The Girl In The Scorch

Part Fourteen: The Crank Party

You watched as Brenda lifted her pant leg to show off the red bite marks on her lower thigh. It drew blood and it was deep. There was no way that she wasn't infected. She took one quick glance at the marks and then rolled down her pants to cover it.
"Come on." She said, rising to her feet but you looked at her like she was crazy.
"Brenda, I don't know what that mark means to you but..."
"It means death, I know, but I have to get you and your friends to The Right Arm. We can figure everything else out there." Brenda said, shutting you up. "Now whatever you do, don't tell Jorge when you see him."
"Fine. Now, how many people are going to be here?" You asked as you put your beretta in the back of your pants, covering the handle with your jacket.
"A lot, so try and blend in." She said, leading you around the corner of the building the two of you were hiding behind.
It was like walking into an attempt at trying to fix the broken world. Everything was a mess. There was fires burning in barrels, gates enclosing the area, rusting cars lay a waste. There were tents set up and tarps hung for shade. People were everywhere, men, women, children. None of which looked healthy at all.
None of these people even glanced at you and Brenda as you both nonchalantly walked through their beat down campsite. You met eyes with a small child, they looked away quickly though. You heard dogs barking and people coughing. This place was horrible. You could tell WICKED never cared about these broken civilisations.
"This is horrible." You whispered to Brenda as you two walked through the alleyway.
"I know. Jorge spent some time here, it's how he met Marcus. The two were good friends and this place didn't always look like a dump from what he told me. Then Marcus started giving up and not caring, let the place slip." Brenda told you and it made sense. Jorge's base was a lot more put together. This place was just, as she said, a dump.
"So where is Marcus?" You asked.
"Just follow the music, that should be where his infamous Crank Party is." She said and you looked at her, confused.
"Crank Party? What the shuck is that?" You asked and Brenda shrugged.
"I guess it's for the people who have the Flare, a party where they can enjoy their last days of sanity before they go Past The Gone." Brenda explained and you nodded.

