~Sara~

What's the point of all this?

Sara was so upset about the mission Janson sent all her friends to accomplish. And saying goodbye to Newt after that wonderful night they had together was so hard for both of them. She didn't know how long it was going to be before she could see him again—would she even?

It was terrible enough having to wonder if she would. It'd barely been a day since they set out for the Scorch. The girls were sent to a different part of the Scorch, and they were supposed to meet the boys somewhere along the way in a couple of days. Rebecca had told her that much.

All she figured was that there was really no cure for the stupid virus. WICKED was simply playing another one of their games, and the fact that none of Rebecca's or her own efforts played a major role in changing Janson's decisions, was depressing. Everything was working out for WICKED's original plan, and that was infuriating.

Maybe the only thing that wasn't part of their plan was Alby's death. And Chuck was supposed to be controlled to jump in front of the dagger that was meant to kill Thomas. Alby just willingly did it, saving Chuck's and Thomas's life.

And then they were planning on killing Chuck, rather than sending him to the Scorch like the others. Rebecca just had him under her own care without anyone else but Sara knowing. Sara hoped it stayed that way until they could take him with them to meet with the others.

Sara was raging over everything all over again as she made her way to one of the smaller hallways of the complex. One that was always guarded by one person in different sections along the same hallway.

Out of desperation, Rebecca had shared part of another option with her, but it meant they were entirely exposing themselves to danger. No more undercover work. It'd be only days, maybe even hours, before Janson and all of WICKED got word of Rebecca and Sara's treason. Treason that had taken place for about two years now.

Sara honestly didn't care what was next. She was ready. She'd known the risks, she knew she might die, but there was nothing to lose if she tried. They were doomed just the way they were at the moment. And they were past the fear of what was coming next since they'd already been through so much. 

If they succeeded, then all the Gladers, the girls, Rebecca, and Sara would finally be free and happy, somewhere where no one would ever bother them again.

Sara was convinced that Rebecca was escaping with her, the girls, and the Gladers. She would not let her stay to suffer in the hands of her uncle anymore.

She approached the first guard in the far-most hallway, one of the smallest hallways in the whole building. Slowly, she walked up to him with childlike curiosity.

"What's a young lady like you doing around these areas, Miss Sara?" he asked with a gruff voice.

"I get bored easily. Just wanted to walk around," she replied with a smile.

The guard frowned, not sure he believed her. "It's not safe for you to wander around all by yourself."

She looked at him and shrugged. "Well, I'm not part of the trials, but I'm very proud of my uncle's work, you know? There is no other place in the world as safe as this building." Trying to sweet-talk everything she hated was repulsive, but it seemed to be working. "And we're so close to finding a cure. Teresa and I are working on something big—she's my best friend, by the way."

"That's wonderful, Miss. The world needs more people with that mentality," he said, smiling at her.

Idiot.

'The world needs more people with that mentality.' These people are brainwashed, holy shuck.

"Do you have family somewhere—someone who you're close with?" Sara asked.

His face fell for a second before replying. "Yeah, my wife. My kids. They all fell victims to the Flare."

"Is that why you joined WICKED?" she asked.

The man nodded. "I don't want the rest of the world to be like that. This is why I asked Mr. Janson to let me work for him. The cure is all that matters."

"Oh," she said. "I'm so sorry."

Maybe she needed to stop thinking everyone was evil here. Maybe it was just Janson who was like that. 

People just did the wrong things, genuinely believing that what they were doing was right. Maybe that was why Teresa betrayed them. However, the idea of a cure was proving more and more to be a myth. If they hadn't realized that by now, and still continued to make the lives of young people as miserable as ever, then that was just being ignorant.

One couldn't hope to do something better for the world by harming other people.

"Yeah. That's why I stay firm in what I believe," he continued.

Sara quickly changed the subject. "How does that gun of yours work?" She surveyed the launcher in his hand. She'd heard about this weapon before. It looked extremely dangerous, so she'd never even dared to touch one.

"Why would you want to know about this kind of stuff? It's too dangerous," he tried telling her in the nicest way possible.

Sara crossed her arms playfully. "You never know what might happen. What if unhappy groups decide to attack us one day? We have to be prepared."

He raised one eyebrow. "Well, then that's why people like me are here to protect you."

