Whatever It Takes ↠ Newt [The Scorch Trials] ¹

TWELVE

          

CHAPTER TWELVE
Lightening

MAE STOOD IN an abandoned playground, she looked around to see not one person in sight. No kids in the park, no people on streets– no one. The wind whistled and the chains of swings squeaked, along with the roundabout as it moved.

"If some creepy ghost girl starts chasing me down the street, I'm gonna lose it." Mae mumbled, moving a strand of her hair behind her ear.

She slowly made her way to the swings and stretched her arm out, curling her fingers around the rusty metal. Mae held it tightly, stopping it from swinging aimlessly, her thumb gently brushing up and down. The wind howled and she shivered, turning around as she watched bits of litter fly across the floor and flew along with the wind.

The girl exited the playground and walked out on the empty road. Mae glanced around to see houses surrounding the park, she was in the suburbs, but instead of being filled with screaming children and adults driving cars, it was empty– it was a ghost town.

"Hello?" Mae asked, her voice ripping through the wind. "Is anyone here?"

As she walked down the road, the sound of a metal bin crashed and Mae jumped. Her eyebrows pinched together as she glanced left and right down the road before walking towards the driveway the noise came from, where an old black car stood.

Mae swallowed as she got closer to the rusty car. She hit her pockets, trying to locate her knife, but unfortunately she couldn't find it. It was then that Mae realised she wasn't in the same clothes she was wearing in the Scorch, she was wearing a white top and navy blue pyjama bottoms. "Damn it."

The hairs on the back of Mae's neck stood as the wind got colder and she got closer. She rounded the car, anxiety eating up at her and she darted around the vehicle. Her eyes widened and she jumped at what she saw.

A little girl– about five or six, sat against the car, eating an old granola bar. "At least she's not a ghost." Her brown hair was a tangled mess, her face was covered in dirt and her clothes were ripped head from toe. Mae crouched down in front of her. "Hey, are you alone? Where are you parents?"

The girl didn't answer, but merely looked at Mae blankly– almost as if she saw right through her. Mae craned her head to the side before hesitantly stretching her arm out and placing it on the small girl's shoulder, only to have it go straight through her. Mae sighed. She wasn't really there. "What the hell is goin' on?"

Mae watched carefully as the little girl stood up and began to trail down the drive way. The sound of a door opening caught Mae's attention and she followed the little girl, who now looked mortified. Mae followed the girl's gaze to see a brown haired boy, around the girl's age, standing by the door.

The young girl merely looked towards the ground and started to back away. The boy huffed before slowly stepping out of the house and towards the girl. "Hey!" Another voice yelled and Mae turned her head to see a woman calling the boy sharply back into the house, however, her face softened when she saw the lone girl.

"Hi." The boy greeted. "Are you alone?"

The girl cowered back. "Yes."

The mother of the boy cautiously walked outside the house. She bent down in front of the girl. "Where are your parents?"

"The crazy people got them."

It didn't take Mae long to figure out what she was talking about. "Cranks." She affirmed.