Betrayed | the maze runner, Newt

chapter 6

Zara sat at the desk in her room, not really being able to do anything useful. The only thing on her mind were the boys. It had been a few minutes since she'd arrived in her room. First, the guard wanted to guard her door from the outside, but Zara'd convinced him she wouldn't leave. So, he left.

After two more minutes of Zara rethinking what'd happened that evening, there was a loud noise coming from outside which she hadn't heard that much before. Maybe one or two times, but enough to know exactly what it was.

The automatic door of the main entrance. The gate.

Zara rushed over to her window and raised the blinds. It was dark outside, but the lights from the building made it possible to see the sandstorm going on there. The main entrance was almost right under her room. She narrowed her eyes to scan her view when she suddenly caught a glimpse of some figures running from the main entrance.

Her heart skipped a beat.

It were them. Thomas, Aris and their friends. A relieved and happy feeling flowed through her as she tried to count the figures she saw. It was hard to see through the storm, and after they'd taken a few more steps away from the building, they fully disappeared in the dark of the Scorch.

Zara stayed at her window. Soon to hear muffled shots through the sounds of the strong wind. She caught people, most likely guards, leaving the main entrance with flashlight and to hear the sounds, also guns.

A new wave of fear flowed through Zara as she watched them searching for the boys. But the fact that Zara couldn't see them from above, made her relax with the fact she surely couldn't see them from the ground. Sand was beaten against her window, giving loud tapping noises. As far as Zara could see, it wasn't raining. So, it was only wind. Wind and the darkness of the night.

After a rough ten minutes, the guard all returned to the building and disappeared after which the main entrance closed again. Zara let out a relieved sigh, but felt a new feeling set up within her. Concern. She didn't want to give in to the feeling, but it kept growing as she lowered the blinds and closed the gray curtains.

She decided to take a shower. Hopefully her mind would leave her alone. And hopefully her dad too, because she could imagine him in a not so good mood after what'd happened. And she didn't feel like discussing useless things with an angry man. Because if there was one thing he'd passed to her as a father, it was anger issues.

The warm water on her skin made her feel a little better. She washed her hair, stared ahead, then washed herself, stared ahead one more time and decided to get out. She put on black leggings and a red hoodie, brushed her hair and her teeth, then left her bathroom to go back to her room.

It was almost nine o'clock in the evening. Zara grabbed her laptop and plopped down on her bed. She opened google and searched something.

-The Scorch-

''The Scorch is the given name for what was originally Earth's equator. It is the area between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. When solar flares ravaged the planet, it was destroyed, leaving a burnt, cobbled landscape, and dead husks of the architecture that once thrived. The Scorch is a very dangerous place inhabited with Cranks, located between the two tropics, which is between the far north and the Aspen.''

''The Scorch is mainly a barren desert, with red, rocky terrain, and natural land formations, some of which are still fertile. The landscape is dotted by small craters caused by the devastating lightning storms that are a common occurrence in the area. Abandoned Cities still stand, albeit heavily charred from the Sun; some showing signs of civil use after the Flares and before the virus. The cities in the Scorch are now predominately used either as Crank Palaces, or as the place they are taken to after their mental state progresses past the Gone, or complete insanity.''