Surviving The Scorch

Chapter 3

CLEO-

"What did Rat Man want," is the first thing anyone says when I'm thrown into the dorm with the other Gladers. It was Minho. I force myself to shrug and push past Minho. Newt approaches me, but I can't look him in the eyes. I head to an empty bunk and climb up, laying down and staring at the ceiling. It's not the same dorm as the one we spent last night in, and I already know more about the coming events than anyone else in the room. My stomach drops and I decide to tell them. Not all of it, but some of what "Rat Man" told me. I lean over the side of the bunk and usher Newt over, although I would rather talk to Minho, Newt is the leader now that Alby's gone. He didn't make it through the Battle of the Grievers.

"What is it, love?" My heart aches and I feel sick. I blink back tears before they come.

"I don't want the others to freak out, so I suggest you keep this between you, me, Thomas, and  Minho for now." He nods slowly, leaning forward as I whisper to him.

"It's W.I.C.K.E.D. It's been W.I.C.K.E.D. the whole time; Janson and the rest of 'em. They want to send us through another Trial."

Newt's lips part, eyes wide. He closes his mouth and swallows, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down below his jaw. He nods and steps down from the ladder, walking across the room to Minho and pulling him aside. I lie down and stare back at the ceiling. I've said all that I can. There's nothing else I can do to prepare them for the Scorch.

"Where's Teresa," Thomas asks loudly, over all of the other Glader conversations. I sit up, glancing over the group, seeing no sign of the only other girl in the group, but my eyes meet another guy. He walks toward me through the others.

"Hey Noah," I say, trying to sound casual, although my heart is falling. His blue, blue eyes gaze into mine and I can tell he means business.

"What am I missing? What did you tell Newt?"

"Nothing important," I lie, crossing my legs to look at him. He narrows his eyes at me. 

"So that's why they're so serious and they're whispering in the corner. Don't lie to me, Cleo."

Something doesn't feel right about him. Back in the Glade, he was always cocky and humorous. Now he seems withdrawn and all too serious. He's making me uncomfortable. I shrug, pushing my hair behind my ear.

"It's none of your business," I say, cutting him off before he can say anything else. He glares at me and jumps down from the bunk, stomping to the corner. Something tells me that I was rude and I should apologize, so I sigh and climb down off the bed, dropping onto the floor and following him to the bathroom in the corner of the dorm. When I pass through the doorway, the door closes and latches. I flash Noah a confused look.

"What are you-"

"Do you know why I'm so angry, Cleo," he asks and I find myself shaking my head, backing to the door as he crowds me. I can feel the doorknob digging into my back. I let out a shaking breath as Noah gets closer.

"I'm angry because I loved you. I wanted you. And you picked Newt instead." He says "Newt" like the name is poison in his mouth. I shake my head.

"It was always him, it had been before I met you, I didn't pick him instead, I was already in love with him. I came in here to apologize, but I think I better leave you alone with your temper until you can chill."

The words spill from my mouth before they register in my mind. In hindsight, I probably should have chosen my words differently. Noah laughs menacingly and puts a hand on the side of my face, caressing my cheek. I pull away, but he grabs a fistful of my hair and forces me to look at him. My fingers search for the doorknob to escape, but the door is supposed to open inward and Noah has me pressed against it, I'll have to get some room before I can pull it open. 

"Oh, Cleo. Don't you see? I could have loved you. But you've clearly made your decision, so I guess I'll have to kill you after all."

My breath catches at that last part, my hand releases the knob and I try to get him to loosen his grip on my hair, digging my fingernails into the flesh on his arm. He bares his teeth and spins me around, bringing my head down on the porcelain of the sink. My vision grows cloudy, but adrenaline keeps me conscious. I slump to the floor, eyes closed and I sense Noah hovering over me. He leans over me, I can feel his breath on my face, warm blood sticking to my face from where my eyebrow split on impact. 

"Such a shame," Noah mutters, but before he can do anything, I open my eyes and kick hard between his legs, rendering him defenseless and crawl backward on my hands and feet to get past him and to the door. I turn the knob and yank open the door, stumbling out into the dorm and gripping one of the bunks for support.

"Cleo," someone shouts and I feel strong arms around my waist, keeping me from collapsing. I look up to meet Minho's concerned eyes. I blink slow, trying to stay awake against the heavy weight of my head and eyelids. Thomas cups my face in his hands and shakes it back and forth to help with the effort and I manage to overcome the wave of dizziness, slapping Thomas's hands away and standing up on my own two feet.

"It's Noah," I slur, pointing into the bathroom. "He attacked me."

Someone pushes past into the bathroom and I hear scuffling. I press two fingers to my eyebrow and look around the corner through the doorway to see Newt dragging Noah out by his hair and he throws him onto the floor in front of my feet. Noah groans, curling into a ball. 

"You beat the shank real good by the looks of it," Minho complements and I nod, looking down at the crumpled form whimpering in front of me.

"I took a cheap shot," I mutter back, earning a small laugh from Minho. Newt doesn't look even the least bit impressed by Minho's sense of humor.

"This isn't a joking matter," he says, his accent thickening with each word. "We've got a traitor in the group and we need to decide what to do with him.

Just as the last words come out of Newt's mouth, someone shouts from the onlooking group.

"Janson's here!" 

And so it begins.