𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐅 𝐀 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 - 𝘋𝘌𝘈𝘛𝘏 𝘊𝘜𝘙𝘌

11 ~ crank cult

Newt

Surprisingly, making friends in the Crank Palace was easy – for me, at least. I decided to explore the Palace a bit and came across an old bowling alley that did not seem to be in order anymore. Nonetheless, that seemed to be the place everyone was hanging out. Immediately I was snatched up by a group of Cranks. A mangy-looking blonde woman appeared in front of me, grinning maniacally.

"Hi there," she said huskily. "What's your name?"

"Newt."

"Strange name," she chuckled. "Wanna stick with us, Blondie? You seem like you would..." she eyed me up and down, creating goosebumps on my skin. "Fit well with us."

I thought about it for a split second. These Cranks were creepy, but I wouldn't find any different in any other group. Besides, it might be good to be part of a clan, for my safety. Not that I really cared whether I lived or died, but I would prefer not to be torn apart by Cranks, if I had a choice.

"Alright." I shrugged coolly, and allowed the woman to grasp my arm, her long dirty fingernails digging into my flesh. I didn't flinch. She brought me into her circle of Crank friends, and I glanced around quickly, not wanting to make eye contact with anyone too long.

There were two men and another woman. One of the men looked large and burly; his unnaturally discolored veins popped out of his arms when he crossed them. The other was the complete opposite, with limbs that were so thin they looked like only skin and bone. He had circles under his eyes; the darkest I'd ever seen. Then there was the other woman. She looked older; her face was littered with wrinkles, probably from stress as well as age. There wasn't any emotion in her dark eyes, and it looked like there hadn't been any there in a while.

"This is Steve, Sheldon, and Posie," said the blonde woman. "And I'm Donna." I nodded at each of them in greeting. None of them nodded back. "They're not very talkative," said Donna. She reached into the shadows behind her and pulled out a package of beef jerky, but to me it looked like heaven. I hadn't had a proper meal in days, and I wasn't aware of how hungry I was until now. I snatched the jerky from her and tore into it without saying thank you.

Donna didn't seem to be offended. She just smirked, watching me unblinkingly. She was making me uncomfortable, so I tried to turn around to examine the rest of the bowling alley. I only spotted blank faces before Donna grabbed my face and turned me back to her.

"What's so interesting, Blondie?" She chuckled darkly. "Don't want any of the others thinking you're available, do we?"

Oh. So this is how it was going to be.

"Of course not." I played along. "I belong to you guys now, don't I?"

Donna smiled, pleased that I seemed to have caught on. Steve smirked, and somehow flexed his arms even harder. Even Sheldon – who looked like he was about to pass out on the floor with exhaustion – looked amused. Posie stayed silent and emotionless. I was beginning to wonder if she chose to join Donna, or if she was forced.

"You belong to us now," Donna repeated. "Tell us about yourself, Bondie. How'd you get here?"

"Same way you guys did, I expect," I began. "Some workers found me wandering the desert, they brought me here. I can't remember much; I think I lost my mind for a bit." I lied, not necessarily wishing to share my life story with these strangers.

"Lost your mind..." Donna muttered. "We know all about losing our mind, don't we boys?" She didn't even bother to address Posie, and I couldn't really blame her. "We lost our minds the other day, didn't we? When poor little Andrew decided that he was going to leave us." She shook her head in mock disappointment, still not taking her eyes away from me.