Variables → Group B [AU]

25 → "CRANKS"

part 2: the scorch trials

25 → "CRANKS"

"WHO ARE YOU guys?" Adeline rushed out. "How did I get here, where are my friends?"

"Wait, you don't recognize us?" An Asian boy spoke.

"Am I meant to?" Adeline arched her eyebrow. The boy who had spoken didn't know what to say, exchanging a glance with a tall blonde beside him. The blonde met her gaze, and another rush of familiarity sparked.

"Adeline." The tall, blonde boy spoke up, an accent shocking her. "You honestly don't remember who we are?"

"How do you know my name?" Adeline quizzed, more alert now.

"Wait." a boy spoke up from the back of the group. "Your name is Adeline? As in the girl I talked to telepathically?"

"Wait, what?" The Asian boy quizzed.

"Come again?" The blonde boy questioned. The boy pushed towards her, stopping besides the Asian boy. Adeline almost had to remind herself on the idea of talking telepathically, as it's been a few days since she'd talked to Aris and Rachel through telepathy and a week since Matt and Adeline could talk.

"Matt?" The boy smiled, nodding. "Oh my gosh, you escaped the Maze."

"As did you." Adeline nodded. Their small meeting was cut short when the Asian boy started questioning what the hell was going on.

"Adeline, what is going on?" The boy snapped. "Did you just say you escaped another Maze? That you both could talk telepathically? What the shuck is —"

The boy was cut off by glass shattering. Adeline jumped in fright, letting out a shriek, causing her to clasp her hand over her mouth. Adeline backed away slightly, unsure on what to do; about these boys who knew who she was but she didn't know them, about what was going on outside that window. Everything went crazy. The boys started running around, some looking behind the curtains. Adeline stayed put where she was until she decided to get a closer look. The boys let her get through, and Adeline moved the curtain to the side, where she saw what was going on behind that curtain. A man stood on the other side, his hands gripping the bars that were behind the glass of the window. His hands were bloody, eyes wide and bloodshot. Lunacy glazed his eyes, and sores and scars covered his face

"I'm a Crank!" The man cackled. "I'm a Crank!"

Then, the man attempted to reach his hand through the bars, causing Adeline to back away, screaming, turning on her heels, but instead crashed into one of the boys behind her. The boy stumbled, steadied Adeline by the shoulders. It was the tall blonde boy, peering down at her in concern.