Edward and his party continued making their way down the tunnels. Though the sound of choppers died out, Edward remained fearful every second as if every step sent an increase of agony into his body. He prayed that Thomas was safe.

"We've been walking forever!" Chuck complained. He was slowing down a bit. Edward felt him dragging behind.

"Do you want me to carry you?" he offered.

"I don't need you to carry me," Chuck retorted but he yawned and Edward threw off his bag. "Maybe we should just rest for a while," he sat down and he felt Chuck's head falling onto his shoulders. He rubbed his shoulder tenderly. Teresa sat in front of him.

"I'll take watch," Aris said turning around and shining his spotlight the opposite way.

Edward and Teresa looked at one another with sincerity.

Once again Edward started their telepathic conversation. Are you doing okay?

Just tired. You?

Apart from the fact that I'm absolutely scared for my brother, just fine.

I'm sure he's fine. If you guys can survive a night in the Maze on your own, he can survive this.

But this is nothing like the Maze. We've had to endure heat and Cranks and endless hours of dreading through the sand with little water and food.

But we've made it through. Thanks to you and Thomas. Praised Teresa earning a smile.

I just couldn't bear it if something happened to Thomas and I wasn't there. Edward couldn't forget how useless he felt when he couldn't prevent WICKED from taking Thomas away from him back at the compound and attaching pipes and wires to him like a lab rat. Teresa read his mind easily and expressed deep sympathy with her gentle pressed lips.

WICKED needs him alive anyway. They wouldn't think to kill him. Especially...

She paused.

What? Especially what?

Nothing.

Edward didn't ignore the suspicious throb in his gut. Okay, Teresa. What aren't you telling me?

Why are you acting like this?

Teresa, whatever it is that you're keeping a secret, please tell me. I trust you.

Then trust me when I want to keep something secret.

Teresa if this is about me and Thomas, you have to tell us, we have a right to know. Friends shouldn't keep secrets about each other from one another. I didn't keep your real name from you did I?

No.

Then you have to tell me.

I can't. It would ruin everything.

Ruin what?

I just can't! Teresa's roar made Edward's ache erupt in agony. Sorry. Quickly Teresa stood up and walked ahead. I'll scout ahead.

Teresa wait! Edward cried out after her but she disappear. He huffed.

"What was that about?" Aris asked.

"She's hiding something about me and my brother but she's refusing to tell me!"

"Now that you mention it she sure sounds pretty suspicious to me,"

Edward was desperate for answers. If the girl from his past wouldn't tell him, then perhaps his childhood friend could. "Do you know Aris?"

Aris sighed. "I don't know Ed. I promise you I don't. If I did I would tell you,"

"You sure there's nothing you remember from before you were sent up,"

Aris looked a little shaken thinking of the subject but he stilled answered. "I remember Jerry used to torment me all the time. But you always stood up for me. I remembered you always looking out for everyone. And even though you began working for WICKED on Ava's influence because she raised you and Thomas, you were nothing like them. You hated any harm being done to anyone. You even confronted Ava for turning your Grievers into killing machines when you meant them to kill nobody in the Mazes,"

His story about him made Edward's guilt seem to dissolve. Ever since the Griever poison inside him made his mind spark back to his past, he had felt nothing but guilt dominating his spirit. Hearing his close friend speak so admirably about him made him truly believe that he was not the monster he believed he was before the Maze; Edward vowed to remain that boy.

"Thank you, Aris. You're a really good friend,"

"So are you Edward? I hope we can remain that way,"

"Of course, we can," Edward said. "I owe you that for how you helped us escape the compound. And for that, I will do what I can to help you find all the girls that were in your maze once we find the Right Arm,"

"Edward!" Teresa's voice cried out. The boys turned to see her jogging towards them. "There's someone down here!"

"It could be WICKED," Edward spoke quickly. "Chuck wake up!"

"What if it's our friends?" Aris estimated.

"No. It's not them. I saw her. She is not one of our own!" Teresa panicked. "Come on up!"