"What if there's no one around? Then what? I'm just left to die?" she asked, trying her best to sound convincing. "Please, I'm curious. Just teach me how to use it. It's for my own good," she begged, batting her eyes like a puppy.

He debated with himself for a few seconds before he leaned down a bit to show her his launcher up close. He directed her on how he used it and what he was supposed to turn and switch before pulling the trigger. 

"It's like a taser but with higher intensity and more control."

"Oh wow, okay. Can I hold it?" she asked. He didn't seem too comfortable, which was why she snatched it away from his hands subtly enough so that it didn't seem so forced. "It's actually really cool. I'd definitely feel safe with one of these." She tried fiddling with it, holding it how he was explaining to her.

He helped her place her fingers where they needed to go on the weapon, and steadied her position to aim. Fearing someone might see them, he averted his eyes all around to check if the coast was clear. "Miss Sara, I don't think Mr. Janson would approve of you being here all alone, and much less holding a launcher—"

"Of course not," she said confidently, hoisting the launcher up to point it at him. She took him completely by surprise, and he started backing away with his hands held up. "I'm sorry, Mr..." she paused, taking a closer look at the name on his uniform, "... Flanagan. It was actually nice talking to you, but I'm afraid I have to do this."

She pulled the trigger, sending the poor guy convulsing to the ground with electric sparks running down his body.

Sara felt terrible, but she had no other choice. She needed a good weapon, and she had absolute limited access to any. Even Rebecca didn't have much access to the weapons room for some reason.

And just to make herself feel better, she tried convincing herself that this was the same guard that had shot Newt.

~Rebecca~

"H—hello?" she spoke into the intercom. Rebecca hoped with every bit of her soul that she could reach out to them somehow. She wasn't certain if they were on her side of things, but she had no more options left.

None. Zero.

"Who's this?" a rough, disembodied voice came from the other side of the communicator. The familiar accent made her smile slightly.

"Jorge? I need to speak with you. It's urgent," she told him. "Listen, don't proceed. Abort the mission."

"What? Hermana, is this WICKED or... who's this?" he asked suspiciously. "Why are you—what are you doing, why this now?"

"It's Rebecca Paige," she said, a little irritated. "Now can you listen?"

"Oh—uh... sorry. Miss Paige, p—pardon me," he stuttered. "You said there's... something important you needed to talk about?"

"Yes."

"I'm listening, señorita," he said. There was a muffled sound coming out of the speaker, sounds as if Jorge and a girl were whispering to each other.

Once it got quieter, Rebecca prepared to share her intentions with Jorge and Brenda. Hopefully they could figure something out together before the Gladers would run into them and the Cranks.

~Sara~

"Open!" she shouted as she used the butt of the launcher to break the security lock on the weapons room. It didn't budge much, barely making the screws move a little, then they settled back into place. 

She would have preferred to simply shoot a grenade at the door with the launcher if she hadn't been so afraid of electrocuting herself to break inside. In the meantime, she'd have to conform to the old-fashioned way as Rebecca was taking care of other matters of the plan given that she had lost her access to the weapons room.

Sara exclaimed and grunted at every hit until she felt the burning pain on her hands. After one last bit of effort, her hands feeling like they were getting singed and smeared with salt afterwards, the hinges and screws finally gave in. The door of the weapons room was heavy, and she heard the same hissing sound as mist came out of the cold room, and she pulled the door open.

As she strapped the launcher over her shoulder, she contacted Rebecca through the new device she gave Sara to wrap around her wrist. After the second beep, she picked up.

"Sara? Did you do it?"

"I'm in," she panted as the alarms started going off. "I just need to pack weapons, but where do I meet you?"

"Just run back to your room," said Rebecca. "All the provisions are packed and I put them on your bed. From there, just head over to the back station. I'll make sure no one's following you." Her voice from the device was breaking up; they didn't have much time.

"Wait! You're not coming with me?" Sara's heartbeat accelerated, and a feeling of hurt took place after hearing Rebecca wanting to stay after everything she'd suffered.

"You need someone in HQ. Only I can access the database for anything you might need out there. I'm sending you out on a berg. Someone who sided with us is gonna meet you at the station. She'll explain more—"

Sara was panicking at that point. "Okay, but who am I s'posed to—"

"You'll know!"

