After Paradise

Chapter Thirteen ~ Secrecy

Chaos. Absolute chaos. The noise of the group, which had previously been a quietened hum, rocketed to screams and shouts as Teresa stood her ground, sending glares shooting out directly at Minho and Thomas.

"Shes a murderer! Someone shucking get her before she kills any of us!" That particular yell was all it took. Teresa began to hastily edge away from the campfire into the dim early night, away over the grassy fields.
Almost instantly Minho ordered, "Stay there Teresa, we can sort this out!", however her pace sped up and she was soon sprinting into the distance, soon enveloped by the murky darkness. The crowd had murmured to almost silence, the only noise the faint clanging of pans as food was distributed and consumed.
It didn't take long for Minho to take charge.
"Thomas, let's go after her. If this is true...well, she could be dangerous." Minho murmured to Thomas, and the two set off into the late afternoon, hundreds of sets of eyes glued onto their backs like magnets. They hurtled over the mounds and dips of the meadow, Thomas hurtling away so fast his lungs demanded so much oxygen his breathing sounded ragged and torn. His brain hadn't caught up with his limbs yet, and as he tore behind Minho to where his flustered arm was pointing, his brain filled with unavoidable thoughts. If Teresa was telling the truth, isn't it obvious she's changed drastically? But, why would she lie about something like this, and why would she act like she doesn't care? Why would she have been the hunter over on the other side of the mountains? And where would she have gotten the poison from? It's clear they've got weapons, but poison? Why would WICKED supply that to them here - in Paradise?
The questions continued to rattle amongst Thomas' other thoughts, as the boys skidded to a stop by Teresa's hunched up figure, her legs dangling into the lake, even though her jeans went to the ankles.
"Teresa, we'd like a word...just, what? What on earth were you even thinking? Is this true, that you killed all those people? Why would you..." Minho's clear shock and disbelief was portrayed through his voice, and Thomas tried hard not to grit his teeth. All Teresa had done since this morning was be a nuisance, a rude one at that, and now...
"It's true." She spat angrily, her eyes watering.
"Did you do it on purpose?" Minho sucked in a breath before asking, a steely tone then lacing his speech.
"Of course I didn't," she scoffed, "But I may as well have."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Thomas interjected, "They were women and children! Not predators. And where did you get that poison in the first place? I hardly think it was in one of the supply boxes."
"I mean..." She took a deep breath and picked at her nails with unrest, "I didn't know at first. I shot the first girl, without seeing her shape or face...I've been going to that part of the stream for a while now, to get fresh water for drinking, because it's the only part where it's deep enough for a barrel. I didn't expect to see anyone there."
"But I sent Jackson and Katie with you, so where were they?" Minho asked coldly.
"Really, Minho? You must know Jackson well enough by now to know that he messes around with loads of girls. It was dark, they went off to a cave somewhere and I think they-"
"-Okay, you can save me the details. So what about the other people you shot? Surely you'd realised?"
"This is starting to sound more like an interrogation. See, this is why I didn't tell you Minho, I knew you'd get all annoyed and butt hurt. But, I don't know. After I shot the first, that adrenalin sensation just took over, and...it felt almost good. Like I had some power-"
"I always knew you were a psycho killer," Thomas said bluntly, something which would have been taken as a light joke a year ago, but now bristled with dislike,"You do realise they were actual people, that you killed, right? And you still haven't answered me about the poison, yet."
"Oh, spare me the lecture Tom, I didn't realise you were a shucking Saint yourself, huh? And I was coming to that. I found it a few weeks ago."
"You can stop that." Thomas snapped, exhausted, wearily readying himself for a worded conflict with her. The mysterious expression that flipped across Minho's face, however, stopped him in his tracks.
"Where did you find it?" His voice was deadly serious.
"I-" She faltered, and that hesitation was all it took.
"I said!" Minho boomed, "Where on earth did you get that shucking poisonous stuff from, Teresa? Because I'm pretty shucking sure that none was discovered in the trunks, considering I had it all reported to me!"
"I don't think you want to-"
"Just tell me, Teresa! For shuck's sake, just tell me!" Within a flash, Minho was shaking her by the shoulders roughly, as if churning up her insides would release the truth. Her hard exterior remained, even as her head danced about like a rag doll's.
"Okay, just please, Minho, don't hate me. I did this for our own benefit." Thomas followed the two as they wandered onwards over the fields, thinking to pick up a lantern from the side of the lake. It still wasn't dark yet, more a misty fuzz of late afternoon, but even so, who knew how long they would be strolling about in the outside for. He felt his fingers clasp around the metal handle, but he couldn't really feel a thing. His hands were numb from where he'd been sitting on them, held taut by every single word that had spilled out of Teresa's mouth. She'd probably heard the teasing or rumours spreading about the unresolved mystery feelings between Brenda and himself. Or maybe she just hadn't forgiven him, about things that happened in the Scorch. Or maybe it was his lack of response after the rubble collapsed on her in WICKED's headquarters. Whatever the reasoning was behind her acts of ferocity and hatred towards him, Thomas gulped and followed them.