WICKED is Good

Chapter Eighteen

"It's Teresa, isn't it?" I asked.

"I said I had a way in," Gally said, "Never said you'd like it."

I shrugged, "I don't care."

"Easy for you to say," Thomas growled before beginning to walk back. I gracefully glided you the ground next to him.

I didn't speak because I knew what he meant.

He was in love with Teresa. She was in the way to get to Minho. To get to the person I loved, we had to hurt Teresa.

But it wasn't easy. Teresa has been a friend, however insensitive.

"Thomas. Max," Gally said, catching up.

"Wren," I corrected, "My name is Wren."

Gally seemed confused, but shrugged, "Whatever. Let's get back. This way."

When we got back, Thomas decided it was too risky.

"What, scared your little girlfriend's gonna get hurt?" Newt asked.

"No," Thomas mumbled.

Brenda sighed, "I don't see the problem. She betrayed us. We are talking about Teresa, right? That traitor that nearly got us all killed, who got Minho caught in the first place?"

"I like her," Gally interjected, nodding towards Brenda, though the comment was ignored.

Newt asked, "You still love her, don't you?"

"No," Thomas said very unconvincingly.

"Don't lie to me!" Newt stepped towards Thomas threateningly, "Don't. Lie. To me!"

I spread my wing between the two before Newt could do any damage, "Newt, calm down."

The boy shoved past my wing, which definitely hurt and may have broken something, and walked outside, "I need some air."

I pulled my wing towards me, feeling through the feathers closely. I heard one of them brush the ground.

Just a torn feather. Still hurt. I pulled my wing into my back once again.

"Thomas has lost his mind," Brenda remarked.

"We all have," I stated. They didn't understand. The memory flashed through my mind again.

"I'm still not coming," I reminded Minho.

I turned to face him as his hand rested on my cheek. Then, he kissed me. It startled me, but he then backed away, "Did that change your mind?"

I never knew if it would change my mind. I would never know. But I was going to save him whether Thomas wanted to risk it or not.

"Anyone got a pair of scissors?" I asked.

Brenda handed me a pair, and I sat in the corner. Everyone was soon asleep, except for Thomas and Newt talking outside.

I began to cut my hair again.

When I finished cutting my hair to its original length, close to my head, I listened to the conversation outside.

"Guess I can't hide this anymore," Newt said as Thomas' heartbeat quickened, his breathing sharp.

"We can find a cure," Thomas replied.

Newt shook his head, "Minho comes first."

They came in, so I pretended to be asleep. But I knew what it meant. Newt had the Flare.

It probably should've scared me. Rattled me to my core. But I had become good at compartmentalization.

Like Newt said. Minho comes first.

The next day, I was left behind as Thomas and Gally went into the city to kidnap Teresa. They were back not too long after.

"Wren, what is this?" Teresa asked as we took off her hood. I must've been the only person in her sight at the time, "Let me go!"

I said, "You practically invited my mother to kidnap me and do more experiments on me, even though you knew I'd rather die. You also helped kidnap a few hundred immunes, again, knowing what WICKED would do to them."

Teresa was silent for a moment, before saying, "They were my friends too."

"And yet you still betrayed them. Betrayed all of us. Don't look to me for sympathy," I hissed.

The girl looked almost scared, and so she should be.

Gally grabbed a chair and placed it on the ground. Teresa sounded scared, "Thomas-"

"Don't look at him," Gally sat down, "Why you lookin' at him? He can't help you. Look at me."

I sighed, "I need some air."

I snapped out my wings and started flying up until I felt like I could brush the stars.

After some practice, I figured out a way of angling my wings to fly in a circle effortlessly, only flapping every few minutes.

WICKED is good.

Did that change your mind?

I did what I thought was right. I'd do it again.

Little wren.

You are the best, the future, the maximum.

Don't let us down.

Remember, WICKED is good.

WICKED is good.

WICKED is good.

The words echoed in my mind until I felt like screaming.

"Wren!" Someone shouted.

I dove back down to the building, opening my wings to land silently before folding them back.

"What?" I asked.

"ID chip," Brenda said.

I sat down as Teresa grabbed a knife to carefully cut out the ID chip in my neck. Property of WICKED.

"This will hurt," she said. I didn't even wince as the knife dig into my neck.

A few moments later, she put down the knife and reached to grab some tweezers, "Your mother misses you."

All ears in the room perked up.

"She's not my mother," I said quietly, with great restraint.

"You are her biological daughter," Teresa reasoned as she took the chip out of my neck, "Like it or not, she is your mother, and she misses you. She's worried."

I rolled my eyes, "Why would she be? It's not like it's her fault I'm caught up in all of this in the first place."

"She wanted to make you the greatest," Teresa finished off the stitches, "She believed you could be the best. The maximum."

"She certainly named me according to her dreams," I agreed.

Teresa dabbed the back of my neck with a cloth to clean up the blood, "She loved you, Max. She still does."

"Don't call me that," I jerked away from her and walked to the planning room.

"Wren," Brenda said as I walked in.

I took a deep breath, "Please tell me we have a plan." Before she could say anything, I added, "And don't lie."

Brenda nodded, "We're going to get Minho back."

I smiled, "About time."