A thud sounds throughout the room as Thomas slams an old, weathered map down on the wooden table. He points at a circled spot. "There, that's it," he says. "It's a few hundred miles. Based on the railways─ everything that Aris told us─ that's gotta be where they're headed. That's where they're taking Minho." Vince simply stares at him in the silence that fills the room. After a moment, "we take everyone who can fight, follow the roads where we can... we can make it back within a week."

"A week?" Vince asks, his voice cutting through the silence that follows after Thomas. "It took us six months to get here. We've got over a hundred kids here now. We can't just hang out here forever after what we just pulled! You wanna... wander off to some random point on the map?!"

"It doesn't hurt to try." Everyone's head snaps over to me, all surprised that I spoke up. I haven't done much talking since WICKED. I simply shrug. "He got us out of the Maze. A maze we'd worked for three years to escape from, he solved in three fucking days.  He led us through the Scorch even though he had no clue where we were going. I'd say I trust him to follow a map."

Vince stares at me, his eyes narrowed. "You don't even know what's there!"

"I do," Jorge's voice rings out as he walks into the room. "It's been a few years, but... I've been there." He stands beside Thomas, nodding down at the point on the map. "The Last City... that's what WICKED called it. It was their whole base of operations. If that city is still standing, that's the last place you wanna go, hermano," he says, staring directly at Thomas. "That's the lion's den."

"It's nothing we haven't done before," Thomas counters.

Vince rolls his eyes, running a hand through his long blonde hair. "Yeah, with months of planning and reliable information; the element of surprise─ none of which we have now!"

"Vince, I've thought this through. Would you just hear me ou-" Thomas begins, but no matter how loud he raises his voice, Vince just raises his higher. He refuses to be ignored.

"Hey, the last time we went off half-cocked, I lost everything! You remember that?!"

I feel my lower lip beginning to tremble, not with sadness, but with anger. With rage. I clench my fists tightly, but I can't help but yell, "so did we!" Everyone looks at me once again, surprised by my sudden outburst. Newt reaches a hand out beside me to touch my shoulder, but I brush him off. I don't need comfort right now. I need to be heard. "We've all lost things, Vince! You're not the only fuckin' person in the world who's lost loved ones! But it doesn't help to sit and wallow when you know you need to get off your fuckin' ass and fight!" I slam my fist down on the table, my anger consuming me; blinding me. "He's my best friend, okay?! We can't just fucking abandon him! That's not who we are!"

The silence is so loud that you could hear a pin drop. I unclench my fists before they can start bleeding, glaring daggers at Vince. 

Finally, Vince leans forward, just slightly. His eyebrows knit together as he stares at me. "Look, I know it's Minho. Alright? I understand that you guys have been through hell and back together. But we have a whole group of kids who were just rescued... you included. I won't risk their lives─ your life─ for that." He shifts his gaze between Thomas and I, who are standing side by side now. "You guys can't ask me to put those kids on the line for one man. I won't do it."

The room is still once again. I stare at Vince, who holds my gaze, fighting back the wave of emotions that I can feel coming on. I won't cry. I refuse to. The radio noise that follows is a blade that cuts through the silence, forcing us all to look away from each other and focus instead on it. The voices are muffled almost to the point where I can't quite make out what they're saying, but I force myself to try.

"Searching the grid now!" 

"A is completed!"

"Scanning B-sector now!" And then, silence once again. I meet Frypan's eyes, who looks as worried as I feel.

Thomas looks around. I can almost sense the panic which I'm sure is overwhelming him right now. "Shit," he says, forcing himself to keep his voice calm. And then his voice raises, the fear bubbling over. "Hit the lights!"

"Let's go, let's go!" Jorge shouts, sprinting away. Everyone bolts to their feet, causing chairs to turn over and thud to the ground. Within a split second, the room is dark. Jorge must have turned the power off.

"What's happening, Jorge?" I ask, my voice trembling. We're engulfed in complete blackness. I can feel my body shaking. Someone behind me wraps an arm around my shoulder. I flinch before relaxing into the boy after I glance up and, in the dim, barely there light, see that it's Frypan. Newt stands on my other side.

I can't tell if Jorge's looking at me or not, but he responds, "it's WICKED."

"They're searching for us?"

"Getting closer every bloody day," Newt mutters and, even though it's too dark to see much, I know that he runs a hand through his unruly hair. I feel Frypan's arm tighten around me. 

The sound of distant helicopters above us fills the quiet peacefulness the room. I'm still trembling, but not as much as before. Frypan's touch helps a little with it. Within a few moments, however, the whirring is gone and the room dissolves into silence once again. 

I clench my jaw, my teeth grinding together. This is no way to live; in constant fear that WICKED's going to find us. We've done that before. I'm sick of running and I'm sick of hiding. I want to fight. I can't stay here any more.

🪐🪐🪐

"Venus?" Thomas's voice is soft, a whisper in the still night air. I sit up in my cot, wide awake, and watch as he opens the flap and steps inside. He stands awkwardly at the entrance of the tent, a bag in his hands. I furrow my eyebrows.

I nod towards the bag and, in the evening light which shines into my tent, I can see Thomas's jaw clench a little. "You're leaving?" 

Thomas nods, swallowing hard before replying, "I can't stay here any longer. I need to find him; to save him from them." He pauses and then quickly adds, "I just..." he looks down. "I thought you should know."

I nod, running a hand through my hair. "Good." I pause. "Are Newt and Fry going?" He shakes his head. "Brenda?" Another shake of the head. "Jorge?" For the third time, Thomas shakes his head. "Jesus, T-dog. You're planning on going alone?"

He nods, shifting the bag from one hand to the other. "I don't really know why I told you that or why I felt like I couldn't leave without saying any-"

"I'm coming with you," I say, cutting him off and standing up. Thomas stares at me, his mouth open. "Quit gawkin'," I add with a small laugh.

"No, Venus. I can't ask you to-"

"You don't have to." I take a few steps forward until I'm standing in front of him. I offer him a small smile in the dark. "You're not doing this alone, T-dog, okay? I won't let you." He's about to say something else, but I cut him off again. "Plus, it's not really your decision whether or not I go. I've made up my mind and nothing you can say will change it. We're doing this together." He nods, returning my smile. 

I quickly gather up a few things just in case─ a few rolls of bandages, some disinfectant, and gauze. Thomas holds open his bag and lets me place the stuff gently inside before zipping it up. 

"One more thing," he says before reaching into the pocket of his jacket. He pulls out an object, giving it a glance before handing it to me. I take it from him and look down to see that it's one of the pocket knives Newt and I had found in the abandoned mall in the Scorch. I spin it around between my fingers for a moment, admiring the flashes of silver that happen each time the moonlight hits the knife.

I look up at him and smile, gratefully putting the knife into my pocket. "Thanks," I say. Thomas nods before gesturing towards the tent flap.

"We should probably go."

"There's no time like the present," I reply before taking Thomas's hand and walking out into the cool evening.