"Come on Chuck!" Edward pulled the half-asleep boy to his feet. "On your feet!"

"This way!" Teresa led them right. They kept turning corners trying to keep as far away from whoever Teresa saw in the tunnels as much as possible but as they ran, Edward could see a distant figure running alongside them further up the straight passages. "She's closing in on us!"

They kept on running forward but they came to a dead end. They tried to turn right but it was blocked by debris. They turned left and run ahead again. They didn't hear anyone but just as they came to a fork in the passages, Teresa collided with a young girl with dark hair. She landed on top of her.

Edward took a glimpse at the other girl. "No! Stop! Get off her Teresa!" he pulled Teresa off the girl. "She's not WICKED!"

"You got that right," the girl on the floor complained, standing up. "Do I look like a WICKED soldier to you?"

"Then why were you chasing me?" Teresa questioned.

"Because you're the only girl I've to see down here,"

The boys softly glared at Teresa for overreacting.

"Sorry," she shrugged, speaking with a hard voice.

"What's your name?" Edward asked the girl. The glance he was giving the girl looked weird to the others. Edward knew there was something about her that felt familiar but that instinct wasn't as strong compared to Aris and Teresa.

"Brenda. Are you Thomas's brother?"

"You know Thomas?" Edward breathed.

"He and the rest of your crew came to my man Jorge's shack. They made a bargain and in exchange for us coming with them,

"Then what are you doing down here?" questioned Teresa suspiciously.

"Choppers attacked us. I was about to take them into the tunnels hoping we'd find you but I got separated from them. Jorge should be taking them to the Crank city and now that I've found you I'm gonna take you there too,"

"Woah. Woah. We are not going to a city of Cranks," Edward argued.

"Yeah. And how do we know we can trust you?" hissed Teresa.

"Teresa," Edward criticised her for her harsh attitude. "No need to get bad-tempered,"

"We just met her! We can't trust her!"

"She's right. You can't," Brenda refined indifferently. "But if you wanna see your brother again Edward, you're gonna have to," she swerved around and walked ahead a bit. Then she looked back at the party. "Well...are you coming or not?"

Aris and Chuck looked to Edward. Then Teresa did. Edward saw she didn't like the idea. Aris and Chuck however were easy-going and looked like they didn't mind at all. "Well, looks like we've got no choice at all guys," he said. "Lead the way, Brenda,"

"Follow me," she spoke gracefully.

"But you'd better not be tricking us," Chuck warned.

Brenda chuckled amusedly. "I love that kid,"

"I'm not a kid," grumbled the youngest Glader of the party.

They followed Brenda slowly through the tunnels.

"You know I'm quite impressed," she spoke up.

"Impressed with what?" Edward asked.

"That you guys managed to find your way around these tunnels,"

"We didn't find our way around. We were just looking and going straight forward," Teresa replied a bit hostilely much to Edward's irritation.

"How did you and your man Jorge come to be out here in the middle of the Scorch?" questioned Edward, deciding he wanted to know more about this girl.

"We're survivors," she said. "I lost my parents when I was young in Canada. Jorge was always there for me. And I've always done what he says no matter how stupid,"

"I'm sorry to hear that," apologised Edward. "We all lost our parents too,"

Teresa requested another question. "So why exactly does Jorge think you two should team up with us?"

"He says you guys are our ticket to the Safe Haven. A place safe from the Flare, the Sun and WICKED,"

"And you think the Right Arm can take us there?" Edward inquired.

"I don't hope. I think. Hope has killed more friends than the Flare and Scorch combined," Brenda gravely said. "How did you guys manage to escape WICKED if you're their property?"

"It's a long story," Edward said. "And one I'd rather we didn't think about. How much do we have to go through these tunnels?"

"We'll get there when we get there," she answered back, not turning back to him. They walked on for ages passing by ongoing walls of wall paint and vines. They encounter a few pipe holes that seemed to dig into the rock but they didn't think to crawl through. There were spiders and rats and all other disgusting creatures one would want to have to crawl all over them and infect them.

