"Mae, what are you doing?" Tyson asked.
He slowly rose to his feet, followed by the others. He stepped slightly in front of the others to keep them separated from Mae. They could all tell that something was off due to the way that she was swaying slightly.
"I could ask you the same thing, Ty," she replied, walking toward them. "You know, it's very strange. I could have sworn you were supposed to be working earlier and that you were going to be back by now. But when you weren't, I came looking for you. God, you had me so worried! I kept thinking the worst things, like you had been taken by WCKD because they discovered that you had developed the Flare, or that you had somehow been shot."
The group watched her with wary eyes, constantly looking between the gun that she was now waving around and the crazed look in her eyes. Her hair was a completely tangled mess on her head, as though she had been running her fingers through it and had pulled at it nonstop. Her voice, normally very stoic and serious, had a strange giggle to it, making them extremely uncomfortable.
"And you know," Mae continued, "this one thought crossed my mind: is he... cheating on me? Of course I thought that that was crazy because you would never do something like that to me. But now here am I and here you are. And you're with Jackie, the same girl you had patrol with yesterday and the one who has the same shift as the one that you switched to. What a coincidence!"
She suddenly raised her gun to point it at Ivy, her normal serious expression returning. Several shouts of "No!" erupted from the group, Tyson taking a quick step forward, Ivy taking a step back, and Gally quickly raising his gun to point it at Mae. She came to a halt only half a dozen feet away.
"Mae," Tyson said, lifting his hand slightly toward her to try and keep her from doing anything rash. "You need to put the gun down. There's no need for it. Let's talk about this, okay?"
"Talk about what, Ty? About the fact that you are cheating on me with a younger b*tch, or the fact that you're conspiring with her to take down the organization we work for?"
"You don't know the things that they do, Mae," Ivy tried to say. "You don't know the hells we've been through the last few years."
"Shut up!" Mae suddenly shouted, her almost feral voice echoing off the buildings around them. "Just shut up, Jackie. Or is that even your name?" Her voice was sweet once again.
"Her name is Ivy," Tyson told her. "She was one of the teens that WCKD sent into the Mazes. WCKD has been experimenting on them, looking for a cure. They're killing them, Mae. I couldn't let them keep doing that. That's why I'm helping them."
"I don't care what WCKD's doing," Mae snapped, taking another step forward. "If killing a bunch of kids is going to find us a cure, then let's round up as many as we can."
Their eyes widened as they looked at Mae.
"Mae, are you all right?" Erin asked carefully. "You don't look so good."
Erin was right. In addition to her messed up hair, her clothes were crumpled. Her eyes were almost entirely black and black veins were spreading up her neck and into her face. Black goo seemed to drip from her dry lips. Their eyes widened even more and their hearts sank.
Mae had turned into a Crank.
"Mae, I need you to put down the gun," Tyson said. "Before someone gets hurt."
"I think it's a little too late for that, Tyson."
Another gunshot rang through the air, followed quickly by another and a gasp. The air seemed to still as everyone waited with bated breath. Tyson regained his balance from being shoved, his eyes quickly finding Erin as her body swayed before beginning to collapse.
"Erin!" Ivy cried, rushing to her side. She looked over Erin's body, spotting the blood pouring from her chest, and pressed her hands to it to try and stop the blood. "No, Erin, come on!"
Tyson and Gally joined her on the ground. Gally pulled Ivy away, trying to calm her, while Tyson replaced his hands over where Ivy's had been. When he realized that she had stopped breathing, he began to push on her chest to try and get air back in her lungs.
"Come on, Erin," he muttered. "Come on!"
The three held their breaths as Tyson worked, waiting for some kind of sign that Erin was still alive. The only result they got was still, cold eyes and a small trickle of blood dripping from her nose. Ivy covered her mouth with her hand, trying not to sob.
"What happened?" Ivy asked after she regained control of her voice.
"She pushed me out of the way," Tyson said, sitting back on his heels. "Mae was going to shoot me and Erin took the hit." He glanced over at Mae, who was lying on her side, blood dripped from her forehead and mouth. "Who-?"
"I'm sorry, man," Gally said, running his hand up and down Ivy's arm to comfort her. She had to close her eyes tight to shut out the sight of Erin; everything that had happened reminded her... no, reminded them too much of Chuck's death. "I had to do something."
"It's okay. I get it."
"What do we do now?" Ivy questioned.
"We need to find Thomas," Gally replied.
"And what about Erin? We can't just leave her here."
"We can't take her with us," Tyson said sadly. "We have to move quickly and she'll only slow us done."
"Ivy." She looked up at Gally. "It's what she would have wanted," he told her gently. "You know that. She believed in this cause as much as we do. We have to keep going for her."
"But Wolf..."
"We'll tell him what happened and that she died saving Tyson's life."
