I stood in the loading dock with a group of other WICKED soldiers, there were about 40 of us. Our hoods and masks were pulled up, visors down. No one would see our faces. Annonamus. We all stood straight and listened as we were given our orders and the mission details.

Our Berg pilot, Jorge, stood to the side, hands clasped behind his back, eyes glued to the commander his face blank. Him and the man barking out orders were the only ones with their faces shown. Everyone else was behind helmets. The commander kept talking stomping up and down the line.

"...Is that understood?"

"Yes sir." Was the general consensus. I wasn't listening. My mind had wondered. I wanted to know how many of these people were deserting with me.

I knew Brenda and her uncle, who was our pilot. And one other. Theo. For sure. Everyone else was anonymous until later.

Brenda was the one who brought the idea to me. Her uncle and Theo were whispering about it and Brenda overhead. We immediately agreed. We knew the risks. We were done and we wanted out. I'd dye trying to get free then dye behind WICKED.

The lines began to move. We marched towards the Berg. Once everyone was settled, Jorge turned on the engines, making the whole thing hum loudly. The giant metal flying machine took off, and we were in the air.

My stomach twisted. I knew my job was next. I wasn't scared, not really. In the many years I had worked for WICKED I had become accustomed to violence and death. Blood wasn't new. It was a shoot first- ask questions later, kind of world. Our world was harsh and that left no room to hesitate or be soft. It was survival of the fitest.

I was just maybe slightly uncomfortable with shooting someone unarmed. Or maybe this plan wasn't as foolproof as we all thought. I glanced at the watch on my wrist. I had to wait exactly 26 minutes from take off before I started. It was hot under the mask. My breathing felt loud. I prayed my asthma would be fine until after and I could remove my mask.

Five more minutes. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes.

Two more minutes. I took a few deep slow breaths.

One more minute. I unbuckled and stood up.

"Where are you going, soldier?" The voice behind the mask was muffled, he wasn't my leader, that wasn't Theo. I had seen Theo get up and leave the main holding area.

"Bathroom." I answered.

"Fine." He shooed me away.

I rolled my eyes behind my mask. I walked past the rows of soldiers. In the hall I turned towards the bathroom. Another soldier was waiting there. He was as tall as a giant and as broad as one. I glanced at my watch.

"Soldier." He nodded. "You going to mechanics?"

"It's Fox." I lifted my hand and touched the three middle fingers of my left hand to my lips and hold it out. "And I'm going to the bathroom."

He mirrored my hand gesture and nodded again.

He reached behind him and pulled out a small hand gun hidden in his belt. I took it and turned on my heel. I went back to the main room. The gun cocked and loaded. I stopped at the door. I saw another masked guard step forward, Theo. I repeated the hand gesture. He repeated the movement and then, together we stepped into the main room. We repeated the hand gestures.

It seemed to be the symbol of the rebels. Everyone who was defecting reaised three fingers into the air and held it. The ones who didn't, they didn't get a chance to understand.

I raised my gun and pulled the trigger. Once. Twice. Three times. Four times. The soilder from the other hall pulled their gun and pulled the trigger. Someone sitting in the middle room stood up and pulled a gun out and shot the guards around them who weren't rebeling.

In less then a minute 13 shoulders lay stund on the ground. We had decided, with much debate, to knock them out with stun guns and not shoot to kill.

"Too bad it wasn't real bullets." Someone to my right grumbled.

I wasn't sure how I felt. Would I have killed them? Maybe. They worked for Janson. Probably. They agreed with WICKED and the horrible things they did to children. But.. did these people laying on the ground, did they get a chance to choose to defect? Probably, and they made their choice. And they weren't with us.

Someone pressed the call button to the pilot.

"Yoda? Come in. We're good to drop the package."

"Roger that. Lowering the Berg."

I felt the Berg lower and then the hatch behind me started to open. Jorge held the Berg steady. We hovered 10 feet off the ground. I grabbed one of the unconscious guards and dragged them to the open hatch. I shoved the body out the Berg. Someone came behind me, dragging the next body. It took only a few minutes to rid the Berg of loyalists. There were more deserters and rebels then remaining WICKED loyalists. Once all the unconscious guards were dumped, someone else radiod the pilot.

"Package has been delivered."

The hatch closed and it was silent for a moment. I looked at the other guards. Everyone still had their helmets on, there was no need to secrecy anymore. We were all in this now. And the helmets were hot. I pulled mine off and shook out my hair. Grateful for cool air to fill my lungs.

As soon as mine was off others pulled theirs off. I saw Theo and Brenda, and a few different people I recognized from other units, but most of Theo's units were there, Christina, Uriah, Tori, Al, Peter, Lynn and Marlene, a newer girl named Kat. There were a few older guards and leaders.

