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❪       TWENTY-SIX    ♥︎    ₊˚༢࿐
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     MAE COULDN'T SEE MUCH BEHIND THOMAS AND NEWT, both boys standing firmly in front of her as the group followed the short-haired girl, who looked only a year older than the blonde. Mae being one of the oldest in her group of companions. Mae felt Teddy squeeze her hand, and to reassure him, she softly squeezed back.

"Oh my. . ." Frypan trailed from behind her, looking around the warehouse with a shocked expression.

Mae mirrored it, surprised that these people still had power at the edge of nowhere in a storm.

"How did you catch them?" Thomas asked the girl in front of them, his eyebrows furrowing in curiosity.

"Catch them?" She repeats, a soft scoff escaping her lips, "What do you think, we're stupid? We don't catch them. We just take precautions when people start to turn."

Mae's face twisted a little, "Those people are your friends?"

"That you chained up?" Teresa added in, sounding annoyed.

"People," She repeated Mae's words, "Those aren't people anymore. Besides, it's no worse than cutting them loose to Crankland."

"What the hell is Crankland?" Frypan voiced.

"With how many they have back there, they might as well call this Crank Palace," Teddy muttered, shaking his head a little.

"You guys aren't from around here, are you?" She drawled, looking over her shoulder as she pulled open a door.

The Warehouse itself gave off a very eerie feeling, the dark tones made her eyes strain and every time she inhaled it tasted like dust. The eyes of grown men followed the blonde's every move.

"Come on, keep up," She sounded more amused than anything, "Jorge wants to meet you."

Mae wasn't paying attention when she accidentally bumped into a man who appeared at the staircase before she could blink. Her face heated up in fear as he towered over her, glaring.

"M'sorry," She apologized lowly, her blonde waves curtaining the panic in her eyes. She felt Teddy's fist curl into her jacket.

"That so?" He asked her, "We're taking in strays now?"

He was sizing her up, showing dominance when it didn't need to be shown. Minho had stepped between them with a blank expression, almost completely unbothered as he barricaded Mae. The Runner didn't have to say a word to the man for his words to be clear: try me.

"Back off, Barkley," Brenda snaps, walking down the steps, "Jorge saw them first."

At this, Barkley seemed to step back just slightly. But Minho didn't move an inch until Newt dragged him up the staircase, not scolding him for something he would've done himself.

"Who's Jorge?" Thomas pressed. Mae was now walking in front of him, his eyes scanning the room for danger.

"You'll see," She responds.

"Who are you?" Mae emphasized.

To that, Brenda smirked, "You'll see." She repeats, "You know, no one's come out of the Scorch alive in a long time. You've just got him curious," She wracks her eyes up Thomas' body, then Mae's, "And me too."

The blonde thought over her words. If it's true about the Scorch, about them being the only people who have crossed it alive in a long time, that means WICKED could do it just as easily.

"Anyone else starting to get a bad feeling about this place?" Newt muttered.

"Let's just hear him out," Thomas responds, "See what he says to say."

"Maybe we shouldn't hear it," Teddy grumbled back, "We should just leave!"

"And go where?" Thomas questioned. The boy didn't know if he should be thankful Thomas wasn't treating him like a child, or embarrassed for not having an answer, "Exactly."

"Jorge, they're here," Brenda announced.

Jorge was a tall man with strains of white in his short hair, his skin a light brown with small wrinkles at the sides of his eyes. He was hunched over a radio, shushing Brenda the second she spoke as he turned the knob around for the right station. Brenda rolled her eyes like a troubled teenager, flopping back down on the couch.

"Damnit!" Jorge cursed, turning around to face them with a huff, "Do you ever get the feeling the whole world's against you?"

"All the time," Teddy shakes his head.

Jorge nods, "Three questions. Where did you come from? Where are you going? How can I profit?"

They didn't respond.

"Don't all speak up at once," Jorge tilts his head, sarcastic.

"We're headed for the mountains," Thomas answers, "We're looking for the Right Arm."

To that, the men in the room laughed back, looking at the group like animals behind glass.

"You're looking for ghosts, you mean," Jorge corrects.

"They're not ghosts," Teddy says bravely, "My brother is with them!"

"Then your brother is a ghost, hermanito," He says in amusement, "Question number two. Where did you come from?"

"That's our business." Minho firmed.

Jorge hardly twitched his eye before two men came forward and grabbed Minho and Thomas. Mae knew they were holding Minho back from intervening, two others pinning Thomas' head against the table.

"Let him go!" Mae screamed, rushing forward. Her hand curled around the wooden flower in her pocket, pulling it out and slamming it into one of the men holding Thomas.

He realized the boy, grabbing his arm, "You fucking bitch!" He bellowed.

Teddy kicked the man, causing him to slam Teddy onto the ground. Teresa runs forward, dragging him up and away from the chaos.

