing me and my team along because he worries we might be attacked by rebels trying to free you guys."
"Thomas," Aris mutters. I nod in answer.
"And if he's as stupid as I know he is, he'll show up at one point to save you guys but you can't tell him about me working for WICKED just yet once he gets you and the others out," I tell Aris which tilts his head in question.
"Why not?" He wonders.
"I can't be sure that everyone in their rebel group is trustworthy," I answer, tracing the purple bruise on my jaw subconsciously.
"I just don't know how they'll react yet. Please promise you won't tell?" I plead. Aris nods slowly before pulling me into a tight hug, I burrow my head into his chest, his chin resting on my head due to the height difference.
"I won't forget that you're here, though. We'll all get away from WICKED in the end, okay?" Aris says sternly. I nod and step out of our embrace.
"You need to get back, the guards will have noticed you're missing," I tell Aris, noting that it's been a few minutes already. Aris hesitates for a moment.
"They'll have realized I was gone. I have to have a good excuse as to why…" Aris trails off as he looks at me.
"Hit me."
"What?" I exclaim with wide eyes, seriously questioning my friend's sanity.
"If I've been hit in the face I'll have a good excuse for being missing. I'll tell them a guard pulled me away and got angry at me before punching me. I get into trouble enough that it'll be convincing," Aris explains.
"I can't hurt you!" I exclaim, knowing we what a punch to the face hurts like.
Aris shakes his head.
"Well you're going to have to, Cassie." I let out a groan but know he's right, anything else and they'll question if he was trying to escape which will result in a much more severe punishment.
"Okay, fine. I'm sorry Aris." I pull back my fist as I punch him across the face, causing him to stumble back as he covers his eye and winces.
That's surely going to leave a nasty black eye for a couple of weeks.
"I'm so sorry Aris," I quickly apogee but he only shakes his head.
"It's fine, you had to do it. Bye Cassie," Aris says.
"Bye Aris." With that, he turns around and walks back to his dorm. I let out a deep breath before returning to my bed for the remainder of the night.
I'm jolted out of my thoughts as Lucas's walkie-talkie releases static and hisses to life.
"Transport 019, we got trouble on the rail line, send backup! I repeat, send backup!" One of the drivers yells into the walkie-talkie.
"I guess that's our cue," Lucas says, standing up with Ethan and I following suit. I sling my already loaded taser rifle over my back and reluctantly place my pistol into the holster at my belt. Taking a deep breath, I follow behind Ethan and Lucas as we climb out of the hatch and onto the roof of the train.
I immediately spot Thomas and Vince as they run across the top of the train towards us about 5 or 6 carts away.
Ethan and Lucas are quick to pull out their rifles as they begin shooting at the pair while I'm more hesitant to take hold of my rifle, not firing any shots.
"What's wrong Cass?" Lucas yells at me over the harsh wind.
"Uh, it's jammed," I reply hitting the side of it a few times before shooting once in Thomas and Vinces' direction, being sure to not actually hit them.
They quickly jump down from the roof and onto one of the decks of the carts. The three of us start to run towards them, jumping over the gaps between carts.
I knew I'd eventually be forced to fight against my friends but I guess it didn't really feel real until now.
I dodge to the left as a gunshot sounds and a bullet narrowly misses me as Thomas starts shooting at us. In front of us, two guards are shot down and fall off of the roof of the train, tumbling across the sand below.
I continue to fire taser bullets in Thomas's direction, narrowly missing him every time as I aim above his head slightly. I can feel Ethan's eyes flickering to me for a moment but he pulls his gaze away as we reach the cart in front of Thomas.
Lucas quickly climbs down followed by myself and then Ethan. Vince seems to be doing something to the latch holding the carts together but I'm not sure what.
My gaze turns to Thomas as he darts to the side of the cart. He's changed a lot since I last saw him, he looks older and carries himself with more authority but he's still the same old Thomas.
I'm wearing a full face mask to protect my face and it also does a good job of hiding my identity.
"Put down the weapons and we won't be forced to take lethal action," Lucas tells Vince who briefly looks up before pulling out a lighter and lighting whatever he was doing to the latch.
