A/N: The POV switches in this one! RavenRusso this chapter is for you!
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Clara's POV

The fire blazed and it seemed like nearly everyone was seated around it aside from us. We sat on a large slab of rock that overlooked the camp and from our perch we could easily see the whole camp.

My gaze seemed stuck on my father and Mary as they laughed and talked with one another. I couldn't get the last image of my mother out of my head as I watched them. She was beyond gone when Wicked finally took her from our home but that image has always remained with me. And now, looking at him, it didn't seem possible that our mother was ever sane.

"Are you alright love?"

I nodded absently, gaze unwavering. I just couldn't imagine him ever being with someone who wasn't my mom.

The others exchanged weary looks before Chase moved to sit right beside me. "I know what you're thinking about and it's not going to help anything. What happened to mother..." He paused and glanced at the others before lowering his voice. "It really happened, Clara. Nothing has changed just because he's alive. And nothing changes because he has Mary. Everything that happened-"

"Chase." I didn't want to interrupt him but I couldn't hear about our past any longer.

I didn't want to hear about my father with another woman when he was supposed to be with our mom. I didn't want to be reminded of how Chase and I were left with her when she started going crazy. I didn't want to think about the screams that shook our house at night while Chase tried to sing me to sleep with my hands clamped over my ears in his arms, doing anything to drown out her wails.

"I know. It's just hard seeing them together. I'm glad he's happy though." My voice remained steady as I spoke, giving the illusion that I was calm. In reality, I was freaking out. It almost felt as if everything I knew had been turned upside down. I had gotten used to not having either parent but now my father, who I was extremely close to, is alive and well and as it turns out, not sick. In fact, he can't even get sick. Chase or I can. This changes everything!

"Well, if you want to talk." Chase leaned against me and pulled my chin up to try to get me to look at him.

"I don't. Thanks." I replied quietly. I could tell he didn't want to drop it and the atmosphere around us was changing but I couldn't snap out of it. Not while he was alive and well and having a good time with another woman when he was supposed to be sick and gone like our mom.

"I wish Alby could've seen all this." Newt mumbled from beside me, pulling me from my dark thoughts.

"And Winston."

I finally pulled my gaze away from my father and looked at Minho. He looked right back at me with eyes full of understanding. We'd all lost loved ones to get here and it wouldn't get any easier. But, we did still have each other. And if we could stay together, we could get through this.

"And Chuck."

My heart clinched as Thomas said his name and I couldn't bring myself to pull my gaze off the ground, doing what I could not to cry.

"He'd be proud of you, Tommy." Newt told him, a small smile on his face.

Thomas blushed and nodded in return. "Yeah...thanks." His voice was low, quiet, as he replied and I knew exactly where his head was. His eyes shifted up to meet mine and we held each other's gaze until Fry Pan yelled out, "hey, Aris!"

I smirked and looked down at the fire once again to find Aris seated next to Sonya and Harriett. He turned his attention upwards, to us, and smiled. "Hey, guys!" He had the hood on his coat pulled up and it made him look like he was twelve.

Fry Pan smiled and shook his head. "I kinda like that kid."

"I still don't trust him though." Minho mumbled, earning a few chuckles from our group.

I shifted in my spot and my eyes scanned our smaller than usual group. "Where's Teresa?"

Newt gestured over his shoulder to a tall cliff where I could see her shadow. "She went up there."

Everyone turned to look at her, standing tall and looking down on the vast desert below that was surrounded by mountains. I climbed to my feet and quickly headed that way, hearing someone following. I glanced over my shoulder and Thomas paused. "Do you mind if I join you?"

"Not at all Tommy." I mumbled in reply, returning to check on Teresa.

The sun was setting now and everything looked drastically different from the top of the cliff. "Hey, are you okay?" I asked her quietly.

Thomas came up behind me. "What are you doing up here?"

Teresa slowly turned to face us with tears in her eyes. "Just thinking."

She slowly turned back to face the mountains once more. Her entire demeanor was tense as she stared out silently and my feet carried me closer to her before I realized it.

"We'll let you be alone." Thomas mumbled, grabbing my arm to drag me back down with him.

Teresa turned back to face us, quietly whispering, "do you remember your mother?"

"Uh...I think so." Thomas replied.

Teresa's gaze flickered to mine and she recoiled from the pain in my eyes. She knew how vividly I remembered mine.

Teresa's eyes remained on me as she continued so Thomas quietly backed away and down to our friends.

"I remember mine again." A light smile graced her lips and she shook her head. "She was a beautiful woman. Everybody loved her." She took a breath to steady herself and blinked away her tears. "Before Wicked she was all I had."

I took a few more steps closer to her, trying to lend some kind of comfort.

