Alex came too with her head pounding. Keeping her eyes clamped shut she moaned.

Why do they always go for the head?

Her head was in someone's lap, and she felt the sway of a moving vehicle.

Shuck. Take! Kidnapped! Again. I tend to have a habit of being kidnapped...why does everyone want me so bad? Where am I? Where's everyone else? Shuck shuck shuck.

She sat bolt upright. Which caused Thomas to jump and gasp at her sudden movement. It made her feel dizzy causing her head to pound some more. Alex let out a groan as she lifted a hand to the back of her head. She felt a large bump, but no blood. She peered around. She were sitting in the back of some kind of armored vehicle. Brenda, Kenzie and Thomas were with her. She sighed in relief, at least she knew where some of her friends were. Across from them sat four masked men, all holding huge automatic guns. Alex double checked herself.

Aww shuck they took my weapons. Not cool.

"Well this is cozy." Alex said, looking around the truck, and looked at the girls, "glad you could join us."

The girls grinned and nodded. Alex looked back at the masked men, "you guys come here often?"

They didn't respond.

"We tried talking to them, they won't say anything." Thomas huffed.

"Ooh. The strong and silent type. I'm sure I can break them." Alex lifted an eyebrow.

"I'd like to see that." Kenzie encouraged with a mischievous grin.

"It wasn't a challenge." Thomas sighed exasperated.

"Challenge accepted!" Alex smiled, folding her arms, like the matter was settled.

"I just said it's NOT-"

"I SAID CHALLENGE ACCEPTED TOMMY!' Alex hollered over Thomas. "It's going to be LEGEN- wait for iiiit- DARY! It's gonna be Legendary when they crack!"

The girls chuckled.

"Or maybe...they are just too stupid to talk?" Alex asked seriously, tapping her chin, thoughtfully.

"Alex!" Thomas warned.

"Or maybe they're not real!" Kenzie whispered leaning over Thomas, "Maybe we were all hit in the head and we're all in a coma?!"

"A coma? Really? Were all in a coma together?" Brenda snorted, throwing a hand around, gesturing to the truck and men in front of them.

"Hey, I've seen some weird klunk." Alex shrugged, "could happen." Alex said knowingly, tapping her chin again, for dramatic effect.

It was silent for a second, then Alex snorted, and giggled to herself.

"Hey...guys!" She looked at each of the masked guys, "You have the right to remain silent." She paused and giggled. "'Cause anything you say and do...will probably be stupid anyways!"

Thomas groaned, rubbing his forehead. Brenda and Kenzie bust into giggles.

"So where are we going guys?" Alex asked with fake enthusiasm, "Like if you really wanted a date...all you had to do was ask, ya know, use some manners. The word PLEASE.. it goes along way. No need to kidnap us. These two beautiful ladies are single. This strapping Young lad is also single. Sorta. If that's more your jam." She said, clapping Thomas on the shoulder.

One masked guy snorted but managed to turn it into a cough. Alex smirked. She knew they would eventually crack.

"I mean I prefer to be wined and dined, but Tommy might like this whole rough kidnapping situation. Who knows this guy's kinks. He might not know himself. You can discover them together! Won't that be fun, eh Tommy Boy?"

Brenda and Kenzie were doubled over trying very hard to contain their giggles. It sounded like two masked guys were coughing, also trying to cover up chuckles.

Thomas face palmed. "Seriously? I hate you Alex...I hate you so much! Do you ever take anything seriously" Thomas grumbled.

Alex thought for a moment, "Yes. My coffee. I take that VERY seriously."

A few more coughs.

"Why are you like this? Where did it come from? Sarcasm? That smart mouth? Also...remind me why we're friends?" Thomas groaned.

"Sarcasm is my religion!" Alex stated, "and you love me! Remember, you love me so much you took a bullet for me!"

Thomas just looked at her, deadpanned. She batted her eyelashes.

"Ya...remind me why I did that?" He huffed.

"You told me I was like your annoying little sister...Deep down you love me, so shucken much! Aaaannd! Sarcasm... is like punching people in the face...but with words. So you should just appreciate how hard I work to not become a mass murderer!" Alex shrugged.

"Truth sister." Kenzie nodded, high fiving Alex.

The one masked man was shaking, and had another unexpected coughing fit. Alex watched the guy with amusement, she felt the truck slow down and come to a halt.

"I bet we're in their secret layer. Don't all bad guys have a secret headquarters?" Kenzie asked.

The back door opened and a guy pulled everyone out. Alex had just made it out of the truck when another truck pulled up. She heard quite the commotion from the back. She made eye contact with Brenda and Kenzie and tried to suppress a smile.

