the scorch trials
chapter twelve

❛❛ i think we're gonna be okay ❜❜

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The drive to the Right Arm's camp was short and quick. It took about ten minutes to reach the base. When they arrived the camp, there was a slight of disappointment that Poe was feeling, he did expect that the Right Arm would be larger than what they're seeing, he expected a larger army. He couldn't tell how many people there are, could be over a hundred, no more than two hundred or a hundred and fifty. There were teens, around the Gladers' ages, who all could be the ones that were rescued by the Right Arm from WCKD.

The girl, Harriet lead the Gladers and few others into the camp, "They've been planning this for over a year now. This is all for us"

"You guys are lucky you found us when you did" said Sonya. "We're moving out in first... Where's Vince?" She asked a man nearby who was walking pass them.

"Somewhere over there, I think" the man pointed toward their right.

"Who's Vince?" Thomas asked.

"He's the one who gets to decides if you get to stay" Harriet smiled at them. She continued to lead them toward the middle of the camp toward a largest tent in the camp.

"I thought the Right Arm was supposed to be an army" Minho thought. Poe thought the same thing.

"Yeah, we were" there was a new voice of a strange man on the right, he was walking out of a tent with few men behind him, he looked to be around early forties. He approached the group "This is all that's left of us. A lot of good people died getting us this far. Who are they?" He asked Harriet and Sonya.

"They're Immunes" Harriet answered. "Caught 'em coming up the mountain"

"Did you check 'em?"

Poe wondered what he meant by checking, but quickly presumed if they're infected. "I know these two—" Harriet pointed at Aris and Leigh, "Aris and Leigh. I trust them"

Harriet and Sonya went to Vince's side. "Well, I don't. Check 'em"

Poe didn't realize Brenda wheezing and seemingly had a hard time breathing, he stood behind her, he noticed her until a man near them came close, "Hey boss..." before he could say something else, Brenda collapsed forward.

"Brenda!" Jorge rushed down to her side, "Brenda, Brenda!" The Gladers huddled around the two as Jorge pulled Brenda into his arms, "Brenda, talk to me"

Poe realized this was all familiar, the thought of his friend, Winston came to his thoughts. The day he died and that was only few days ago. When Winston got infected, his skin got pale, his lips turned dark and his lack of breathing. It was happening again, but this time on Brenda.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry" Brenda wheezed.

"What's going on with her?" Vince kneeled down beside Jorge.

"I don't know" Jorge replied. "Brenda... are you all right?"

Poe shifted his gaze on Teo who was beside him, he returned his gaze and gave the same look that Poe had. Teo was thinking the same thing as Poe.

Vince suddenly sprang up in a second as he pulled out a gun. "Shit! Crank! We got a Crank!" He pointed his gun at Brenda.

"No!" Jorge yelled as he clung onto Brenda to protect her but two men were forcing him off and pulled him away from Brenda,

Meanwhile the men surrounding the rest had them all step away and Thomas went rushing to Vince "Wait, wait. Listen! Listen, okay?! This just happened, okay? She's not dangerous yet"

"You shouldn't have brought her here!"

"I know"

"We let Cranks in here now, the safe haven doesn't last a week. Step back!" Vince demanded.

"I understand, okay? I understand. Just listen, please. Please, okay? I told her that you could help. There's got to be something you can do"

Brenda was wheezing as she laid helplessly on the ground, barely conscious as everyone stood by, even if they could try to get to her, they'd be forced back away from her.

"Yeah, there is" Vince replied. For a moment, the group thought that Brenda had hope but until Vince cocked his pistol, "I can put her out of her misery"

"No!" Jorge shouted as he tried to shake from the men's grip, "No!"

"Vince!" A woman called from ahead, she came rushing in, "that's enough! Let him go! Let him go!" She commanded the two men to let Jorge go and they did.

"She's infected, Doc" said Vince, "There's nothing we can do for her"

"No... but he can" the woman was looking at Thomas. Everyone were confused. "Hello, Thomas" she smiled.

The Gladers exchanged perplex looks. "What?" Vince was confused as well.

"You know me?" Thomas asked.

The woman had a realization on her look. "Interesting" her gaze dropped on Brenda then crouch down, "It makes sense they'd put you in the maze. Though I must admit... I was worried they'd kill you after what you did"

"What I did?"

The woman was checking on Brenda before she went on, "The first time we spoke, you said you couldn't take it anymore... watching your friends die, one by one. The last time we spoke... you gave me the coordinates of every WICKED compound, trial and lab"

"He was our source" Vince said.

"We couldn't have pulled all this off without him" the woman turned her gaze on Brenda, "Take her to the tent. Get these guys some warm clothes"

One of the men helped Jorge to lift Brenda up and carried her to the tent.

"It's the least we can do" she went to follow Brenda to the tent, "Thomas, come on. I need to get some blood from you" Thomas went to follow them.