"Hey!" Newt snapped, punching him across the face.

"Everyone stop!" Brenda's voice made everyone freeze as she used a scanner and ran it against Thomas' neck, causing it to beep, "See?" She drawled.

The man didn't seem to ease up as Newt shook the pain from his hand, glaring.

"Back, Lorenzo," Jorge warns, keeping his composure behind a cup of scotch, "Be gentle with the little one and his cuidadora, hm?"

Teddy reached up to rub the blood from his lip, from accidentally biting too hard as he glared at Lorenzo. The man moved away.

"Are you okay?" Mae moves up to Thomas.

He reaches up and rubs his neck, "What was that thing?!"

"You were right," Brenda tells Jorge, handing it to him.

"Right? Right about what?" Thomas pressed, "What is she talking about?"

He chuckles to himself, "I'm sorry, hermano. Looks like you're tagged," He points the object right at his face, "You came from WICKED. Which means you're very valuable."

-

     MAE HAS ONLY EVER HUNG UPSIDE DOWN from the trees in the Glade, but now that her life was physically danging on a string, the idea of ever being upside again made the girl nauseous–or maybe she was just nauseous because she's been hanging by the ankles over a pit for the last ten minutes.

"Good plan, Thomas," Minho deadpans, swaying slightly as he spoke, "Just hear what the man has to say," He requotes the boy mockingly, "That's really working out for us."

"Oh, shut up, Minho," Thomas grumbled.

Mae was just glad her hair was in a braid, unlike Teresa in the corner who kept shaking the hair out of her mouth.

"Teddy, are you okay?" Mae asked the boy, using all her body weight to turn and face him, only to spin back around in a circle.

"I'm fine," The boy practically squeaks, keeping his eyes slammed shut as he tried not to look down, his glasses scrunching in his hands, "I just feel the blood rushing to my brain."

"Maybe I could reach the rope," Thomas grunts, pushing his whole body weight forward.

"Or maybe, you'll snap the chain and kill yourself," Teddy snapped from behind Thomas, physically punching the air to try and reach the older boy, "This is totally your fault!"

Thomas looked livid, "Look, I don't know why you hate me so much–!"

Teddy motioned to the situation, "Oh, you don't have a clue?"

"Tommy, stop arguing with the nine-year-old!" Newt bellowed, "And, Teddy? Shuck it!"

The pair stopped their bickering instantly, glaring at each other.

"Enjoying the new?" Jorge asked calmly, stopping to stand in front of them.

"What the hell do you want?" Thomas huffed.

"That is the question," Jorge nods, "My men want to sell you back to WICKED. Life has taught them to think small. I'm not like that. Something tells me that you're not either."

"So, you're going to let us go?" Mae asked hopefully, spinning around to try and face him.

Jorge chuckled, "That depends, cuidadora, if you have something to offer."

"Is the blood rushing to my head or is this shank not making any sense?" Minho voiced.

"Both," Frypan sighed.

"I think I'm gonna throw up," Aris admits.

"Please don't say the word throw up," Teresa muttered.

"Fine, I'm gonna puke."

"Tell me what you know about the Right Arm," Jorge demands calmly.

"I thought you said they were ghosts," Newt accused.

"I happen to believe in ghosts." He points his cane mostly to Thomas, "Especially when I hear them chattering on the airwaves," He now stands in front of a machine, his hand on the lever, "You tell me what you know, and maybe we can make a deal."

"We don't know much," Thomas says.

Jorge hummed, pulling the lever. The rope drops them barely an inch, giving the group a scare as they screamed out.

"They're hiding in the mountains!" Teddy screamed, trying not to cry, "My family was trying to find them, and we got close, even met one of the members before we were all separated. I know my brother's there! They push attacked on WICKED all the time, they have a bunch of immunes and locals there!"

"Both?" Jorge pressed him.

"Both," Teddy confirmed breathlessly, "My brother Peter isn't immune, but I am, that's why they took me."

Jorge goes to speak until one of the men from before steps into the area, looking between them and his leader with a furrowed brow.

"Yo, Jorge," It was Barkley, "What's going on?"

"Me and my new friends were just getting acquainted," He nods, "We're done now."

"Hey, wait!" Thomas calls after him, "You're not gonna help us? He told you what you want to know!"

"Don't worry, hermano. We'll get you back to where you belong," Jorge responds, smiling in amusement, "Hang tight."

The room goes silent.

Mae looks to Teddy, watching his every move as he swayed softly in the air with tears. He had never told them his background, never mentioned anything besides finding his brother, he didn't even mention a name until now.

Peter. His brother's name was Peter.

Mae only wished she was half as brave as Teddy, nine years old ready to cross a sand storm for family.

