XX

"If you want to get out of here alive, then shut-up and follow me."

Brenda, passing her tongue along her dry, cracked lips, momentarily paused as she inspected the few ragged prisoners that had stood out to her among the group.

The tall, dark-haired boy who had confronted her a few moments before was standing a few paces in front of the others. He had a large, metallic pole with a sharpened end gripped in both hands and a fierce and disbelieving look plastered on his face.

Behind him was the buff, Asian dude who looked strong enough to rip the head off a freakin rhino and a small, stocky African who was wearing a thick leather apron over his clothes. A taller, pale looking fellow with weirdly-shaped eyebrows, a short, spindly blonde dude and a dark-skinned man with curly hair were also at the forefront.

Brenda's eyes skittered over to the slim, petite frame of a girl, who was standing on the outer circle of the group. Long, tangled curls cascaded down her back in dark brown waves and the bold blue of her eyes was almost memorising. Right behind her was a tall guy with messy, wind-swept blonde hair that was sticking up in all directions. His deep brown eyes were a mixture of confusion, fear and determination. His jaw-line was sharp and his features taunt. He shifted agitatedly from one foot to the other and it was then that Brenda realised who he was standing protectively in front of ...

Chuck.

Brenda's breath caught in her throat as she gazed at the chubby, red-cheeked little boy. He was staring right at her like she was nothing more than a ... stranger.

She swallowed. Of course he was. What did she expect? That he'd suddenly remember her and they could all be happy again? That's not how things in life worked ... especially in Brenda's life anyway.

"Where the hell are we?" the dark-haired boy demanded, jolting Brenda from her stunned stupor.

Brenda exhaled shakily as she motioned for them to follow her. "We're in one of WCKD's lab departments but we'd better hurry and get out of here before we're caught. We don't have much time."

"Wait! Thomas, can we trust her?" the girl piped up as she reached forward and grabbed the dark-haired boy's sleeve. "She did just kill Adam without even hesitating! What if she kills us as well?"

Trying not to look down at the bleeding corpse on the floor, Brenda swivelled back around and glanced questioningly at the boy called Thomas. "Well? Do you wanna get outta this alive or not?"

Thomas nodded reluctantly as he turned back to the girl and assured her, "We don't have a choice, Teresa. We can figure this all out later, okay?"

Teresa only grunted in reply as she eyed Brenda up and down suspiciously.

"Let's move!" Brenda called out as she turned and jogged rapidly down the hallway; the others hesitantly followed her, keeping a careful watch on her every move.

As Brenda reached the door leading back into the lab, she heard her name being called and spun around to face Vince who was running towards her from the opposite direction. He must've heard the gunshot from earlier and backtracked to make sure she was okay.

Leaning against the wall to catch his breath, Vince's gaze swept over the group of tired, dusty prisoners. "I see you've had your fair share of adventure for one day," he commented, the snark evident in his voice. "C'mon. Let's go. We have some jeeps waiting for you all outside."

Just as Vince was about to walk off, Brenda grasped his arm and whispered in his ear, "What about their trackers?"

Vince smirked. "Don't worry, Be, I have this under control. I just happened to remember that a good friend of mine remained in the city when we moved out into the Scorch all those years ago. She also happens to be an ex-WCKD worker who knows exactly how to extract the trackers without killing the hosts."

"She?" Brenda questioned, her eyebrows raised knowingly.

Vince frowned. "Not now, Be." After consulting his watch, he lifted his greying head and nodded at her, "Change of plans. We'll have to split up. Jorge and I will take the prisoners to my friend straight away. I'll take Hannah and Elliot with me. You meet up with Harriet's team around the back and head home with Sonya and Aris. We'll need to fix these peeps a place to sleep at the Palace. I'll put you in charge of that, okay?"

Brenda inclined her head slightly to the side, indicating that she understood.

"Good, let's go before the power comes back on," Vince hissed as he strode back into the lab. As he began barking orders to everyone, Brenda beckoned for the prisoners to follow her.

"Did you catch all that?" she questioned as she started to lead them across the room.

Thomas lifted a hand to the back of his neck and winced as he queried, "There's trackers in us?"

Brenda nodded. "Again, WCKD's doing. Don't worry, Vince's friend will get them out for you. You just have to trust us, okay?" Her concerned gaze shifted, once again, to Chuck, who was cowering fearfully behind the tall blonde boy.

Just as Brenda was opening her mouth to further explain the situation, a loud buzzing ripped through the air.

Shocked, everyone instinctively ducked down and covered their heads with their arms. A few seconds later, the piercing noise stopped. Brenda looked up towards the ceiling and then across the room to where Vince was. He shook his head, a finger to his lips.

BAM.

Suddenly, and without warning, every single light and camera switched back on. Computers and screens flashed on and off. Alarms started blaring.

Their time had run out. The power was back on!

"Everyone, get out now!" Vince shouted as he made a dive for the door. "Hurry!"

Before her mind had even registered what was happening, Brenda was up and dashing for the door. A huge commotion erupted as everyone scrambled up, dodging furniture and equipment, as they rushed after her and Vince.

As Brenda sprinted down the hallway, she spotted Sonya's blonde head and Aris' brown one as they waited, nervously, on the outskirts of the building.

"Head for the jeeps!" Vince shouted at them as he headed up the stairs leading towards the front door.

A few moments later, everyone burst outside. Brenda squinted against the blaring glare of the sun as it beat mercilessly down on them. Gasping for breath and holding her hand in front of her eyes, Brenda ran towards a line of waiting jeeps nearby, intent on doing one thing: getting the hell out of there.

As she leaped inside the vehicle where Harriet was waiting and slammed the door shut after her, she heard the unmistakable sound of chopper blades.

