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"What problelare, then looked back at Tho rah this whole shuck city and that all kinds of corruption is going on to hide it because the ones who are sick are govern the virus with the Bliss--it slon the Flare so people who have it can blend in with everyone else, but the virus keeps spreading My guess is it’s the same all over the world There’s just no way to keep that beast out"

Thout The idea of a world overwheline how truly awful things could get--being immune wouldn’t amount to much when that happened

"What’s the other probleh"

"People like us"

"People like us?" Brenda repeated, a confused look on her face "You mean I Being kidnapped or running away, vanishing into thin air--no one knows A little birdie told athered and sold to WICKED so they can continue the Trials Start all over if they have to Whether that’s true or not, the population of immune people in this city and others has been halved in the last sixwithout a trace It’s causing a lot of headaches The city needs them more than people even realize"

Thomas’s anxiety went up a notch "Don’t most people hate the Munies--isn’t that what they call us? Maybe they’re being killed or so to hi theh

"I doubt that," Gally said "My little birdie is a reliable source, and this reeks of WICKED to the core These problems make a bad coovern Whatever’s happening, there isn’t gonna be anyone left in Denver Who knows about other cities"

"So what does this have to do with us?" Jorge asked

Gally looked surprised "What, you don’t care that civilization is about to co Pretty soon it’s just going to be a world of psychos ant to eat you for supper"

"Of course we care," Thomas answered "But what do you want us to do about it?"

"Hey, all I know is that WICKED has one directive--to find a cure And it’s pretty obvious that’s never gonna happen If we had their money, their resources, we could use it to really help To protect the healthy I thought you’d want that"

Thoed when no one responded "We don’t have "

"Gally," Tho about Teresa and a bunch of other people who also escaped today?"

Gally nodded "Yeah, we found the you Who did you think my little birdie was?"

"Teresa," Thomas whispered A flash of hope sparked within him--she must have remembered all that stuff about WICKED when they’d ree her tune? Was her insistence that "WICKED is good" finally a thing of the past?

"That’s right She said she couldn’t agree with the about hoping to find you, too But there’s one ood"

Gally shrugged "Never does these days One of our people out looking for your group cae ru from the WICKED headquarters I’m not sure if they could track you or not, but it looks like they probably could’ve guessed you’d come to Denver anyway"

"Why?" Thoe bounty out for a guy named Hans who used to work there, lives here now WICKED thinks you came here for him, and they want hi Now Coot to their feet, and as Thoht earlier Finding Hans had to be priority one now He had to get the tracking device out of his head and, if they were after Hans, they had to get to hi you told us is true?"

"Every bit" The Glader hadn’t ht Ar even as we speak They need inforh, and who better to help us than you? If we can get Teresa and the others, too, that’d be even better We need every waret"

Thomas decided to trust Gally Maybe they’d never liked each other, but they had the same enemy, which put them on the same team "What do we do if ant in?" he finally asked "Do we come back here? Go somewhere else?"

Gally smiled "Co, for another week I should be around I don’t think we’llwith curiosity

"I’ve told you enough You want more, you come back I’ll be here"

Thomas nodded, then held out a hand Gally shook it

"I don’t bla," Thomas said "You sahat I’d done for WICKED when you went through the Changing I wouldn’t have trusted me, either And I know you didn’t want to kill Chuck Just don’t plan on hugs every ti’sfor hih, Gally squeezed his elbow "Ti"

"We’ll be back," Thomas said, then followed his friends Fear of the unknown no longer controlled him Hope had found its way in and taken hold

They didn’t find Hans until the next day

Jorge got them into a cheap motel after they’d purchased some clothes and food, and Thomas and Minho used the rooe and Brenda made dozens of calls to people Thomas had never heard of After hours of work, they finally found an address through soe called "a friend of a friend of an enemy’s eneht; Tho on the floor while the other two got the twin beds

The nextthey showered, ate, and put on their new clothes Then they got a cab and went straight to the place they’d been told Hans lived--an aparthtly better shape than Gally’s They clirayshe’d never heard of any Hans, but Jorge kept pushing Then a gray-haired man with a wide jaw peeked over the woravelly voice