Someone to Stay

Promise

I finally wake up. It's morning now. The sun is up. People are standing all around the ruins of their camp trying to collect anything that was destroyed. I feel sorry for them. They probably blame us for what happened.

How could Teresa be so stupid as to want to go back to WICKED? I'd rather die in the scorch than help the enemy.

I'm about to stand up, when I notice Newt asleep on my shoulder. The weight being a dead giveaway. His eyes flutter open with my movement. I don't get to speak when I hear Thomas' voice calling out for us.

"Newt! YN!" He shouts above the chatter.

"Here," I give Newt my hand to help him up. He takes it and together we walk in silence towards Thomas. He's standing by Harriet, Frypan, and. Vince.

Minho's not here. And it's like another page has been torn from our book. My best friend. They took him. They took him like they took everything else away from us. And I was tired of that shit. I was tired of WICKED.

"What do we do?" Frypan asks as he picks up what looks like a bowl.

"Stick to the plan, get you kids to the safe haven." Vince replies, letting out a deep breath. "And we start over I guess." His hand rested on his hip.

"What?" Thomas speaks up, arching his eyebrows at Vince's response. "You're telling me that it. You're not even going to try to get back everyone we lost?"

"Hey kid look around you." Vince raises his arms. "WICKED just beat our asses."

"But I made a promise to Minho," Thomas drapes a bag over his shoulder. "And I gotta save him."

Promises. Such a dangerous thing. I had two: put my friends first, and love Newt til my lungs gave out. Those were the only things I felt I had to live by.

On the other hand, Vince did have a point. WICKED has the upper hand in anything we try. Why now would we be able to beat them at their own game?

"Thomas listen to me," Newt leaves me for a moment and walks up to his friend. "I've known Minho for as long as I can remember. And if there was anyway to get him back, trust me I'd be standing up there by you. But this, what you're talking about. It's impossible." I knew Thomas was going to take a lot of convincing, so it was smart of Newt to try and explain to him instead of Vince who remained a stranger.

"More like suicide," Jorge corrects and I inhale deeply at his word choice.

They were really giving up. After everything we had been through with Minho, they were gonna let WICKED win, and it was really staring to piss me off. We had come so far just to let our maze friend, Newt's sister, and other innocent kids get taken away.

"Newt we can't-" I try to argue.

"There's no way YN," Newt cuts me off. He gives a sad look. "I'm sorry." My boyfriend reaches me, putting his arm across my back and rubbing my shoulders gently in attempt to comfort me.

"You're really going to risk it for one kid." Vince questions not convincing himself that Thomas is serious.

"It's not just about Minho," Thomas spoke up, "it's about everything WICKED has taken from us. Everything they will keep taking. We gotta stop them. I'm gonna kill Ava Paige." He spoke in a determined tone, just like any great leader would.

That's what I loved about my friend Thomas. He never gave up. Life kicked him down so many times, and every time he's gotten back up. I looked up to him for that.

"I'm with you," I tell Thomas. "Til the end." I put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll admit," Harriet says, "I'd like some revenge."

"So what's the plan?" Vince questions.

We're gonna do this. One way or another, we're gonna save Minho.

Even if it costs me my life. I would go to the ends of the Earth for my friends, because they're all I have. They're my family, my home. I won't lose more of them to WICKED. They've already taken so much from us, Minho they will not.

Get ready WICKED, we're about to come get you and when we will your gonna pay for what you did.

******