"When she got sick I didn't know what to do. I just kept her locked up. Hidden. I thought she'd get better. Every night she'd make these awful sounds like..." She let the sentence trail and I could nearly hear my mother's cries as I replied, "screaming?"

She nodded, reaching up to wipe away a few tears. "And then one night she just stopped. She was finally quiet. I went down to her room and there was blood everywhere."

My heart started pounding in my chest as I visualized my own mother's death all over again. It was almost exactly how Teresa was describing her own nightmare.

"But she was just sat there, calm. She said she was feeling better." Her voice broke as she kept talking and I grabbed her hand, encouraging her to continue. "The visions were gone. She'd taken care of them. She took her eyes out, Clara."

My eyes widened and dropped to my feet as she continued on. That was definitely different than what my mother went through. "There are millions of people suffering out there. Millions of stories just like mine. We can't turn our back on them. I won't." Her voice was strong as she finished talking and when my eyes met hers again I could see the determination in her gaze.

"What are you saying?" I asked quietly.

Teresa smiled a broken, sympathetic smile at me. "I'm saying I want you to understand."

I shook my head, confused at what she was saying. She had just been talking about her mother and now..."understand what?"

"Why I did it."

I shook my head, still confused at what she was saying. "Did wha..." My eyes widened when I saw the lights in the distance. Helicopter lights. "Oh, no. No, no, no! What did you do?"

She shook her head desperately, pleading with me. "Clara, don't fight them. It'll be so much better that way."

"What have you done?!" I screamed out in anger, pushing her backwards harshly. I sprinted down the cliff and towards our friends but the helicopters were much faster. "No!" I yelled out in hopes of warning everyone of what was coming.

Missiles shot down on the camp and at once everything changed. There were several explosions across the camp and everyone started running around, screaming. The tents scattered around were starting to catch on fire and my expression changed to one of horror as I watched Vince run to a truck.

My feet propelled me forward and towards my friends but my eyes stayed on the events playing out before me.

"Come on, Clara!"

I was finally able to pull my gaze away from the destruction the missiles caused and found Chase. He was running to me while Thomas and the others hovered behind him. A few more missiles rained down on the camp and one of the explosions hit much closer to us than the last ones had. The force of the blast sent everyone flying back, separating Chase, Thomas and I from the others.

We all hit the ground hard and before I realized it Chase was pulling me to my feet. "We have to hide!" He yelled out, pointing to the helicopters. My eyes flickered to the sky and my mouth dropped when I saw the men dropping down to the ground from the helicopters. They were wearing army gear and were carrying those electric guns that I've seen paralyze people. As I watched, one of the men shot someone and dropped them as electricity flooded through them.

"Clara!" Chase yelled my name and pulled me from the trance and I nodded to him, signaling I would follow. He gripped my arm almost painfully and we ran right behind Thomas down the cliff. More and more Wicked soldiers came to the ground and I could feel my heart pounding so hard I thought it would explode in my chest as the helicopters landed. My eyes located Vince and Mary, still running to the truck with a larger group. Soldiers were right behind him, shooting people with the electric balls. Bodies of the Right Arm soldiers littered the ground, frozen in pain where they lay.

As I continued watching them I saw Mary fall. Vince immediately went to pull her up but soldiers surrounded them. I stumbled as Mary was captured, Vince narrowly escaped, and only Chase kept me upright. "It'll be okay, Clara! Keep going!" He encouraged, desperate to find cover. We finally stumbled to the ground and Thomas flipped around towards us, searching for shelter. "There!" He dove towards a row of barrels that were standing upright behind a few destroyed cars.

"Brenda was in the tent! I have to go get her!" Thomas screamed. He started to turn but I grabbed his arm before he could.

"No, Tommy! We can't separate now!"

His gaze held mine as he quickly thought about our options. He took in a sharp breath of air, finally pulling his eyes from mine. "Okay, we have to hurry!"

I nodded eagerly as the three of us ran through camp and to Brenda's tent. "Brenda!" Thomas yelled out into the tent. He made a move to lunge forward but another hand yanked him backwards.

My wide eyes met Brenda's as she pulled Thomas away from the tent. "You dumbass! Come on!" She spun on her heels and we followed her to a set of crates where we could watch everything.

"We have to go now, while we still have the chance!" Jorge spoke quickly and quietly but my eyes were scanning the camp, desperately searching for our friends.

Chase gripped my arm tightly as he also looked around all the people running around, trying to escape capture. I couldn't tell if he was holding me for support or to make sure I didn't leave his side.

Thomas glanced at me before he started to get up from behind the crates. His eyes were blown in panic and I could practically see his heart beating in his throat.

