The First Gladers

Chapter 55: Freedom

 Three boys retreat from the fight.

You watch in fear as both Minho and Thomas move away unscathed. Finally, Newt turns to you, unhurt. You feel your muscles relax as you sigh with relief. There before them lies Gally, bleeding and taking in his last breaths. This is the second time you've watched Gally die. The three boys slump back to stand next to you, their faces blanched with shock and horror.

Above him, Ava Paige sighs, as if disappointed. Without skipping a beat she turns to you and the Gladers.

"Well." She says airily, "The tests aren't over yet. Come with me."

Your stomach twists in disgust as the woman walks toward the back door, expecting you to follow. Her words echo in your mind, the tests aren't over yet. Not only did she completely dismiss both the death of Chuck and of Gally, she has the nerve to subject you to more testing?

"No." You say firmly.

Ava Paige turns around slowly, "Excuse me?"

You take a bold step forward. "I said no."

Chancellor Paige opens her mouth to speak, but before a word can escape her lips, shouting and gun shots emerge from the hallway behind her. She whips around in fear but it's too late. A whole squad of soldiers pile into the room guns firing in all directions.

Newt comes from behind you and pulls you back into the group huddle, wrapping his arms around you protectively.

You scream, as does several other Gladers, as the bullets punch through the glass cubicles, killing the observers inside. The next thing you know Ava Paige is on the floor dead, blood staining her pristine white clothes.

The soldiers then turn to you and your friends. One steps in front of the rest, taking off her helmet to reveal the face of a young woman, eyes staring deep into your with concern.

"Come with us kids. We're here to rescue you from Wicked. They've tormented you long enough." The woman says briskly. She then shoves her helmet back on her head and leads the way out the door.

You glance between Minho and Newt, no longer sure of who to trust. Yet as the woman shouts for you to hurry up, you decide to follow.

The rest of the Gladers follow your lead, with their trust in you. The solders lead you down many different hallways while shouts and screams surround you. Finally you reach a small door that leads to the outside world. The solders practically shove you and your friends into the blistering heat as sand whips at your face. You make a runs for an old school bus several feet in front of you, panic filling the air as you're hurried onto the bus. Everyone piles in behind you while the screams around you grow louder, you start to notice people attacking the soldiers. Yet, there's something slightly off about the people, something odd.

The door of the bus is slammed shut and the driver immediately steps on the gas. You take one last glance out the window to watch as you retreat from that miserable prison.

You made it. You're free.

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will save it. Luke 9:24 

A/N: Sorry for the shorter chapter, but this is the end of the first book!! Woohoo, we made it!!! Thank you all for all the support so far, it really means so much more to me than you could ever know! I WILL be continuing the story, but I am going to separate it into another book since this one got so long!! So be on the look out for the next book, "The First Gladers, Into the Scorch"!!