"And Chuck?" she asked even more frantically, still trying to shout above the noise. "He—"

"Sara!" Rebecca interrupted her. "He stays safe with me! There's not much time left. Get your things and go!" 

Rebecca broke communication, then Sara hurried to get everything she needed before it was too late.

She packed everything in leather bags with wheels on them for easier transport. She snatched up launchers, firearms, knives—anything she could find in the weapons room to take with her for when she met up with the Gladers. Then she rushed back to her room and sure enough, sacks of food and other provisions were bundled together on her bed.

The urgency in Rebecca's voice had her worried, but she was sure Rebecca worked the surveillance things out just fine since no one followed Sara out. Even the guards she had to shoot with the launcher hadn't returned to get her. She was sure they would have woken up by then.

She took her luggage with her, the sacks tied to the other bags that were easier to pull along.

"Sara!" a familiar girl's voice called to her from the station. She rushed over to help Sara carry the things onto the berg, which was stationed and ready to go.

"Rachel?" Sara didn't even bother to hide the surprise in her voice. "I thought you went with Group B—"

"No questions. We gotta go!" She pushed through and Sara shut her mouth as they loaded up the berg, getting ready to mount.

As the compartment opening of the berg shut tightly, their panting breaths being the only sound they could hear, Rachel and Sara got settled onboard.

Sara looked over at her, ready to bombard the girl with questions. "You know how to fly this thing?" she asked a bit harshly.

Rachel shook her head. "No, not at all. Rebecca's doing it from her touchscreen. The berg's linked to her computer system," she assured Sara.

That woman never ceased to surprise her.

The berg's lights and buttons ignited almost instantly, and Sara noticed the station's double doors split open for takeoff. Slowly, the berg rose from the ground, elevating itself in the air, and the double doors that concealed it in the station closed back down.

"Where are we going? I thought you were with Harriet and Lizzy." Sara turned to Rachel once they were high up in the air.

Rachel turned to her. "Okay, just one thing. I'll explain, but don't interrupt me," she said sternly. Sara wasn't even sure she liked her very much at the moment. "Rebecca removed my Swipe. WICKED can't control me anymore, and I have all my memories back. I know what I did with Aris, Teresa, and Thomas for WICKED. Thomas and I share the same opinions, I guess," she said with a frown, "but the other two... well, they've made their choice." Sara noticed the underlying sadness behind her words.

"Aris betrayed you guys too?" Sara asked, catching on to the familiar story.

She nodded. "I guess you could say that. Hasn't happened yet. He's going to. And it all has to do with Thomas and Teresa. She and Aris want to carry on with the plan WICKED has for them. Thomas has no idea what kind of trials WICKED will specifically put on him, and by separate steps."

Sara pinched the bridge of her nose in discouragement. Nothing of what Rachel was saying even made any sense. "I don't even want to know what they're gonna do to poor Thomas," she said, shaking her head. Then she asked, "How long is it gonna take for us to meet with the others?"

Sara looked out one of the windows, feeling jittery at the thought of seeing Newt again, that fast. The beginning traces of the outside world, indicating they were entering the Scorch, weren't very encouraging, however.

"Don't know. First, we gotta watch out that they don't kill us," she replied.

Sara's happy thoughts vanished instantly as she turned to Rachel. "Kill us? They're our friends," she said, getting offended.

Rachel scoffed. "Since when do you know Jorge and Brenda?"

"Who?" Sara arched an eyebrow.

She nodded knowingly. "You see? What did you think I meant?" she asked flatly.

Anger rose up from the pit of Sara's stomach, onto her chest, and all the way to her head. "Aren't we gonna go meet up with the Gladers?"

"No, that's nonsense," she said, lowering her eyebrows at Sara, giving her a belittling look. Sara began to breathe rapidly, getting irritated. "What did you think? That it's 'happy reunion time?' Well, sorry to disappoint."

She snatched a knife from one of the sacks and pointed it at Rachel, making her take slow steps backward. "You have ten seconds to give me a reason not to hurt you right now, 'cause I'm sure that meeting up with the Gladers would've been Becca's plan. So what are your plans? Who are those people you want to see—are they from WICKED?" she asked tauntingly, stepping forward with the knife still pointing straight at Rachel.

"They are," she replied firmly. "Or else we wouldn't be able to set this plan up."

Sara cornered her until Rachel's back touched a wall of the berg, and she held her hands out finally.

