As it turned out for the group, Bertha was a car that Marcus had named and Jorge had been able to get it, even though Marcus had protested against it. The sun was shining down on the many people within the sandy world now called the Scorch, slowly beginning to set as the nighttime sky was ready to replace the usual bright blue sky for the time being, showing that the night was coming like usual. The sound of a vehicle engine could be heard as it moved closer and closer in the direction of the mountains where they hoped the Right Arm would be and they would get help from hiding from WICKED.

Jorge stopped the car when they saw many abandoned vehicles in different spots, preventing them from driving forward. They knew they would be on foot before Jorge had even announced it. Grabbing the things they'd need, the group were moving forward and past the abandoned cars, some checking to see what it's inside in case if there was anything that would be useful for them. Staying close to her sister, Y/n had her hands in her pockets of her jacket as she looked through a car while taking a glance over her shoulder. Her gaze stopped on Thomas, remembering when she saw Brenda kiss him.

At the memory, she glanced towards the said girl before looking back at her boyfriend, seeing he was already staring at her and she quickly looked away when they made eye contact. All of a sudden, a gunshot ringing through the air had the group jumping while they quickly hid behind the vehicles they had been standing near, Y/n finding herself crouched in between Minho and Newt, as she had walked to them, ducking her head and placing her hands on top in case if a bullet where to wheeze right by the three of them while they hid behind a car.

"Hey, is everyone okay out there?" Thomas calls out.

"We're fine." Teresa calls back.

"Anyone know where those bloody shots came from?" Newt questions.

Hoping to catch a glimpse of anyone who was shooting at them, Y/n moves her back away from the vehicle, still crouching as she peaks over a bit while moving her gaze around. However, she didn't see anyone around. Just when a bullet hit the vehicle a couple inches in front of her, she was moving back down while Newt and Minho quickly pulled her back down before she could get hit, bullets hitting the car they were behind and the one Thomas and Jorge were hiding behind together, the brunette having done the same as his girlfriend.

"Everybody! Get set to sprint back to the truck! And hold your ears!" Jorge instructs.

This had the three teenagers exchanging a glance, deciding to do as he says as they get ready to run. However, when an unfamiliar voice calls out the words 'drop it', they look behind them to see two girls wearing masks with the bottom half of their faces covered, guns in their hand. One had blonde hair, the other had black hair. Thomas and Jorge stood up from their hiding spots, arms raised up in surrender as they took steps back when the black haired girl shouted for them to do so, casting her gaze to three just behind Thomas and Jorge.

Y/n rose her arms up, still standing in between Minho and Newt as they walked forward a bit while the blonde had aimed her gun at the Teresa, Brenda, Frypan and Aris who were all hiding together behind another abandoned vehicle. None of them seemed to notice as the black haired girl had kept her gaze lingering on Aris, brows furrowing. When she called out his name, they all looked to the same boy just when she grabbed ahold of the bandana around her face, pulling it down to reveal the rest of her face, showing the shock.

Aris steps forward. "Oh my god. Harriet?"

The girl, now seeming to be known as Harriet, took a couple steps forward until she was wrapping her arms around him, him hugging back instantly. Meanwhile, the blonde pulled her bandana down, staring at Aris with wide eyes. Y/n noticed Newt staring at the blonde with furrowed brows, almost seeming to examine her. Little did she know, he felt himself recognize the blonde girl from somewhere. He just didn't know where. When Aris turned to the blonde, Y/n heard him call her Sonya, showing that that was her name. Minho, Newt and Y/n find themselves sharing confused looks with each other.

"Uh, what's happening?" Minho intervenes after a couple of seconds.

Aris looks at them with a smile. "We were in the maze together."

Harriet looks towards the cliffs, whistling loudly before giving the okay that they were clear. Hearing distant voices, the group look up to the cliffs to see distant figure popping up, revealing the people that had been trying to shoot at them. Soon enough, Sonya and Harriet were leading them in the direction they had been heading towards, clearly going to take them back to their base, calling out to the other people where vehicles could be seen parked.

"We're taking them to base." Harriet informs some people.

Aris furrows his brows. "Wait, so, how did you guys get here?"

"The Right Arm got us out." Harriet replies.

Thomas steps forward. "Wait. The Right Arm? Do you know where they are?"

Harriet opens the door to the vehicle they had stopped at, motioning to it with her head. "Hop in."

That was how the group found themselves hopping into the vehicle, having to split up since there were too many of them to fit into one vehicle. It wasn't all too long until they were exiting the vehicles when they came to a stop at the base Harriet promised to take them at. As she stopped beside the rest of her group, Y/n looked ahead at the camp. Chattering voices could be heard all around as people in the base walking around, some sitting. Tents were set up, campfires being made as people started cooking. While they walked down a small hill, Harriet and Sonya led them forward.

"They've been planning this for over a year now. This is all for us." Harriet tells them.

"You guys are lucky you found us when you did. We're moving out at first light." Sonya adds, looking to one of their members. "Where's Vince?"