WCKD was nearly upon them.

Poking her head out of the car window, she screamed at Aris and Sonya to get inside. "We have to go! C'mon! Quick!"

The two youths had barely enough time to leap inside the jeep before Brenda kicked the back of Harriet's seat, telling her that they were good to go. Harriet gunned the engine with a mighty roar and its wheels spun around furiously in the soft sand before it shot forward with a huge lurch.

Brenda sighed in relief only when they left the shadow of the Maze walls and headed back towards the Palace.

~~~

It was nearly eleven o'clock at night when Vince and the others finally returned. Brenda couldn't deny the fact that she was worried, but she pushed her emotions aside, distracting herself by playing a card game with with Harriet. Sonya was so tuckered out by the day's events that she crashed on the crouch with a couple of blankets, hoping to wake up when Vince got back.

Suddenly, the front door swung open with a loud bang and Vince walked in, stomping his feet and blowing on his hands. "Whew! It might be hot as hell during the day, but it sure is freezing at night!"

"Tell me about it," Brenda muttered, chucking her deck of cards down on the table in front of her and standing up.

"Thank goodness you're back!" Harriet exclaimed as she, too, pushed back her chair to greet them. "We were starting to get worried."

"Did your friend get the trackers out?" Brenda cut in as she sent Vince an empathetic look.

Vince scowled at her as he returned, "Yes. It's all been sorted. Have you got the bunks ready for these poor kids?"

Having been rudely awakened by all the racket, Sonya struggled up into a sitting position, yawned loudly, and rubbed at her eyes. "Yep," she shouted out groggily as she waved over at Vince. "It's all done."

Vince nodded. "Good. Let's get some food."

Brenda motioned at a lad who was waiting nearby as she asked, "Have you heated up their meal?" When the boy nodded, Brenda turned and shrugged apologetically at the others as she stated, "It isn't much I'm afraid. Just a bit o' corn-mush and some bread."

"It'll do," Thomas dipped his head gratefully towards her.

"Right this way," Vince waved for the hungry prisoners to follow him as he led them into the tumble-down, dirty little dining room graced with a few boxes, crates, and a roughly-made wooden table. "Help yourselves."

No one needed a second invitation. They eagerly dug in and in less than ten minutes, most of the food was gone. Brenda, who was leaning against the doorway, watched them in amusement. However, irregardless of the others, her eyes constantly flickered back and forth between the good-looking blonde boy and Chuck, who were sitting side-by-side.

As the prisoners finished their food, Vince stepped forward and plonked himself down onto a nearby crate. "I think we have some introductions to make," he announced simply. "As you already know, I'm Vince, leader of the Right-Arm Elites. This is Brenda, my second-in-command."

Brenda nodded at everyone as Vince continued. "The top Elites consist of Sonya, Harriet, Jorge, Aris and Jonas. They helped rescue you today along with a few others. You can express your appreciation to them later. But, for now, let's talk about you. What's your name?" he indicated towards the dark-haired boy who seemed to be in charge of the twelve-member group.

"I'm Thomas," he returned as he nudged the Asian who was sitting beside him.

"Oh, right. The name's Minho."

"I'm Winston," the dark-skinned fellow piped up.

"Gally," the weird-eyebrow boy was next in line.

"Ben," the other blonde, who was sitting in between the two, spoke up.

"The name's Frypan," the African boomed out as he nodded at Vince and Brenda.

"I'm Teresa," the girl offered next as she sent a small smile towards them.

"Newt," the tall blonde, who was sitting next to Chuck, spoke as his chocolate-coloured eyes locked with Brenda's. "I was second-in-command too ... just like you," he nodded towards her.

She forced a smirk to her lips, realising that it was him who had the cute British accent she had heard earlier.

Wait a sec. Who said anything about him being cute? Brenda quickly shook her head to clear the cobwebs, hoping that no one had noticed her brief moment of vulnerability.

"So ... whose your leader?" Vince inquired, completely ignoring the others who still hadn't given their names.

Teresa jerked her head up and glared at him. "He's not here. He's gone. We don't talk about it. Simple as that."

"Oh. Why?" Vince continued to press, completely oblivious to the fact that no one seemed willing to give him any information.

"Vince," Brenda shook her head warningly at him as she stepped forward. "We should assign them to their rooms. They look tired. We can talk more tomorrow."

"Hey!" a young, shrill voice broke into the conversation. "You didn't let me introduce myself yet!"

Brenda glanced over at the boy and sent him a half-smile. "You're Chuck. Everyone knows that."

All the prisoners stopped and stared at Brenda in astonishment. Even Chuck's mouth fell open as he tried to process what'd happened. "What the...? How did you know that?"

Brenda hesitated, glancing over at Vince for his approval. He nodded.

"Chuck ... " Brenda began slowly as she advanced towards him. "You probably don't remember me or any of us for that matter, but you - you were part of the Right-Arm band before you were taken to WCKD."

"What the bloody hell does that have to do with anything?" Newt demanded, his over-protectiveness for the little chap kicking in.

Brenda just ignored him, moving from the doorway to where Chuck was sitting near the window. Crouching down to his level, she spoke softly, "Chuck ... I'm your sister."

Gif: The prisoners as they rush after Brenda in the lab.

Q: If you had a choice in the matter, would you have gone with Vince and Jorge to the city or gone back to the Palace with Brenda?

~ If you enjoyed this chapter or want to give me feedback on anything, don't hesitate to vote, comment or DM me. I'm open to any suggestions, ideas or constructive criticism. I love chatting with my readers and I love to hear what they think about my writing. However, any hate or negativity posted on here will be deleted and reported. Have a great day everyone! Catch you all soon. ~