There was darkness around me as Piper felt a chill come over her, breathing uneven. Looking around, she didn't see anyone, and it scared her.

"Hello?" she called out, but there was no answer. She looked around once more and spotted a familiar face behind what looked like a glass wall. "Aris?"

He ignored her as he was reading a file in his hand. She shook her head, trying hand motions to get his attention. She raced toward him in a frantic manner, banging on the glass, but he never saw her. "Aris!" she shouted again. "Aris! Aris, it's me, Piper! I know you can hear me!"

"He can't hear you." Piper turned around and saw Teresa standing there.

"What have you done to him?" she asked, panting, her blood boiling.

Her expression never changed. "I've done the right thing."

"Piper!"

She opened her eyes wide, gasping, then squinting from the sunlight in her face. Her heart was beating so fast as Aris' face disappeared from her mind. She looked over at Sonya, sighing in relief. "Sonya," she breathed out.

"Are you okay? You were having a nightmare. You've been out for hours, ever since we left, basically," Sonya stated.

Piper sat up, nodding her head. "Yeah, I'm fine. Where are we?"

"Far away from camp, that's what," Maeve spoke up. "It'll still be awhile before we get to the city."

"At least we can plan some more before we get there," Gwyneth pointed out.

Piper looked out the window and stared at the ruins of the world, the sand blowing all over. Behind them was Thomas, Newt, and Frypan in their truck. They were the only ones out here, as everything looked abandoned. That was obviously a good thing, since the last thing they wanted was to get caught by WICKED or Cranks.

"Do you think Vince is pissed that we left?" Piper asked.

"We're probably less problems to deal with in his mind," Harriet said.

"Yeah, less people to take to the Safe Haven," Maeve added.

"I feel bad that we left Jorge, Brenda, and Aurora behind," Piper admitted.

"Maybe it's for the best," Maeve responded. "We're already putting ourselves in danger. I don't think we need any more lives at risk."

They passed a billboard that stated a mandatory infection check in just a couple of miles. Judging by the rust and dirt, it was old, making Piper believe that they wouldn't get stopped. It didn't matter, because she was positive that all of them were fine.

When they arrived at a tunnel, they stopped the trucks and got out, taking a closer look. Newt turned toward Thomas.

"You want us to go in there?" he questioned, pointing towards the dark abyss. Thomas didn't respond, his head down low at the map in his hands. "I don't wanna come across as too negative, but if I was a Crank, that's exactly where I would be."

"I don't think we have much of a choice," Thomas confesses, facing up at the tunnel.

"Then we might as well go in and get it over with," Piper said.

Newt gave a long look at the tunnel, then nodded his head, walking back to the truck. "All right. I get shotgun."

"And I'll drive," Piper added, taking the keys from Harriet.

"Um, no, because you're a terrible driver," Gwyneth retorted, handing them back to Harriet.

"She's right," Harriet muttered.

Piper rolled her eyes and got back in the backseat with Sonya and Maeve squished on both sides of her. Harriet started the truck and followed the boys in. As they entered the dark, the lights on our trucks lit up. They slowly drove in, their eyes scanning their surroundings. Piper already had a bad feeling about this, but they couldn't turn back now.

Harriet dodged the empty cars, taking deep breaths. "Nice and slow," she whispered.

When the boys stopped, the girls stopped almost beside them. There, they spotted a Crank not too far from them, twitching and standing in an unusual position.

"Should we go around it?" Sonya asked.

"Like Thomas said, we don't have much of a choice," Gwyneth reminded her. "Do it, Harriet."

Harriet nodded her head. "Okay." She went forward, passing the boys.

Looking behind Piper, she noticed the boys weren't moving. Then, she saw why. "Wait, the boys..."

"Whatever it is, let them take care of it," Harriet told me.

"No, Harriet--"

BAM!

On Maeve's side, a Crank appeared, panting and gagging, blood spilling from its mouth. "Harriet, go!" she shouted.

Everyone got their guns out as the girls sped off, Harriet flooring it as hard as she could. More Cranks jumped out at them, shaking the truck and banging on the windows, attempting to break the glass.

"Get rid of them!" Sonya yelled.

"That's easier said than done!" Harriet yelled back. "Hang on!"

As they went on, Piper turned to see the boys not too far behind them. Although, she could see them swerving all over, making tries to knock the Cranks off. Suddenly, their truck was tilting on one side until they flipped over completely.

"Harriet, turn around! The boys!"

Harriet did a sharp turn, swinging any Cranks off the truck. They all hung on as she headed back and slammed on the brakes. The girls piled out of the truck in order to help the other three. They struggled to get any doors open, but Piper finally came through. Thomas and Newt fell out of the truck and into the dirt, then they jumped into the girls' truck. Frypan eventually got out, grabbing his gun before he joined them.

As the group settled back in, their bodies pushed up against each other, more Cranks chased after them. Harriet floored it, running over as many as possible. But more piled up on the truck, the weight of them almost bringing it down.

All of a sudden, another truck showed up next to them. "Go faster!" the familiar voice of Aurora shouted as she used her gun to shoot off Cranks.

So Harriet obliged as she headed toward the light, which became their miracle, as they were on their way to safety for now.

Once they got far enough from the tunnel, everyone stopped to take a breather. They all got out of their trucks, with the newcomers staring at them.

"I'm impressed! You guys almost lasted a whole day," Jorge commented.

Brenda just shook her head while Thomas scoffed. "I'm sorry. I didn't wanna bring you guys into this."

"I think what he's trying to say is thanks for saving us," Frypan spoke up.

"You're welcome," Brenda said.

All the girls got was a stern look from Aurora. "You're welcome, girls," she stated in a snarky tone.

"Well, you really didn't save us," Piper pointed out. "We were doing just fine."

"Oh, really? With all of those Cranks running after you?" she retorted.

Piper rolled her eyes and shook her head "Just stuff it," she mumbled.

"Hey, don't get your hopes up," Jorge told them. "That checkpoint back there? That was the city's last defense. If that was overrun, chances are the city is, too."

"Yeah, unless they figured out another way to keep the Cranks out," Newt said, pointing away in the distance. They all looked at a giant wall that protected the city, tall enough to keep anything out. "Funny. Spent two years trapped behind walls, trying to break out, and now we wanna break back in."

"Yeah, it's hilarious," Frypan agreed in a sarcastic tone.

"So, how do we get in?" Piper inquired.

"Don't look at me, hermana. Those walls are new." Jorge paused, then went on. "I guess that's WICKED's answer for everything."

"Well, we ain't gonna figure it out from up here," Brenda stated.

Aurora shook her head. "This is a crazy idea."

"Hey, you chose to follow us here," Piper pointed out. "Feel free to stay behind."

"And miss the chance to fight more bad guys? Hell no," she retorted, heading back to Jorge's truck.

Piper sighed, staring at the city and its big buildings. All she could think about was Minho and Lillie in there, most likely suffering from whatever WICKED had for them, and Aris was doing whatever research with Teresa, if there was even anything to look for.

"Are you scared to face him?" Sonya asked her.

Piper turned to her and nodded her head. She felt a weight off her chest when she gave her an honest answer. "For sticking sure."

~~~~~~~

A/N: Yup, there's that!

I definitely want to include more of Group B in this (b/c they were cheated out of screen time in the movie) and I want to explore Aris' role with WICKED (which he was also cheated out of in the movie).

So, whatcha think? Song is Muttations by James Newton Howard.

Comment, vote, because the next chapter is different from the others. ;)

-A