They heard bangs and yells, and Jorge's district voice. "WHERE ARE THEY? BRENDA? ALEX? KENZIE?" The truck door burst open and a masked guy flew out, landing with a thud on the ground.

"How come I'm always named last?" Kenzie huffed in annoyance.

"Cuz Papi loves us more." Alex smirked at her, "you're also the youngest!"

Kenzie huffed and crossed her arms, and turned to watch pouting a bit.

"Where are they? Huh? Where are my girls you Son of-"

"JORGE!" Newt yelled, "LANGUAGE!" as he climbed out of the truck with Frypan, and Finn.

"Newton you call them shucken swear words...the rest of us call 'em sentence enhancers!" Alex yelled, rolling her eyes as she and Brenda rushed over to Jorge, before he took out anyone else.

"FINN!" Kenzie screamed running to her brother.

"I'm right here." Alex called.

"Right here!" Brenda yelled at the same time.

Jorge threw another punch, obviously not hearing them. Alex and Brenda grabbed his arms, Kenzie came over too, dragging Finn with her. Together all three girls yelling at Jorge to stop and dragged him away.

"We're right here. We're right here!"

The masked people had formed a circle around them, guns out. If Jorge didn't stop they would be shot.

"Jorge! We're okay! Promise!" Alex said gently now that his fists stopped. He finally looked up, looking between the three. He scrambled to his feet, pulling the three into a hug.

"Oh Mi Hijas!"

"Everybody relax. We're all on the same side here." One guy said, stepping forward, his gun was on his back, hands up in defense.

"What do you mean 'same side'?" Newt asked. He had side stepped over to Alex, when he was talking and tried to wrap her up in a hug. She shoved him off, still pissed at his earlier behavior. Though deep down she was glad he was safe beside her.

"Who the hell are you?" Thomas asked at the same time as Alex asked "Who the shuck are you?"

There was a dramatic pause when he half turned away, and pulled his mask off.

As he turned back around, "Hey, Greenie... She-Bean..."

"Gally?" Newt questioned.

"No shucken way!" Frypan cried

"The bloody and I canNOT stress this- THE SHUCK?" Alex yelped .

Alex had watched him die. She saw life leave his eyes. No. He was dead! Gally was dead on a WICKED facility floor. She saw it! She left two dead bodies back in that WICKED lab! Minho had thrown a spear right into his chest! How....how is that...Her racing thoughts were interrupted by Thomas. Who had lunged at Gally and threw a punch, getting him in the cheek. Gally dropped, Thomas scrambling to get on top of him.

"No, wait!" Gally called. The guys around them had taken a step forward, raising their guns again.

"HOLD!" Gally called again.

"Stop! It's all right!" Newt had sprung forward and grabbed Thomas and pulled him backwards.

Thomas tried to push him off. Alex could see the veins popping in Thomas' neck, his face was red and he was breathing hard.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Stop! Stop it!" Newt tried to calm him.

So he's calm with Thomas when he flies off the rocker...but is a slint head towards me. Shucken slint head.

"Stop." Newt said firmly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"He killed Chuck!" Thomas panted.

That hit Alex in the gut hard. Her baby shank. Her little buddy. Her baby brother. She hadn't thought of him in a while, or Matt.. too ashamed to think what they would say about who she had become and what she had done to be here. And here stood Gally, alive and well, when he was the one who pulled the trigger. Alex could feel her throat closing and her eyes burning, she opened and closed her fists a few times, trying to keep them from shaking and going numb.

"Yeah, I know. I remember. I was there too, all right?" Newt tried to soothe, "But I also remember that he was stung and half out of his mind."

He glanced up at Alex, like he knew she also needed the reminder. Which she did. Gally was a pain in the ass, a real bully and a jerk, but he wasn't the real enemy. WICKED had used him, just like they used everyone else around them.

"Just calm down. All right?" Newt had his hand on Thomas's shoulder, but was now talking to Alex, too. "Come on." He helped Thomas to his feet.

"Kind of had that coming." Gally chuckled half heartedly. He was rubbing the side of his face.

"Anybody else? Fry? Newt?" He turned his head and looked at Alex, "She-Bean? Wanna have a-" he didn't finish. Alex had punched him across the jaw, sending him back to the floor.

"ALEX!" Newt yelled, rushing forwards and grabbing Alex around the waist and pulling her backwards.

Frypan had rushed forward and helped Gally to his feet.

"What the shuck was that for?" Newt yelled at her.

"Don't take that tone with me, Newton! He asked. I couldn't pass on the opportunity to punch the mother fu-"

"ALEX! SERIOUSLY! YOUR LANGUAGE!" Newt yelled.

