The Silent Runner

18. the silent scorcher

Knowing I was an error was one thing but stating it, permanently, onto my skin was another. My clenching fists slowly released, the anger I felt was unmatchable. I walked around them, checking his neck. Aris was "The Partner." If I was a glitch and marked as exactly so then whose Aris's partner? How long has he been here? When did Group B escape? Who had he lost? How many made it?

Questions scrambled my head.

Winston ran into the room, slamming the door behind him. Aris and I jumped back because, at first, it seemed he was a guard.

"Get down, stay quiet."

"Did you get him?" Aris asked.

"More like I lost him," he whispered back and finally realized I was there. "You look like shit," he quietly laughed. I smiled back, sure to stay out of view from the doors's small window. "Good to see you alive and well." They sat for a minute, waiting for the shadow of the guard to disappear down the hall.

"We have to go," he said, punching in codes and leading them both out. Sirens could be heard up ahead, blaring throughout the facility.

How'd you know? Aris stopped walking and turned around. Winston went ahead of us.

"I've been watching them. I been here a lot longer than you and I pay attention. The code is the same for every door. For a bunch of scientists their password is pretty weak. It's WCKD in number form." I nodded. He was quick to defend himself. It was still suspicious so I decided I didn't trust him. He continued walking, his pace faster than the last time. "They should be coming through here." We were now in what seemed like a big garage. The big doors where we first entered stood tall, reminding me of the maze walls. A guard's body laid still on the ground as Winston stood over it, panting, dropping a fire extinguisher on the ground next to him.

Yelling came from the other side of the door. Sirens could now be heard all around us. Finally, the door began to open. As it did, gunshots could be heard from the other side.

"Thomas! Let's go!" Minho hollered. "It's closing!" They hadn't noticed me yet but when I seen them all, in front of me and alive, I felt safe. Even with the war all around me, I felt okay.

Thomas was shooting at Janson to cover the others as they ran out. The door began to close soon after. When the gun would no longer fire he threw it at them and made a run for it. The door barely open, he slid under as it closed and slammed down behind him, everyone flinching at the noise. Aris grabbed the fire extinguisher from the floor and smashed it down, breaking the code lock, forcing the door to stay closed. How did he know that would even work? Janson stared at us through the window, making eye contact with each of us at a time.

"Get this door open!" Janson screamed at the guards with him. Thomas saluted a middle finger before following the others towards the door,

"Angelina!" Newt shouted. "You're alright!"

Teresa?

"They couldn't find her," Aris said into my ear.

"We've gotta go!" Minho shouted as the giant doors began to close. He grabbed the guards gear while Winston grabbed his gun.

Finally, we all began running, side by side, in a sort of unplanned formation till we reached the massive doors. Minho pulled down a red lever, using all his strength in doing so. The doors finally opened, hot air and sand blew into the hanger, forcing us to shield our eyes for a second. The sun was gone, meaning we'd be able to hide better and could adapt to the heat that'd come in the morning.

We began plowing through sand, bringing our knees up high as we went. We'd made it over a few dunes before Frypan found a sort of broken window. It was the top of what used to be a shopping mall.

"In here!" Newt said while sliding in.

"No, don't go down there!" Thomas shouted but it was too late.

"Come on!" He said from the inside.

"Let's go." We all did as Minho instructed, sliding down a small sand hill, one after the other. When inside, we decided we were safe. Everyone looked around, catching their breath.

"Where the hell are we?" Minho asked, shinning a light from the bag he took.

"Come on, we gotta go."

"No, Thomas stop!" Newt spoke, his voice raspy. "Tell me what's going on."

"It's Wicked. It's Wicked. They lied to us. We were never escaped. Me and Aris we found bodies. Too many to count."

"Dead bodies?" Minho questioned.

"No but they weren't alive either. They had em' strung up, with tubes coming out of them. Like they were being drained. There's something inside of us that Wicked wants, something in our blood. That's why we have to get as far away as possible." It was silent.

"Okay," Newt sighed. "So what's the plan?" Thomas shook his head while looking down. "You do have a plan right?"

"I- I don't know."

"Well, we followed you out here, Thomas. Now you're saying that we've got no idea where we're going or what we're doing?"

"Wait," Aris said, looking up. "Janson said something about people hiding in the mountains. Some kind of resistance or army."

"Yeah, the Right Arm," Thomas finished. "If- if they're really against Wicked, maybe, maybe they can help us."

"People in the mountains," Newt repeated. "Mountain people. That's your plan?"

"It's all we have," he responded softly. "Thank you," He now said to Aris, placing his hand on his shoulder. Aris only nodded, clearing his throat.

"What did they do to you?" Minho asked, shinning a light in my face. Everyone else looked towards me, staring with their confused eyes. I only looked back at them and shrugged. I hadn't seen myself yet.

I wanted to tell them that I was alright and they didn't need to worry so I just shrugged it off, smiling back at them. I noticed other boys that I hadn't really known.

"The sun will come in the morning and it'll be hot. We need to find supplies and get the hell out of here," Newt stated, coughing a bit.

"How do you know it'll be hot?" Aris asked.

"When they pulled us out of the maze it was so bright, I felt like my bloody skin was gonna melt off and then it was nearly sundown."

"You heard him," Minho shouted to the surrounding Gladers. "Spilt up. Start lookin'." Shuffling feet were heard dispersing in different directions. Scavenged lights were being pointed in windows and corners, boxes and old storefronts. Others were dumping sand out of their shoes and boots. I spotted Fry looking at some clothes on a rack in a shop nearby. I approached, looking at the clothes he'd been passing up.

"I'm glad you made it out," he said softly. "I feel better not being the only sane one here." He snickered to himself, still searching the line of clothes. I smiled at him but mostly to myself.

I found a green button up top and in the men's section, a light jacket. Some black Balmain jeans found in the back fit nicely and looked even better tucked into my new, old, boots. After changing in the back of the shop, I met with the others in front of a small shop they'd settled in. We were all stuffing things in our scavenged bags, whatever we thought we'd be able to use. I picked up clean black knife someone found and slid it into the fold of my boot. Never know when it might come in handy.