It was Frypan who had the idea of pushing Teresa toward the lever, considering she was the closest.

So, they started to push her forward.

"I think I got it!" Minho says, heaving her forward.

She misses.

"Come on, Minho, push her harder," Newt encouraged.

"Okay, this is it!" Minho continued.

With one firm push, Teresa grabs hold of the metal bar, and everyone cheers. The raven-haired girl spun herself upward.

"Good job, Teresa!" Mae bellowed.

Helicopters blare from the skies, the familiar voice of Janson filling their ears as Teresa and Thomas pulled each one of their friends to the safety of the ledge.

"Good evening! This is the World Catastrophe Killzone Department. We have your compound completely surrounded."

"Oh great," Mae sighed, quickly untying the rope around her ankles.

"You find yourselves, through no fault of your own, in possession of WICKED property."

"Property," Frypan repeats with a heavy scoff.

"Return them to us unharmed and we'll consider this a simple misunderstanding."

"Hang on, guys!" Thomas says, reaching for Teddy.

"Or you can resist and every last one of you will die!"

The rest after that was white noise for Mae, who could hear the screams of refugees fill the air as they tried to run away from the compound.

"Come on! Let's go!"

The sound of a clicking gun made the group freeze at the door, Barkley standing in the way of their exit with an eerie smile.

"We're not trying to cause any trouble, okay?" Thomas says cautiously, standing in front of the group, "We just got to get out of here."

"Is that so?" He raises a walkie, "Janson, I got 'em got ya. I'm bringing 'em down. Don't shoot us," Barkley holds the gun up, "Come on, let's go."

Neither of them moved.

"I said let's go!"

Thomas pushes the gun away and Mae lowered into a flinch when the trigger was pulled. He headbutts Barkley in the face, throwing the man back.

It wasn't quick enough, and Barkley had loaded the gun one more time, "You little bastard!"

He goes to pull the trigger and Teddy's hand curls into Thomas' shirt, ready to move in the way.

The gunshot rings and Barkley drops to the ground, Brenda taking his place.

"Okay, come on, let's go!" Brenda orders.

Thomas turns his head to Teddy, eyes filling with confused tears. The child was about to step in the way, his face morphing to Chuck's for barely a second before showing Teddy once again.

"You. . ." Thomas didn't know what to say.

Teddy shifted his eyes behind his glasses, following Brenda without hesitation. The Gladers followed, Teresa being the last out the door.

Music blares through the speakers, and she watched in shock as Brenda pulled a lever, releasing the chains of Cranks on the first floor as they continued up the stairs.

"Thank you for this," Mae tells the girl.

Brenda looks her over, "Not my idea."

"Brenda! Hurry!" Jorge meets her halfway," We don't have much time! Let's go!"

He pushes up a set of glass windows, exposing a hidden zipline to another building across the way. The breeze picked up, and Mae shivered at the feeling before looking down.

"Right this way!" Jorge says.

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me," Frypan responds.

Teddy panicked, "Is there another way?"

"This is plan B, hermanito. You kids want to get to the Right Arm? I'll lead you to them. But you're gonna owe me," He tells them, pulling a rope down, "Follow me!"

The group watched stunned as Jorge zipped through the air and out of their sight.

"Alright! Let's go!"

As the group got into position to leave, Teddy slowly backed away from the ledge, shaking his head.

"Teddy, you have to," Mae says breathlessly, crouching in front of him.

"I can't-"

"You can," She insists, grabbing his hands, "You can do it, I know you can."

"It's too high, Mae," His eyes watered, "What if I fall? I don't want to die—"

"Teddy listen to me!" She calls over him, the group slowly going down in numbers as they crossed the zipline, "You're capable of doing so much more, I know it. You want to get out of here and find your brother, right? This is the way. I'll be right behind you. I promise. Do you trust me?" She asked.

Teddy nods, sniffling, "I trust you."

"Good, we've come this far, might as well keep going," She tells him, pulling one of the ropes down.

He nods, gripping the round rope tightly and closing his eyes. Mae softly pushed up his glasses, slowly dragging him back.

"I'll be right behind you!" She says.

Then with one firm throw, Teddy was ziplining across the building.

"Brenda! Where are you going?" Thomas called after her, looking back to Teresa and Mae, "You guys go, I'll be right behind you."

He runs after her.

Mae doesn't move, "Look after Teddy."

"What?" Teresa panicked, "I'm not leaving you–"

"I'm not going to let Thomas go alone! Just go!" Mae pushes her away, and Teresa gives a clenched nod.

The blonde waited until Teresa was out of sight before running after Thomas and Brenda, the short-haired girl rummaging through draws, muttering to herself.

Thomas' heart squeezed when he saw her, "Mae?! What are you doing here–"

"Bad things happen when we split up, remember?" She tries to lighten the mood, but Thomas never looked so worried.