"But Gally is right, Ivy," Tyson said. "We need to keep going. For Erin."
Ivy slowly nodded, getting up off the floor with Gally's help and drying her tears. She took a deep breath, calming herself so she could prepare for whatever came their way next. The trio quickly gathered their things and put their helmets back on before hurrying down the street.
~
"You two, freeze!" Thomas and Newt came to a sudden stop when a guard holding a blaster appeared in front of them. "Get down on the ground. Now! I said get your-"
Before he could finish his command, a figure shot from around the corner and slammed into the guard. He screamed in the guards face before hurling him through a window. The newcomer's chest heaved with heavy breaths as he turned to look at Thomas and Newt. The two boys stared at him for a moment before rushing forward.
"Minho!"
They quickly wrapped their arms around him in a hug, happy to see their friend alive and safe after so many months apart.
"Is this real?" Minho breathed when they pulled back.
Thomas and Newt smiled at him. Suddenly, a series of footsteps came from down the hall, prompting the three to break into a run.
"I got him! I got him!" a guard shouted.
"Come on!" Thomas said, leading his friends down the halls of the building, trying to escape.
Just as they turned down another hall, Janson appeared suddenly, causing them to come to a quick stop.
"In here, in here!" Thomas said, ducking into a room.
Newt and Minho followed behind him as they were fired upon. The minute they were all in the room, Thomas shut the door and locked it, quickly backing away.
"Newt, come on," Minho said, going over to a metal rack. The two tipped it over in front of the door as an extra barrier between them and their pursuers.
"Oh sh*t," Thomas muttered as they backed away from the door.
Only a few minutes later, the sound of a saw starting up was heard, followed by sparks flying from the door.
"Any ideas?" Minho asked as Thomas walked over to the large windows. Newt and Minho turned to look at him.
"Maybe," Thomas replied.
The next thing any of them knew, they were lifting a large canister off the ground and hurling it through the window, successfully breaking it. They watched as the canister fell and landed in a large pool below them.
"Okay," Thomas said. "It's doable. Just need a little running start."
Newt and Minho exchanged nervous glances but joined Thomas.
"You sure about this?" Minho asked.
"Not really."
The two boys looked at Thomas before rolling their eyes slightly.
"Nice pep talk," Minho muttered.
"Yeah, we're all bloody inspired," Newt added, sarcasm lacing his tone.
The door behind them suddenly burst open, causing the three to turn. At the sight of Janson entering the room, they broke into a run and jumped from the window. They shouted as they fell, wind hitting their faces before they landed in the pool, with large splashes.
One after the other, they broke the surface, taking large breaths of air. They glanced back up at the window they had just lept from, finding Janson standing there. Thomas promptly stuck his middle finger up at him before following Minho and Newt to the edge of the pool. Thomas climbed out first, helping Newt out next.
"Minho, you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah," the boy gasped.
As they stood to their feet, they heard the clicking of guns. The boys spun quickly to find themselves face to face with a group of guards, guns pointed straight at them.
"You three, don't move," one ordered.
"Oh, you gotta be kidding me," Thomas muttered, backing up slightly.
"Take it easy," the guard said as he and the others approached. Thomas started to reach for his gun, but the man caught his movement. "Don't even think about it. Get on your knees with your hands in the air."
Before they could make a move, two of the guards turned suddenly and shot at the others, who fell to the ground in a twitching mess. The trio of boys flinched at the action, confused.
"You son of a b*tch," one of the guards managed to get out.
The guards that had fired turned to face the three former Gladers and approached them. When they came to a stop, they pulled off their helmets. Thomas and Newt sighed in relief while Minho's eyes widened in surprise.
"Gally?" he said at the sight of the former Builder.
"Minho," he replied with a small nod.
Tyson looked up at the window the boys had jumped from.
"You guys are nuts," he chuckled.
Thomas glanced at Minho, noticing how surprised his friend looked.
"I'll explain later," he said.
"Freeze!" The group turned their heads to find a lone guard coming toward them, gun raised. "Don't move!"
Just as they started to pass one of the WCKD cars, the door swung open and hit the guard in the face. The guard collapsed to the ground. A figure climbed out of the car, glancing down at the man they had just knocked out before looking back at the group of guys.
"You people really need to pay attention."
Minho's heart almost seemed to stop in his chest. He stepped forward slightly, eyes wide.
"Ivy?" he said.
The girl smiled at him and nodded. Minho took off toward her, almost slamming into her when he reached her. Ivy had to struggle to keep upright, laughing as he hugged her tightly before returning the hug just as tight. The two stood in silence for several moments, not wanting to let the other go. When Minho pulled away, he looked into Ivy's eyes, as if searching for any form of a lie.
"Is it really you?" he asked.
"It's really me, Minho. Did you really think I wouldn't find you?"