Evening was about to pass soon, it grew colder as if fall season arrived. Poe was given a brown knitted sweater and a dark grey coat, it was enough to keep him warm. He didn't understand the weather of this place, it was scorching out then the next day it's cold as if cold season was near. Just few days ago, they walked on the boiling wasteland barrens under a hot sun for miles. But Poe can't complain about the cold, it was rather a such relief to be in a weather like this.

Poe was glad to be in a place like this, the people became welcoming towards him and his friends, they offered them food and they even already arranged them where they can sleep. He was glad to see his friends smiling, and even Teo.

Poe wanted to talk to him, even about Winston but he figured it would make Teo sad. This is closest to a safe haven, and this is where Teo would've told Winston how he feels. Poe believed that the two of them would've been happy.

"Think Brenda will be okay?" Anton asked, he and Poe sat in front of the bonfire, with Harriet, Sonya, Aris and Leigh beside them.

"I don't know" Poe said, "I doubt they have a cure in their pockets"

"Yeah" Anton looked very disappointed, "So what happens to her?"

Poe shrugged. But Harriet had heard the boy's question, "I hate to break it to you, kid, those who get infected, we have no choice but to leave them behind. What happens to her next will be up to her"

"That sucks" Anton murmured, "That would also means that Jorge will stay with her. Jorge and Brenda will be all alone. You know, maybe we should stay with them, Poe"

Poe wrinkled his brows. He didn't have any words to respond to that, instead Leigh did, "Here, kid—" she pulled out the teddy bear out of her pack she found, and Anton reluctantly took as he gave her a strange look. "If you're planning on staying behind, he'll watch over you"

"You do know that I'm not four, right?"

Leigh just shrugged, "I know"

Poe's gaze shifted away and found Frypan, Teo, Newt, Nico and Minho sitting on a hill on the rocks. "Hey, let's go see the others, come on" he got up as he nudged the boy's arm. "See ya guys" he said to Leigh and her friends, and Aris replied with a wave.

"This teddy bear is ugly" Anton muttered as he looked down at the stuffed animal.

Poe chuckled softly, "I think he'll watch over you better than I did"

Anton half frowned. "I didn't want to hurt her feelings... Leigh. Didn't have a choice but to take her bear"

Poe and Anton joined the Gladers, he seated down beside Teo. The evening had grown late as the sun was on the horizon. The Gladers didn't spoke at all, only to watch the camp and the view. To think of how far they've come so far was remarkable, it all felt finally. Finally to find an actual place where he can feel safe and his friends' safety.

He wondered what it would be like if the rest of the Gladers have made it, like Winston, Jack, Jeff, Clint, Alby, Nick, Bark, all of them.

"He would've love this place" Teo said, "Winston, I wish he seen this... heck, I wish they all could've seen this place.... I think we're gonna be okay from now on"

Poe looked to his left, looked at his friends. At Teo, at Frypan. Minho, Nico and Newt. Newt was already looking at him. Newt was smiling... at Poe. Truly heartwarming to see Newt smiling and Poe couldn't stop himself from smiling back. Everything was okay, maybe it will be from now on.

Then Poe noticed that someone was missing. Teresa. She wasn't here, nor in the camp. Poe glanced around until he found her at a cliff ahead that towered over the base. She was standing on the midway of the cliff and seemingly watching the view. He had seen how unhappy she was since they arrived here. She was the only one in the group who seemed disappointed.

Poe immediately remembered what she said back in the Scorch, while they were walking though the wasted barrens, how she wanted to talk to him alone, they never had a chance to talk... So he decided to go and talk to her, finally.

"I'll be right back" he told the Gladers.

It took a bit of a climbing to get reach Teresa, he walked most of the way before finally reaching her. The sun had finally set, the sky was darker blue, there was still a bit of hint of sunset colours where the sun had went meanwhile in the opposite direction was already dark and the stars were barely visible.

"Hey—" Poe said as he got close, "You feeling all right?"

Teresa's shifted over her shoulder, looked at Poe for a moment before turning her head back at the view. "Yeah. I'm just thinking"

Poe said nothing momentarily, he took few more steps forward. There was a moment he wanted to leave her be but he assumed he may not get a chance for a while again to talk to her. "So... we never had a chance to talk alone. But that's if it's a good time to talk, I can leave you alone"

Teresa didn't speak for a moment, Poe almost left to leave her be until she asked, "How much do you remember?" She didn't turn around to look at him.

Poe was confused by her question, but shouldn't she know that he doesn't remember much? "Not much at all" he told her, "you know, they're just pieces and they're the same"

"They gave me my memories back" She said, "back in the WICKED compound. They helped me to remember everything"

Poe pressed his brows together. He'd ask why she didn't tell him but he knew. Everything has to been too much these past couple of days since escaping WCKD. There was never a time, she never found time to tell him, he can understand that.