"Somewhere over there, I think." The man replies, pointing in one direction.

"Who's Vince?" Y/n asks.

"He's the one who decides if you get to stay." Harriet states.

Minho furrows his brows. "I thought the Right Arm was supposed to be an army."

"Yeah, we were." A voice calls out.

The group came to a stop as they looked in the direction of the voice, seeing a man walking over to them as he moved his eyes to look between the teenagers. Y/n could only assume that this was the Vince guy Sonya had been asking about just seconds before.

"This is all that's left of us." Vince continues, stopping in front of them. "Lot of good people died getting us this far. Who are they?"

"They're immunes. Caught them coming up the mountain." Harriet recalls.

Vince raises a brow. "Did you check them?"

Harriet points at Aris. "I know this guy, Aris. I trust him."

"Well, I don't. Check them." Vince demands.

Meanwhile, Brenda had been letting out slight croak type of sounds, her body slowly beginning to shake. One of Vince's men seemed to notice, but before he could say anything else, the girl collapsed to the ground with a wheezing type of sound escaping her. Jorge was down by her side in a second while Y/n's eyes widened in realization, remembering the crank bite on her leg. Jorge cradled the short haired girl in his arms, shrugging in confusion when Vince asked what was happening to her while he tried to get Brenda to talk to him, but the girl was wheezing out small apologies occasionally.

Y/n's eyes widened when she noticed Vince pulling at Brenda's pant leg when he noticed, quickly standing up and pulling out his gun to aim it at the girl when he noticed the bite. Jorge found himself screaming out in fear when Vince announced it, struggling against his men's grips to get back to Brenda's side. Shouting in protest, Y/n and Thomas were quick to step forward and step right in front of the short haired girl, raising their arms in surrender as Y/n held a hopeful look in her gaze, hoping that the man would listen and not shoot her.

"This just happened, okay? She's not dangerous yet." Thomas states after the shouting had stopped.

"You shouldn't have brought her here!" Vince exclaims.

Thomas nods. "I know."

"We let cranks in here now, the safe haven doesn't last a week!" Vince continues. "Step back!"

"I understand. Just listen. Please." Thomas pleas, sighing.

"We told her that you could help." Y/n speaks up with a deep frown, making the man look at her. "There's gotta be something you can do. Please."

"Yeah, there is." Vince replies, cocking his gun. "I can put her out of her misery."

"No!" Jorge screams.

"Vince, that's enough!" A feminine voice yells out. "Let him go!"

Heads snapping to the woman's voice, they watch as a dark haired woman rushes over as she comes to a stop beside Vince. Vince's men release Jorge, who quickly moves back to Brenda's side. Feeling eyes on her, Y/n looks up to see the woman that had joined them was now looking at her and Thomas.

"She's infected, Doc. There's nothing we can do for her." Vince reminds.

"No, but they can. Hello, Y/n. Hello, Thomas." The woman greets, making the couple exchange a confused glance while all eyes move to them.

Thomas frowns in confusion, moving close to Y/n. "You know us?"

"Interesting. It makes sense they'd put you both in the maze. Though I must admit..." The woman points out as she moves to kneel down beside Brenda. "...I was worried they'd kill you two after what you did."

"What we did?" Y/n repeats in question.

"The first time we spoke, you both said you couldn't take it anymore, watching your friends die, one by one. The last time we spoke, you two gave me the coordinates of every WICKED compound, trial and lab." The woman recalls.

"They were our source." Vince realizes, staring at them.

"We couldn't have pulled all this off without them." The woman adds, looking down at Brenda. "Take her to the tent. Get these guys some warm clothes."

Jorge and one of Vince's men were lifting Brenda up and off of the ground as Y/n and Thomas looked at each other, shock evident in their faces. Y/n looks towards their friends, making eye contact with her sister. Teresa had been staring at her with a deep frown etched on her face before looking back down. The woman's voice calling out to the couple had them looking to her, stepping towards her as she leads them to the tent they were taking Brenda to, hearing her claim she needed to get some blood from them.

* * *

The brightness of the outside was shining through the plastic-like windows of the tent the couple found themselves in. Some time had passed for the people in the base, and the new group of teenagers had been given a change of warm clothes, food, water and some other things that they didn't have ever since their first day at WICKED after thinking they were safe for the time being. The sounds of chatters could be heard all around while it was slowly starting to get darker and darker out for the many people in the Scorch, another day already going by ever since the group had escaped.

Inside of the tent, Y/n had taken her jacket off as she sat beside Thomas with Brenda laying in front of them, her body shaking. On the other side of the short haired girl, Jorge had kept close to Brenda's side, a hand on her arm. Thomas also now had his jacket off while they watched the doctor, who they had learned her name was Mary, work from behind them after taking each of their blood. While they were sitting in the tent together, they had been listening to her explain about the beginning of the Flare when Thomas and Y/n were just younger.

"In the beginning, we were lost. All we knew for sure, was that the younger you were, the stronger your chances." Mary tells them.

