"They're late." Thomas whined. He had been watching his watch for the last fifteen minutes, it was making Alex's anxiety increase.

Thomas, Alex and Vince had been waiting in a truck, hiding behind some rubble and dying shrubs beside the base of the mountain. The train tracks conveniently went right past this hiding spot. They had been waiting for a few hours now. It was hot in the truck with the sun beating down on them. It was a long few hours, waiting with these two. Alex was just going to tell Thomas off again, about being annoying, when she heard a whistle.

This is it!

The train was finally here, bringing with it Sonya, Aris, Teresa and Minho! This was the closest she had been to them in almost eight months! That spark of hope she felt a few weeks ago on the ledge with her friends had fanned into a small flame.

The train came around the corner.

"Brenda! Kenzie! Jorge! Here it comes!!" Alex called into their walkie talkie.

"Rodger that!" came the crackling voice of Kenzie.

Alex could hear the train flying past their hiding spot.

"Okay, here we go guys!" Vince yelled, he floored the truck accelerator. The truck shot out from their hiding spot, following behind the train. Alex tossed the walkie talkie to Thomas in the back seat. She reached down and pulled out the rope and hooks.

"Keep 'em busy. We're coming up behind." Thomas yelled into the combs.

"Hang on!" Brenda's voice came over the combs.

They could hear the echo of gunshots. She knew Kenzie and Brenda were shooting at the train drivers and guards in the front. Jorge and his expert driving skills distracting them so Vince and their team could do their thing in the back without trouble.

"This is crazy, Alex! Thomas!" Vince yelled as their truck sped up, and jumped onto the rails behind the train.

Alex unbuckled, crouching in her seat. She grinned at Vince, "If I don't terrify people a little bit, what's the point?"

As the truck got closer she climbed out the window.

"Alex! Be careful!" He screamed over the noise of the train and the wind.

Now this was an adrenaline rush.

"If we don't die today...this is gonna be one helluva story to tell later!" She screamed back, a huge manic grin on her face. He eyes were alive with the adrenaline flowing, she felt alive and awake, her heart was beating widely. She was crouched on the hood of the truck, the wind slapping her in the face, she was glad she braided her hair into two tight braids, her leather jacket zipped up tight, she had her throwing knives in a belt around her thigh, a sheath of arrows and her bow on her back and her gun in its holster on her other thigh.

She inched closer to the edge when the truck lurched and she lost her balance, falling onto her stomach.

A tire had blown.

Thomas was right there to grab hold of her, making sure she didn't fall off the truck hood. He had crawled into the front seat leaning out the window, to make sure she didn't fall off.

"WHOA!" He yelled

"THANKS!" Alex yelled back over the wind, and the train.

"Hang on kid!" Vince yelled, getting the truck back under control.

"Thought I'd let go. See how that would work!" She grumbled, the wild wind whipped her voice away. Alex got the one hook onto the front of their truck.

"GET ME CLOSER!!" She screamed over the wind.

She felt the truck speed up again, it was a lot more wobbly than before with a blown tire. She edged closer with the second hook in hand, with the truck wobbling going at breakneck speed she got ready. With a wild whoop she jumped. Alex grabbed onto the back of the train car ladder, just as another tire blew.

"SHUCK!" She screamed, yet had a huge smile on her face.

She attached the hook to the ladder. While holding onto the ladder with one hand she turned. The truck was now being pulled by the train, all Vince had to do was steer.

"TOMMY! COME ON SHUCK FACE!" She screamed.

He had crawled onto the hood of the truck now, ready to jump. He was white as a ghost, but he had a look of determination in his eyes, his jaw clenched. He sprung from the truck towards the ladder. His hands grabbed on, and Alex grabbed onto his jacket, making sure he didn't fall.

"GO! UP THE LADDER!" She yelled, he nodded and climbed up. Making room for Vince.

"COME ON, VINCE!" Alex shouted at him.

He had let go of the steering wheel, and was trying to climb out the window, with no one driving. The truck was slowing down now, with two blown tires it wasn't going to hold out much longer. Alex had offered to do this part, but Vince insisted on driving and to be the last one to jump.

"VINCE! JUMP!" She screamed, the distance was getting bigger. The truck lurched, making him lose his balance.

"SHUCK!" She cursed, reaching a hand out to him. They butted heads constantly, sure he tried to shoot her and Brenda on their first meeting, he turned a blind eye to her methods of extracting information, but he was a good guy and she didn't want to lose him.

"COME ON VINCE! NOW OR NEVER!"

