Meant to be / Book 2 / A maze runner story

Chapter 14 - Brenda and Jorge

Thomas helps me get up and I put my hand on my head as I'm quite dizzy.
- "Seems like you're the weaker one between us." Minho says laughing.
I stare at him too dizzy to say anything back to him.
- "Don't you ever do that again. Understood?" Newt says, in a worried tone.
- "You really think I did it on purpose?" I ask.
He rolls his eyes. We all look at each other and I see Teresa take a few steps forward. It's dark in here so we can't see anything but it looks like as if we're in a very big warehouse. Once again I don't get a good feeling, but at least we're away from WICKED. Well I think.
- "Hey." Says Teresa. "What's that smell?"
She takes another few steps forward and opens her flashlight. A crank reaches out to her. We all scream and Teresa backs up into us. I turn around and see another one.
- "Behind you Thomas!" I scream.
Thomas turns around and yells. The cranks are attached by these big chains and therefore can't attack us. There are definitely people here as it is impossible that they all attached themselves. We light our flashlights everywhere and there seems to be more than just 2 cranks. I look around and they are yelling from everywhere.
- "Oh shit!"  Says Thomas.
Newt takes a step closer to me and grabs my arm in fear.
- "I see you've met our guard dogs." A voice says.
We all turn around and see this figure opening up the lights in an alleyway.
- "Who's that?" Asks Thomas.
- "You really think we're supposed to know?" Answers Minho.
I laugh a little by Minho's answer. The figure slowly walks up to us between all of the cranks. It looks like it is a girl and she is absolutely fearless to walk through the Cranks.
- "Stay back. Stay back!" Says Thomas.
We all listen to him and go behind him. The figure finally reaches up to us. I was right she is a girl and she is quite pretty. She stares at up from head to toe and laughs.
- "You guys look like shit." She says.
I giggle, knowing she is right. Thomas looks at me with a questioning look.
- "Come on follow me."
We all stare at her, staying put, as she takes a few steps away from us. She turns back around to face us.
- "Unless you want to stay here with them."
The cranks scream and I see that everyone has a fearful look on their face.
- "Come on guys." I say.
She starts walking again and I am the first to follow. I carefully look to where she is walking and the others do the same as me in a single file. We walk into this alleyway and wonder if we are really safe here. One thing for sure is that we are definitely not with WICKED here. She gets to the end of the hallway and slides open a door. We all slowly enter one by one and look around. This is giving me flashbacks to when we first arrived in the place we just escaped, but this time you can tell that they definitely don't have much money, as if they are also running away from WICKED. People stare at us while we're walking and I feel as if they know something we don't.
- "Come on. Keep up." Says the girl we have been following.
I pick up the pace and the others do the same.
- "Jorge wants to meet you." She says.
-  "I'm sorry who?" I ask.
She stops walking and turns around to me.
- "You'll see." She says with a grin on her face.
She continues on walking and I turn my head to look at Thomas, who is right behind me, and I nod "no". He sighs and I know this means that he also doesn't feel safe. We walk up these stairs and continue on walking. There are more people staring at us.
- "No one's come out of the Scorch in a long time." The girl says. "You just got him curious."
Thomas and I look at each other wondering what that means. People start to gather around us and follow us as we're walking and to be honest, it makes me quite uncomfortable. Newt comes next to me and walks close to me. I see him shaking from the corner of my eye.
- "And you got me curious too." The girl says turning her head towards us.
Thomas stares at the girl up and down. I don't think any of us is getting a good vibe from this place. It's dark and gloomy. I see Newt turn his head around and this ugly man laughs at him. I make a disgusting face when I see one of his front tooth is missing. I grab Newt's hand.
- "Don't look at him." I whisper in his ear.
Newt let's go of my hand.
- "Anyone else starting to get a bad feeling about this place?" Asks Newt.
I sigh.
-  "Let's just hear him out. See what he has to say." Says Thomas.
I look at him with a "are you serious look" and he shrugs. We go up these other stairs to finally get to what seems like to be an office. A man is standing there, his back to us.
- "Jorge, they're here." Says the girl.
- "Sh sh sh." Jorge says, raising a finger up. "Quiet."
We all slowly walk up to him and I hear this noise. He bends down doing something but I can't quite see.
- "Damn it." Jorge says.
The noise goes away and the girl sits down on a couch. Jorge sighs and the people gather around us. Jorge turns around putting his hand around his waist while staring up and down to us.
- "Do you ever get the feeling the whole worlds against you?" He says.
Minho and I look at each other not understanding where he is going with this.
- "Three questions. Where did you come from? Where are you going?" He grabs a glass and a jug. "How can I profit?"
He pours water in the glass and we all stay quiet.
- "Don't all answer at once."
Thomas looks at me and I nod telling him to answer.
- "Were headed for the mountains." Answers Thomas. "Looking for the Right Arm."
Every body starts laughing except for the girl and Jorge. The girl looks at Jorge with a questioning look. She knows something we don't.
- "You're looking for ghosts, you mean." Says Jorge.
Jorge takes a sip of his water.
- "What?" I say.
- "Question number two." He says taking a step closer to us. "Where did you come from?"
Thomas turns to look at Minho and I. I slightly nod no.
- "That's our business." Answers Minho.
Jorge looks at us and nods his head. People jump onto us. Thomas is shoved on a desk and the girl gets up grabbing something.
- "Get the hell of me man!" Yells Thomas.
The girl grabs Thomas by the neck and Thomas tries to fight her back.
- "Let us go!" I yell.
- "Shut up you big baby." She says to Thomas.
I hear this scanning sound.
- "What is that?" Asks Thomas.
The girl steps away from Thomas.
- "He asked you a question!" I loudly say.
She looks up to Jorge.
- "You were right." She says.
Jorge puts glasses on and she hands him the object. He looks at it and his eyes double.
- "Right about what? What is she talking about?" Asks Thomas.
Jorge laughs and takes his glasses off.  The people let us go and I send the guy holding me a deathly look.
- "I'm sorry, hermano," says Jorge, "Looks like you're tagged." He takes a breath. "You came from WICKED."
- "Oh shit." I let out.
I put my hand on my mouth realizing what I just did as I confirmed what that machine just told him. Jorge laughs and the girl looks at us intrigued.
- "This means...you're very valuable." He says.
Thomas takes a step back and grabs my hand. The men around us all walk towards us. Oh we're fucked.
- "Take them away." Says Jorge.