The Silent Runner

19. cranks

Minutes later, lights flickered on all around us. Everyone stood, looking for the source. "Does anyone else hear that?" Aris asked.

"Hear what?" Winston said before everyone looked to Minho and Thomas who were running towards them screaming. Soon after, we all saw people- things running behind them.

"Go!" Thomas shouted.

"Run!" Minho screamed, catching a bag thrown by Frypan. Everyone took off, running up stairs and around corners, following one another, through small halls and broken doors. Soon we were attacked from all sides. Aris took a baseball bat to one of the monsters feet, sending him to the ground and splitting us up into two groups. Thomas and Newt began running up one set of stairs while the rest of us ran up another. At the top, Newt was knocked down, fighting off a monster's snapping teeth, Thomas ran back, planting a kick in its side, sending it through a glass guardrail.

We continued running, finding ourselves in a small hall. Thomas pulled at every door we came across but all were locked tight. The hall came to a stop and only one door was left, the lock being more loose than the rest. Everyone began taking turns throwing themselves at it, trying to get it open.

"I'll hold em' off!" Winston yelled, sending shots to the hoard of monsters running at us. "Get that door open!" With one last blow, Frypan opened the door. One after another we ran out, but all stopped when we heard Winston's screams. He'd been caught and was pulled halfway back into the hall. All the Gladers got a grip on him, playing tug of war with his life, fighting hard to keep it. Thomas and Minho worked to keep the door closed, hands and heads still poking out. They scratched at his stomach but we pulled him free as he screamed in pain. Frypan and I carried him off down, what seemed to be, a parking garage. Minho ran from the door, following behind us till finally Thomas let go of the door and ran. We slid down ruble until finally finding a small cave made up of broken pieces of concrete. We all agreed there was no way we could keep running and live so we stopped and stayed silent. The eerie clicks and screams that rang through our ears began to fade and hearts began to calm down.

Awhile later, everyone rested, huddled together as the moon sat above us. I tapped on Minho's shoulder and pointed to my face sending a shrug. I wanted to know what I looked like.

"Strong," was all he said. "They just roughed you up, is all. I didn't mean that in a bad way." He looked down, clearly feeling bad which wasn't at all like him but I punched him in the shoulder and we left it at that. He probably realized he was being a pansy because he smiled and gave a small laugh.

The next morning, everyone woke to heat and Thomas shouting at a bird. We now saw that we were outside of the shopping mall and under roads leading to the lot. Everyone stood up fine but when Winston tried he hissed in pain.

"I got you, buddy," Frypan insisted, helping him up and putting his arm around his shoulder. His torso was wrapped with a scavenged shirt but it held him together. As a group, we climbed back up the rubble we hid under to get a view of where we were. Thomas was at the ledge of the road, only sand below to catch him if he fell. Behind us there lied a euphoria of empty, decaying buildings, only the top half's sticking out of the sand. It was a wasteland. Mountains could be seen far off in the distance, behind the city and miles of sand. Sweat beaded down my forehead and the hot air filled my lungs. Everyone seemed to feel the same way as most when back to the shaded cover of the ruble we slept under. Thomas was the last one to return. I now saw that there were at least twenty of us, in dusty, sweaty clothes.

"Maybe we should walk during the night and sleep under cover during the day," He suggested. "This is too hot to walk in, we won't make it." I didn't care what we did. There was something about the term, "The Right Arm," that I couldn't get out of my head. There was a memory trapped in my mind, begging to be revealed. It wasn't erased, just forgotten.

"What if it's too dark and we walk a full night in the wrong direction?" Newt said, clearly pissed off and missing his bed.

"Last night we could barely see our noses in front of our faces," Frypan added. "Moon didn't help at all."

"That was only when we left the hangar because our eyes were adjusting or whatever," Minho replied. "It shouldn't get that dark."

"I think we should let her decide," Newt said, looking at me. Winston poked his head up but looked back down, wincing in pain. I gave Newt a confused look as it made no sense. "You remember things," he began. "Do we move at night? Is it safe?" I stared at them all for a few seconds, my eyes slowly moving from each one to the next. I lingered at Newt's eyes, seeing as it was his suggestion to ask me.

As long as we don't pass through any cities and we find shelter before the sun comes up. That could mean stopping early, if we find something and don't see anywhere for miles.

"She says it'll be better. We just might have to stop early some nights when we don't see anything," Aris said. Everyone stared at him.

"What the bloody hell?"

"You can hear her?" Thomas asked.

"Can't you?"

Thomas?

"It's so quiet," he said looking down.

"I hate this klunk," Minho grunted. "We can't all be buggin' freaks. Might as well of just let her talk."

"Okay, whatever. Do we walk today?"

"Wicked's still close by. They'll be looking everywhere today," Aris said.

"So we hide?" Frypan asked.

"It's our only choice," a boy said from the crowd. Minho nodded to the others. Everyone split up, looking for a place to fit all of us, if not some. Frypan and someone else stayed with Winston, using a dampened rag to clean off blood from his torso.

"Over here!" Aris shouted. It seemed it was an underpass, a ledge at the top, lied under a big concrete slab. It went a bit deep, books behind the huge columns.

"Here too!" Minho found a small pipe that looked like it'd been a sewer of some sort but was blocked off by rubble, farther inside. The surface at the entrance was burning hot but inside it was almost cool.

"Jake, Bill, Frypan, Thomas and I won't fit but the rest of you can."

"It's not a good idea to split up," Winston said in a quiet but firm tone.

"We can't get in without burning ourselves and then squeezing. We're not midgets."

"Since you and Aris can communicate or whatever, one of you should come with us," Aris volunteered. Two boys entered the tunnel first, sitting beside each other with their backs against the debris and then a few others followed them. Newt crouched down and brought his shoulders into his chest before entering the tunnel next. I followed him in and then Frypan came after. We all helped pull Winston in, as he groaned in pain. I winced, feeling so sorry for him. The last few boys came in behind him. There was barely enough room for us all. Winston was taking up the most room.

In all truth, Winston was just holding us back. Like I was in the maze. We couldn't carry him all the way there, we'd never make it. I felt selfish for thinking so until making eye contact with Newt and I knew he was thinking the same thing.

But when alone with my thoughts, I could only wonder where Teresa was and how Thomas was dealing with it and why Thomas hadn't really talked to me yet.