The tunnels became wider and they began diverging off into many directions to count.

"Now which way do we go?" Chuck asked. They turned to Brenda. She glimpsed at each optional passage slowly, processing their surroundings. "I say we go this way," she headed right. She went slowly in but Edward looked reluctant. Some strange feeling was making his skin hairs stick on end and he felt Chuck pulling his hand, keeping him stuck in place.

"I don't think that's a good idea," he couldn't hide his fear.

"Chuck's right. I say we go left," Teresa glanced further down. It looked more silent and fewer vines were covering the walls.

"No. That will just lead us to where we just came from," Brenda called back down.

"I don't think we should go right,"

"Well, I think it's the better option,"

"' Think' isn't strong enough!"

"Girls! Come on!" Aris shouted up. "Is this necessary?"

"We can't trust her guys! We've only just met her and she has no idea where we're going!"

"It's not like I know exactly where every tunnel leads," Brenda defended herself.

"I say we let Edward decide," Chuck broke the argument.

Edward shot a critical glance at him.

Chuck just shrugged. "This is your call, Eddie,"

Edward sighed, feeling the weight of pressure on his shoulders again. He looked at a desperate Teresa and then at a calm Brenda. "I think we should go with Brenda's idea,"

Teresa didn't huff but Edward saw her roll her eyes.

"It's settled then. Follow me guys," Brenda called. "But let's be cautious. Sometimes quicker can be more dangerous so keep a firm eye out,"

Staying very close behind each other, they all turned their flashlights on and treaded carefully behind their guide. Edward hoped that his decision hadn't annoyed Teresa but the silence in his mind was interrupted by Teresa's fuming sighs.

Teresa....we have to trust Brenda.

I just don't get why you'd listen to her over my concerns.

Teresa, this is much bigger than that. Brenda seems to know these tunnels and she's the only one who can take us to the others.

I know you want to see Thomas again. I want you to too but don't we have to be careful whom we trust.

Usually, I would be agitated but it's not like we have much of a choice. If Thomas is with her mentor then sticking to her means we'll see him soon.

Nothing else was said after that. Edward decided Teresa needed some time alone. Still, he was going to ask her about her secret later.

Back up on the surface, Thomas and his party had managed to catch up with Jorge to the top of the hills and the cliffs. The moment they reached their peak, they were met with a perilous scene. Ahead of them lay a wide-open canyon with a fallen building of glass and bricks connecting the two sides.

Thomas panted and huffed. Looking further again he could see the mountains where the Right Arm was supposed were still leagues further away from the canyon and the series of ruined skyscrapers that stood weakly on the other side of the chasm. Their quest was much harder than they thought.

"That building is the only way to cross," Jorge said.

"That will never hold us," Minho snapped.

"It's our only choice if you want to get to the other side,"

"Look here, Jorge ..."

Jorge flashed out a revolver and pointed it right at his face. He paused and held his hands.

"Woah! Woah! Woah!" Newt blabbered.

"If you're gonna keep snapping at me like this, I might consider pulling the trigger," Jorge threatened.

"Jorge just put the gun down please?" Thomas begged. 

"Don't bother Thomas. He's as crazy as a Crank," Minho retorted. 

The tension got worse. 

"Jorge, put the gun down," ordered Thomas. "We can find out own way to this Crank city if you so much as pull that rigger," 

"We can take you all on and you'd be mobbed by all on us," Newt reminded. 

Jorge was silent for a second. Then he cheated his gun. "Last chance China boy," he strode back and shoved past Minho's shoulder much to his irritation. The boys all came to the edge of the building bridge. Thomas looked closely and saw there were panels of crackled glass and creaking bars of metal. It would not hold a massive weight. 

"We must cross one at a time," Jorge said. "I'll go first,"

Thomas watched intently as the man stepped onto the building. He heard a gentle creaking of metal. Jorge sighed in relief. He took careful steps walking along the metal bars and keeping his arms out. Though the building was wide, he could not stand on a glass panel without creaking it or causing it to crack. 

