"Hey, Greenie" The boy said aloud to Thomas. 

My eyes went wide as I stared at the boy infront of me. The funny looking eyebrows buff kid that scared me in the Glade. "Gally-?" I stuttered out

"No way..." Fry gasped. 

Before I could even fully process that Gally was alive, Thomas ran towards the boy.

"No, wait!" I yelled as I tried to hold him back.

I couldn't grasp his arm well enough, he went for Gally, punching him straight in the face. Gally flinched from the force, stumbling backwards and falling.

A couple of the other guards stepped forward, trying to hold Thomas back from getting another punch at Gally.

"Woah! Woah! Woah!" I exclaimed as I grabbed Thomas away from Gally. "Stop it!"

"He killed Chuck!" Thomas yelled.

"Yes, I know, I remember. I was there too, alright? But I do also know that he was stung and wasn't thinking properly" I said to the brunette. "Just calm down, please"

I walked back over to the rest of the group, making sure Thomas wasn't going to do anything again. Newt walked over to us, grabbing my arm so I was stood next to him, but in the middle of the group. Gally stood  up with a loud grunt, sweeping off dust from his clothes.

"Kind of had that coming" Gally said to us, rubbing his jaw where Thomas had punched him. "Anybody else? Fry? Y/N?" 

"Do you know this guy?" Jorge questioned suspiciously.

"Yeah... He was an old... Friend" Fry said awkwardly, still stunned by Gally's presence.

"How- What- How? How is this possible?" I asked.

"We watched you die" Fry said.

"No, you left me to die. And if we didn't find you when we did, you guys would be dead." Gally stated. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Minho." I stated simply. 

"Wicked has him here... We're looking for a way in" Thomas added.

"I can help with that" Gally said to us, giving us a smile. "Follow me"

I looked at Thomas hesitantly as Gally began walking towards the exit. All of us actually looked at Thomas.

"I'm not going anywhere with you" Thomas snarled.

"Suit yourself, but I can help you guys get through those walls" Gally said to us with a shrug. 

Thomas didn't move, instead he had his blank angry face on. 

"C'mon Thomas. I know you hate him, but it's for Minho" I said.

"No, what if he's up to something? How do we know he's trustworthy?" Thomas asked.

"But what if he isn't? We need to get Minho back" I argued.

Thomas looked at me, his gaze meeting mine, he hesitated before walking forward, following Gally. 

"Fine" Thomas mumbled.

- - - -

"How did you survive?" I asked Gally as we walked through the alleyways in this small city.

"After the maze, another group that was heading to the city picked me up. They realized I was immune, so they patched me back up and brought me to Lawrence." Gally said simply. "This groups been at war with Wicked ever since they took control of the city. But Wicked can't hide behind those walls forever."

We walked to a smaller opening in the  cement, Gally shushed us as we got closer, all of us peering into the hole.

"Listen, uh, he doesn't get many visitors, so just let me do the talking, alright?" Gally said to us all, holding up a thumb. "Oh, and try not to stare."

What did he mean stare? I know Lawrence is a guy, but what's the big deal? 

We walked into the concrete building, revealing a rose bush in the middle of the room, that was lit up by the sunlight. There were miscellaneous things on cabinets and tables, but what stuck out to me was a man in the middle, cutting roses.

"Rose took my nose, I suppose. Rose took my nose, I suppose. I suppose, suppose, took my nose... I suppose" The man sung through mumbles. Who I'm assuming was Lawrence

"Gally, glad to see you've made it back" Lawrence said without turning around. "Jasper told me what happened."

"It was a slaughter. There was nothing we could do against those guns" Gally explained.

"No, but they can only poke the hornets nest for so long, before they get stung" Lawrence said, cutting off another rose head. "Now who are these people, and why are they here?" 

"We need to get into Wicked" Thomas shot up. 

Gosh, I love Thomas, don't get me wrong. But he is one of the dumbest shanks I know. After Gally told us to stay quiet, of course Thomas decided to rebel! I shot Thomas a dirty look, signaling him to shut up, but instead he decided to keep talking.

"Gally said you could get us through the walls" Thomas added.

"Gally should know better than to keep promises he can't keep" Lawrence said, making Gally wince. "Besides, that wall is half your problem. Getting into Wicked is impossible"

"We may be able to get in now with Y/N and Thomas" Gally spoke up.

"Is that so?" Lawrence asked as he now faced us. 

I didn't notice until now, but he was hooked up to a bag of some sort. It was a clear bag, filled with a blue substance of sorts. Almost identical to the one we had given Brenda. Lawrence also seemed to be on the verge of turning a Crank, making me shiver from the sight. His nose was missing aswell, instead it was just his skull visible. Newt held onto me protectively as I tried to get as far away from Lawrence as I could. He just laughed as he watched me.

"Do you two know what I am?" He questioned us.

Yeah we do, you're a shucking Crank. I wanted to say.

"I am a business man, which means I don't take unnecessary risks... So why should I trust you?" Lawrence asked. I looked at Thomas, practically begging in my eyes for him to answer.

"Cau-" Thomas began, only to be cut off but Lawrence shushing him.

"Let the pretty girl talk" Lawrence smirked.

"We can help you. If you can get us in those walls, we can give you what you need" I answered simply, trying my best to hide my anxiety. Lawrence grabbed my arms, forcefully pulling me to the very front of the group.

"And what is it that I need?" He asked, whispering it into my ear.

"Time. You need every last drop of it." I replied.

"Then I guess, Wicked has something we both need" Lawrence said, giving us all a smile, but not a sincere one. "I'll tell you what, three can go for now, but the rest have to stay with me. Just a little insurance to make sure you find your way back. Do we have a deal?"

Gally nodded, walking us into a different room away from Lawrence. 

"So, who's going with?"Gally asked us all.

"I am" Newt and Thomas both said at the same time.

"Then I'll go too" I added in.

Newt looked at me as his brows furrowed together.

"No, Y/N, you are not going." He said to me sternly.

"Why not! I want to go!" I protested.

"Yeah let her go" Gally added in with a smirk. I smiled back at him.

"Gally! No! She can't go. It's a dangerous mission" Newt said.

"C'mon Newt! Please" I begged.

"Fine."

Gally handed us all new clothing. He said that there was a girl who was at their base that left clothes in their possession. They fit well on my body.

"Okay, are we ready?" Gally asked as I came out of the bathroom.

"Yes" I responded, allowing my hair to flow down my head. The boys stared at me, observing my face.

"Well, what?" I asked, wiping my mouth to see if there was something on my lips.

"N-nothing" Newt said, adverting his eyes.

Gally lead us to a tunnel of some sort that was connected to the building, it was large enough for me to almost stand all the way up, but I still had to crouch.

"Y/N, be careful please" Brenda said as she gave me a hug. I kissed her cheek.

"Of course I'll be careful. And I'll have these three" I said as I motioned towards Thomas, Gally, and Newt.

"Gally" Fry called out to him. Gally looked back to Fry. "Take care of these three"

Gally nodded in response, leading us down the tunnel with only a flashlight in hand. It was weird, it felt like breaking out of the maze.

published : feb 1st, 2023

A/N : hey! i love deathcure. anywho i hope you all enjoyed this chapter! mwah thank you for all the reads!