Jorge and Brenda can riding toward us, the truck fishtailing, tries spitting gravel. They slammed into the side of the helicopter. Metal screamed. The helicopter spun, broke, and exploded into fire, shrapnel raining down around us. I hit the ground hard, covering my head as pieces tore through the dirt. Heat seared my face. The air shook.

Chao exploded. Screams. Gunfire. The earth alive with violence.

"Freeze! Drop it, kid!" A guard bellowed, rifle leveled at me.

I didn't hesitate. I hurled the bomb.
"Get down!" I shouted, throwing myself yo the dirt as the blast ripped the night apart.

The shovewave slammed my chest. My ears racing. Smoke curled like black veins into the sky. I coughed, staggered up- just in time to see Janson charging through the haze.

He punched me square in the face. The world spun, my jaw cracked with pain as I hit the ground. He stomped my arm, pinning me, hun already raised.

"Some father you were" I spat, blood on my tongue.

"I should've done this long ago" he sneered, pressing the barrel between my eyes.

But before he could pull the trigger- BANG. His shoulder jerked back. He staggered, yelling. I whipped my head and saw Brenda, steady with a gun in her hands.

I didn't wait. I tore free and ran.

"Get down!" Thomas yelled, grabbing my arm and pulling me behind cover next to newt and fry. Bullets screamed overhead.

"Minho, come on!" I shouted. He was still in front, firing, holding ground like it was his alone to hold.

And then- everything slowed. The world bent.

A electric shot rang. Minho fell. His body collapsed like the strings had been cut.

"Minho? Minho! No, no, no!" My scream tore out of me as I bolted toward him, but hands seized me, dragging me back.

"No, no, no, Minho!" I thrashed, kicking, clawing, useless.

Guards were already on him, dragging his limp body onto the berg. The hatch sealed. The engines roared.

I stumbled forward, numb, as the ship lifted into the night sky.
"Minho..." the word broke out of me like glass.

And then he was gone.

The next morning, i sat hollow. My body was there, but everything inside me felt gutted.

"What do we do now?" Fry's voice cracked in silence.

Vince looked at all of us, his face grim.
"Well, we pick up what's left of us. We stick to the plan. We get you kids to the safe haven. Then we start over, I guess." He said

But Thomas's eyes were already on mine. We'd spoken without words all night. Neither of us could walk away.

"We're not going with you" I said, my voice sharper than expected.

Vince's brows snapped together.
"What?" He asked

"I made a promise to Minho. I wouldn't leave him behind, we have to go after him" Thomas said, standing.

Vince gestured to the ruins.
"Hey, kid, look around you. All right? WICKED just kicked our asses. You think about where you're headed." He said

"We're not asking anyone to come with us" I said, standing tall beside Thomas.

Newt shook his head, pain in his eyes.
"Reyna, Thomas, listen to me. I'm known Minho for well as long as I can remember. So if there is anyway that we could help him, trust me, I would be up there standing with you. This, what you're talking about, is impossible." He said

"More like suicide" Jorge muttered

"Maybe." My hands clenched at my sides, my voice steady.

"But I know what I'm supposed to do now. It's not just about Minho. It's about all of us. About everyone WICKEDS ever taken. And everyone they will take. They'll never stop. They'll never stop. So we're gonna stop them. I'm gonna kill Ava Paige. And my father" I said

The group went silent. Harriet's lips curled into a sharp smile.
"I have to admit I'd like some revenge" she said

Vince gave a humorless laugh.
"Well, that's a good speech, kids. So what's your plan?" Vince asked, eyes scanning us.

I looked at Thomas, then at the faces around me. Newt, fry, Harriet, Jorge, Brenda. People broken, people furious, people with nothing left but the fight.

The truth settled into me like steel.

I was going to end WICKED. Even if it was the last thing I did.