Pieces of the Sun

Chapter Eight

"They want to what?"

Newt was pacing across the floor as I relayed my conversation with Brenda and Jorge back to the rest of the group.

Thomas shook his head. "That sounds crazy to me."

"Well, the guy did say they were Cranks, remember?" Teresa pointed out.

"Yeah, but they can't be seriously infected with the disease yet if they still have the ability to function like this." Newt said.

"I agree," Chuck piped up, finished the can of meat he was eating. They'd been given food and water in my absence.

I let out a breath. "You guys talk it over. I don't know what they plan to do from here so I'm going to get some rest."

Frypan bobbed his head. "Good that."

I left the little group and went to sit next to Minho who was still laying where I'd left him on his stomach. He opened his eyes as I settled next to him, gazing up at the dusty ceiling. "Interesting turn of events," he said.

"Yeah, you could say that." I let my head fall back on the floor. "How are you feeling?"

"Oh you know, just a little sore here and there."

"Minho."

"What?" I could hear the laughter in his voice.

I rolled my eyes, not bothering to answer. We lapsed into a brief silence before Minho spoke again. "So I heard they want to come with us."

I snorted. "Yeah and they seemed to miss the part when I said we have no idea where we're going. We just keep wandering north I guess and hope we get there."

"What do they expect?" Minho asked.

"WCKD's safe house to just be waiting there with the cure in hand. They think they'll be able to break in and steal it for themselves." I shook my head. "But at this point, I don't really care what they do. And considering the fact that we're their prisoners, I'd say we don't really have a choice but to let them follow us." Bitterness seeped into my tone as I dragged a hand haphazardly through the dirty strands of my hair.

"And they're still willing to come even though we have no idea where the hell we're going?"

I heaved a sigh. "I guess. I'm... I-" I broke off to sit up. I pulled my knees up to my chest.

"You're what?" Minho slowly shifted to a sitting position beside me.

"I'm just.... I'm just so sick of all this. The running and constantly looking around every corner for a new threat. When is it going to end?"

Minho reached for my hand, gently enclosing it in his own. "I wish I knew."

I turned towards him. "What if there is no end? What if this is how we have to live forever? Condemn in a never-ending experiment?"

"No, no." Minho shook his head. "It will end. We will get out of this one way or another. I promise, Ari."

Minho opened his mouth to say something else but there was a screech of a door being yanked open. Footsteps thudded down the stairs and Brenda appeared at the bottom, men flanking her. "Get off your asses. We're moving out."

I resisted the urge to snap something back at her. Instead I turned and helped Minho to his feet, not letting go of his hand. He stood all the way up, gingerly rolling his shoulders back and adjusting his shirt. I headed to the stairs first, with Minho behind me and the rest of the Gladers in tow.

The sun was still in full force when we stepped outside. I squinted in the harsh light and raised a hand to shield my face. The destroyed remnants of the city spread out before me like a vast waste land. I took a deep, shuddering breath.

Newt came to stand next to me, our shoulders brushing. "I think the first step is getting out of this damned city and to the north."

I nodded in agreement.

"We'll have to cut through the heart of the city though." He said. "And I have no idea what challenges that is going to present but at least we've got our new merry band on Cranks to help us out."

A dry breeze washed over us and Minho came up to stand beside me. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be." I replied. "Let's go." We started walking further into the city, without waiting to see if Jorge or Brenda was following.

At this point I didn't really care.

I wanted out. I wanted out of this life and this never ending fear. I wanted to be free, I wanted to live in pure bliss unhindered. But the further I walked with Minho on one side and Newt on the other, and the more I saw the destruction of the world around us I came to realize we had escaped one maze only to be placed in another.