ENTER THE SCORCH

The Crank Party

(Y/N)'s POV:

Janson drags you down a corridor as you thrash out in protest. Thinking fast, you bite down as hard as you can on his hand.

He yelps with pain and realeases you momentarily. You try and sprint free when you run into Chancellor Paige.

"(Y/N), whatever's the matter?" She asks in a calm voice.

"Why are they in there? What are you doing to them?" Your whole body shakes with anger and fear, but you whisper the words.

"What do you mean?" The Chancellor sounds inocent but you can tell she's lying.

"I saw Thomas; what are you doing to him?"

Her face now turns grave. She looks at Janson who is only a few metres behind you.

"(Y/N) he's being prepped for the maze trials, just like everyone else had to. You'll be next. It's what we agreed on."

You nod your head in pretend calm. "Yes, I know, I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. Can I go back to my room?"

A smile spreads over Ava's face. "Of course."

You turn on your heel and walk away, knowing what you have to do.

***

You wake drenched in sweat. Had that been another memory? You shudder and thoughts of the previous night crash into your brain, making it impossible to sleep.

You sit upright and notice a hunched up figure sat in the corner. You make your way over and recognise it as Newt.

"Hey. Are you okay?"

He turns around so that the moonlight illuminates his face. His eyes are red and swollen from hours of crying. You sit beside him and rest your head on his shoulder, taking his hand in yours.

"We're gonna find Minho." You whisper, not wanting to wake anyone.

He nods his head but you can tell he dosen't believe the words.

You kiss him on the cheek and stand up saying: "We'll be no use to anyone if we're like zombies in the morning. Have you been to sleep?"

He shakes his head and you sigh. "Come on Newt. For me?"

You feel guilty for saying that, but it seems to work.

***

You wake to sunlight flooding the room. Jorge stands in the centre, the other gladers surronding him. When Thomas sees you're awake he hands you a can of food.

"Jorge found these. They're alright."
He smirks and you grab the can.

You devour it within seconds and lick your lips; you hadn't realised how hungry you were. You stand up and put on your backpack, adjusting the straps to a comfortable position. You walk over to Jorge and the other boys, Thomas by your side. They run through the plan with you; Jorge has a friend a bit further into the scorch. He thinks Brenda would have taken Minho there.

You all exit the building carefully, making sure not to fall. You step outside, a wave of heat hitting you. Jorge takes the lead, breaking into a slight jog.

***

2 hours later you're approaching a large town.

"People live out here?" Newt asks, the disbelief evident in his voice.

"Yeah." Jorge yells over his shoulder, "It's dangerous though, because of all the cranks."

You swallow nervously; how many cranks were out here?

Minho's POV:

We've been walking all night. Brenda looks exaughsted; I feel like a zombie. When we went down that elevator shaft, cranks ambushed us. Luckily, Brenda had her gun; we managed to get out of there.

We're now heading into a town, Brenda said we'd find one of Jorge's friends here.

There's a huge banner that reads 'SECTION A'. At the sight of it Brenda suddenly wakes up. She picks her speed up to a brisk pace and we walk towards a rotting building.

People are milling about on a wooden porch. We walk side by side and a woman comes up behind us. She wraps her arms around us like a trap.
She pushes us until we reach a man. He turns around, looking me up and down, taking everything in. He does the same to Brenda and a snarl appears on his face.

"What do we have here?"

"We're looking for Marcus. Do you know where he is?" Brenda asks, her voice firm.

"I'm afraid Marcus... Isn't here anymore."