At this point, the music was booming and the sound of people got more prominent. You and Brenda found yourselves in front of a huge white building that was once an apartment complex. Now it was beaten down and had a giant red tarp that spelt 'ZONE A', whatever that meant. You saw more people come in and out of the building, each looking more sick than the first. Some were hanging out in the front doing who knows what. All you cared about was finding your group.
You walked up to the front of the building, Brenda right by your side. You looked at her and she looked back. There were two sheets in front of the doorway that were supposed to be the doors. Streamers hung from the ceiling and god awful decorations littered the place. This was a party alright, one that hasn't stopped in a long time.
"Do we go in?" You asked but Brenda shrugged.
"Are you two here for the party?" A drunk raspy voice asked and you both turned to see a blonde girl standing there. Her clothes were weird, her hair was awful, she reeked of alcohol, and she stood there ominously.
"No, we're looking for Marcus. This is his place, isn't it?" Brenda asked.
"This is my place." You both turned as saw a man with a purple suit and heavy makeup under his eyes, or were they just dark circles from restless nights and nonstop partying?
"Does that make you Marcus?" You asked and the man laughed.
"If you want Marcus then you have to go to Zone B." He said and then paused. "It's where we burn the bodies." He whispered and your heart dropped.
He's dead? Marcus is dead?
"Well then, I guess we'll get going then." You said but the man laughed.
"Oh, but I think you should stay." He said and the blonde women from before came up behind you.
"Why's that?" You asked and the man smiled, pulling out a clear green liquid from his coat pocket.
"Because how will you find your friends in here if you go out there?" He asked and your heart skipped a beat.
"They're in there?" You asked anxiously and the man handed you the bottle.
"Drink." He said and you furrowed your brows in confusion. "It's the price of admission."
"You think I'm stupid?" You said in a snarky tone.
"Drink it!" The man yelled and Brenda took it, gulping some of it down like it was nothing.
"Brenda!" You said but what was done was done.
"Your turn girly." The man said, pointing at you with a sly smile.
"I am not drinking tha-" Brenda cut you off by holding your nose and shoving the drink in your mouth, forcing you to swallow. Having no choice, you let the disgusting liquid enter your body.
"Alright." Marcus laughed. "Now, enjoy the party." He said, pushing both you and the girl into the building.
You walked inside, tripping over your own feet as you already began getting dizzy. There were lots of people, sick people, dancing and drinking. There were decorative blankets hanging over the windows and candles lit everywhere. You couldn't walk without barging through people. Brenda turned to you.
"Split up." She said and you nodded. "Do me a favor, don't drink anything else."
"I wouldn't have had to if you hadn't forced it down my throat." You said and the girl rolled her eyes. "Brenda, I'm getting really dizzy." You told the girl but she shrugged it off.
"Don't be such a lightweight." Brenda said, walking away from you.
You walked through the crowds, getting dizzier with every step you took. People looked at you and you caught the men eyeing you up. You payed no attention to anyone, only looking for the Gladers.
You continued forward and as you kept going, someone came up behind you and slipped of your backpack.. You looked over and saw it was on the floor. Luckily your note from Gally was in you pant pocket. You closed your eyes tightly and shook your head, trying to come back from the dizzy spells. There were so many people. So many. How were you supposed to find anyone, especially when zoning out like this?
There was dancing and cheering. You walked over and saw a man taunting a Crank that was chained up in front of a crowd of people. The man held up a gun and then aimed it at the beast. You walked away quickly.
A guy came up to you and touched your shoulders, but you shook him off, running off into another crowd. You didn't want to be alone, you never wanted to split up.
"Br-Brenda?!" You called, your voice slurred.
You looked deeper into the crowd and saw her, Brenda. She was with a boy, her arms wrapped around his neck and kissing him. Then she backed away to show the boys face. You couldn't believe it.
"Thomas!" You called but he didn't hear you. Then two other boys came up from behind Thomas, a blondie and a boy with perfect hair.
"Brenda, where is she? Where's (y/n)?" You heard the blondie ask and you knew who it was, even if he was blurry and distorted in your view.
"NEWT!" You shouted as you continued to sweat uncontrollably and your breathing got deeper. This drink was screwing with you, whatever it was.
"Newt, did you hear that?" The boy with perfect hair asked. It was definitely Minho, his hair was iconic as was his voice.
"Look what we have here boys? This girl brought her own gun!" A man shouted out to the crowd, grabbing you and pulling you away. The man slid your jacket right off you back, revealing your black t-shirt underneath.
"Get off of me!" You shouted, your words slurring and the world blurring in and out randomly. You couldn't walk properly, tripping over yourself continuously.
"She's got some attitude in er too!" The man called. "Great candidate for the Crank Pit, what do ya say boys?!" The crowd cheered as you were shoved into a tight room with lots of people surrounding a circle with a Crank chained in the middle.
"Let me go!" You shouted, running into the crowd but all the people pushed you back in.
"(Y/N)! WHERE ARE YOU?!" You heard Newt's British accent shout out. So they heard you then?
"LET ME GO!" You shouted, trying to get out but you were pushed again, landing on the floor.
The Crank on the chain hissed and screeched, trying to get you. You swiftly kicked it in the face and sent it back. You stood quickly but the Crank was faster, running towards you and shoving you into the crowd. You were pushed right back into the Crank and it took its hand, slashing you across the face and slamming you
into a pillar. You felt hot thick liquid dripping from your face and your hair, that was drenched in sweat, covered your eyes.
The anger pulsed inside of you, taking control of your actions. You slid your gun from the back of your pants and held it in front of you. You were going to kill this Crank. You were still so light headed and dizzy, you had trouble holding the beretta properly, but you got it. With a scream in frustration, you whipped yourself around, gun cocked and aimed at the Cranks head. But you didn't shoot.
"Shoot me (y/n)." The Crank said and you felt the tears threatening to leave your eyes. "Do it."
"No." You said, looking at the Crank. Your brain was forcing you to see things, and because you weren't in the right state of mind, you believed them.
The Crank standing in front of you embodied the boy that you failed. The boy that you loved. The boy that died in front of you and you couldn't help him. The boy that only wanted to be with you.
"Gally..."
"Shoot me (y/n)." The Crank vision said. It was Gally, but not really. He was a figment of your imagination created with your drugged up mind. It made you see Gally as a Crank.
"No, no, I won't." You said, shaking your head, trying to erase the illusion. Your brother was dead, you watched as that spear went through his chest.
"You let me die once. Do it." The Crank Gally said and the tears streamed down your cheeks. Or was it sweat? Maybe blood?
"No." You said, gun still aimed but never fired. "Your my brother."
"AND THAT DIDNT SEEM TO STOP YOU BEFORE!" The Crank Gally screamed in your face. "SHOOT ME!"
"NO!"
"DO IT!"
"I WONT!"
"SHOOT ME (Y/N), SHOOT ME!"
You screamed. Screamed so loud that the whole building may have heard it. The music still played and the people still danced, not seeming to be bothered by the psychological torture you were going through.
"SHOOT ME!"
"I CANT!"
"ITS BECAUSE YOUR WEAK! YOU WERE ALWAYS SUCH A DISAPPOINTMENT!" He shouted and you gripped the gun, putting your finger on the trigger. "THATS RIGHT, KILL ME (Y/N), SHOOT ME!"
"(Y/n)!" A soft British voice called and you slowly looked over to make eye contact with Newt and Minho. They looked at you shocked as you stood, a gun aimed at a Crank and a complete mess.
"Newt, she's a shucking train wreck." Minho said and Newt turned to the boy.
"I can bloody see that, they drugged her like Brenda." He responded flatly and then whispered something to the boy and he nodded. "(Y/n), put the gun down love, your not thinking straight."
You felt your breath pick up speed, sweat continued to roll down your forehead, and your matted hair fell in your face. Newt stepped closer and you didn't take your eyes off him. You were disorientated and confused, everything was blurry and the world was spinning.
"I killed Gally." You mumbled. "I could have done something."
"No love, Gally wasn't anyone's fault." He said, coming closer while Minho came in from behind.
"I could have tried harder. I could have done something." You stuttered and slurred. It was obvious that you were drugged.
"No you couldn't." Newt assured.
"I never told him that I loved him." You said quietly.
"He knew." Minho said and you turned to look at him and he kept eye contact with you the entire time as he slipped the gun from your hand. "He knew."
"That was a total let down." The man who pulled you over there in the first place said and then pulled out his own gun, shooting the Crank dead.
"NOOOOO!" You shouted and fell into Newt's arms. It was just a Crank, but he represented so much more than that.
Newt took your arm and wrapped it around his neck while he brought his arm under your knees and carried you away from the scene bridal style. You cried as he walked away with you in his arms. Your tears quickly stopped when you looked into his eyes that seemed so much more pretty now than you were drugged up. Your emotions were all over the place as this point.
"Your pretty." You said without control.
"Oh yeah?" He asked with a smirk and you nodded, digging your head in his chest.
"Your warm and nice. You have pretty brown eyes and pretty blonde hair. You give me butterflies." You slurred and he blushed hard.
"You don't mean that." He laughed but you shook your head, not taking it out from his chest.
"No I do. Your a pretty blonde boy with a pretty British accent." You said and he laughed.
"Alright love, enough compliments before you say something you'll regret." Newt said and you felt your eyes go heavy and sleep taking over.