"We're all on the same side here."
•••
ONCE THE GROUP had reached the outskirts of the city, they decided to ditch the car. The streets were already crowded, and they didn't want to draw attention to themselves.
Leanne was finding it hard to keep her eyes on one thing. Some people were laying on the sides of the street, others selling objects or food while some even piled body bags into the back of their truck.
Leanne walks beside Newt, keeping a tight grip on his hand so she doesn't get lost in the crowd. "This place has really gone through hell." Jorge says as they weed their way throw the bustling crowds.
"We just gotta stay together."
Behind them, someone speaks throw a microphone. "We are the voice of the voiceless!" Multiple men with guns and masks covering their faces are standing in a truck, driving up the street. "They hide behind their walls, thinking they can keep the cure for themselves, while they watch the rest of us wither and rot!" The crowd around them parts for the truck and cheers as they pass. "But there are more of us than there are of them. And I say, we rise up and take back what is ours! Let's bring back a victory!"
"I don't like how this is looking." Leanne shudders. "Something bad is going to happen."
The group moves quickly, following multiple people through alleyways towards the wall. People riot, chanting for WICKED to let them in. Some people hold signs while others stand to the side and watch. Their group pushes their way threw the crowd to get up closer.
"What the hell did we get ourselves into?" Frypan says.
Glancing around, Leanne sees some of the same men from the truck standing around the edge of the rioting. "Something doesn't feel right, Newt." Leanne rugs on his hand like a child. "This really isn't right." She continues. "We need to find another way!" She turns back, seeing the same man from the truck coming up behind them. "Newt, I think we're being followed."
This time, Newt listens to her. Glancing over his shoulder quickly, he sees the man as well. Then, a couple meters away to their right, two men also from the truck walk at the same pace as them, glancing over at the group every couple seconds. "I think you're right." They quicken their pace to catch up to Jorge and Thomas at the front.
"Hey, guys, we gotta go now." Newt gets their attention. "Look." The look around them, seeing the masked men getting closer.
Jorge pulls his gun out but loud noises come from the wall behind them. Everyone quiets down and directs their attention to the wall if it wasn't already there. Then, the large machine guns on the top of the wall begin to shift so they're pointing in their direction. "Let's go, let's go!" People around them yell, starting to run.
"We gotta get out of here!"
Then without warning the first missile is fired, landing not far in front of them. Leanne is shoved forward by whoever is behind her, running away as more missiles fall. She can barely hear anything over the explosions and the screaming. Dust and sand are sent up into the air, filling up Leanne's lungs and blocking her vision. She runs behind Frypan, keeping up with him as her life depends on it. Without warning Frypan turns down an alley. Leanne slips as she slows to turn into the alley, but catches herself on a wall and doesn't let the little mishap slow her down. Behind her, the missiles don't stop but neither does she. They come out behind a building, but Leanne can't register anything before a pair of strong hands grab onto her, tugging her up and off her feet. Leanne can barely even start to kick and squirm before she's shoved into the back of a van alongside Brenda and Thomas. She sits between the two, and all three of them stare at the three men in masks who sit across from them. When the three make eye, Thomas and Brenda both wondering if they can take down the guards, Leanne shakes her head.
Although Leanne knew the drive wasn't long, it still felt like it was. There were no windows, so they didn't know what to expect when the van began to slow down. When it did finally come to a stop, the door was opened from the outside immediately. "Get out!" The man says forcefully.
Leanne slides out of the van and watches as the second van pulls up. The van doesn't stop shaking when it breaks, and they can hear Jorge yelling from the outside.
The doors open and one of their kidnappers flies out of the van and onto the ground. Jorge jumps out and onto him. "Where is she, you son of a bitch?" He punches him. Juno follows Jorge out of the van, sending a pleading look towards Brenda.
"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Thomas and Brenda run towards Jorge to stop him as Leanne tries to move towards Newt. One of the man grab onto her, pushing her back and away as he holds a gun to her.
"I'm right here. I'm right here!" Brenda yells at him, making him stop and turn to her.
"Everybody relax." One of the masked men says. "We're all on the same side here."
Leanne eyes the gun with a dirty look. "Don't point that thing at me."
"What do you mean same side?" Thomas turns away from the guard who pushed him away and towards the one who spoke. "Who the hell are you?"
The masked man looks down, then looks back over at the group. He reaches up and takes his mask off, throwing it to the ground. "Hey, Greenie."
Leanne's jaw drops and for a second she thinks she's hallucinating. That can't be Gally. She can't believe it. She glances over at Newt, just as wide-eyed as him.
"Gally?" Thomas stands there for a second, then launches himself at Gally, pulling his fist back to punch him hard in the face.
"Woah!" Although Leanne wanted to do the same as Thomas, she rushes past the crowd of people and grabs onto Thomas' hand before he can punch Gally again. She crouches down beside them.
"Stop, Thomas." The brunette says, surprisingly calm. "Stop."
"He killed Chuck." Thomas doesn't look away from Gally, so Leanne doesn't remove her tight grip from his hand.
