*A/N: I do not own the Maze Runner or any of its characters. I only own my own OC Rachel. Story contains spoilers for the movies and the book. Warning: mild swearing as was in the movies.

Rachel took a deep breath, attempting to calm her racing heart.

In the stillness of the dry, desert-like land around them, she could feel the tension rolling off her companions like a heat wave as they remained as still as possible. Despite the long wait, they remained alert, not even daring to shift unless absolutely necessary. It was only adding to her own nerves, but she didn't dare say anything, didn't dare even breathe too loudly, least it distract someone.

This was it. Six months of hard work, lost sleep, mistakes and small (tiny, really) triumphs had led up to this moment. They could not afford to fail now.

Ch ch ch ch ch ch.

As one the group tensed as they heard the chugging sound, faint at first and then growing steadily louder.

Raising her head, Rachel's grey eyes met Newt's chocolate brown. It's now or never.

They had one shot at this, one shot to make it work right. Hopefully, hopefully, with the numerous times they had practiced making this run, Thomas had set the bomb and timed it right. They had practiced it over and over: timing how long it took for Thomas and Vince to jump on a moving train, how quickly they could make it across and to the right carriage; testing how long it took for the bomb to explode, how much explosive power was needed to break the links in one try but not harm the rest of the carriage; simulating the time it took for the carriages to screech to an emergency halt after they became detached,. Vince had almost gotten himself blown up on one occasion while Thomas was almost run over when they underestimated the force with which the train came to a halt.

The one consolation they had was that the last nine practice runs they had simulated had been perfect, down to the extraction. But even practice couldn't predict the many variables that could impact the real situation and Rachel found herself twisting the cord on her cargo pant leg anxiously as she waited.

The train was getting closer - too close. The carriage links had to break soon, otherwise it might travel too far along the tracks from where Rachel, Newt, and the few others were hiding. That meant even less time for them to act, and time wasn't something they had.

Please. Please. Please. Rachel chanted in her head, willing luck to be in their favour. Because that was what this whole mission would boil down to eventually. It was like a card game - it didn't matter how well you knew the rules and how many times you had practiced; if you held a bad hand, you lost.

And they had too much to lose if they were dealt a bad card now.

Despite agreeing before they had set out not to be distracted, to not rely on each other, Newt reached out to Rachel. She took his hand without hesitation, clutching it tightly in her own as they prayed to whatever God might exist and as one they counted silently.

3… 2… 1…

Like clockwork, they heard an explosion not too far away, the sharp boom echoing across the plains and followed by a metallic screeching as train wheels automatically locked to prevent an accident. Rachel let out a small breath of relief. The stick actually did it.

Still, neither she nor the group moved, waiting for the signal. It was always the hardest thing to do - wait - but it was imperative that the coast was definitely clear. Otherwise, they risked being captured and the Right Arm really couldn't afford to lose any more people.

A sharp whistle sounded, and Newt instantly popped his head around the boulder where he and Rachel had been hiding.

"Newt!" Vincent's voice called, and Rachel stood up beside Newt.

The blonde British youth turned, calling to the others, "All right, come on, let's go!"

At his signal, the group darted out from where they were hiding behind the boulders, running forwards quickly. Rachel ran ahead, dashing to the carriages while Newt followed a little more slowly, carrying the heavy metal cutters on his back.

Vincent was waiting for Newt by the side of the carriage, while they could hear Thomas banging on the train carriages' metal walls.

"Minho!" Thomas shouted as he banged away at each carriage, searching for his friend. "Minho! Do you hear me?"

"Aris!" Rachel yelled on the other side as she reached the line of carriages that they knew to be holding captured WCKD subjects. "Sonya!"

"Minho!" Thomas shouted, and Rachel banged along the carriages as she searched, "Sonya! Aris!"

An eruption of cheers sounded from inside one of the carriages, and Rachel stopped.

"Aris? Sonya?" She yelled, and she heard a high-pitched yell that she would recognize anywhere.

"Sonya!" Rachel shouted, and she thought she heard Aris's voice mixed inside as well.

Thomas faintly heard Minho's distinctive yell as well, and he stopped at the same carriage as Rachel.

Newt ran up to them, and Thomas urged quickly, "This one, this one!"

Newt instantly began unpacking his kit, grabbing the metal cutter while Thomas and Vince went to scout out the front of their line of carriages. WCKD's workers had stopped their half of the train as soon as they were made aware of the situation, which meant that the portion of the train with all the armed soldiers was much closer to them than they would have liked.

Still, it was no closer than they had expected, so it was with practiced swiftness that Newt began sawing at the strong metal clamps that held the cargo box-shaped carriage to the train wheels, which kept all the carriages connected. On the other side of the carriage, one of the Right Arm soldiers (Bob) sawed through the other clamp. Rachel meanwhile had scampered up the ladder that was welded into the side of the carriage and onto the roof where she began unwinding the heavy ropes that she had taken from Porter (another fellow Right Arm friend).

She heard the scrambling of feet on the metal ladder, and Rachel asked without looking up, "How are we doing?"

"It's going to be close." Thomas replied as he quickly grabbed one end of the ropes Rachel was unwinding. At the end of the rope, tied firmly in place, was a carabiner, and Thomas ran to clip it securely to one of the metal loops on the corner of the carriage roof.

Vince joined the two teens, mimicking Thomas's movements with another end of the rope, while Rachel - having finished unwinding - grabbed a third end and ran to secure it to a corner as well. Thomas, having finished with his first carabiner, grabbed the last remaining end and ran to get it secured to the final corner.

"Newt, how's it progressing?" Thomas called down to his friend as he secured the last clip.

