Surviving the Scorch // Twins Series {Book Two}

sixteen

A/N: Please forgive any errors you may find. I'm running on few hours of sleep at the moment and my editing may suffer a tad because of it.

Third person POV

As the walls collapsed around them, Jorge yanked Minho and Newt back towards him and out of harm's way. Newt's frantic gaze shifted up and he watched the ceiling crumble above them.

"Let's go!" Jorge yelled running down the hall without a second glance.

Aris, Fry Pan, and Teresa immediately followed but Minho and Newt both hesitated, their eyes staring at the spot their friends were just sitting. Now, there was only a giant pile of rocks, sealing them off from their loved ones.

Minho sighed, placing his hand on Newt's shoulder. "Come on, I'm sure they got out."

Newt nodded solemnly before following Minho. His body performed the action while his mind raced with thoughts that would forever haunt him. Images flashed through his mind of all the moments he could remember of Clara. When he first saw her in the box terrified and injured and even then his heart clinched just looking at her. He thought back to the night she got stuck in the maze because she refused to leave Alby behind. He remembered how long and terrible that night was, still the absolute worse night of his life. And when Thomas carried her in the next morning; she looked dead then. He grimaced as the images continued dancing through his mind and even just thinking about the possibility of losing her, his heart ached. To never see her smile again, to never hear her laugh, would be the darkest thing to happen to him in his existence. He shook his head, finally being pulled from his thoughts when Minho pulled him out of the way of falling debris.

"Keep your head with me and we'll see her again, okay?" Minho spoke with such intensity that Newt found himself absently nodding although he didn't even comprehend the words Minho spoke.

The building was trembling with the amount of force from the shock and it took Newt and Minho a moment to realize that there were bodies everywhere. Jorge's men were scattered around the floor, including Brutus, the one that started it all. Gunshots rang through the building, breaking the tense atmosphere seeing the bodies had created.

"Go! Run!" Jorge called out to the group of gladers. His eyes raked across the intruders and his breath caught in his throat when he saw the WCKD emblem. Of course, he thought sardonically. His eyes shifted to the desk against the window and inspiration struck. He flipped around to the group, eyes scanning over each one in turn. "Stay here. Wait for my cue."

He quickly made his way to the desk and set up the trap he'd been waiting forever to set. The song started playing, echoing through the speakers in the abandoned building he had come to know as home. "That's the cue!" He called out to the gladers. He then turned and ran towards large windows, peeking out to see the helicopter circling above. He could only pray at this point that Brenda somehow managed to get away from the crushing debris in time. Turning around he noticed the group anxiously watching him, waiting for further instructions.

As his eyes scanned the group he couldn't help notice that something appeared off. He knew right away that Thomas appeared to be the leader of the group, always watchful and protective of the others. But the girl, it was the girl he thought that they really missed. He had witnessed firsthand how much they all cared for her and how much they felt propelled to protect her. His mind wandered to the bounty Jansen had placed on her and he couldn't help but think, why? What was so terribly important about this one girl that all of these kids would do everything it took to keep her safe while WCKD, the corporation that dumped them all there in the first place, did everything it took to retrieve her. Sure, the others were worth a good chunk of change but the twins and Thomas, they were worth a fortune. What made them different then? And right now their fates were unknown. They could already be crushed under the crippling building or they could even be cranks. He immediately dismissed the thought assuming WCKD wouldn't risk such precious cargo if they weren't immune.