They waited over four minutes just watching Jorge take the perfect soft spots to step on; he successfully made it to the other side. He turned his face back and looked across at all the teens who had watched him and waved.

"I'll go next," Minho stepped up. 

"Be careful," warned Thomas.

Minho made it safely across to the other side. He didn't take the same sequence of steps as Jorge but he always watched every step he took. Even the slightest wrong step could break a section of the creaked bridge made of building and plunge into the deep deep and wide canyon below. 

Half an hour passed and nearly everybody had made it across. Much to Thomas and Newt's chagrin, Frypan who was much bigger than them stalked across first. Now it was just the two of them left. 

"You go first," Newt insisted. 

Thomas didn't want to.

"I'll be fine I promise," 

Thomas gently stepped up onto the bridge looking ahead to see nearly twenty boys and Jorge waiting for him. Keeping his ears out, he trod carefully along the metal bars taking extra care to not step on any bit of glass. He made it halfway there when he took a step on a crack on a bar and he stumbled and lost his footing. 

"Thomas!" Newt cried out. 

The boys gasped. Minho tried to run across but Jorge stopped him. "Don't run! You'll cause it to collapse!"

Thomas felt the groaning of the metal right underneath him. The building might not hold much longer. He had to be quick so that Newt could get across too. He gently stood up again but he accidentally pressed his foot on the glass.

Newt saw clearly. His heart jumped. "Thomas wait!"

But it was too late. The moment the pressure Thomas weighted down on the glass, he fell right through the glass and into the building. He landed with a thud on a level below with a thud, scrapping his face. He cringed in pain and sat up. But as he ached, he heard clanking and crashing. He could feel the building slowly moving down. He was going to fall. 

Newt could see the middle of the bridge was snapping in two. Thomas's fall had been the final straw. "I'm coming Thomas!" Without thinking he walked slowly but swiftly towards the middle. All their friends watched anxiously. Minho tried to run over again but Jorge stopped. "There's nothing you can do Hermano," 

Newt made it to the hole of which Thomas fell through. "Thomas!" he looked down at saw Thomas struggling to stand up. "You okay?"

Thomas cringed. "I'm fine," 

Newt winced seeing the side of his face bleeding. "Stand up slowly. And try and climb up so I can reach you!"

Thomas slowly stood up. The cracking of the building grew louder and louder every second. He had to act faster. He found some metal stairs to climb up. He then found a platform where he could reach up to Newt's offered hand.

He stretched his bleeding hand up but he couldn't even feel Newt's fingertips. 

"Just a bit higher," Newt compelled. "Come on Tommy you can do this!"

"I'm gonna have to jump," Thomas said observing his surroundings. If he jumped but didn't catch Newt's hand he would fall to his death and the bridge would collapse on top of him taking Newt with him. He braced himself. 

Newt reached as far as he could. Then in a single breath, Thomas leapt up and Newt grasped his hand and he dangled over the deep pit. Newt managed to heave up to the ledge until Thomas was able to push himself up to join him. They panted with exhaustion in the open light looking at each other.

"Thank you," Thomas breathed. 

Before Newt could speak again, they felt their stomachs flying up into their throats very slowly. The bridge was cracking in half.

"RUN!" Minho screamed from the other side.

Quickly Newt and Thomas stood up and they sprinted across the falling bridge. They heard the boy's screams ringing in their ears as they cried out to them to run faster and faster. But as they reached the end, they felt their feet losing reach of the ledge so they grabbed hands and jumped. They grasped onto the ledges of the cliff looking down below as the bridge crashed onto the earth below. Thomas panted. He turned to the boy whose hand he was holding Newt looked at him too.

"Grab our hands!" 

They looked up and saw Minho and Jorge reaching down to them. Letting go sadly, they reached up and they were pulled to safety. They had made it across safely and no one had lost their life. 

Another chapter is done. What did you all think? I would love to see your reviews or any ideas. See you all soon in the next one.