"Yeah, I know, I was covered in his blood." She swallows down her fears. "And he held me at gunpoint." She says quietly. "But he was also stung and out of his mind, which was also my fault." Thomas looks up into Leanne's eyes. "Just stop, Thomas. Calm down."
Thomas gets up and backs off of Gally quickly, and Leanne moves to stand beside Brenda and June.
Gally stands up and rubs his jaw where Thomas punched him. "Kinda had that coming." His eyes wander over the group. "Anybody else? Fry? Lea? Newt?"
"You know this guy?" Jorge asks.
Frypan speaks for them. "He was an old friend."
Newt watches Gally weirdly, almost as if he would disappear at any second. It felt unreal. "How? How is this possible?" He asks. "We watched you die."
"No, you left me to die." Gally shakes his head. "And if we hadn't found you when we did, you'd be dead right now." His eyes wander over the group, lingering for a second longer on Leanne. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Minho. WICKED has him here." Newt explains shortly.
"We're looking for a way in." Leanne adds, not taking her glare off of Gally, nor softening it.
"I can help with that." Gally says. "Follow me." Gally turns to begin to walk away, but he stops when Thomas speaks.
"I'm not going anywhere with you." Thomas doesn't move.
"Suit yourself. But I can get you through those walls."
After a moment of contemplation, Newt moves first. The rest of the group follow not far behind him. "So, past beef with this guy?" Brenda asks Leanne quietly as Jorge joins her side to listen in.
"In the Maze, there was a big separation about leaving. About following Thomas, really." Leanne explains to her. "Gally didn't think we should. I, well, they were all my friends." Leanne looks over at Gally, who leads the group. "Gally and I left together, not long after Thomas and them. But he got stung while I was opening the door." Brenda watches her, intrigued. "We caught up to them, and Gally was out of his mind. He was going to shoot Thomas, but a younger boy, Chuck, was shot instead." Leanne shakes her head. "He was this sweet little boy that Thomas first became friends with in the Maze. Not a single person in the Glade disliked him, though they weren't always nice to him."
"And Gally?" Jorge frowns. "How did he supposedly die."
"Minho threw a spear at him. It went right through his chest." Leanne shrugs slowly. "I though he stopped breathing, but I guess we were too preoccupied with Chuck to check."
At the front of the group, Gally stops in front of a hallway. "Listen, uh, he doesn't get a lot of visitors. So, let me do the talking. All right?" Gally nods, turning down the hall. "And try not to stare."
Leanne wonders what Gally means by that, but doesn't ponder on it too long. They follow Gally into the large room and down the stairs. They're led towards a man trimming a rose bush. "Gally, glad to see you made it back." The man turns to look at them, but they can't see his features. For a split second, Leanne's back in that dark bedroom where her mother tore her eyes out, then she's back in the room, watching the man carefully.
"It was a slaughter." Gally says shortly to Lawrence. "There's nothing we could do against those guns."
The man cuts the rose off of its stem. "No, but they can only poke the hornet's nest so long before they get stung." He raises it to his nose, and Leanne suddenly becomes aware that there is no outline of a nose where it should be. "Now, who are these people? Why are they here?"
Thomas steps forward. "We need to get into WICKED." He glances over at Gally. "Gally said you can get us through the walls."
Lawrence looks up at them before back down at the roses in front of him. "Gally should know better than to make promises that he can't keep." The man grabs onto his IV and walks towards them. "Besides, that wall is only half your problem. Getting inside WICKED is impossible."
"There might be a way now." Gally says. "But it doesn't work without Thomas."
"Is that so?" Lawrence takes a few steps into the light to reveal his face. "Do you know what I am... Thomas?" Half his face was covered in veins, poking out similarly to some cranks. Where his nose should have been was an empty hole, and his eyes were sunken into his face. Lawrence gets close to Thomas' face. "I am a businessman." He steps back. "Which means that I don't take unnecessary risks. Why should I trust you?"
Leanne can't help but admire Lawrence. He was certainly fighting the virus, feeding himself a partial cure through the IV to buy himself some time. It obviously wasn't the cure, but it was working for the meantime.
"Cause I can help you." Thomas speaks slowly to Lawrence. "You see, if you can get me through those walls... I can get you what you need."
"What is it that you think I need?"
"Time. Every last drop."
Lawrence's eyes roam over the group. "Is that what I need?"
Leanne can barely hold still now. She's itching to get out of this room, and she's scared Lawrence can tell that she is. He reminds her too much of her mother. At the beginning, the virus had only affected her mother physically, changing her appearance. She had still been able to care for her daughters. Lawrence was in that early stage; he had full control over his mind, but not his body.
Lawrence's eyes find their way back from a fidgeting Leanne to Thomas. "WICKED has something we both want." Thomas says.
Lawrence considers his options for a moment. "I'll tell you what. Two can go for now. But I get to pick who." His eyes wander over the group. "The rest stay down here with me. Just a little insurance to make sure you find your way back. We have a deal?" Thomas glances back at the group, before looking up at Lawrence. "Gally, show 'em the way."