Sticks and Stones

Chapter 3: Escape

"Teresa, wait!" Thomas called just as someone else called: "Teresa!"

Rachel let go of Newt to duck in, deciding to take her chances inside rather than outside where the sand was scratching all over her legs.

"Rach!" Aris called but Teresa called: "Get down here!"

Rachel had just run down the small hill the sand had formed into when it spilled through the roof, coming to a stop beside the other girl. She peered around as the boys all followed, and she saw that they were on what appeared to be the top floor of the remains of a warehouse of some kind.

Minho pulled to a stop beside the girls, first, and soon all the boys had joined them, looking around warily. Newt and Aris stopped beside Rachel while Minho dug in his backpack. He fished out a flashlight, deeming it safe since the WCKD soldiers wouldn't be able to see the light in here.

He spun slowly, shining the light around and confirming Rachel's thoughts that this place had been long abandoned as they saw bits of cloth hanging in tatters on several beams.

"Where the hell are we?" Minho murmured as he turned in a full circle, coming to face the group.

Thomas urged them further into the warehouse, gesturing for them all to follow him as he said: "We got to go."

Rachel was surprised when Teresa retorted: "No."

Thomas ignored her and Minho made to follow Thomas, when Teresa said sharply: "Thomas, stop!"

The boys turned back to her, and Rachel glanced at Aris while Teresa demanded: "Tell me what's going on."

Rachel suddenly realized that this girl had no idea what was happening- she had been taken away and kept under inspection of some kind, so she hadn't had any explanation about what had been happening at the WCKD facility. Thomas came forward to explain to the girl, and in doing so explained to all of them since only he and Aris had seen what WCKD was doing.

"It's WCKD." Thomas said softly. "It's WCKD, they lied to us. We never escaped. Mid air were strung bodies."

His voice cracked a little and Rachel's eyes widened in horror.

"Too many to count." Thomas finished, and the boys were also mirroring Rachel's horrified look.

"What do you mean? Dead bodies?" Minho asked concerned while Newt knit his brows. Rachel waited anxiously and almost breathed in relief when Thomas shook his head.

"No," he said, "but they weren't alive either."

Rachel suddenly felt very ill but Thomas continued: "They were strung up, with tubed coming out of them. They're being..."

He swallowed and Rachel's blood ran cold as Thomas finished quietly: "They're being drained."

Rachel noticed Teresa was grasping the back of her neck, as though feeling for something. No-one else seemed to notice, too focused on Thomas who was trying to explain from the fragments that he'd found out. "There's something inside of us that WCKD wants. Something in our blood."

They all bowed their heads a little, absorbing this information, and Thomas said firmly: "So we have to get as far away from them as possible."

Rachel nodded slowly, having fully digested their situation as it stood now. It seemed Thomas had a plan though to get them out of this mess. Rachel glanced around to see that the other Group A boys, however, were looking a little uncertain.

Minho, at least, seemed to agree with Thomas but each of them were looking at Newt, as though waiting for him to say something. This surprised Rachel, and she wondered if he had been the leader in their maze as Harriet had been hers.