He steadied himself, she could see him take a deep breath. He jumped with a loud yell. He just made it, Alex had to reach down and grab onto him, pulling with all her strength so he wouldn't be dragged off and under the truck, which was now swerving wildly with no one steering. The truck hit the side of the train rail. At the speed it was going, the truck flipped over. It caused a huge explosion, sending debris and earth in every direction. Alex tried to duck, but a piece of metal sliced her cheek. It stung, but she didn't have time to stop, Alex had just seen a berg in the sky.

"Let's go!" Vince huffed. He climbed up the ladder. Alex followed him to the roof of the train car.

"Hey, Brenda, you got company!" Thomas yelled into the walkie talkie, he was eyeing the Berg as well.

The berg swooped over the train, Alex could see the outline of the pilot and his partner. They open fire on Jorge and the girls, Jorge swerving to avoid being hit.

"WATCH OUT!" Vince yelled, pulling Thomas and Alex down.

"Holly Shuck!" Thomas yelped.

"Thomas, you're on your own." Kenzie screamed into the comb. Alex could see the girls firing back at the berg, but their shotguns didn't do anything to the huge berg.

"BE SAFE! DON'T DIE!" Alex yelled, she wasn't sure if they could hear her, but she needed to say it. It was tradition now, every mission, to repeat Minho's wise words.

"We gotta move. Come on!" Alex called to the other two.

"Go, go! You heard her!" Vince called.

Thomas followed Alex as they crawled their way over the roof. The wind was doing a very good job to try to stop them. They got to the edge of the one car, Alex stood back up and jumped to the next car, got back down and continued on. She trusted Thomas and Vince would follow. She hopped one more car, and then waited for Thomas and Vince.

Vince crawled down the ladder, standing on the little ledge, "Give me the bag!"

Thomas took off the backpack he was wearing and dropped it to Vince. A loud crack and something whizzed by Alex's head. Alex had been distracted by watching Vince; she didn't see WICKED soldiers on the roof of the train car in front of them.

"Shoot!" Thomas yelled.

"BANG!" Alex yelled back as she pulled her gun out.

"WHAT?" Thomas yelled back, his face scrunched in confusion, he also pulled his gun out.

"YOU SAID SHOOT AND I SAID BANG...THE SOUND OF A GUNSHOT..." Alex called, a goofy smile on her face as she took aim and shot a soldier in the chest, causing him to fall off the train with a scream.

"THAT WAS THE WORST JOKE EVER, ALEX! LIKE SO SO BAD!" Thomas shook his head. Aiming his gun.

"Get down!" Alex ordered, grabbing Thomas and pulling him flat onto the roof.

"Vince?" She called down, "NOW WOULD BE A GOOD TIME!"

"We're set! Cover your ass!" He hollered, climbing back up the ladder.

"Go, go, go!" He yelled, the three of them moved away from the connecting cars.

There was a loud explosion. The train cars were separated, the explosives Jorge and Captain got ready worked quite well! Their section of the train started to slow down, while the front section kept going. The soldiers were getting further away. As the train car came to a stop Alex, Thomas and Vince scrambled down the ladder.

"NEWT! FINN!" Thomas yelled.

Out from behind some rocks and bush came Newt, Finn and Captain Ronin.

"All right, come on, let's go. Come on!" Finn exclaimed.

The boys snapped on some protective giggles. Alex's stomach was now in knots, and her hands were sweating. This was it. Six months leading up to this rescue. All the planning and detains, the missions and information gathering...all lead to this one moment.

"MINHO? SONYA? TES? ARIS?" Thomas screamed banging on the train car, going to the next one and screamed again. Calling for them. There was an instant uproar from inside the train cars. All the voices meshed into one.

"MINHO? SONYA? TES?" Alex cried, running along the other side, trying to hear, but her one good ear couldn't distinguish between the voices. Her ear from the lightning strike last year had never fully recovered, she could hear, everything was just quiet and muffled.

"This one. This one!" Thomas yelled, banging on the side.

"Are you sure?" Alex asked, they had to be sure. There was no room for mistakes.

"85% sure." He said with a nod.

Newt rolled his eyes, his mouth pressed into a tight line. He set his bag down and pulled out a blow torch. She pulled her bow out and knocked an arrow, standing in front of Newt. Ready to defend him as he concentrated on removing the car from the trail wheels. Captain doing the same for Finn on the other side. The boys set to work.

"Not great odds, but when have they ever been in our favour?!" Finn yelled over the noise of the touches.

Movement caught her eye, WICKED soldiers were running towards them. They didn't have electricity guns this time.