Alex shoved him away, "Do you remember the klunk he said to me and if I remember correctly, that was payback for his punch first, knocking that chip loose, which just about killed me. REMEMBER? And he tried to use me as a shucken offering!" Alex snapped.

"Same girl! I'd hit that!" Kenzie called grinning. She crossed her arms and stuck out a hip.

Alex pointed at her, "See Newton? But I think we have different ideas of what hittin' that is. For me...it would be a high five. To the face. With a chair."

Kenzie smirked, "Oh...I'd volunteer as tribute to be sacrificed if he was doing it." Kenzie looked Gally up and down. "And I'd use that chair in an entirely different way."

Finn ground, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Do you have any decency?"

"Nope." Kenzie grinned, still eyeing up Gally with a smirk.

Disbite not liking Gally much, Alex snorted and caught Brenda's eye and they had to turn away from each other giggling.

"It's true...I did ask. It was fair game." Gally replied, holding his jaw, ignoring the comments from Kenzie, but his face flushed pink with a deep blush.

"Jeez Shanket, you definitely got stronger since we wrestled! What the shuck have you been up to?" Gally whined.

"Do you know this guy?" Jorge asked interupting

"Unfortunately." Alex said dryly, having finally contained her giggles.

"He was an old friend." Newt answered, never taking his eyes off Gally.

"How? How is this possible?" He asked in awe.

"We watched you die!" Thomas added.

"No, you left me to die." He had turned Thomas and Alex.

That was a punch in the gut. She watched him stop breathing, she watched his eyes fade, she kicked and screamed to get back to them...well to Chuck...but still.

"And if we hadn't found you when we did, you'd be dead right now." He added.

There was a little commotion by the trucks when a guy stumbled out of the truck, supported by one of his buddies.

"What the hell happened to him? Why's he bleeding?" Gally asked bewildered.

"Because he's an idiot!" Alex answered, crossing her arms. Gally looked at her amused, he raised one of his ridiculous eyebrows.

"I didn't know idiocy caused people to just spontaneously bleed out of a broken nose." He said with mock surprise.

"Huh. Must be a new phenomenon." Alex shrugged, "he just needed a high five. To the face. With my foot."

Gally just chuckled, and shook his head.

"Bring him to sick bay, and John, I told you not to grab from behind. She knows what she's doing! Now next time..." Gally looked at Alex, "use your shuck brain!"

"...Use your shuck brain..." She whispered, at the same time. She shook her head, riding herself of memories.

"I told you if you had just said the world PLEASE!" Alex called after them.

Gally snorted and shook his head, "What the hell are you doing here?" He turned back to the group.

"A continuum of poor choices and shucked events." Alex replied drily Gally raised his ridiculous eyebrows again, while Frypan and Brenda snorted, Newt sighed heavily and face palmed. Thomas looked like he was seriously considering her sarcastic comment.

"Minho." Alex stated, and Gally's face made an "oh" and then clamped his jaw shut, furrowing his eyebrows.

"WICKED has him and Teresa here. We're looking for a way in." Thomas added, crossing his arms, narrowing his eyes.

"I can help with that."

Alex's eyes light up. There was an instant fire in her chest.

"Follow me." Gally turned on his heel and started to march away.

"I'm not going anywhere with you." Thomas stamped his foot, with his arms crossed. He looked like a toddler having a temper tantrum.

"Suit yourself. But I can get you through those walls." Gally shrugged.

He didn't even stop to look. Alex followed without hesitation. Gally was a bully in the maze, but he always stayed true to his word. And she trusted that. The death of Chuck still hurt, almost a year later, but she had to remind herself it wasn't really Gally. It was WICKED. It's always WICKED.

"So...what happened?" Alex asked.

They were climbing up a metal staircase at the end of a huge wearhouse. Gally looked over his shoulder at her.

"After the maze, I got picked up by a group headed to the city. They realized I was immune, patched me up, and they brought me here to Lawrence."

They were only halfway up the steps but Alex noticed he was a little winded. Alex also noticed now that they were close together, Newt also looked a little winded, and pale.

"This group's been at war with WICKED ever since they took control of the city."

They made it to the top of the staircase, Gally led them down a bleak hallway.

"But WICKED can't hide behind those walls forever. Day's gonna come, and they're gonna pay for what they've done."

He sounded like his old self, full of drive and determination. And he didn't have that chip on his shoulder anymore, maybe that was it, he had a calmness to him he never had in the Glade.

They had stopped at a door at the end of the hall. He hesitated.

"Listen, uh, he doesn't get a lot of visitors. So, let me do the talking." He made a point of looking at Thomas and Alex. "All right? And try not to stare."

He opened the door and led them into a dimly lit room. 

_____________________________________________