The ride seemed to last for far too long. Ivy's legs were growing stiff from staying in one position for too long. Not only was she uncomfortable, but it was also dark out. Another reminder of how long she had been stuck in her uncomfortable position. Her tears had long since stopped; the only evidence of them were the tears stains on her face. Around her, some of her friends were asleep. Thomas was practically lying on the floor as he slept.
Suddenly, a light flashed in through the window. Ivy quickly sat up when she heard distant shouting and alarms. Her movement caused Minho and Newt to both wake up. Soon enough, the others were waking up as well.
"What's going on?" Newt asked the guard with them.
"We're coming in for a landing," he responded. "Once we're on the ground, you all need to run to the doors. You'll be safe inside. Believe me when I say you don't want to stay outside."
The group waited anxiously for the craft to land. Soon enough, they felt the machine start to lower toward the ground. The teens got ready to do as they had been told. Ivy glanced at her friends to make sure they were ready, only to notice that Thomas was still asleep.
"Thomas," she said, kicking him slightly with her foot. "Come on, Greenie, wake up."
"How is he still asleep?" Frypan muttered, though no one answered him.
The aircraft lurched as it suddenly touched the ground. Someone on the outside pulled open the door, motioning for the teens to get out. Winston, Frypan, and Teresa were the first to move.
"We have to wake Thomas!" Newt said over the sound of the propellers.
"I'll get him!" Minho said back. "You two get out of here!"
Newt grabbed Ivy's hand and pulled her out. As soon as their balance was steady enough, they began to run after their friends. Ivy had to let go of Newt's hand so she could block the light that was trying to blind her from above them. Suddenly, she heard gun fire from behind her. Ivy looked over her shoulder, eyes widening when she shadows that looked like people appearing over the hill and running toward them. The soldiers shouted the word Cranks and began to shoot the people. Ivy flinched, slightly scared for her safety.
She whipped her head around when she heard a shriek to her right. One of the "Cranks" had practically tumbled down a hill and was running toward them. Her eyes became even bigger when she saw its appearance. Its skin was deathly pale and its clothes were torn. Half of its hair had been torn out, its eyes were wild and unfocused, and there were black veins visible throughout their body.
Ivy stumbled back in fear of the creature. One the guards seemed to notice and quickly shot at the Crank. It stayed standing for a minute but another round of bullets caused it to fall. Minho came up behind Ivy and pulled her toward the entrance of the large base. The two ran through the doors, breathing heavily before they took in their surroundings.
The base was very large and had many levels. Soldiers and workers walked around, getting different jobs done. Behind them, the doors closed. Thomas stepped forward in front of them, just as confused as the rest of them. They watched a soldier came up to them, accompanied by a slightly older man.
"You kids doing all right?" the man asked, signalling for the soldier to leave. "Sorry about all the fuss. We had ourselves a bit of a swarm."
"Who are you?" Thomas questioned.
"I'm the reason you're all still alive. It's my intention to keep you that way. Now, come with me. We'll get you kids squared away." The group of teens exchanged glances before following after the man. He gave them a small smile and led them further into the base. "You can call me Mr Janson," he told them. "I run this place. For us, it is a sanctuary, safe from the horrors of the outside world. You all should think of it as a way station. Kind of a home between homes. Watch yourselves." He pointed to the sparks above them.
"That mean you're taking us home?" Thomas asked.
"A home of sorts," Janson responded. "Sadly, there wouldn't be much left of wherever you came from. But we do have a place for you. A refuge, outside the Scorch, where WCKD will never find you again. How does that sound?"
"Too good to be true," Ivy muttered so only Newt and Minho heard her.
"Why are you helping us?" Minho inquired.
"Let's just say the world out there is in a rather precarious situation. We're all hanging on by a very thin thread. The fact that you kids can survive the Flare virus makes you the best chance of humanity's continued survival. Unfortunately, it also makes you a target, as no doubt by now you've noticed." He stopped at a metal door, opening it with a card. On the other side of the door was a bright hallway. "Beyond this door lies the beginning of your new lives." He turned to face them. "First things first... let's do something about that smell."
The Gladers nodded, some of them relaxing at the idea of a shower. Janson led them down the halls once again, soon coming to a pause when they came across a guard. Janson ordered for him to show the group to the showers, then to the medical lab. The guard nodded, motioning for the teens to continue to follow him. As they walked, Ivy couldn't help but memorize their route. After running through the Maze for so long, she was memorizing the hallways out of habit.
"Here we are," the guard announced. He appeared to be several years older than them. His eyes were blue and his brown hair seemed to spike in front. He motioned to two doors on opposite sides of the hallway. "This door," the one on their left, "is for you boys. This one," the right, "for the girls."
Ivy immediately shook her head.
"No," she stated.
The guard looked at her, as well as the Gladers.
"I beg your pardon?"
"I said no. I'm not leaving them. I don't care if we're just across the hall, I'm not going to be separated from them. I don't feel comfortable with it. I'm sorry if this place gives me the creeps, but it's not happening."
"Ivy." She looked at Newt. "It's all right. We're safe now. We'll just be right next door."
Ivy shook her head again, crossing her arms.