I guess they finally learned.

"Oh, shuck! It's gonna be close." She called. "Newt, how ya doing?" She called over her shoulder.

"Don't rush me." He snapped.

"This is not good!" Captain Ronin cried, as more WICKED soldiers came storming out of the train cars from the front half of the train.

"No really? How can you tell?" Alex called back.

"Well..ya see how these guys are all surrounding us, and all of them look angry and have guns...?" Finn sassed back, not taking his eyes off his work.

"You mean them shooting at us isn't a good thing?"Alex grinned back, as she took out another WICKED solider.

"Shut it you two! I'm trying to concentrate!" Newt bellowed.

Sparks were flying everywhere from Newt and Finn's work. Alex let another arrow go. Captain Ronin, Vince and Thomas were also shooting, dropping the soldiers. Covering Newt Alex stepped a little more in front of him, letting another arrow fly, hitting its mark throwing the guy backwards into another guy. Alex let another arrow fly. A bullet flew by grazing her already stinging cheek.

"Shuck it!" She hissed. She pulled back on the string again letting an arrow go with a scream. Another soldier dropped with an arrow in his chest, meaning it pierced his armour.

"Thomas, Vince, get up on top." Captain Ronin barked. They did as told. They knelt down and continued to shoot. Covering everyone from up top.

"Newt, Finn, Alex, get up there!" The captain barked. The soldiers were getting even closer. The gun fire was getting worse, bullets were definitely getting closer.

"Almost there." Newt called, never taking his eyes off what he was doing.

"I'm not leaving until Newt's done!" Alex yelled back, stubbornly.

She fired another arrow, dropping another soldier. Alex saw out of the corner of her eye Finn scramble up the ladder. Followed by the Captain.

"Newt, go!" Alex yelled, another bullet just missed her, ringing into the mettle train car.

"Done!" He threw the blow torch into the bag and ran back to the ladder. Alex backed up, shooting a few more arrows.

"Where the hell are they?" Vince screamed.

"I don't know!' Thomas answered, looking around.

"There's too many of them!" Alex called and she shot her last arrow, grabbing her gun.

"All right, boys, we're here!" Called Frypan's voice.

"Did someone call for some help from above?" Kenzie called down.

Alex didn't get a chance to watch, but she glanced up for a second and saw Frypan, Harriet, Brenda and Kenzie peeking down at them from the open doors in a big Berg, a hook and chain was being lowered.

Ha! We actually succeeded in getting their Berg!

"Come on!" Thomas yelled.

The soldiers were only a few yards away, Alex could hear them yelling orders now.

"Lower!" Newt called.

"Cover me!" Finn demanded, he jumped up and grabbed onto the hook, pulling it down making it unravel quicker. Alex was flat against the rail car, firing her gun. Every time she pulled the trigger a soldier would drop.

"All right, we're clear!" Captain Ronin bellowed up to the Berg.

"Okay, we're going up!"

"ALEX! GET UP HERE!" Thomas screamed.

"YA!" She called back, shooting another WICKED employee down.

"Now, Alex! We can't take them all out!" Newt screamed at her, panic in his voice.

"WHY NOT?" She screamed back, shooting her last bullet. "I guess that's why. Not enough bullets. SHUCK!"

The train car was now a few feet in the air. Alex jammed her gun into her holster, it was hot and she felt the barrel burn her leg. She had to run and jump. Wrapping her sweaty hands on the last rung of the ladder. She had to use all her strength to pull herself up. Her arms were shaking, and her palms were sweating. She had made it up 4 rungs, when her hand slipped. She screamed. A huge hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. She looked up and saw Captain Ronin, he was leaning over the edge, holding onto her. He pulled her up with a grunt.

"YEAH!" Thomas whooped, standing up, holding onto the chain that was hooked onto the train car that held her whole world.

"WHOOP WHOOP!" Finn called, a huge goofy grin on his face. "This Minho guy better be worth it! And, if Sonya is as hot as Alex...absolutely worth it!" He went for a high five from Thomas who just frowned. Alex laughed wildly and high fived him instead.

"SHUCK YA!"

"We're going home, baby!" Newt had a smile that stretched from ear to ear.

Alex had the same smile. She actually let a few tears leak out. Happy tears.

They succeeded! They actually shucken pulled it off! Six months of planning and Intel gathering, and they finally did it! In an hour or two, she would finally see them! Teresa. Aris. Sonya. Minho. It had been too long. She would get to hug her sister. She could kiss the person she loved the most. The one she would do anything for, the person she would and HAD walked through hell to find again.