Burning; TST ➵ Thomas

E L E V E N

At the very end of the alley, there was a cracked wall with faded bricks. Four stairs led down to a scratched and worn wooden door. The glass of the door was missing. A broken shard was still hung on the top, it was like it was a jagged tooth. 

"Thomas!" Thomas stopped in his tracks and turned to an out-of-breath Amelia. They were still able to hear the music. It was louder now that they were by its source. The music was intense and fast - the bass was powerful, the drums were banging and guitars were screaming. There were sounds of people laughing, shouting and singing along. None of it sounded sane. 

"We need to get out of it," he stated, immediately regretting his actions and mentally scolded himself. The girl shot him a pissed off look. Thomas shrunk back a bit, for someone who was smaller than him, she looked terrifying.

They turned around to leave but froze. Two men and one woman were standing a couple meters away from them. The strangers must have appeared while the duo was distracted. 

Thomas looked closer to them, Amelia was as still as a statue. The strangers' clothes were tattered, their hair was messy, faces were smudged with dirt. Their eyes glistened with intelligence, they didn't have noticeable injuries, though. It was clear that they were Cranks, but not full-gone Cranks.

"Hi, there. Here for the party? Lots of dancin', lots of lovin', lots of booze," the woman spoke. Her long red hair pulled into a high ponytail. Her shirt was cut so low that Thomas had to force himself to have his eyes locked on her's. He wrapped his arm around Amelia's waist, pulling her closer as if it protect despite the fact that she had a weapon. 

There was something in the woman's voice that made Thomas nervous. He wasn't sure what it meant but he knew she wasn't being nice. She was mocking them, ridiculing them. Amelia cut into the conversation before Thomas could speak. She told the three the truth - they were just looking for their friends. "We're new here, just settling in."

"Well, welcome to WICKED's very own Crankland." One of the men spoke. He was tall and hideous. He had greasy hair too. He opened his arms wide as if there was a crowd to cheer. He nodded towards the stairs. "Don't worry, most of them down there are half-gone at worst. You might get an elbow to the face, maybe kicked in the nads. But nobody's going to eat you." 

"Nads? Excuse me?" Offence was evident in Amelia's tone. The other man, he was short and handsome, had blonde hair into a crew cut too, stepped in. He nodded towards Thomas. 

"He was talkin' about the boy. Things might be worse for you if you don't stick close. You being a female and all." Thomas tightened his grip on Amelia, she didn't mind. Thomas didn't like the way Blondie was staring at her. He could sense Amelia was uncomfortable with the stare. 

She tried to convince them that it would be okay, that they'd come another time. But Blondie wasn't having it. "You two are nothin' but kids. Time for you to have some fun, yeah? We're officially inviting you to the party." 

Thomas decided to let Amelia do the talking. She stuttered when she rejected. The duo hitched their breath when Blondie pulled out a gun from his jacket. "It's not something you turn down, you know?" 

Tall and Ugly pulled out a knife, Ponytail had a screwdriver with old, dried blood on its tip. Thomas faced Amelia, she didn't look back at him. Her eyes were glued to the blond man. Her face showed that she was going to do something stupid, more stupid than when he ran into the Maze and somehow survived the night.

"Okay. We'll go," Thomas cut in. Amelia ripped herself out of his grip. 

"What?!" She looked angrier than she originally was. Her eyes were wide, brows knitted together. Her jaw was slightly dropped. She folded her arms, pursing her lips together. 

"He has a knife. He has a gun and she has a shucking screwdriver! I'm not in the mood to have an eyeball smashed into my skull today," Thomas argued back. 

"I have a bow and arrow, two knives in my boots. They don't stand a chance," she whispered through gritted teeth. Luckily, the Cranks didn't notice. Blondie complimented Thomas - or maybe not. He did imply that he thought Thomas was as stupid as her at first. 

Tall and Ugly walked up to them, demanding for her to hand over her weapons. Amelia was clearly angry as she hesitantly handed over the bow and arrow. Thomas took note that she didn't hand over the daggers in her shoes. Tall and Ugly slung the quiver over his shoulder, the bow was held tightly in his hand.

"No one's going to hurt you unless you act like a brat. By the end of the party, you'll want to join our group. Trust me on that." 

Blondie pointed his gun in the direction of the stairs. Thomas grabbed Amelia's hand and led them down to the door. It didn't have a handle on it, though. Thomas turned to Blondie, completely confused. None of the Cranks put their weapons down. Blondie instructed him to do the 'special knock'. 

Thomas refrained himself from lashing out and did the 'special knock' that Blondie told him. The door swung open immediately. The person who opened it was huge. His ears and face were pierced several times, he had tattoos all over. His hair was white and long, reaching past his shoulders. Thomas barely had time to register the man when he spoke. 

"Thomas! Finally. We've been waiting for you!"

Stranger Things, anyone? So sorry that the past few chapters were fillers, there are so many fillers inside the actual book, Istg.  - lowkeyradiant