With a big bang, the whole latch explodes in a flurry of sparks and smoke. The three of us are knocked back by the force and I hit my head against the railing painfully.
I guess the mask doesn't help all that much with protection.
I groan and my ears ring as I take a moment to stand up again, gripping the railing as I regain my balance.
"You two okay?" I look up as Lucas pulls himself up. Ethan and myself nod in answer before we turn our attention towards where the rest of the train carts used to be.
They've now stopped a few hundred feet back as the train struggles to slowly come to a halt. It'll take us a few minutes to make it to Thomas and the others which should give them enough time to hopefully save the kids.
We jump off the slowly moving train as we state at the stopped train carts in the distance.
"We should wait for backup," I suggest, hoping to buy Thomas some extra time.
Lucas pulls his mask up to reveal his face as he looks at me questioningly.
"Why? We're the best team WICKED has, we can have a couple of rebels, we have before," he says. I lift my mask as well to get some fresh air before giving a small shrug.
"They just seem to know what they're doing so I thought some backup might be good," I say hopefully in a convincing tone.
Ethan pulls up his mask as he surveys Thomas and the others in the distance. I note that Newt and a few others have joined them and they're now busy freeing one of the carts from the tracks; they only have time to take one so I guess they've found the one that Aris and Minho and Sonya are in.
"We don't have time for backup. We should go now," Ethan suggests and Lucas quickly agrees. It out a small breath before nodding and pulling my mask back on.
I hope they've got enough time to save them now because I can't stall for any longer.
We begin to run towards the train carts, our speed at a fast and steady pace even considering we have heavy gear and guns on us.
Shots begin to fire in our direction as Thomas and a few others notice us and begin to shoot. Luckily their aim isn't very good and us dodging shots makes it nearly impossible to fire back.
"Ethan!" I shout as he falls onto his back beside me. I quickly kneel down beside him as Lucas covers in front of us.
"Where were you shot?" I question as I quickly check for any sort of wound.
"I'm fine, it got lodged in the vest. I've just got my breath knocked out of me," Ethan puffs out. I let out a breath of relief and quickly help him to his feet.
"I think they're nearly done cutting through that steel!" Lucas yells at us over the sound of the gun fire. Thank goodness, they should be able to get away now.
I grab my rifle again and begin firing shots, hitting the ground in front of them or the metal of the cart beside them, narrowly missing as to not do any harm.
I wince as another gunshot fires and my arm starts to sting. I quickly inspect the sleeve and it looks like it's just a deep graze do I ignore the pain and continue shooting, although it's a lot harder to aim now due to the pain everything the rifle recoils.
Not wanting to accidently hit anyone because my aim is off, I sling my rifle back over my shoulder and pull out my handgun, the recoil a lot less which makes my aim better as I continue to only slightly miss hitting anyone.
"What's wrong, Cass?" Ethan questions from beside me as he eyes my change in weapon.
"The rifles jammed again," I quickly reply as I continue to shoot till I'm out of bullets.
As I'm reloading from the ammo at my belt, the cart breaks lose from the tracks and a large Berg flies overhead. I hold my breath for a moment, thinking WICKED is going to catch them but as the Berg sends down a hook, I realize it must be their getaway ride.
They attach the cart to the hooks and climb onto the roof of the cart as it starts to lift into the sky. Ethan and Lucas stop shooting as it lifts higher into the air, letting out tired huffs as they drop their heavy rifles.
I can't help but give a small smile from beneath my mask as Thomas and Newt whoop with happiness and laughter as they fly off into the distance.
I take my mask off as they disappear into the horizon and flop down onto the ground beside Lucas and Ethan.
Our tired huffs fill the air for a few moments and the sound of yelling as backup finally arrives although much too late. "Well," I speak up, "at least it wasn't a boring rest of our trip."
(2420 words)
I hope you guys enjoyed they chapter. I'm so excited that it's finally caught up with the movie!
She's going to have a lot more interactions with different people from the maze from now on including more Minho and a surprise character...
Btw I can't believe that Lost Girl book 1 has just reached #1 in wicked! And it's at over 3k reads. Keep reading and voting guys! Be sure to comment too!