I smirked at everyone. I was glad most of my unit was here, I had been with them for so long it seemed like some weird family. Brenda tossed her helmet onto a seat and came over and pulled me and Christina into a tight hug.

"Okay. The next step to our new life begins."

"We're not clear yet." Theo said.

"Aren't you cheerful." I rolled my eyes.

I felt his narrowed eyes on me but I ignored him. I felt the heavy weight of sadness hit again, Hailey just had to wait 24 hours... now only 12. Maybe The Chancellor found out and killed my sister on purpose. The horrible realization weighs me down
I feel my chest getting tight.

I walked away, towards a smaller room, I needed quiet right now. It had been a wild 24 hrs. I watched my sister loose all hope, and then Eric's encounter and now this. We were now on our to The Right Arm. From there we were picking up a few more Rebellion Leaders and going to bust the maze B girls out. I just needed a second to collect myself. My lungs were making my breathing wheeze.

I found a room filled with boxes. All loaded with extra supplies ready to smuggle to the Right Arm. I sunk to the floor. I ripped the vest off and tossed it, along with my helmet. Leaning my head back I closed my eyes. Dug my puffer from my pocket. It helped.

It was only a few minutes of quiet when the door opened. I peeked an eye open. I picked my head up and both eyes opened now. Theo walked closer. Theo was never one for comfort. So I was confused, why was he here. He held something out to me. I grinned. I took the bottle and twisted the cap off. Theo sat down and took a sip of his own bottle.

The bitter taste slid down my throat and I felt the heat of alcohol warm the spot where my heart was supposed to be. He held his bottle out. I tapped mine with his and took a long deep drink.

"Happy freedom." He said flatly.

"May the odds be ever in your favor." I said in the fake happy Effie Trinket voice.

After the Reaping she had stuck around, making tv appearances. She did a few interviews with different favored Subjects. And just last year there was talk of another big reaping. And Effie was there in a wild gold wig and heels with butterflies all over her outfit.

Theo snorted with a sarcastic smirk. His dark eyes watched me for a second and then looked forwards.

"So. Fox?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. He gives me a side eye.

I shrug, taking another long sip from the bottle.

"Fox is a sneaky animal. Figured we were doing a lot of sneaking."

He just hummed. He tipped his head back and finished the bottle. We sat quietly for a while. Theo wasn't one for deep talks. Or talking in general, and I was okay with that. I don't like talking much.

"Why are you here?" I finally asked.

He turned his head and looked at me for a second. His dark broody eyes stared at me. "I can leave." He rolls his eyes and starts to get up. I smack him, "don't be an ass. It was a question."

"Thought you shouldn't be alone right now." He says quietly. He picks at the paper label on the empty bottle.

I groaned, and ran a hand through my hair for a second. Why was he here. He was hard, and didn't ever show emotion. I still remember his first day as a Trainor. We had a new set of WICKED recreates.

•×•

Monster was walking up the row of fresh ones, slapping a gun into their hands. His deep voice was quiet, but it cut through the early morning.

"Training is divided into three stages. We will measure your progress and rank you according to your performance in each stage. The stages are not weighed equally in determining your final rank, so it is possible, though difficult, to drastically improve your rank over time."

I stood behind him, my arms folded staring up and down the line of new recruits. I had been with WICKED 6 years now. I was as good as many of the leaders and captains, I just chose not to continue on into leadership roles because that meant I worked closer to Janson and I wasn't going to be anywhere near that man, if I could help it.

So I was usually placed with either training the new ones or on special missions, the more dangerous ones out in the broken Crank riddle cities. Right now, I was supposed to be helping Monster with training, this was his first training session. He seemed like he had this under control so I stood off to the side, arms crossed and jaw clenched, just observing everything.

"We believe that preparation eradicates cowardice, which we define as the failure to act in the midst of fear," says Monster. "Therefore each stage of initiation is intended to prepare you in a different way. The first stage is primarily physical; the second, primarily emotional; the third, primarily mental."

This was the way we had always done training, how he knew this was beyond my pay grade, so I just kept my mouth shut and kept my eyes open. This guy clearly came from somewhere high up in WICKED. I continued to listen and make my own theory about this new WICKED Guard leader who went by the name Monster.

Working with The Guard, I saw the worst of humanity. I saw the sick and broken, the effects of war and famine, disease, poverty. I have seen it all. I eventually become hard and jaded. You either become hard or you break. I saw many shoulders break in my years in The Guard.

"But what…" Peter yawns through his words, bringing me back. "What does firing a gun have to do with…bravery?"

I'm not a fan of this guy. He never took anything seriously. But WICKED didn't care. He was immune. Too old for the Maze Trials.
So he's now a Guard.