"I thought you were dead."
"You really thought the rat man could get rid of me?"
Minho laughed before suddenly pulling her close again and bringing her lips to his. Ivy's eyes widened in surprise but then shut as she hummed happily. They held each other close for several moments, relishing in the fact that they were back in each others arms and that they were both alive. When the need for air became a heavy reminder, they pulled away, breathing hard. Minho took in her appearance with a smile.
"You cut your hair," he noted. "It looks good, but I kinda miss the long hair."
"And you haven't cut yours. It needs work."
Minho laughed at her words.
"All right, you two!" Gally called, reminding the two that they had an audience. "Sorry to interrupt, but we need to get going."
"Thanks for ruining the moment, Gally," Ivy called.
"You two can suck each others souls out later! Right now, we have places to be!"
~
Isaac swerved through the streets, keeping his eyes on the road and the bus Brenda was driving. Around them, WCKD police cars were following, trying to cut the bus off. They all assumed that the car that Isaac and Nicole were in was one of theirs.
Oh how wrong they were.
When one car came close to knocking into the bus, Isaac gritted his teeth.
"Hold on!" he warned before turning the wheel.
Their car turned suddenly, hitting the other car. Nicole cheered a little when they crashed into a streetlight, making Isaac smile. While they had deflected that car, another came up alongside the bus and tried to push it. Brenda managed to keep the bus steady long enough for the police car to crash and flip on a cement median.
Isaac quickly chased after them, taking a series of different streets to lose the other cars behind them. He turned a corner and came to a quick stop.
The bus was stopped several yards away. In front of them were at least four police cars, WCKD soldier standing outside with guns ready. Behind them, three more cars pulled up, trapping them. From where they sat, Isaac and Nicole could see Brenda looking at police sets of cars.
"Get out of the vehicle," a soldier shouted to Brenda, not noticing the other vehicle.
Brenda climbed out of her seat and briefly spoke to the teens in the bus before stepping out of the bus.
"Now step away from the vehicle." When she didn't move, the guard gave the order gave. "Put your hands in the air." Brenda glanced to the side, noting the arrival of a bus and another police car. "Drop the weapon!" the soldier ordered.
Brenda turned her head to the side, spotting the car her allies sat in. Isaac gave her a nod, then briefly flashed his lights at her; a signal to make the next move. They could see her slight hesitation, no doubt wondering about them, so Isaac flashed the lights a second time. Brenda lifted the gun that was in her hand up so it was pointed at the sky. With a single, small move, she shot the red flare up into the air.
A large metal hook dropped from the crane above, controlled by Frypan and James.
While Brenda sprung into action, the guards started to move in. Brenda quickly attached the hook to the front of the bus before hurrying back inside. The moment she was inside, the bus started to rise, thanks to the hook. The higher it got, the more guards seemed to appear, aiming their guns at the now flying bus.
When the bus was safely away, Isaac looked at Nicole, who immediately returned his gaze. They stared at one another for several moments in complete silence. Nicole gave Isaac a small smile and squeezed his hand. He repeated the action before leaning in and kissing her. Nicole returned the kiss with equal passion, both knowing deep down what they needed to do to buy everyone the time that they needed.
Isaac returned his hands to the wheel and turned on the lights once more. Hitting the gas, he drove straight toward the WCKD soldiers. Most of them saw him coming and jumped out of the way. Isaac quickly turned the car, slamming into one of the other vehicles. Beside him, Nicole grabbed the gun they had and rolled down the window. She began firing at some of the soldiers, successfully gaining their attention.
"Stop that vehicle!" someone shouted.
"Go!" Nicole said to Isaac, continuing to fire at the soldiers, killing several as they drove by.
Soldiers climbed into their own cars and chased after them, returning the shots. Nicole pulled back into the car before any of the oncoming bullets could hit her. She exchanged another quick glance with Isaac before he sped up again. He swerved through the streets of the City, causing two of the cars behind him to crash against buildings on road medians. After making several quick turns, Isaac eventually managed to lose the police cars following them. The two sat in silence, watching as a few other cars drove passed where they were hiding.
Isaac suddenly reached over and took hold of Nicole's. She glanced down at their connected hands before looking at him.
"You should keep both hands on the wheel," she chastised, "in case we need a quick get away."
Isaac leaned over the center console and pressed a firm kiss to her lips. After a minute, the two pulled away, breathless.
"Nicole, you and I both know how this is going to end," he replied. "If this is how we're going, I'm going to spend it how I'd like."
Nicole offered a small smile before leaning in again to kiss him. It took several more moments for them to separate again. Blue and purple eyes stared at one another; they gave each other soft smiles before Isaac returned one hand to the wheel, the other still firmly grasping Nicole's. He hit the gas pedal and took off down the street, just barely making it between two police cars, which soon followed after them.