REMEDY

10: The Last City

-J A D E-

Whilst the rescued teenagers made themselves at home at the Right Arm, Jade was with Jorge and Brenda. She had been subtly checking on Brenda since she had been temporarily cured from the Flare, and she seemed to be doing great. Healthy, which mattered a lot to Jade.

She noticed Thomas following after Piper, who had been acting strange ever since they discovered Minho was missing. Jade figured it was about their failed mission, though she noticed Piper was only acting strange around her. She had wondered if Piper's fear of heights had made her hate Jade- she didn't want Piper to hate her.

Jade and Brenda joined the rest of the teenagers in one of the small building they had been using for shelter. Thomas handed Aris, who's face was covered in bruises, a drink and asked, "What happened?"

The boy hesitated, "I fought back. Tried to, anyway."

"You're lucky you found us at all." Sonya added, "They had us on the move a lot. I felt like something big was happening."

"Any idea where they were headed?" Newt asked curiously.

"All I know is... they kept talking about a city." Aris explained.

Piper frowned , "I didn't think there were any cities left."

"That's because there aren't." Jade explained, "Not still standing, anyway."

"What about Minho?" Thomas asked, "Why wasn't he on the train?"

"I'm sorry, Thomas." Aris muttered, as Newt and Piper shared an expression of pure fear. He added, "He was."

Aris explained to the group where he thought Minho was being taken, as Jade drew pictures down to add to her map. After a while, she circled a scribbled drawing of a city, before placing the map down on the table and showing it to Vince.

Vince raised his eyebrows, "What is this?"

"A map, Vince." Jade deadpanned, "What do you think it is?"

"Messy drawings." Vince shot back, folding his arms across his chest stubbornly.

Jade knew her chances of convincing Vince was very low. It took her weeks to convince him to let her go and search for her brother in the Scorch alone. Jade sighed, "Just listen. Based on the railways, and everything that Aris told us, this has gotta be where they're headed. We can make it back within a week."

"A week?" Vince repeated, "You're getting that information from your drawings?"

Jade glanced at Brenda in embarrassment, signalling help to h the girl with a stern look. Brenda and Jorge were the only ones who knew the girl couldn't read or write. The truth was, Jade never needed to learn: her parents died, she had to look after her brother, a virus killed off humanity. Why would she need it? Jade preferred to learn survival skills instead.

Vince continued, "It took us six months to get here. We got over 100 kids here now, it's not how it used to be, Jay. We can't just hang out here forever. After what we just pulled, you wanna wonder off again? You don't even know what's there."

"I do." Jorge interrupted, "It's been a few years, but I've been there. The Last City. That's what WCKD called it." Jorge looked at Jade, "If that city is still standing, that's the last place you wanna go, kid."

"We've done it before." Thomas stepped in.

"With months of planning and reliable information, none of which we have now." Vince raised his voice slightly, "The last time we went off half-cocked, I lost everything! Do you remember that? You can't ask me to put those kids on the line for one man."

It was a mutual agreement of silence that this mission was too dangerous for the group. However, Jade noticed Piper's silence, and the mystery behind her dark eyes. Jade also noticed her empty bed, so while the others were sleeping, she explored to find Piper.

In the darkness, she saw a shadow walking towards her. In fear it was Vince, Jade pretended to look fascinatingly into the distance. The figure walked closer to her, and Thomas' voice spoke, "Jade?"

"Thomas? Have you seen..."Jade paused her question, as she noticed his packed bag on his back, "Are you leaving?"

He sighed, "I have to. Just tell the others I have to save Minho."

Jade paused, realising that Piper's disappearance was probably linked to this plan, "Can I come with you?"

"Jorge and Vince both want you to stay here, you know that." Thomas declined, "It's too dangerous-"

"I survived two months alone, Thomas." Jade remarked, "I think I can survive a group mission."

"I'm being serious, Jade." Thomas disagreed, "It's not gonna be easy. I don't wanna drag you into this. I mean, you barely know Minho."

"Well, I know that he's the guy who turned on the lights in the Mall. Therefore, I know how stupid he can be." Jade reasoned with a smirk, "Plus, the Scorch is a place of my expertise."

Thomas hesitated, before giving into the girl's smirk, "Okay, okay. Fine."

Thomas helped Jade pack her bag quietly, before they both quickly walked towards the car. However, unexpectedly, a lamp flickered on beside the vehicle. It was Newt. He frowned, "Where are you two off to then?"

Thomas sighed, "Newt..."

"Don't be a twat about it." He interrupted, "I'm already in. Come on."

"No, no." Thomas replied stubbornly, "Even if we find Minho, there's no guarantee we make it back from this."

"Well, you'll need all the help you can get then, won't you?" Newt questioned, as he opened the car door to reveal Frypan.

The boy smiled, "Hi."

To Jade's surprise, Piper leant forward to look at them both from the driver's seat. She questioned sarcastically, "Are you two coming or not?"

"Well, we started this together." Newt added, "May as well end it that way, too."

Jade glanced at Thomas, before shrugging, "I'm in."