Michelle walked out of the tent so she could give Thomas some alone time with Brenda. She wandered around the camp, nodding to Mary when she caught a glimpse of her. She grabbed some dinner from one of the large pots, nodding to the man who had made the warm stew. With a warm meal in her system, she was feeling stronger than she had in a long time.
"Michelle!" The woman looked up to see Vince approaching her. He smiled and gave her a short hug. "Glad to see your all right."
"Did you doubt me, Vince? I don't know if I should be shocked or offended."
The man chuckled.
"I'm assuming you've already met Thomas." She nodded, glancing behind her to see that the boy had just emerged from the tent.
"He sure is something else," she commented, watching him walk over to a small trio of boys.
"You should meet his friends," Vince suggested. "You know, since you don't like anyone else around her, you might find the new kids interesting."
"Now you're just being mean and picking on me, Vince," she said with a chuckle.
"Gotta have something to do to pass the time. You go on now. I'll meet up with you later, all right?
Michelle nodded and started toward Thomas and his friends. Looking around, Michelle could see that people were packing up to move out in the morning. Her heart dropped a little when she remembered that she wouldn't be leaving with them. She shook the thought from her head and put a smile on her face as she grew closer to the boys.
"Michelle, hey," Thomas greeted. "Guys, this is Michelle. I just met her a little while ago. Michelle, this is Frypan, Minho, and Newt. We were in the maze together."
"It's nice to meet you all," she said. "I'm sure you boys have been through h*ll together."
"You have no idea," Minho replied, dropping his head a little. Michelle glanced at the others, seeing that they too seemed to grow a little more sad.
"So, um, I'm going to head over and talk to Teresa," Thomas said, standing up. "I'll talk to you guys in a bit."
The boys said their goodbyes to Thomas as he walked away. Once he disappeared from view, Michelle looked back at the trio in front of her. The three were quiet, their heads down as they seemed to be lost in thought. After another silent moment, Michelle sat down on the ground in front of the boys, crossing her legs underneath her.
"Tell me about her," she said.
"What?" Frypan asked, looking at her in confusion.
"You all lost somebody, I'm assuming recently. Somebody very close to you in some way, shape, or form. I want to know about her."
"How do you know it's a girl?"
"Because judging by the look on their faces here," she pointed at Minho and Newt, "the person you lost was someone you loved. To the two of you, they were more than a friend. So, who was she?"
"Her name was Ivy," Frypan told her after several moments. "She was... like no one I've ever met. She was strong, fearless, kind, funny."
"Stubborn, sassy, protective, encouraging," Newt said.
"But she cared for the safety of others more than she cared for her own," Minho added. "She was shot and wouldn't let us carry her out. She said we would slow her down, that she would cause all of us to get captured."
"She cared for us at our lowest and at our best," Newt added. He paused to look down at his clasped hands. "She was like a sister to me. I can't explain the connection we had, but from the start, I knew it was closer than friendship."
Michelle smiled at them.
"She seemed special. I'm sorry you lost her." The three nodded, lowering their heads to hide their pain. "Hey, all of you, look at me. This is normal. This pain, sadness, heartbreak, anger? It's all normal. It means you're human. The fact that the three of you were able to just talk about her to me shows a lot. Talking about her is healthy. It helps you grow. You can't forget her, and you never will, so remember her for what she was. Believe me, it's hard, but it does help the pain."
Minho couldn't help but chuckle.
"That sounds like something Ivy would say," he said.
"Except she would probably swear at us at some point telling us to stop being shanks," Frypan replied, causing the three to laugh.
Michelle smiled, happy that she was able to get the boys to relax a little. She leaned back on her hands and chose to look at the sky, admiring the colors that had been painted there by the setting sun. Little blue seemed to melt into purple that changed into dark pink, red, orange, and golden yellow. Clouds were also scattered across the sky. The whole thing seemed like a piece of art.
As the sky slowly changed and faded into darker shades, Michelle couldn't help but notice a sudden flicker of light in the distance. Her eyes honed in on that one spot, trying to figure out what had caught her attention. It took her several moments to find out what she was seeing but suddenly, over the noises of the camp, she heard a familiar sound. Her eyes suddenly grew wide in panic.
"Michelle?" Frypan said. "You all right?"
"Get up," she ordered, getting to her feet.
"What? Why?" Newt asked.
"Get up, now!" she said. "We need to move!"
"Why? Talk to us, Michelle," Minho said, rising to his feet but not moving.
"Because we're not safe here anymore! They've found us and we need to leave now unless we want to get killed! Look!"
She pointed at the oncoming helicopters, which were now close enough that the boys were able to see what they were. Newt swore as the three scrambled to their feet, following after Michelle to the camp. The four ran as fast they could toward the camp, trying to find shelter. Just as they ducked behind by a large boulder, an explosion went off. People started screaming in panic and running around.
"We need to find Vince," Michelle said to the boys beside her.
"Where's Thomas?" Minho shouted in reply.
