W O U N D S - the scorch trials

-Chapter IX-

     Evelyns mouth was filled with dust causing her to start coughing like she had the flare or something. The other two also coughed up all the dust as Brenda turned on her flashlight and pointed it around.

     "You okay?" Brenda questioned looking between the two.

     "Oh yeah, great." Thomas muttered through another cough before he looks over at Evelyn, the girl taking off her jacket and ripping one of the sleeves to act as a bandage for her shoulder. "Are you okay, what happened?"

     Her face scrunch up as she tightened the sleeve around her shoulder. "That fucking son of a bitch just had to use his last few seconds to put a bullet in my shoulder." She huffed in annoyance.

Brenda looked at her and shook her head with a small smile before she shined her flashlight at the pile of rubble that was blocking their exit.

"Oh no, no, no. How are we gonna get back to the others?" Thomas asked looking to Brenda then Evelyn as she sighed and took a few breaths.

"Relax. I'm gonna get us out of here." Brenda said grabbing her backpack and throwing Thomas a flashlight.

"Why are you helping us?" Evelyn asked the girl.

"Trust me. It's not my idea. Jorge seems to think you guys are our ticket to the safe haven." Brenda explained.

"The what?" Thomas asked confusion laced in his voice and expressed across his face.

"You know...paradise...safe from the sun." She said as she panted, still tired from the amount of running they just did. "Free of infection. Supposedly the Right Arm's been taking kids there for years...immunes anyway."

"You know where that is?" Evelyn asked through a sigh as she stood up and brushed herself off.

"No. But Jorge knows a guy." She said before she started walking. "Marcus. He used to smuggle kids up into the mountains. If Jorge made it out, that's where he'll be taking your friends."

     Brenda crouched down in front of a grate as Thomas spoke. "If he made it out?"

     "You know, you ask a lot of questions." She replied, Evelyn laughing as she passed Thomas and knelt down to help Brenda with the grate best she could. "Can you just come over here and help us please?"

     They all lifted the very heavy grate up and tossed it behind them, Brenda and Thomas shining their flashlights down into the hole, a high-pitched holler sounding from somewhere below.

     "That sounds promising." Evelyn let out looking between the other two.

     "Down here they'll be full term." Brenda stated looking a little uneasy. "Let's go."

Brenda jumped down first and as Evelyn was putting her legs through, Thomas held his hands out for her.

     She chuckled and looked up at him to meet the confused face of the boy. "It's all right Tommy, I was the only girl in a maze full of boys for two years. I think I can handle a little bullet."

     She hopped down where Brenda was waiting as Thomas just sat there a moment in surprise. "You coming?" She questioned looking up at him.

     "Yeah." he muttered before jumping down to find the girls had already started walking so he scurried over to them quickly.

     Brenda led them through a small tunnel and out the other side to a bigger one that was covered in graffiti and mold. She shined her light to the right before taking a step in that direction. "I think it's this way."