The Scorch → Newt²

23 → "VARIABLES"

23 → "VARIABLES"

THE ROPE HOLDING the canvas litter detached and sprang up into the air. Then, the Berg was gone, the sounds of the engines fading as it disappeared from sight. The Gladers leant over, staring down at Thomas. Everyone spoke at once, curious as to what happened with the Runner over the last few days.

"What was that all about?"

"Are you okay?"

"What'd they do to you?"

"Who was that?"

"Have fun in the Berg?"

"How's your shoulder?"

"A little help here?" Thomas questioned. He'd attempted to get up, but realised that the ropes holding him to the litter still had him bound to it. Minho and a couple of other Gladers untied him, and once he was free, Thomas got to his feet and stretched out his muscles. "What are you guys doing out in the open? Your skin is gonna bake!"

Minho didn't answer, just pointed behind them. Thomas looked over at their man - made shelter. "We better get back under that thing."

The group of Gladers agreed, and the twelve Gladers and their two new buddies followed one another, heading back over to the shelter. Once inside, Minho pointed to a corner in the far end of the shelter, motioning for Thomas to sit and start talking. Minho was the last of the Gladers to settle down, right next to Brenda. "Okay, tell us about your adventures with the aliens in their big bad spaceship."

"You sure about this?" Thomas questioned. "How many days left to get over those mountains, to the safe haven?"

"Five days, dude. But you know we can't go tramping around in this sun with nothing to protect us. You're gonna talk, then we're gonna sleep, then we're all gonna bust our humps walking all night. Get on it." Minho snapped. Thomas nodded.

"Good that. Save all your questions till the end, children." Not a single person laughed or smiled. "It was WICKED that came and got me. I kept passing out, but they took me to some doctors who totally fixed me up. I heard them saying something about how it wasn't supposed to happen, how the gun had been a factor they hadn't expected. The bullet set off a nasty infection in me, and I guess they felt pretty strongly that it wasn't time for me to die."

Everyone had blank faces, staring back at Thomas. He went on to explain more. Things about killzone patterns and Candidates. More about the Variables. Adeline knew everything on what Thomas had said; about the kill zone patterns, final Candidates and Variables. Her memories allowed for her to remember all of this. The Gladers — even Jorge and Brenda —
looked frustrated. Adeline tried to pretend she didn't know anything, but of course that was a lie. She knew about everything Thomas had explained about. And so did Matt.

"Well, that really cleared things up." Minho finally said. "Must have something to do with all those signs about you in the city."

Thomas shrugged. "Glad to know you're so happy to see me alive."

"Hey, if you wanna be the leader, no skin off my back." Minho said. "I am happy to see you alive."

"No thanks. You keep it." Minho didn't respond. Newt got to his feet.

So we're all potential candidates for something." Newt added in. "And maybe the purpose of all the buggin' klunk we've been through is to weed out those who don't qualify. But for some reason the whole gun-and-rusty-bullet thing wasn't part of the ... normal tests. Or Variables, whatever. If Thomas is gonna croak and die, it wasn't supposed to come from a bloody infection."

"What this means is that they're watching us." Minho said. "Just like they did in the Maze. Has anyone seen a beetle blade running around anywhere?"

"What the hell's a beetle blade?" Jorge asked.

"Little mechanical lizard things that spied on us with cameras in the Maze." Thomas answered.

Jorge rolled his eyes. "Of course. Sorry I asked."

"The Maze was definitely some kind of indoor facility." Aris said. "But there's just no way we're inside something anymore. Though they could be using satellites or long-range cameras, I guess."

Jorge cleared his throat. "What is it about Thomas that makes him so special? Those signs in the city about him being the real leader, them swooping in here and saving his butt when he got all sicky-sicky. I'm not trying to be mean, muchacho — I'm just curious. What makes you better than the rest of your buddies?"

"I'm not special." Thomas said. "You heard what they said. We have lots of ways to die out here, but that gun shouldn't be one of them. I think they would've saved anybody who'd gotten shot. It wasn't about me — it was the bullet that messed things up."

"Still." Jorge replied. "I think I'll stay close to you from here on."

A few more discussions broke out, until Minho stopped them, insisting that they all needed sleep if they were going to be walking all night. Everyone agreed.

—

Adeline dozed off and woke up a few times over the past few hours, until she woke up to Minho shoving her shoulders.

"Get up, shank. Lots of walkin' to do." Adeline rolled her eyes, leaning forward whilst rubbing her eyes to rid the sleep building up in the corners. Gladers prepared to leave, and in the other side of the shelter, Thomas and Newt were lost in conversation, which was interrupted when Brenda woke. After eating, they set off once more. They left just as the sun was about to set. Adeline was walking in between Newt and Aris, and a weird silence hung over them. Just as it became dark, Newt told her he needed to talk to Thomas, and Adeline let him go, knowing that they'd barely talked since they'd entered the Scorch. After Newt had left to go talk to Thomas, Aris moved closer to her, lowering his voice.

"Did you know about everything Thomas said hours ago?" Aris questioned. "Ya know, because of your —" Aris lowered his voice even lower just in case. " — memories."

"I know some of it." Adeline replied. "Just not a lot about it."

Aris nodded. "What do you know?"

Adeline shrugged. "Just as much as Thomas said. I know as much as I remember being told, and everything Thomas said is all I know."

Aris only nodded, before leaving Adeline to walk alone. Adeline knew this wasn't what Aris wanted to hear. Like, he wanted her to go in more detail about the Trials, Killzone patterns, Variables and final candidates. What Adeline said was true though; she knew as much as Thomas did. Newt re-appeared back at her side not long later, but both walked in silence. Once or twice she glanced over at Newt, only to find him lost in thought. The second time, Newt caught her glancing over at him, only to grab hold of her hand and give her a forced smile. They continued on, only until Adeline almost rammed straight into someone before her. Thomas had came to an abrupt stop, staring before him. It took Adeline a moment to realize what he was staring at. In the distance, halfway between here and the mountains, a girl had appeared out of nowhere, walking towards the group of Gladers at a brisk pace. In the girl's hands she held a long shaft of wood with a large blade secured to the end. As she came closer, Adeline knew who it was;

Teresa.