"Don't rush me." Came the curt response as Newt continued to focus on calmly sawing through the metal clasp.

A loud bang had the three on the roof flattening themselves to the roof, and Rachel looked over to see the WCKD soldiers advancing on them. The men fired again, falling into a continuous rhythm as they got closer, and Thomas yelled, "Rachel!"

"Going!"

Rachel quickly scampered her way down the ladder, drawing a pistol that had been tucked securely inside her jacket as she went. She dodged bullets as she made her way to Newt's side while Vince followed her - only he went to cover Bob on the other side. On the roof, Thomas pulled his own gun from his jacket and the three fired back at the soldiers as they desperately fought for time and their lives.

"Newt, get up here!" Thomas yelled as he fired once again, and Newt snapped, "Almost there."

A bullet narrowly missed Rachel's head, and she ducked back quickly pressing herself against the side of the carriage where she fired a shot at the soldier who had aimed for her and Newt. Her mark hit true, and the soldier fell down with a yelp.

"Newt!" Rachel called, and he gasped, "Done!"

He pulled back, the metal clasp falling with a small clang to the ground, and Vince shouted from the other side as Bob also finished up, "Bob, go!"

"Rach." Newt gestured for her to start up the ladder, but Rachel pointed out, "I'm covering you, remember?"

She paused to poke her head around the side of the train carriage, firing at the approaching WCKD soldiers, before she ducked back behind their cover.

"Go!"

Rachel pushed Newt back, forcing the reluctant teen up the ladder. He scampered up quickly after giving up on arguing with her, hurrying onto the roof of the carriage. Rachel continued to fire at the oncoming soldiers, ducking away when a bullet came a little too close to taking off her head for comfort.

'Dammit, Harriet, where are you?' Rachel thought as she glanced up at the sky desperately.

The WCKD soldiers were getting too close for comfort, and neither she nor Vince could get up onto the carriage until they were locked and loaded, or else they would all be sitting ducks on the open carriage roof. 'Come on, Harriet, come on...'

Rachel's ears perked up as she heard a faint humming noise, and she glance up at the sky again in relief. There, coming toward them from the mountains, was a Berg that Rachel knew had to be piloted by Harriet's team. The sight of the huge craft made the WCKD soldiers pause, as though in confusion, and Rachel grinned. Perfect timing.

A hook began to descend from the Berg toward the carriage as the large carrier stopped to hover over the carriage. Unfortunately, the WCKD soldiers realized what was going on at the same time, and they began firing and advancing at a much faster pace now that they were aware they could easily lose their targets. Rachel and Vince fired back valiantly, trying to keep the soldiers back as long as possible while Thomas, Newt, Bob, and Porter worked on getting the ropes hooked up to the hook.

"Rachel!"

Rachel glanced up at Newt's call, to see him peering over the side at her urgently.

"Get up here! Hurry!" He shouted, before being forced to duck as the WCKD soldiers fired in his direction.

"Vince!" Rachel yelled, and the man shouted back at her from the other side of the carriage, "Go, go, go!"

Heeding his order, Rachel quickly turned, scampering up the side ladder just as the carriage began to lift up off the ground as the Berg started to take off. She flinched as bullets continued to come at them, and she heard bangs above her head as Thomas continued to fire down on WCKD in an effort to cover her and Vince as they climbed up.

Suddenly, the carriage lurched as the Berg started to take off, and Rachel gasped as her footing faltered - it was only for one second, but as with most matters of life and death, one second made all the difference. With a yelp she felt herself starting to fall, her free hand reaching wildly to grab something to hold while the other strained to carry her weight as she abruptly dropped.

'I'm dead.'

The thought flashed briefly through her mind in that one second as Rachel felt her grip falter and she knew she was falling to her death - or worse.

But then a hand (quickly followed by another) shot out, grabbing her flailing one and holding on tight. A gun fell down beside her, and Rachel looked up in relief to see Thomas leaning over the side of the carriage top, his hands grasping hers.

"Come on!" He shouted, grunting as he helped haul her up.

Rachel grit her teeth as she clambered her way up with Thomas's aid, and she finally collapsed beside her friend safely on the roof. Panting, Rachel glanced down the side of the carriage where she had almost fallen to certain doom before she looked back at the dark-haired teen beside her.

"Thanks." Rachel gasped out.

Thomas shook his head as he leant back, exhausted.

"No problem. You'd have done the same for me." He answered, catching his breath.

A small grin then flashed across his face, and Thomas said in a mix of wonder and satisfaction, "We actually pulled it off."

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch." Rachel replied, though a small grin was tugging on her own lips. "We still have to make it back undetected."

"I'd bet you we'll have no trouble with that." Thomas countered. "Ten days' worth of rationed chocolate squares."

"I'd be a fool to make such a deal against a dumb, lucky stick like you, Tom." Rachel chuckled, and Thomas laughed with her as he finally stood up to look out and check they were indeed safe as they flew off into the mountains.

Rachel also lifted her head up at last, just in time to catch a strange look on Newt's face. It was only for a fraction of a second and then it was gone, but it still made Rachel frown slightly. The look had been uneasy and almost annoyed, though she hadn't been able to fully read the emotion before Newt schooled his features and he moved over to help her up.

"What's wrong?" She asked him as he pulled her to her feet, but Newt feigned nonchalance.

"Hm?" He hummed, and Rachel shook her head

"Nevermind." Rachel sighed, before hugging her… for lack of a better word, friend.

Newt returned the embrace, and Rachel sighed again as she felt him relax instantly. She wasn't sure what had gotten into him earlier but she let it go as she let herself feel safe and warm in Newt's arms. Besides, with Aris, Sonya, and Minho back, things could only start to look up from here on out. Right?