"I got it! I got it!" Brenda says, holding up what she was looking for.

Mae grabs her arm, "Then let's go!"

They try to run back to the window but a group of WICKED soldiers quickly block their way with guns. Brenda was quick to pull out her own, letting out a rapid-fire and forcing the soldiers to cower behind pillars to avoid her bullets.

"Go! Go that way!"

Together, Mae and Thomas ran in the other direction of the window. The blonde had never felt so alive than in the seconds she was close to death as she lead the trio down the staircase and away from WICKED.

"Mae! Turn left!" Brenda orders. The blonde obeys, turning a sharp left, "Hurry! We're running out of time!"

They pause at the staircase, soldiers cornering them from all sides.

"Here, follow me!"

Thomas waits for Mae to go first before following her across the metal pillars on the top floor. The blonde swayed on her feet, unable to tear her eyes away from the height as she followed after Brenda.

"Brenda, where are we going?" Thomas bellowed.

"Hurry!" The girl screamed back in a panic, "The song's almost over!"

The second she says this, the song ends with a soft outro, only for the pillars on the far side to explode seconds after.

She froze.

Ringing filled Mae's ears as she watched the pillars drop from the roof in what felt like slow motion, fire developing the building in hot flames as Brenda continued to scream at them to keep going.

She couldn't move.

The feeling of Thomas' hand curling into hers snapped her out of her panicked trance, tugging her with him as they followed Brenda down into an old elevator shaft.

Mae screamed at the burn against her palms as they zoomed down the shaft and firmly on the ground. Brenda reaches up and tugs her out of the way before rubble crushes her, the area now in complete darkness.

"You guys okay?" Brenda asked, going through her bag for a flashlight.

"Oh, yeah, great." Thomas coughed. His worry instantly rose when he didn't hear Mae respond, "Mae? Mae?!" Thomas screamed in the dark, reaching around.

"I'm here," She sniffled, closing her palms at the burn as she bit down the pain, standing up with Brenda clicks on the flashlight.

Thomas let out a relieved breath, pulling her into a firm hug, not caring about the rubble in her hair or the pain in his body as he held her so close she felt breathless.

"What were you thinking?" He asked her, pulling away, "You could've been killed for stopping like that, you can't just follow me into fire!"

He snapped out of worry, watching her freeze up in the middle of the pillars scared him senseless.

Mae's eyebrows furrowed in the dark, tugging, "If you don't want me to follow you into fire, then don't run into fire!" She raised her tone, "You were the one being reckless–"

He shook his head, "If you ever died because of me, I'd never be able to live with myself, you get that right?–"

"Exactly!" Her eyes watered, "Don't you think I'd rather have you alive than dead, too?" She uses his words from the night Jack died, swallowing thickly, "Hell, Thomas, I don't know what we are but god sakes stop acting like you have to carry the world on your shoulders alone!"

To that, Thomas was stunned into silence.

"Guys!" Brenda bellowed over them, "Nows not the time for a lover's spat, okay? I'm gonna get us out of here," She hands each of them a flashlight.

"Why are you helping us?" Mae narrowed her eyes, not looking as imitating as she wanted.

"Trust me, it's not my idea," She repeats, "Jorge seems to think you guys are our ticket to the Safe Haven."

"The what?" Thomas asked.

"You know, paradise. Safe from the sun, free from infection. Supposedly, the Right Arm's been taking kids there for years," She shrugs back on her backpack, "Immunes, anyway."

"And you know where that is?" Thomas pressed.

"No," She admits, continuing down the train in front of them, "But Jorge knows a guy. Marcus. He used to smuggle kids up into the mountains."

She moves a few scrapes of rubble, revealing the entrance to a sewer line.

"If Jorge made it out, that's where he'll be taking your friends," She explained.

"If he made it out?" Thomas repeats.

"Smuggle children?" Mae continued.

"You know," She huffed, "You two ask a lot of questions."

Mae's face heats up, "I didn't always," She admits.

Brenda nods in understanding, "Can you two just come over here and help me with this? Please."

Thomas moves forward, helping Brenda pull up the metal grate. They flashed their lights into the entrance of the sewers, the sound of a shrilled scream echoing after.

"Well, that doesn't sound good," Thomas says.

"Yeah. Down here they'll be full term," She explained.

"Full term?" Mae repeats, "Those Cranks, as you call them back there, those aren't even the real thing?"

"Scared?" Brenda drawls.

"Petrified," Mae responds bluntly.

Brenda inhales a brave breath, "Good."

With that, she drops down into the sewer.

[ thankfully I was able to finish this chapter!
also I think teddy and thomas are going to
have the best relationship soon, it's giving
older/little brother vibes! ]
please comment throughout the chapter
to show your support,, please don't silent
read <3