We All Have Scars

5

Whilst we were running along the dark, dank hallway everything kept playing over in my head. I could've saved her. I could've saved Brenda. If only I had paid attention! If I hadn't been so caught up in saving my own ass, I would have noticed she wasn't behind me. I had to be so selfish! 

I wiped a tear away from the corner of my eye. Being upset is a sign of weakness, weakness is a sign of vulnerability, and vulnerability leads to being killed.  

We turned around the corner, revealing a tall, narrow staircase. Quickly, we climbed up, my knife in hand. Near the top of the staircase I saw Jorge signalling it was safe and for us to follow. We obliged and continued upwards. 

We came across a large metal door with a fire exit sign. This must lead to the roof. Only one way to find out. Carelessly I swung the door open, receiving a few glares from the Gladers and Jorge. Scorching afternoon sunlight beamed down on us, making some of the Gladers shield their eyes when they tried to look around, whereas I just sat right where I stood. 

"We need to find shelter!" One of the Gladers stated the obvious. 

Someone seemed to agree with me, as a dark skinned boy slapped him around the head. "Well done Mr Obvious!"

"I'm just trying to help! What are you doing to shucking help?"

"Slim it, shuckfaces." Minho said. "Instead of arguing about it, how about trying to do something useful?" 

The Gladers traipsed off - after giving up on their pride - hesitantly. 

"You okay?" Someone asked. 

"Yeah." I lied. "Peachy."

"It's okay to not be okay. You're only human." He said, sitting down beside me. 

"Well, that's good to know for when I'm not all right." I looked over and saw it was Newt. "What about you? You seem okay, I thought you and Thomas were buddy-buddy."

"We are."

"Were." I corrected. 

"No. We are. I know he's not dead."

"Yet."

"He's not gonna die."

"Newt, I hate to break it to you, but they're not coming out alive. Even Jorge hasn't fully explored those tunnels, never mind me or Brenda, who knows what's down there. Plus, it's probably like a maze, they'll never find their way out."

"Don't forget, we came from a maze. We got out of that one. Took us three bloody years, but we did it, thanks to him. I think Thomas can manage himself... And Brenda, of course."

I laughed darkly. "Why are you so optimistic?"

"Why are you so pessimistic?" He countered.

"I'm not a pessimist... It's called being a realist."

"Every pessimist's defence." He muttered. 

"What?" I demanded. 

"Nothing." He said innocently. 

"I'll get you back for that." I warned.

"No you won't." He replied.

"No I won't." I agreed, then smirked. "I'm too nice to do that, unlike some people." 

"Ouch." He said. I grinned at him. 

We sat in a comfortable silence, and I thought about what he said. Maybe there was a chance that Brenda would make it. Then I could apologise for leaving her. I weighed up the likelihood, until I could hear shouting. "Hey! I think I see something!" 

"Just let all the Cranks know!" Minho sassed.

"Not the time, hermano." Jorge said, taking lead. "Your friend's right though. We can stop there, looks safe enough. We'll rest for a while, then in the morning we can search."

"For Brenda?" I asked hopefully. 

"And Thomas." Minho added.

"Yes. But we'll never find them without some sleep. Besides, it'll give 'em some time to resurface."

"Thank you." I said in gratitude. 

Jorge just nodded his head subtly, to prevent showing any real emotion that could make him appear weak. 

"Moving on from that. What bloody happened back there?" Newt asked. 

"Full-gone Cranks?" Minho suggested. 

"Nah, we'd be Crank food already." Jorge dismissed. 

"An accident?" A random Glader thought out loud. 

"The explosion was too big for that."

"Barkley." I figured. 

"What?!" Most asked in disbelief. 

"It makes sense." Jorge backed up. "He wasn't happy about us helping you guys. I bet he would be muchacho happy if something had happened to us. I bet he got the others to side with him as well, to get us out of the way. When I get back... he will regret that. I will be sure of it."

"It's not worth it. He said they'd do fine without us. Let's see if they really can." 

Jorge groaned. 

"Come on." Minho said, dying to take charge again. "We need to get going, or there'll be no time to rest."

We all trundled after him, down the fire escape, to reach the safe zone, so we could find Brenda... and Thomas, all the sooner. 

We crept through the city, following Jorge, and kept to the shadows, if we could. You don't want to be seen by anyone past the gone in an open, light space. There's no hope for sure then. All around us, buildings stood, despite the chaos, but it was obvious they had taken their toll. Smashed windows, broken doors, chips and cracks in their structure.  

When we finally reached the shelter, Jorge kicked open the door, and everyone went in after him. 

"What do we do now?" A Glader asked. 

"Rest and lay low for a bit, muchacho." Jorge said. 

"Just asking." The Glader sighed. 

"I'll check for any Cranks." Minho told us. 

The shelter wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It didn't smell, it still had some windows intact, boarded up though, and it had a door. That's already better than a lot of places. I was thankful for whoever found it from the roof. 

After everyone was sat down and Minho had returned, everyone started looked like they didn't know what to do, so I tried to start a conversation. 

"So, how long've you known Thomas?" 

"Not that long, 'bout a week, give or take." Newt answered 

"Really?" I asked in disbelief. They seemed so close. 

"Yeah, he was still the Greenie when we got out." Minho added.

"What's a greenie?" 

"A newbie." 

"What about you and Brenda?" Newt asked. 

"I've known her all my life; she's my sister." 

No one knew what to say afterwards, so I just laid down on the ground, bag under my head as a pillow, and wen't to sleep. Then, we would find them. I hope...

A/N:So that was chapter five!!! I hope you all liked it. I know it took a bit longer, and in my opinion wasn't as good, so I'm sorry, but I didn't want to leave you all waiting too long. Also, I would like to say thank you to @Newtella24 for voting on my story a lot. Thank you so much, it means a lot to me. Until next time!!!😄