I Corrupt. ~ Minho (The Sequel to "For My Help")

The Unexpected Slicing

Gasping, River emerged from the Flat Trans to be met with darkness. She was disappointed to say the least. She expected sunshine and fresh air to greet her but instead she was still in the musty indoors. She took a deep breath in, noticing how the air around her was damp and smelled distinctly of leather. She huffed before running straight into a body in front of her. 

"Ooph, sorry!" She groaned, bouncing back. She squinted through the darkness that was encompassing her to make out a silhouette.

"I'd say 'watch where you're going' but considering the lack of light..." River heard Minho chuckle through the darkness. Murmurs filled the room and River was sure that the rest of the Gladers had entered the Flat Trans and were now standing behind her.  Being careful where she was going this time, she outstretched her arms and began walking around, trying to get a sense of her surroundings.

This time, she wasn't met with another body. Her fingers tips were cold suddenly, and it only took her a moment to realize that she had walked into a wall.

"You know, I've been finding my way through the dark too often lately..." She murmured, taking her hands off the wall and willing her eyes to adjust to the darkness. She stepped back a few paces and her back hit another wall with a jolt. "Hold on, are we in..."

"A hallway." Newt cut her off, his voice slicing through the chatting of the group, drawing all attention to him. "So it appears that for now, we won't need any sense of direction."

"Is there a light switch anywhere?" River identified the voice as Winston's.

"I doubt it." Minho cut him down.

"We can make it through this without a light." River shrugged. "It's just a hallway. And as Newt said, it can't be that difficult to navigate." 

"You hope." Winston grumbled.

"Well let's find out." Thomas suggested, pushing his way past River to move closer to the front. "Minho, do you want to lead us? According to your tattoo you should." He said quieter, nudging his friend with his elbow.

"Okay." He agreed begrudgingly. "Alright you shanks, let's go."

They took off into the darkness, totally unaware of what would happen next. After a while, River grew impatient. They had been walking for what seemed like hours and appeared to be making no progress. It was as if they were walking on a treadmill. And they very well could be. Even though her eyes had adjusted, it was still dark. If they were on a treadmill, River really wouldn't be the wiser.

No one was talking anymore, and it didn't really bother River. The earlier conversations were just as boring - if not more - than the silence. She wondered briefly if anybody else felt bored, but then decided that they probably didn't. The fact that she was was absurd. She could be walking to her death and she was bored. Apparently she was now completely desensitized from danger and all scenarios that could involve it, and she didn't know how to feel about that.

"One chance deal. Go back now, you won't be sliced." A raspy voice echoed through the hallway, seemingly coming from nowhere. A shiver went down River's spine and she felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water on her. She stood corrected. She was not desensitized. In fact, she was far from it. She immediately longed for the boredom that she had felt only moments before.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Newt whispered into the darkness.

"I don't know but I don't think I want to be 'sliced'." Winston said, worry clear in his voice.

"Winston's right. Maybe we should head back." Frypan suggested, a much larger amount of worry taking over his voice.

"Where would we go?" Minho asked. "The Flat Trans is closed and even if we could get across, the shanks would just kill us."