"They were going to help you too" She said, Poe almost found that difficult to believe. "Thomas was right. They never meant to send you into the maze... It was a mistake. They made a mistake of sending you into the maze because they thought... they thought you betrayed them"

Poe can feel his heart pounding. He had questions... but he kept quiet and let her speak.

"They thought— I thought you betrayed them. I thought you betrayed me—" she sounded hurt of how she said that. "But I was wrong. We were... so wrong. The mistake we did that we forced you into the maze because we thought you were the spy... but it wasn't you... it was Thomas. Thomas was the spy... He had you framed, you tried to tell them the truth. You tried to tell us that Thomas was working for the Right Arm, you tried but they didn't believe you. So they send you to the maze thinking that they were preventing you from sabotaging the maze trials. But they didn't realize the mistake they did until few months later when they figured out it was Thomas who was giving out information to the Right Arm"

What is she saying? Poe was in disbelief. Does that mean Poe was with WCKD before he went was sent into the maze? That he was truly working with WCKD, that he's one of them? He believed... he believed that he was working against WCKD. But no...

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you" Teresa said almost tearfully.

"Teresa..." Poe paused, she shouldn't be sorry. She shouldn't be. He was mostly glad that he's not with WCKD. He was glad that he's on the right side. This is the right side. "Don't be... its... okay. It's okay. We're both here now. We're here now, we're safe. We're better off from WICKED. We can now go far from here and—"

"Poe—" Teresa finally turned around and looked at him. "I remember... I remember why... I remember why we did it. I remember everything, and what we promised. We... we've known each other since we were kids. I remember the first time we met... I remember you had a brother who was older than you. Mark... that was his name. You, Mark and others saved me. That's how we met. I remember my mother—"

A brother... Poe had a brother. A big brother named Mark. Had... He's gone. Gone for a long time. Something grew in his chest and his throat, he turned away from her and glanced where the sun had gone to. He had a brother. He had a brother. What happened to him?

"My mom... she was a beautiful woman. Everybody loved her. Before you found me, she was all I had" Teresa's eyes glistened as she stared at Poe. "When she got sick, I didn't know what to do. I just kept her locked up. Hidden. I thought she'd get better. Every night, she'd make these awful sounds, like screaming. And then, one night, she just stopped. She was finally quiet... I went down to her room. And there was blood everywhere. But she was just sat there, calm. She said she was feeling better. The visions were gone. She'd taken care of them... she took her eyes out, Poe"

To see her hurting, to see watch her about to break down, Poe wanted to grab her and hold her in his arms and never let go of her until she feels better.

"There are millions of people suffering out there, millions of stories, just like mine. Just like yours"

Poe wasn't sure if he would wanted to remember what happened to a big brother he once had. He wanted to ask her. He wanted to ask what happened to Mark. He had so many questions.

"We both promised—" Teresa continued, "we both promised to each other that we help everyone and save them. That's why we helped WICKED, you and I just wanted to help everyone and find the cure. We can't turn our backs on them... I won't"

Poe pressed his brows together, he was shocked and also confused but he was caught when she said that she won't turn her back on them. WCKD? "Wha— What are you saying?" She can't... he doesn't want to let her. They've come too far, they've brought their friends this far, they are this close to the safe haven, away from WCKD. He and Teresa are so close to the safe haven.

"I'm saying, I want you to understand" she said.

Please no... is she planning on leaving? Is she planning on going back to WCKD? "Understand what?"

"Why I did it"

He was even more confused. And at the same time, scared... worried. What she did, what did she do?

Then he saw it. Something over her shoulder...

Lights appeared. They appeared out of a horizon. The sounds of their helicopters. Then he realized. He realized what Teresa has done. What she did, but she couldn't have. Poe was in disbelief. No, please no. Please tell me it's not you and they just found us. "Teresa?" Poe asked in disbelief. Please tell me it wasn't you. Please tell me what I'm thinking is wrong.

"Please don't fight them, Poe" Teresa begged tearfully as she looked at him.

It was like sharp and heavy pang that hit his chest. "Wha—" he let out a breath sharply, "What did you— what have you done?"

Anton... Teo... Newt... Newt... Anton. They're in danger... again.

"What have you done?" Poe never realized that his eyes burned by tears. He left, he left her. He ran back to the camp, back to Anton, back to Teo, back to Newt. Back to the Gladers. He must warn them, he must warn them all and save his friends.

He went quickly as he could, he ran fast as he could than ever before. They were getting close, the sounds of their engines and the sounds of deep rumbling and the propellers, they were getting close.

When he reached over the hill, that's when he screamed out. "RUN!" He kept running down the hill towards the camp. "RUN!"

Some of them noticed him, but all of them were confused as they saw Poe sprinting down the hill. Anton and Newt were one of those who saw him. The sounds of WCKD's helicopters became loud and clear, and they fired the missiles.

"RUN!" Poe bellowed, and he never saw the missiles coming until one landed and blasted in front of him.

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