"Of course they are! Did you lie to Becca as well?!" Sara shouted in her face.

"This is Becca's plan, you psycho!" she yelled back.

Sara pulled back in shock.

No. She wouldn't.

"You're lying," she muttered.

Rachel pushed her away, furiously walking past her. "You think we're betraying you? Why don't you listen first, and let me explain before you try to kill me?"

"Are they The Right Arm?" Sara ignored her suggestion.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Don't be stupid. At this point, they wouldn't even pick up a call from WICKED. They basically told Rebecca to screw herself."

"Then what?"

Rachel took a seat. "How would I have different plans if Rebecca's the one who's flying this thing?" She waved her arms around, signaling to the whole berg. "We can't meet the others yet; that'll put them in danger. WICKED's still following their original plan, okay? We're meeting two WICKED employees who are potential allies. Not The Right Arm."

Sara sighed in relief, but she wasn't all that happy. "Good idea. Let's blindly trust two people who might help us," she mumbled, throwing the knife back in the sack, then crossing her arms.

Rachel sent an icy glare in her direction. "Do you have another plan?" Sara only frowned at her. "No? Fine, then you be a good girl, be nice to Jorge and Brenda, and we'll convince them to join our crusade," she said, forcing a smile.

If Sara didn't know better, she'd say this girl was Minho's equal. It was quite terrifying.

"I'm not a dog for you to talk to me like that, Rachel dear," Sara rebuked. "Don't you dare pull off a Minho on me."

"Minho?" She snorted. "Let me guess. He's that annoying Asian kid from your Maze." Sara nodded. "I'm nothing like him, and if I had a name like that, I'd also use sarcasm to drown my sorrows," she added, turning away from Sara.

No doubt. Should I call her Minha to piss her off?

"Whatever," Sara dismissed the futile argument.  "Why are Jorge and Brenda out there in the Scorch anyway?"

"They're pretending they have the Flare—that they're Cranks," Rachel replied. "The Gladers are probably gonna convince them to join them. The boys won't know who they really are, and they'll promise them a cure if they join them to try and find it. We... Well, we gotta get to them before the Gladers do."

"Why?"

Rachel sighed and looked out the window. "We're supposed to convince Jorge to join forces with us, but the Gladers can't know who we are. WICKED will know something's off, so we can't reveal ourselves. The weapons are to prevent any deaths WICKED might get out of these trials. We'll meet with my friends soon too. Just... don't get fooled by the act Teresa and Aris are gonna pull off after that. No matter how much you want to step in, don't do it," she emphasized her own words.

What the heck?

"You're scaring me," said Sara, frowning as she thought of her friends, and of Newt. What dangers were they facing even then as she and this girl were flying overhead?

"It's all to ruin WICKED's so-called Phase Two. We'll do more not-so-undercover, undercover work. With more people joining us, hopefully picking up other allies along the way, including a miracle like convincing The Right Arm, we'll go back to HQ and finally end this mess. Destroy them. Just like you and Rebecca always wanted," she said, raising her eyebrows, bluntly expressing her point.

Sara could see the determination in her eyes. WICKED must've pissed her off really badly, so it was understandable.

"It's the ally thing that worries me," Sara suddenly pondered. "We don't know anybody out here. That's dangerous as heck."

"Oh, you might be surprised. You never know what kind of old pals you might pick up on the way," she said with a smirk.

Sara frowned, irritated with her smart-aleck attitude. It was all fun and games to be the person who knew more than the rest until someone else came and knew more than she did.

"Fine. So how do we go 'undercover,' Minha?" Sara seethed.

Yes, I said it!

Her internal celebration was brief just by the look she saw on Rachel's face. If stares could kill...

Wrong move.

"Being surrounded by so many weapons doesn't really help your case when I feel like attacking you right now," she said, snatching one of the bags she brought, then furiously throwing one at Sara. "Here. Put this on when we land."

Sara scrambled with the bundle of fabric thrown at her, looking at it skeptically. "What's this?" From the bag, she pulled out a lot of dirty clothing, and what looked like a thigh holster for hiding ammunition. She looked back at Rachel.

"Ever been to a costume party? This is what we're gonna wear. Cover your face too," Rachel instructed.

Reluctantly, Sara nodded in agreement to pretend to be someone she wasn't, once again.