Whatever It Takes ↠ Newt [The Scorch Trials] ¹

SIX

CHAPTER SIX
Cranks

MAE LAY NEXT to Newt on the sand as they quietly watched more and more soldiers leave the building, their torches illuminating the ground in front of them. The two looked at each other with both worry and annoyance. They didn't run from and escape the Maze just to keep running from WCKD.

"Come on, guys. Let's go. Stay low! Stay low!" Thomas instructed as he climbed on to his feet, bending down.

The group followed after the brunet, Mae being the last person. She whipped her head around to see flashes of light getting closer. "Crap." The girl murmured, rushing to catch up to the others but she could barely hear anything.

Mae stretched out her left arm, as she used her right arm to shelter her eyes from the sand. Just when the girl could feel herself nearly toppling over, her right hand eventually grabbed onto something or someone.

"There you are, Mae. Come on." The voice of Newt spoke and Mae sighed in relief, letting go of his shoulder.

The brunette girl's eyes finally adjusted to seeing in the darkness and she was able to see the rest of the group, fighting their way through the wind. Mae scanned through the figures and she felt a weight lift off her once she saw Aris.

Mae's gaze then averted to Teresa who seemed to drift of from the rest of the group and began to sprint away. "What the hell is she doing?" She asked as she leaned towards Newt, making sure he was able to hear her.

Newt looked up at Teresa and his eyebrows pinched together. "I don't know." The two then began to pick up their pace and ran after the others.

"Teresa! Hang on! What are you doing? We have to stay together!" Thomas shouted.

"Where are we even going?" Minho questioned, annoyance in his voice.

Mae continued to run as she heard Thomas' voice. The girl came to a rapid stop and tripped over, landing on her side. She mumbled profanities under her breath before pushing herself off the sand.

The group stopped by what looked like a building that had been engulfed in the sand. "Come on!" Teresa yelled as she entered it, ignoring the groups' protests behind her. "Get down here!"

They didn't have a choice but to follow. Mae slid one strap off her shoulder and searched through her bag to find a torch. She took it in her hand and turned it on.

"Come on, Mae! Get in." Thomas ushered as he gave her a soft nudge.

The brunette followed after Newt and slid down the small dune successfully, letting out a small yelp as she nearly lost her footing. Mae held her torch up around the darkness, making sure everyone was there. The group stood in a circle in silence for a few moments, not knowing what to do now.

Minho then took out his torch and turned it on, shining it around their surroundings, which to Mae looked like an old shopping centre. "Where the hell are we?" The boy quizzed.

"We gotta go." Thomas declared before turning away.

"No." Teresa objected. "Thomas, stop!" She yelled causing both Thomas and Minho to turn around. "Tell me what's going on."

Thomas breathed heavily as he walked forward. "It's WCKD. It's WCKD, they lied to us, we never escaped. Me, Mae and Aris, we found bodies. Too many to count."

Mae instantly shook her head as flashes of Frankie, Rachel and friends that she hadn't seen played in her head earlier, all of them being hung up and drained. Hana. Sonya. Harriet. She didn't wanna think about it.