Monster growls and moves forward. I roll my eyes, and lay a hand on his shoulder. He whips his head around to me. He looks ready to now swing a fist at me. His dark intense eyes flash in a clear warning. Clearly he doesn't like to be interrupted. Or maybe he doesn't like to be touched.

I pull the gun from my holster quicker then he can move. I flip the gun now in my hand and press the barrel to Peter’s forehead. Ignoring Monster now. He may be my superior, but I still outrank these new recruits, and I'm still a certified trainer. My eyes stare him down and click a bullet into place. Peter freezes with his lips parted, the yawn dead in his mouth.

"Wake. Up," I snap. "You are holding a loaded gun, you idiot. Act like it."

I lower the gun slowly. Once the immediate threat is gone, Peter’s green eyes harden. I'm surprised he can stop himself from responding, after speaking his mind so often this first week. He seems like the idiot who has to have the last word. But he does, he finally stays quiet, his cheeks red. His eyes flick to Monster behind me. His jaw clenched and I saw him swallow hard.

"And to answer your question, idiot…you are far less likely to soil your pants and cry for your mother if you're prepared to defend yourself." Monster adds. He seems to now understand what I was doing, and now he was on the same page as me. He started pacing down the line of new soilders. He stops walking at the end of the row and turns on his heel. "This is also information you may need later in stage one. So, watch me. Watch Raya."

He faces the wall with the targets on it- one square of plywood with three red circles on it for each of us. I mirror his actions and raise the gun I held to Peter's head. I stand with my feet apart, holding the gun in one hand, and fire. The bang is so loud it hurts my ears, but I've become accustomed to the loud explosion. The bullet went through the middle circle. I feel a warmth in my hand everytime I use a gun. The power of holding something so devisatting, the power of it, it thrills me.

I fire my gun first and as I'm lowering my gun, Monster fires his, sending the bullet straight through the hole I made. I bite back a scoff. This guy was good. And a bit cocky.

As he turns I see the corner of his lip twitch upwards. A possible smile. I raised an eyebrow. That was quite possibly the first time he showed any emotion and maybe I earned some respect from him.

•×•

"Hey...what's going on up there?"

"Huh?" I blunk and look around at him. He's holding two fresh bottles, where he got them from I don't know, but I accept the bottle.

"You spaced again." His words coming out in a low growl.

"Oh." I shrug, "remembering the time I held a loaded gun to Peter's head."

"It was a solid teaching moment." He agreed. His eyes went far away, as he remembered the moment two years ago. The corner of his lip twitched in a small smirk.

"I thought you were going to punch me for interrupting." I chuckled dryly. I leaned my head back on the crate behind me and took a long swig of the biter alcohol.

"I don't hit girls."

"No. No you don't. One of the few in WICKEDs Gaurd who doesn't."

He scowls at the wall when he hears that. "Who?" His immediate response was to clench his hands tight and coil each muscle.

"Doesn't matter anymore. Chill. We're out." I peek an eye at him. He seems to have become more and more protective when it's just us, but also barks orders and let's Eric push and smack me around. He's a hard one to understand.

His body is still coiled and ridged. He's glaring at the half empty bottle in his hand. He takes a slow and shuddering breath and releases it slowly.

"You're right. We're out. We're free. And we're almost there. You're okay, Fox?"

"I always am." I say dully.

The sadness of watching Hailey give up hits me again. He nods and gets to his feet. He pauses a moment, like he's thinking and then extends a hand towards me. I look up at him, slightly confused.

My hand is moving before my brain can process this, I place it in his and he yanks me to my feet. He's strong and pulls me a little too much and I stumble into his chest. I'm rather tall for a girl, so standing beside Theo, I'm only a few inches shorter than him. We're so close I can feel his warm breath. I felt my insides twist, like someone’s stirring them with a fork. He stares at me. I can't read what's behind his dark eyes, but it's not his usual anger. I can't seem to find my voice, all my brain function has stopped.

"5 minutes to the randeavoue point." A voice crackles over the speakers.

I jump. My heart has started again and I can feel the heat rising in my cheeks. Theo blinks a few times and then he's storming across the room and disappears into the hall. Running a hand through my hair I shake my head, clearing myself of the weird uncomfortable feelings. I finished what's left in the bottle, finally maybe feeling a slight warmness from the alcohol. I grab my vest and helmet from the floor and leave the room.

•×•

1. So...four chapters in. It's very TMR and Divergent right now. I promise THG will make more of an appearance.

2. This is a bit different in writing style. More past tense and flipping to present tense, short choppy sentences.... What do we think?

3. Also..what do we think of
Monster & Fox?