The Sinister Scorch (The Girl Glader Part 2)

Chapter 9

We sit in the room for hours, listening to Jorge ask question after question about the Right Arm. The man, who I don't care what his name is, never answers the way Jorge wants him to. I sit the entire time with Thomas, trying to wake him up, with the help of Teresa.

After another sinister laugh from the man, I can't take it anymore. I march up to him, taking my knife out of boot.

"Alright, I'm done with this klunk." I mutter. Newt tries to intercept me. "We need answers Newt, let me at him." I push past him to the man. "Let's have a little chat, why don't we? I'll ask you some questions, and you answer. If I don't like your answer, I'll cut off a finger. I'll keep going until you give me an answer I like, got it?"

"I don't think you'll actually go through with it." the man states with a smug smile. I give him an innocent smile.

"I think you underestimate me." I say, grabbing his hand and slicing off his pinky finger. The man screams and blood gushes from the wound. "Now, tell us what we want to know."

"Now I understand why you're so valuable to W.I.C.K.E.D."

"Where is the Right Arm?" The man laughs and I grab his hand, cutting off his ring finger, blooding spirting from the stub. "You got one more chance." I hear movement around me, the other Gladers moving to stop me. Jorge steps up.

"Where is the Right Arm, Marcus?" he asks.

"Wait, this is Marcus?" Thomas asks, having woken up in the last few minutes without my knowledge.

"The kid catches on quick." The man, Marcus, laughs. I punch him in the face.

"Are you the brains of the operation?" I ask him. "Of all of this?" I gesture around us.

"I know you know where they're hiding. So you tell me, and I'll make you a deal. You can come with us." Jorge states.

"I burned that bridge a long time ago." Marcus states. "Besides, I made my own deal. You're the one who taught me, never miss an opportunity." I look at Jorge.

"What's he talking about?"

"I'm talking about supply and demand. WICKED wants all the Immunes they can get." Marcus states. "I help provide that for them. So I lure the kids in... they get drunk, they have a good time. And then, later, W.I.C.K.E.D. come in... they separate the wheat from the chaff."

"I changed my mind, hermano." Jorge states, clenching his knuckles. "I do enjoy hurting you." He punches Marcus in the face before I step in front of them.

"Where is the Right Arm, Marcus?" I repeat, grabbing his hand, ready to cut off his middle finger. "You don't talk, I cut it off."

"Okay, okay. I'm not making any promises. These guys like to move around. They have an outpost in the mountains. But it's a long way away. You got half of W.I.C.K.E.D. on your ass. You're never gonna make it." Jorge smiles a sinister smile.

"Not on foot. Where's Bertha?"

"Not Bertha." Marcus begs. Just for the fun of it, I cut off his middle finger.

"Where the shuck is Bertha?" The man shakes his head.

"You're psychotic." he mutters before telling us where to find Bertha.

I sit in the back of the car, wedged between Minho and Thomas. I have my head leaning against Minho's shoulder and he has his arm around me. Everyone is talking in low voices among themselves.

"That was shucking crazy what you did back there." Minho whispers in my ear. "I honestly never expected you to actually do it." I chuckle quietly.

"That just teaches you not to annoy me." I reply. He shakes his head and laughs. Newt looks back at us from the front seat with a smile.

"Looks like we walk from here." Jorge states, stepping out of the car. We follow suit, making our way through the cars that seemed to have been abandoned. Something feels off. I'm about to say something when I feel something graze my shoulder.

"Take cover!" I yell, getting behind a truck as more bullets whiz past my head. The others follow suit, ducking behind other cars around us. I grimace, pulling back my shirt to look at my arm. The bullet just barely grazed my arm but it hurts like shuck. I rip off a piece of my pants, wrapping it around my arm to avoid getting anything in it and to slow down the bleeding.

"Is everyone okay?" Minho yells. Choruses of "yes" and "I'm good" ring through the air. I hear the others talking around me but I don't say anything, focusing on stopping the bleeding. I feel pressure against my temple and hear the click of a gun.

"Don't move." I freeze. "Get up." The person orders and I slowly get to my feet. I make my way over to the group of the other Gladers. Aris stands up, and the girl behind me takes off her mask. "Aris?" She gasps. "Dang it, we almost killed you!" She drops the gun from my head and they embrace. Newt moves over to me, clearly not seeing the blood on my arm.

"You know each other?" Fry asks.

"Yeah, we were in the Maze together." Aris replies. "I thought I'd never see you again." He says to the girls.

"All clear!" The girls yell, and the shooters from the mountain retreat.