Chapter 46 Chapter 46: Base Camp of Group B

Thomas couldn't understand the meaning of Teresa's last words.What did he do to her?But as he walked and walked and walked and walked after them, his mind became dull. It was obvious that they were walking towards the base camp of Group B.He kept climbing up the mountain, and his legs ached like fire from the exertion.A steep cliff to the left allowed them to walk in the shade all the time, but everything was still red and brown and hot.Dry and dusty.The girls gave him a few sips of water, but he was sure every drop had evaporated before it reached his stomach. They came to a great hollow in the eastern wall when the noonday sun seemed to burst overhead like a golden ball of fire determined to burn them to ashes.The shallow depression was about forty feet into the face of the mountain; it was evidently their base camp, and it looked as if they had been there for a day or two.Blankets were scattered all over the floor, there were signs of a fire, and some rubbish was piled nearby.There were only three of them there when they arrived—girls like the others—which meant they felt the need to send out nearly all of them to kidnap Thomas.

With those bows and arrows and knives and machetes?It seemed almost silly to do so, and they could have done it. Along the way, Thomas has learned a few things.The dark girl's name was Harriet, and the girl who was always with her, with reddish blond hair and snow-white skin, was Sonia.Although he couldn't be sure, he guessed that these two most likely had been in charge before Teresa got there.There is a certain authority in their demeanor, but in the end they always take orders from Teresa. "Okay," Teresa said, "let's tie him to that ugly tree." She pointed to the white trunk of an oak tree, its roots still tightly coiled in the rocks and soil , even though it actually died many, many years ago. "We'd better feed him something so he doesn't wake us up by barking and whining all day long."

She's exaggerating a bit by saying that, isn't she?Thomas thought.Whatever her real intentions, her words were starting to sound a little ridiculous.And he could no longer deny the fact that he had really started to hate her, no matter what she had said in the first place. He didn't resist when they tied his body to the tree trunk, his hands were not tied.Once they felt he was obedient and safe, they gave him some granola bars and a bottle of water, and no one spoke to him or made eye contact.Oddly enough, if he's not mistaken, he noticed that everyone looked a little guilty.He started eating, and while he was eating he took a good look at everything around him.Something was wrong with his mind wandering around in that place while everyone else was settling down to sleep for the rest of the day.

Teresa's performance definitely doesn't look like acting, never looks like acting.Is it possible that she's doing the exact opposite of what she's told him - making him think he should trust her when her real plan has been and will be - With a shock in his heart, he remembered the label on the door of her previous dormitory room.traitor.He had completely forgotten about that label until now, and things started to become clearer. WICKED is the boss here, and they are the group's only hope of survival.If they had ordered her to kill him, would she have done so?To save her own life?And what did she mean when she said that he did something to her?Could they even manipulate her mind?Make her stop liking him?

And then there were his tattoos and the signs in the city that had warned him; the signs that told him he was the real leader.That sticker next to Teresa's door was another warning. He remains unarmed and tied to a tree. The number of people in group B is more than twenty more than him, and they all have weapons, so it is really easy to deal with him. Sighing, he finished his food, feeling a little better.How it all came together was not quite clear to him, but he had a newfound confidence that he was one step closer to figuring out the truth.And he must not give up. Harriet and Sonia kept the tray nearby; they had been watching him furtively as they got ready for bed.Once again, Thomas noticed an odd mixture of shame and guilt on the girls' faces.He understood that this was an opportunity for him to defend his life with words.

"You guys don't really want to kill me, do you?" he asked in a tone that he'd already found them lying about. "Have you guys really killed people before?" Harriet gave him a stern look, stopped and rested her head on a stack of blankets, propping herself up on one elbow. "According to what Teresa told us, we escaped the maze three days faster than your group, lost fewer people than you and killed more ghosts and fire beasts than you. I want to defeat an unremarkable little boy. How difficult it will be." "Think how guilty you're going to feel." He could only hope that thought would irritate them.

"We'll get over it." She stuck her tongue out at him, literally stuck her tongue out!Then she lay down and closed her eyes. Sonia sat with her legs crossed, looking like she was trying her best not to fall asleep. "We didn't have a choice, WICKED said that was our only mission. If we didn't, they wouldn't let us into that safe haven, and we'd all be dead in this scorched earth." Thomas shrugged and said, "Hey, I understand, sacrificing me to save yourselves is very noble." She stared at him for a long time; he had to fight to meet her gaze.Finally she looked away and lay down, turning her back to him.

Teresa walked up, her face contorted with rage. "What are you talking about?" "Nothing," murmured Harriet, "just tell him to shut him up." "Shut up," Teresa said. Thomas let out a sarcastic laugh. "What are you going to do, kill me if I don't shut up?" She didn't say anything, just kept staring at him with no expression on her face. "Why do you hate me so much all of a sudden?" he asked. "Did I do something to you?" Both Sonia and Harriet turned to listen, their eyes darting between Thomas and Teresa. "You know what you've done," Teresa said at last, "and everyone here knows it—I told them all. But even then, I'm not as mean as you, thinking To kill you, we only did it because we had no choice. Sorry, life is hard."

Did something flash in her eyes just now?thought Thomas.What was she trying to tell him? "What are you talking about, mean as I am? I've never killed a friend to save my own life, ever." "Me neither, which is why I'm glad we're not friends." She turned to leave. "So what did I do to you?" Thomas asked quickly. "I'm sorry, I'm kind of out of memory—you know, we do this a lot here, remind me." She jerked around and stared at him with angry eyes. "Don't insult me ​​how dare you sit here and act like nothing happened. Shut up now or I'll leave another bruise on that beautiful face of yours."

She stomped away, and Thomas fell silent.He turned until he felt a little better, his head resting on the dead branch of the tree.His current situation can be described as terrible, but he is determined to figure it out and survive. Finally, he fell asleep.