Minho's question went unanswered when they suddenly heard Vince shouting at Harriet for more ammo. The group ran to them, ducking behind the truck that Vince was currently standing on.
"How can we help?" they asked over the sound of gun fire.
"You need to cover us," Harriet replied.
Vince fired several more shots at the WCKD troopers before handing the gun off to Minho.
"Do you know how to use this thing?" he asked the boy. Minho nodded and readied the gun. "Cover me! This fifty is our only chance!"
Newt, Frypan, and Michelle each grabbed their own guns and began firing at the WCKD men. Firing shot after shot, WCKD agents went down, yelling in pain before falling still on the ground. Michelle kept her eyes open, darting around to look for other agents that could come close to them. She spotted one hiding behind a stack of crates. Just as he rose to shoot at Newt, she fired her gun, killing him.
"Vince, hurry up!" she shouted.
"There's too many of them!" Newt added.
Just as Vince finished strapping in the ammo for the large gun, a grenade was thrown at them, landing in the bed of the truck that Vince stood in. A moment after it went off, bursts of electricity went off, shocking the group. Michelle tried to remain standing, firing her gun at least once more before collapsing to the ground.
WCKD guards approached and dragged them to their feet. With little resistance, the Gladers and Right Arm members were forced into groups on their knees. The Gladers had been placed in front while Michelle was shoved down beside Vince and Mary. She hung her head, her heart pounding in her chest as thoughts of what could happen rushed through her mind. To the side, she could faintly hear a guard announcing numbers for the Gladers.
"How many did we get?" a man with grey hair asked.
"All of them, give or take," someone replied.
"Give or take what?"
"Well, they lost a few."
The first man looked around, as if searching for someone.
"Where's Thomas?"
"Right here."
Michelle turned her head to see Thomas walking toward them, his hands up. A guard grabbed him roughly, shoving him toward the man.
"Thomas," the man greeted before suddenly punching the boy in the stomach. Both Michelle and Vince tried to move forward but they were held back by guards. "Get him in line." Thomas was shoved to the ground beside Minho. The man in charge glanced around once more before saying something to one of the other men.
"Why didn't you run?" Minho asked Thomas, loud enough so that Michelle was able to hear.
"I'm tired of running," Thomas replied.
Michelle couldn't help the smirk that came to her face. However, it was wiped away when the sound of an approaching Berg was heard overhead. Everyone looked up and watched in silent fear as a Berg landed not thirty feet away from where they were kneeling. The door opened and several more guards emerged, followed by an older woman in white.
"Is this all of them?" she asked the man.
"Most of them," he replied. "It'll be enough."
"Start loading them in."
"Yes, ma'am. Okay, you heard. Let's go! Get them on!"
The guards began to lift people up and shove them toward the Berg, guns pointed at them in case they tried to escape. The woman, whom Michelle recognized as Ava Paige, motioned for Thomas to be brought to her.
"Hello, Thomas," she said. She turned to welcome Teresa, who seemed ever so slightly nervous. "I'm glad you're safe."
"What the h*ll?" Frypan muttered. "Teresa."
"Wait, what's going on?" New questioned.
"Isn't it obvious?" Michelle said to them.
"She's with them," Thomas finished.
"Since when?" Minho asked, looking at Thomas.
"Oh, Teresa's always had an evolved appreciation of the greater good," the man from before said. "Once we restored her memories, it was only a matter of time."
"I'm sorry," Teresa said. "I had no choice. This is the only way. We have to find a cure."
"She's right," Ava said. "This is all just a means to an end. You used to understand that, Thomas. No matter what you think of me, I am not a monster. I'm a doctor. I swore an oath to find a cure! No matter the cost. I just need more time."
"More blood." Michelle looked at Mary, who had spoken up. The woman had stepped forward. Michelle exchanged looked with Vince, worried about what was going to happen.
"Hello, Mary," Ava said. "I hoped we'd meet again. I'm sorry it had to be under these circumstances."
"I'm sorry about a lot of things, too. But not this. At least my conscience is clear."
"So is mine."
A gunshot suddenly went off, startling the people. Michelle's eyes flew to Mary who staggered and looked down at herself.
"Mary?" Vince said, also realizing what had happened. "Mary? Mary!"
He continued to shout her name, eventually breaking free to run to her. Michelle elbowed the guard behind her, running to the woman's side as well. Vince helped Mary to the ground before she could fully collapse. Anger filled Michelle as she saw the light leaving Mary's eyes. She turned toward the man behind Ava, who held a gun in his hand. She growled lowly before standing and starting toward him. A guard quickly stepped forward to hold her back.
"Since when did you ever care about us! Blood is all you people care about!" she shouted. "Not the number of lives you waste trying to find a cure that doesn't exist! Not the number of families you've torn apart and left to suffer! You tore my family apart just like you took theirs!" She motioned to the Gladers, who watched her fearfully. "They lost someone who was shot and killed by your hands and you don't even care!"
The man had the nerve to chuckle.