Jorge jumped up at the last second and brought Thomas closer to him. "No, no! Look, look!" His long, thin finger pointed to a truck a little bit away where Newt, Minho, my father, and the others were shooting at soldiers.

They worked together reloading each other's weapons and taking down the surrounding guards. I yearned to join them but Chase's grip wasn't getting any looser as we watched from our safe spot.

"Vince, hurry up! There's too many of them!"

Newt's voice waivered and my heart clinched as I watched him take shot after shot. "No, no, this is too much." I mumbled, standing up to get to Newt. I couldn't stand by and watch any longer while my friends, Newt, and my father tried to fight for their lives.

Chase's hand only tightened on my arm, keeping me frozen in my spot.

"I'm out!" Minho looked around desperately but no one could help him. He no longer had a weapon to defend himself.

The soldiers surrounding them started prepping one of the launchers and when my mouth dropped open to warn them, electricity flooded through them and took them all to the ground. "Newt! Minho!" My scream was lost in another distant explosion as the large helicopter carrying Jansen landed on the ground.

Soldiers ran from the helicopter, paralyzing kids left and right. Chase's arms were around me, pulling me to the ground beside him as Jansen made his way through the camp, beady eyes searching for something. Or someone.

I struggled in his arms to just see over the crate and when I finally did, I watched a soldier pull Newt's still form from the ground. Thomas pushed me back down to the ground, not wanting me to see what was happening to our friends but it was too late. I knew they were captured. I knew it was over.

I sunk to the ground with my back against the crates and tears streaming down my cheeks.

Chase sat shoulder to shoulder with me in disbelief. After all these years together those boys really had become family and Newt...Chase knew how badly I needed and loved Newt.

"I'm sorry. There's nothing any of you can do for them and if we don't move now we won't be much better off." Jorge leaned closer to us, watching us closely as we all stared ahead of us with defeated expressions.

Thomas shifted beside me, his arm brushed against mine and sent chills throughout my body as I looked up at him. "You guys gotta go." Thomas mumbled, glancing at me once again.

"What?" Brenda's voice hitched and she stared at him like he had gone mad.

Thomas shook his head, refocusing his attention on Brenda. "They're not looking for you. You'll be safe but you have to go now."

"Thomas..." Brenda's eyes briefly shifted to mine and I could see how desperately she wanted us to go with them.

I watched Thomas shake his head with a silent plea. "I can't leave without them. Go."

Jorge studied Thomas and after accepting the look of resolve on Thomas' face, nodded and pulled Brenda to her feet. "Good luck kid. Bren, we have to go. Come on."

Brenda remained still, wide eyes watching Thomas. She didn't want to believe this was happening. She didn't want to believe this was where they left us.

"Let's go, come on!" Jorge yelled at the shaken girl. He pulled her away from us as more helicopters landed. Reinforcements.

Thomas, Chase and I looked over the crates, hands gripping the sides.

"What now?"

Thomas glanced at me and patted my back in reassurance. "It'll be okay. We'll get them back."

I turned towards him to reply but my eyes caught sight of something that I couldn't look away from. Jansen. And he was walking right in front of the group that had been captured. My eyes locked on where my father was kneeling on his knees next to Mary and across from the kids that would be forced to return to Wicked. His brow was furrowed as he looked around at the sea of faces surrounding him.

When our friends were walked past him, my father shifted to look carefully at their group in confusion. He was looking for us.

"Let's go!" One of the soldiers yelled out, shoving Newt forward.

Anger flared through me and I wanted to run up and attack the guards. They shouldn't have come here. Thomas and Chase were whispering right behind me but I couldn't pull my eyes away from all the people getting forced to their knees like animals, our friends included. Things with Wicked would only get progressively worse from here.

"Line them up right here! On their knees!" The soldier at the front of the pack screamed, launcher sweeping the area.

Sonya was forced to the ground next to Aris, Fry Pan, Minho, and Newt, all at the front of the herd. A soldier walked behind them all, calling out their numbers. "B6!" He continued down the line as the lead soldier made his way over to Jansen.

"How many did we get?" Jansen's voice seemed higher than the last time we encountered him and once again I felt anger flood through me. If it was the last thing I did...I was going to kill him.

The soldier shrugged, looking at the last few stragglers being forced to the ground.

"All of them. Give or take."

Jansen's eyes narrowed and he stepped closer to the soldier. "Give or take what?"

"Well, they lost a few."

Jansen's gaze quickly shifted to the group of kids in front of him and he already knew the answer to his unasked question. He knew who was missing.

"A5!" The guard scanning their necks called out, catching Jansen's attention. He looked over at Newt, Minho, and Fry Pan and shook his head. "Damn it!" He pinched the bridge of his nose and took in a quick breath. "Where's Clara, Chase, and Thomas?"