"That's fine," the guard responded with a slight nod. "If you feel comfortable with it, then you can stay with them. Parts of the showers are separated from the open area, though it has no doors. You can shower there if you wish." Ivy nodded, mentally thanking him. "Now, when you get in there, you'll find a bin to put your clothes into so we can dispose of them. Once you're done with your showers, there will be towels available, along with fresh clothes. I'll make sure to bring a change of clothes over for you," he said to Ivy. "When everyone is done, I'll escort you to the med wing."
The Gladers nodded in understanding. Teresa said a brief goodbye and stepped into the women's showers. Newt looked at Ivy, giving her a slight smile.
"You go on in first," he told her. "We'll let you get changed and get to a shower before we come in. Just give us a shout when we're done."
Ivy nodded. She walked to the door, pushing it open so she could enter the showers. Just as the guard had said, there was a large open area, along with blocked off sections. By the door was a bin which she assumed their clothes would go in to. Just being in the room made her want to change as fast as possible and get under a shower. She quickly pulled off her boots and socks, tossing them in the bin. Next went her shirt and pants, then her undergarments. She pulled her hair out of its messy braid and headed back to the separate showers.
"You boys are clear!" she called.
A moment later, she heard the door open but heard no one walk in.
"Did you call, Ivy?" Newt replied.
"Yeah. You guys can come in."
At her words, the boys hurried in. Ivy smiled ever so slightly when she heard them moving around, sometimes making comments about being in each others way or almost falling over. At one point, she thought she heard someone fall to the floor. She shook her head and turned on the water, stepping to the side so she wasn't bombarded with cold water. Water came shooting out of the faucet above her, just barely splashing her feet. She stuck out her hand and felt that it was warm. With her other hand, she turned the faucet to the right, jumping when the water became cold. She quickly turned it the other way, adjusting the water so it was at a comfortable hot temperature. She smirked a little when she thought of something.
"When you go to turn the water on, make sure you turn the faucet to the right!" she called, keeping her giggles down.
"Thanks!" she heard Winston reply.
Ivy bit her lip, waiting for the sound of the shower turning on. Not a moment later, several faucets turned on, followed by the sound of shouts of surprise.
"Bloody h*ll!" Newt nearly screamed. "Ivy!"
"Yes?" she said innocently.
"Don't you ever do that again!" Frypan shouted. "That was cruel!"
Ivy laughed at their words.
"Oh please. You wouldn't know what to do without me."
She laughed again when she heard them grumble replies, but they all knew it was true.
Ivy turned back to her shower, stepping under the hot water so it could soak her hair. Water dripped down her back, easing and loosening her muscles. She winced ever so slightly when the water hit her shoulder, right where she had been bitten, but she soon hummed lightly, becoming lost to the world around her. She could faintly hear Frypan saying something, but his words sounded like they were underwater. She ignored the others, bringing her hands up to her head so she could push her hair back before looking up so the water could hit her face.
Suddenly, a hand touched her back, causing her to jump. Ivy nearly screamed until she recognized the person standing behind her.
"Don't do that, Minho!" she scolded. "You nearly gave me a heart attack! I thought it was one of the other guys."
"You and both know that if it was one of the others, they would be on the floor either unconscious or with a broken, bloody nose. Besides, I wouldn't let any of them back here. None of them get to see my girl."
Ivy rolled her eyes.
"I swear, you are jacked up sometimes."
"Only when it comes to you."
"Now you're just being cheesy!" they heard Newt call.
"And you all are eavesdropping!" she called back. "Just mind your own business!"
The boys chuckled before talking amongst one another, commenting on the showers and how nice it felt to finally have a decent shower. Minho looked down at Ivy, noticing that her face was turned away from him.
"Hey," he said in a soft voice, gently lifting her face to look at his. "You all right? Did they take it too far? Did I? Do you want me to leave?"
"It's none of that," she reassured him. "Believe me. It's just... a lot has happened in the last day and I'm not sure how to cope with it. We've lost so many people, so many friends. All I want to do right now is cry, but-"
"Then do it. Just let it out. Sometimes that's what you need. You just need to let everything out. I know that you have always thought that you needed to be strong, that since you were the only girl in the Glade, you felt you had to prove to yourself you could be as strong as the rest of us. You may not have recognized that, but I could. And I want to tell you that you don't have to hold it all in. You don't have to be strong anymore, Ivy. We've all been through the same things. Yes you have more scars, but we've all had our fair share of pain recently. You don't have to hide behind your walls when your around us."
At his words, tears fell from Ivy's eyes. She realized that he was right. She had been hiding most of her emotions behind a wall so that others couldn't see. She had been hiding for so long, it just felt natural. The only people who ever really saw what she was really feeling were Minho, Newt, and Alby. They were the people she trusted the most with her inner most thoughts. And now, Ivy realized that Minho was right. She and the others had been through hell and back over and over again. They had been through so much together that it was unnecessary to hide any longer. And anything else that she was hiding, she felt the need now to tell her friends. She didn't want to be alone anymore.
Minho held Ivy close to him as she cried quietly. The two simply stood in silence for a long time, letting the hot water hit their bodies. Eventually, they pulled away from each other and Minho gave Ivy a smile.
"Let's get washed," he said. "If we take any longer, then the others will probably worry."
"I doubt it. Sounds like they're having a water fight."
Sure enough, the other Gladers were still laughing, calling each other names and splashing one another with water. Ivy smiled. She knew that if they could laugh after everything they had been through, then they could get through anything as long as they had each other.