"You think that's what she died from?" he said mockingly. "Oh you all are poorly mistaken. We found her back at our base after your escape. We patched her up like new and put her through the experimentation process, just like we would have done originally. I'm almost glad you didn't see her; it was painful. She died shortly after the ninth session."
Rage filled Michelle's veins at his words. She punched the guard in the face but before she could move a step further, another gunshot went off. Michelle gasped and fell to her knees.
"No!" she heard the Gladers gasp. She could even hear Vince let out another painful cry.
Another shot sounded and Michelle grunted when she felt the bullet enter her body by her heart. She grasped the wound as she fell, not taking her eyes off of Ava and the man. Her breaths were becoming shorter and she was starting to lose a grip on life.
"Come on, Janson," Ava said. "Load them up. Let's go. All these people. Get rid of them."
Just as a guard went to grab Thomas's arm, the boy elbowed him in the face, knocking him down. Thomas ripped the bomb Jorge had made out of his coat, holding it in front of him.
"Get back!" he shouted. "Everyone stand back!"
Janson immediately ran forward, ordering his men to hold their fire. He tried to get Thomas to put the bomb down but the Glader only shouted louder for them to let everyone go.
"You know I can't do that!" Ava said.
"Thomas, please stop," Teresa begged. "I made a deal with them. They promised we'd be safe. All of us."
"And I'm supposed to trust you now?"
"It's true," Ava replied. "It was her only condition." Thomas shouted at her to shut up. "Everything can go back to the way it was." The boy looked down at Michelle, who was breathing heavily but kept her eyes on him. He could tell just by looking at her that she had accepted her fate and was ready to finally reunite with her brothers. "Thomas, do you really want all of them to die?"
"Listen to her, Thomas," Janson said. "Think about what you're doing."
Minho suddenly stepped forward, standing close to where Michelle's body was on the ground. He glanced down at her before looking at Ava, Janson and Teresa. Newt and Frypan joined them not a moment later.
"We're with you, Thomas," Newt said.
"Don't," Ava begged.
"Do it, Thomas," Minho said.
"We're ready."
Just by listening to their voice, Thomas knew that his friends were with him. He knew what they were thinking too. Their hearts were broken about the news of Ivy's death. Now, they were each willing to die, not only to escape WCKD once and for all, but to reunite with all of their friends.
"We're not going back there," Thomas told Ava. He held up the detonator. "It's the only way."
Just before Thomas set off the bomb, a horn went off. Everyone turned around to see a large truck barreling toward them. Through the window, they could faintly see Jorge. The man drove the truck through the camp, eventually crashing into a helicopter. The machinery fell over, sending debris everywhere. And that was when the chaos really started and everything seemed to become a blur.
People were running as fast as they could away from the WCKD guards, as well as taking a few out. Explosions and gunfire were going off, further proof of the fight that was happening.
Minho managed to grab a gun and began firing at the WCKD agents, covering his friends while they got to safety. As he went to reload his weapon, a guard shot him with one of the stun blasts. Minho cried out in pain and collapsed to the ground. The Gladers tried to go after him, but they were forced to hide to avoid being fired upon. Thomas sprinted into the open, shouting his friend's name as he tried to get Minho back. The others chased after him to stop him and Jorge was eventually the one to grab the young man from going any further into danger. The group fell back to safety as the WCKD soldiers retreated to their Berg, the doors closing with Ava, Janson, Teresa, and some of their friends inside.
The Berg lifted into the air, disappearing from view in the night sky and carrying its captives with it.
~
Hours later, the encampment was almost dead silent. No one spoke, for there were no words to say. The dead were lined up and covered, the numbers too great to count. Vince had to wipe a tear away as he covered Michelle's body. The Gladers sat on crates, unable to force themselves to help.
"What do we do now?" Frypan muttered, but his words were heard by those around him.
"Well, we pick up what's left of us," Vince sighed. "We stick to the plan. We get you kids to the safe haven. Then we start over, I guess."
Thomas shook his head and stood up, throwing a bag over his shoulder.
"I'm not going with you," he said.
"What?"
"I made a promise to Minho. I wouldn't leave him behind. I have to go after him."
"Hey, kid, look around you. All right? WCKD just kicked our *ss. You think about where you're headed."
"I'm not asking anyone to come with me."
"Thomas, listen to me," Newt said. "I've known Minho for... well, as long as I can remember. So if there was any way that we could help him, trust me, I would be up there standing next to you. This, what you're talking about, is impossible."
"More like suicide," Jorge said, stepping closer to them.
"Maybe," Thomas agreed. "But I know what I'm supposed to do now." He grabbed a gun from behind him. "It's not just about Minho. It's about all of us. It's about everyone WCKD's ever taken, everyone they will take. They'll never stop. They'll never stop so I'm gonna stop them. I'm gonna kill Ava Paige."
"I have to admit," Harriet said, "I'd like some revenge."
"Well, that's a good speech kid," Vince said. "So what's your plan?"