The second it was safe, they entered the car to see who they had rescued. The kids, who were in blue shirts and black pants, looked dirty and tired, some of them possibly beat up, but they looked okay besides that. Ariella suspected that there were hidden wounds that would need to be investigated and treated later. Thomas noticed their ally. "Aris. Hey, you guys okay?"
Aris nodded and Sonya said, "Yeah, we're fine."
"Jesus." Thomas mumbled.
Thomas comforted people as he walked down the path. The Gladers looked for their friend, but saw no sign of him. Thomas turned to Newt and Ariella. "He's not here."
Ariella took his hand. "We'll find him, Thomas."
They reached the safe haven and the kids stepped out and made their way to the waterfront where Vince was standing. Thomas and Ariella stood in the back. Thomas leaned against the wall and crossed his arms while Ariella stood with her back to the wall just around the corner and fingered Thomas's hair.
"Come on down." Vince said. "You're safe here. Come on down here. Come on in, guys! Okay, guys, over here! Alright, 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. Cause you got something they want. They took you because you're immune to a plague that's wiping out the human race. And 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 outta here. We're gonna go to a place where WICKED will never find you. A place you can start over. Are you with me?"
Thomas walked off and Ariella followed moments later. "Penny for your thoughts?"
He sighed. "I just wish we got Minho. Y'know? I feel like I failed him."
"You didn't, Thomas. Maybe Minho was in a different car. We'll have another chance. But think about all those kids you rescued, Thomas. You're their hero."
Thomas smiled. "We rescued them, Ari. Come on. Let's go visit Aris and Sonya."
Aris smiled. "Took you guys long enough to rescue us."
"It's good to see you, too, bud." Thomas answered. "So what happened?"
"I fought back. Tried to, anyway."
"You're lucky you found us at all." Sonya spoke. "They had us on the move a lot. It felt like something big was happening."
"Any idea where they were headed?" Newt asked.
Aris looked at us. "All I know is they kept talking about a city."
The Glader kids exchanged a look before Harriet said, "I didn't think there were any cities left."
"That's because there aren't." Brenda chipped in. "Not still standing, anyway."
Ariella frowned. "Okay, but Minho."
"Why wasn't he on the train?" Thomas questioned.
Aris glanced down. "I'm sorry Thomas, Ariella. He was."
Thomas took Ariella's hand and pulled it to his chest. She rested her forehead on his.
They made their way to another area of the compound and Thomas spread a map out on the table. "There, that's it. It's a few hundred miles. Based on the railways, and everything Aris told us, that's gotta be where they're headed."
Ariella nodded. "That's where they'll be taking Minho."
Thomas looked up at Vince. "We take everyone who can fight. Follow the roads where we can. We can make it back within a week."
"A week?" Vince asked in disbelief. "It took us six months to get here. We got over 100 kids here now. We can't just hang out here after what we just pulled. You wanna wander off to some random point on the map. You don't even know what's there."
"I do." Jorge said from the back. "It's been a few years, but I've been there. The Last City. That's what WICKED called it. It was their whole base of operations. If that city is still standing, that's the last place you wanna go, hermano." He pat Thomas's shoulder. "That's the lion's den."
"It's nothing we haven't done before." Thomas replied.
"Yeah, with months of planning, and reliable information, the element of surprise, none of which we have now." Vince reminded him.
"Vince, I've thought this through. I've talked it over with Ari. Would you just hear me out?"
"The last time we went off half-cocked...I lost everything. You remember that? Look, I know it's Minho. Alright? But you can't ask me to put those kids on the line for one man. I won't do it."
The static of the radio caught their attention. "Searching the grid now. A is completed. Scanning B-sector now."
Thomas's eyes widened. "Shit. Hit the lights!"
They darted off in separate directions as Vince called, "Let's go, let's go!"
The lights were shut around the compound and Thomas, Ariella, and Vince stood outside. They saw a plane with searchlights a couple miles away. "Jeez. They're getting close." Vince said.
Ariella frowned. "We can't stay here. You're absolutely right."
Vince put a hand on their shoulders before walking off.