Antidote | A3

c h a p t e r . t w e l v e

The Cranks didn't stand a chance against us. They hardly even tried to.

There were shrieks of surprise and fear as we charged in, yelling, those of us with weapons raising them. We barrelled into a spacious room, dingy with the curtains pulled; wasted Cranks lying scattered on the floor or on tatty sofas and rugs.

Most threw their arms up in surrender immediately - those that were conscious. We herded them into the middle of the room, forming a wide circle around them as they huddled in, cowering. No Thomas or Brenda.

I watched three Cranks emerge from up some steps in one corner and book it. Jorge darted in front of them, sword brandished, which stopped two of them in their tracks. The third one slipped by and made it out the front door, and the other two watched him escape vengefully as they slowly raised their hands in surrender.

Watching that scene unfold, Minho and I seemed to form the same idea immediately, and we dashed over to the concealed staircase.

"Nobody move!" Jorge was yelling, waving his sword around as he led his most recent captives into the huddled circle. The rest of the Gladers stood firm as I stole a final glance back, before rushing down the steps after Minho.

We stumbled into a tiny room, not unlike the size of the stash. It was brighter in here, more lights with better bulbs. On one side, sat in chairs, their wrists and ankles bound with tape-

Thomas and Brenda. Phew.

"You guys need a hand?" I asked sarcastically, as Thomas stared at us, mouth agape. Brenda's mouth was taped, but she managed an audible sigh of relief through it at the sight of us.

I moved straight over to her as Minho got to work on cutting Thomas free.

"Sorry, this might hurt," I told her as I grabbed a corner of tape on her cheek, and peeled it off.

Brenda's mouth hung open at the relief of it being freed, stretching out her jaw. "Thanks."

I used my knife to continue cutting at the binds on her arms and then her legs.

"What... how...?" Thomas stammered.

"Surprise," Minho said as he knelt down in front of Thomas, working at the tape around his ankles.

"I thought all that commotion upstairs was a bunch of full-Gone Cranks," Thomas said, giddy with relief. "I did not expect to see you guys."

"Did you think we were gonna let these bunch of shuck-faces do anything to you?" Minho grinned. "You owe us. Big time."

"How did you find us?"

"Jorge's been leading us through the city. Yesterday morning we kind of spread out, spying here and there. Frypan was peeking out into that alley up there as those three shanks pulled a gun on you. We got mad, started planning our ambush."

Brenda stood up, wincing as she stretched. She was sporting a scowl on her face as she marched over to the bottom of the steps, where she then stood, arms folded.

"Brenda?" Thomas asked sheepishly. "You okay?"

She nodded without looking at him. "I'm fine. Let's go. I wanna see Jorge."

Minho and I glanced back at Thomas at the same time. He looked between us and kind of shrugged as he stood up.

"Alright, yeah. Let's go," Minho said. "We've got a dozen guys holding more than twenty up there. They'll probably decide they can take us soon, once they get over their hangovers."

Minho was right, but Thomas shifted awkwardly for a moment, before moving over to Brenda.

"I'm sorry," he started when he reached her, leaving Minho and I to share a quizzical look. "Last night I think I said something kinda mean-"