"Right here."

I gasped as Thomas walked up the aisle and towards Jansen at the front. My gaze landed on Chase beside me and he shushed me. "All part of the plan."

"Freeze!" The soldier walked up to Thomas with his launcher raised. He pushed him towards our friends, launcher still trained on him. "Go!"

My breaths started coming out in short gasps as we continued to watch. "What plan?" I whispered to Chase.

He squeezed my hand before nodding at Thomas. "There's a grenade in his pocket. He'll blow it before he lets Wicked take our friends."

"Blow it? That's not a plan! Wha-" I shook my head and looked back at Thomas. "If he does that they could all die."

Jansen grinned as Thomas was marched to the front, just within a few feet from him. "Thomas." He greeted, punching Thomas in the stomach.

"Leave him alone!" Our father yelled out, struggling to get out of the soldier's grasp and help Thomas.

Jansen waved his hand in dismissal at Thomas, eyes already searching the camp again. "Get him in line."

I turned to Chase with an arched brow, waving my hands in exasperation at the situation. "What plan, Chase?"

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Thomas' POV

Jansen's eyes continuously swept the camp, hoping by some miracle they would come out of hiding too. He knew with having Newt and I there was a pretty good chance that Clara would come out of hiding but I was positive Chase would be able to keep her by his side.

"Okay, bring her in." Jansen nodded to the guy who was checking which subjects they managed to capture and he pressed a few buttons on some kind of device making it beep. I can feel Newt's eyes on me, silently asking where they were. Desperate to know she was safe.

"Why didn't you run?" Although his gaze remained focused ahead of us it was clear Minho was talking to me.

I anticipated this question but still only one answer came to mind. "I'm tired of running."

It took everything in my power not to look over my shoulder where Chase and Clara were hiding. I knew if I did someone, Jansen, would figure it out and he was the one person that couldn't find out where they were. Not yet.

A group of bright lights appeared over a close mountain and it took me a long moment to realize it was a big ship. Search lights roamed the ground from the top of the big ship and the lights were somewhat mesmerizing until the thing landed. Ava Page walked from the ship with her head held high, a smug look of pleasure on her face.

"Is this all of them?" She immediately asked Jansen.

He shook his head, a sense of despair in his features. "Most of them. It'll be enough though."

She narrowed her eyes and finally looked around at the group, gaze lingering a bit on Vince. Her white suit made me feel nauseous, remembering all the time spent in the Wicked facility. "Start loading them in." Her tone was sharp and demanding as she finally looked past Vince.

"Okay, you heard her! Let's go, get them on!" Jansen yelled out, waving his arm over the group. He walked over to Ava, lightly grabbing her arm. "We have to find them."

She looked back up at him fiercely. "You think I don't know that? You can find out from Vince if you're smart about it! Use what you know to get the information!"

Jansen nodded before storming over to Vince. "Funny how the only two missing are yours, Vince. We know you've been talking with both of them while they were here so where are they now?"

Vince looked up at him with a blank expression. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Jansen narrowed his eyes at him before glancing directly at me. "How about I remind you about how dangerous it is out here for them. For her."

My own eyes narrowed as he started talking about Clara.

"She won't survive out here and you know that. Especially without all of her friends. Chase isn't enough to keep her safe, what are you thinking?" Jansen's voice was taunting Vince, trying to get the information on where she was hiding.

Vince chuckled sarcastically and shook his head. "You are one sorry son of a -"

Ava cut him off, stepping in to finish Jansen's argument. "I can't believe you would put them in these conditions after everything she did to make sure they would be safe after she was gone! My sister did everything for those kids and now you're willingly throwing all that away?" She was screaming at Vince now, towering over him and trembling with anger.

Vince scowled at her, staggering to his feet in defiance. The soldiers hovered close, launchers ready to take Vince back to the ground.

Suddenly, I was pulled to my feet by a soldier lining us up to get on the ship. I looked back at the interaction between Vince and Ava, unable to look away in fear of missing something important.

"I have done everything in my power to keep my kids safe! You do not get to talk about them or my wife like that! I don't care if she was your sister, she wouldn't want this! She wouldn't want her kids to be tested on like lab rats!" He stepped forward, arms now pulled behind his back by the closest guard.

"Hell, if she was still alive, she'd probably kill you herself!" Vince added, his face scrunched in anger.

Ava smirked and smugly shook her head at the stubborn man. "If she was still alive she wouldn't let her child out here when she's not immune. She wouldn't put Clara in the danger you have."

My heart stuttered in my chest as her words sunk in. She's not immune. I felt like something sucked the air from my lungs and the world around me started to fade.

Clara.

Clara wasn't immune.