Admit Defeat (TMR fic 2)

Chapter 54

"Do you think they'll bring him back?" Newt asks a long while later, his voice quiet.

I know who he's talking about. I turn to look up at him. "Of course. He's the leader. And he needs to be killed by Group B."

Newt shoots me a look. "Don't remind me."

I try not to smile. "Sorry. But he's smart. Won't he be fine?"

"Is smart really the right word?" Newt mutters, and I laugh.

"Are you guys being interesting?" Minho asks, looking up at me from where he's flopped on the floor. "I am bored out of my mind."

"Let's play a game," I suggest through a yawn.

I've gotten Minho's attention. "What?"

"Yeah. It's called 'Will Ash set Minho on fire now or later?'"

Newt laughs while Minho sulks. The Runner opens his mouth to retort, but that's when we hear it. The roaring of engines.

Everyone scrambles to the door of the hut.

"It's another Berg," Frypan says eagerly, staring at the blazingly bright sky. "They're bringing Thomas back!"

The giant flying ship is strangely built. It's not an airplane, but instead has several sets of blades that are rotating horizontally, allowing it to hover in place. It's huge, so I assume it's not very agile, but it can land vertically, it seems, which is an advantage.

The Berg opens a hatch above us, and a cot is lowered over the edge. Several of the Gladers run out into the sunlight towards it as it becomes apparent Thomas is strapped into the cot.

"I wonder if there's anything they could grab from that thing?" I mutter to myself as I watch them untie him.

"You should be out there, then," Brenda says.

I make a face at her. "I think I have enough burns. I'm not going out in that sun for anything, even if it is just a minute." Not to mention I'm pretty sure WICKED would gun me down on sight after what I did in the city.

Then Thomas is being led through the door, and I lose my train of thought, pushing it aside to hug him tightly. I'm glad he's alive. So, so glad. Someone jostles a tender part of my burned arms as they try to greet Thomas, and I yelp before doing my best to sock the offending Glader in the face.

"Woah, Ash, calm down," Newt says, pulling me away from the boy, who turns out to be Aris. Not a Glader, then. I wish I had landed my punch.

"Nice to see you're as violent as ever," Thomas says with a grin.

"Actually," Minho says with a smirk, "she and Newt have both broken their personal violence records."

"What?" Thomas looks back and forth between us as if trying to see if Minho was lying or not.

"Yep. Newt killed a Crank down in the tunnels, and then Ash burned the whole city down."

"You were in the tunnels?"

"Tommy boy," Newt says, putting an arm around Thomas's shoulders, "we have a lot of catching up to do."

"Does this mean we'll be leaving at sunset?" I ask as Clint checks on Thomas's shoulder and declares it miraculously well-healed.

"Looks like it," Newt answers. He gives me a tense smile, and I know we're both thinking the same thing. All too soon we'll be back in WICKED, and they will not let us go unpunished for what I've done.