Y/n looks behind her at the woman, furrowing her brows. "You worked for WICKED?"

Mary nods, frowning. "Long time ago. You know, at first, we had the best intentions. Find a cure, save the world. It was clear you kids were the key, because you were immune. But why? Eventually, we found an answer. An enzyme produced by the brains of the immune. Once separated from the bloodstream, it can serve as a powerful agent to slow the spread of the virus."

"So, you found a cure?" Thomas questions.

Mary shakes her head. "Not exactly. The enzyme can't be manufactured, only harvested from the immune. The young. Of course, that didn't stop WICKED. If they had their way, they'd sacrifice an entire generation. All for this. A gift of biology. Of evolution. But one not meant for all of us."

They watch as she moves around the bed Brenda was laying in, crouching down and lifting her sleeve up. Brenda's constant breathing had stopped when the needle was sticking into her skin, a loud gasp escaping her before she was breathing normally.

"How long will that give her?" Y/n asks.

"It's different for everyone. A few months maybe. But that's the catch, isn't it? She'll always need more." Mary states.

And with that, she stands up while resting her hand on Jorge's shoulder, insisting they should let the teenagers rest for the time being. After a reluctant moment when he opened his mouth while looking down at the couple, Jorge walked by them and out of the tent while Mary was taking the gloves she had been wearing off her hands.

"Kids." Mary calls, making them look at her. "You know she can't come with us, right?"

They don't say anything, the woman giving them a sympathetic look before she exited the tent, leaving them in a silence. There was some time where they hadn't really said much, getting ready and putting their jackets back on to head out to find their friends. Fixing the laces of her boots, Y/n felt Thomas sit down beside her, their backs facing the still sleeping Brenda while she looks up when she felt Thomas place his hand on her knee.

"There's something I need to tell you." Thomas blurts out.

Y/n raises a brow. "What is it?"

"Brenda..." Thomas begins, trailing off. "Brenda kissed me... back at Marcus'. I've been meaning to tell you, but with everything that's been happening, there wasn't time until now. I pulled away once I realized, but I wanted you to know."

"I know, Thomas. I saw." Y/n reveals, placing her hand on his. "And I saw you pull away. Thank you for telling me."

The boy gave her an apologetic smile while they stared at each other. The girl was the first to lean forward, gently pressing her lips to his. Immediately kissing back, Thomas places his hand on her cheek, holding it beneath his palm as their lips moved in sync. That lasted a couple of seconds before they slowly pulled away and rested their foreheads against one another's, all while the pad of Thomas' thumb caressed her cheek.

"I love you." Thomas whispers, making her look at him with slight wide eyes. "You don't have to say it back right now. I just wanted you to know, and I had to say it. I don't remember much, but I remember feeling something when we first met... before the maze. All I knew is that I'd love you for the rest of my life. I thought the same thing when I first saw you in the box."

His words had her smiling softly before pressing her lips to his again, the young couple kissing each other for a couple of more seconds, almost a minute until they decided they should go and find their friends. Hand in hand, they exited the tent to see Jorge standing up from the spot he had been sitting in outside the tent. They didn't expect for him to wrap his arms around them, hugging both of them tightly before pulling back.

"If anything were to happen to her, I--" Jorge begins.

"We know, we know." Thomas interrupts in a soft tone, placing his hand on his shoulder. "You should get in there. See if she's awake."

Jorge nods, placing his hand on his shoulder. "I guess I owe you, now."

Patting the boy's shoulder, he walks into the tent while the couple walk off. It wasn't long until they found the others sitting on some rocks on a hill, walking towards them hand in hand with small smiles on their faces. Minho, Frypan and Newt smiles when they catch sight of the couple venturing in their direction, watching as they sit down on a rock beside Newt, hands still connected and fingers intertwined.

"I wish Alby could've seen all this." Newt speaks up, looking around the base.

"And Winston." Frypan adds.

Y/n looks down at the carved figure in her hand. "And Chuck."

"He'd be proud of you, you know, Y/n." Newt states as Thomas presses a kiss to her temple.

"Hey, Aris!" Frypan yells out after a moment.

They watch as Aris, who had been sitting down further into the base with Harriet and Sonya, a bright smile on his face as he caught up with his friends, looks up towards them before he was waving, smiling brightly at them as he called out a small 'hey guys' to them before looking back to the two girls he was sitting with.

"I kinda like that kid." Frypan admits.

"Yeah. I still don't trust him, though." Minho jokes, making them share a chuckle with each other.

Y/n furrows her brows, remembering her sister. "Hey, where's Teresa?"

"She went up there." Newt replies, pointing towards the cliff behind them.

All of them look to where he had pointed, seeing Teresa's distant figure standing at the top of the small cliff as she stared out into the distance. Squeezing Thomas' hand, Y/n stands up to her feet while heading off in her direction, gaze trained on her sister's figure.

She was gonna find out what's wrong with her, once and for all.