Left Behind//The Maze Runner

S E V E N T E E N

We zoom through the mountains, the sun breaking just above the tips. Its rays peak over the mountain, making the sky look a beautiful pink and purple–cotton candy barely being able to compete with the vibrance.

We took Marcus' old truck, Bertha, that way the Right Arm guys wouldn't notice two of their trucks missing and go to Vince. I guess the Right Arm souped up the truck to make it more combat-ready.

The seat in the middle of the first row is gone and replaced by a center console. Jorge's driver-side window has a bulletproof covering and the window itself is completely gone. The ram horns on the front are gone and the back exterior cover was replaced by a fabric covering. 

My head is leaning against the window frame of the back window–which is also completely gone–and my pack is resting on the floor in front of me. I stare out the window, watching the world wake up and the scenery pass by.

Brenda dozed off a while ago in the front seat, her head on the window frame as well. She lets out soft snores, a bit of drool running down her chin. I can't help but let out a soft giggle at the sight.

"Hey Jorge!" I call, looking from the sky to the grey-haired man.

"Yes, hermana?" He asks, looking at me through the rearview mirror.

"The song you played to blow up your warehouse, what was the name?" The song is playing again on the radio in his car, it also hasn't left my mind since the Scorch. I loved the sound of it and how old it felt.

"Walking After Midnight!" Jorge says, a smile spreading on his face as he moves his eyes back to the road. "It's an older song from when my grandparents were your age."

"Oh, I really liked it!" I say, a smile growing wide on my lips. "How'd you know about it?"

"It was my Abuela's favorite song. She would play it all the time and I grew to love it. She would always dance around the kitchen with me. Before she died and before the Solar Storms, she gave me the vinyl and It's always been the song to remind me of her!"

A smile grows wide on my lips at the thought of a younger Jorge dancing around with his grandma. I lay my head back on the window and drift off to sleep with the images of them singing and dancing around my mind.

• • •

A loud crashing sound rings out around the car, causing me to awaken with a jolt. My eyebrows furrow as I look through the windshield, a large tunnel standing ominously in front of us.

"What the hell?" Brenda asks, the two of us exchanging a confused glance.

The tunnel entrance is huge, almost big enough for a train to fit through. It's surrounded by two large walls. Each wall is smothered in dirt and ivy, decorated with multiple washed-out signs, all of them warning incomers about the Flare Outbreak and the symptoms of each stage. The sign above the tunnel entrance reads "Flare Infection Checkpoint".

"Well, if the boys were hoping to get to the city, they'd definitely gone through this," Jorge says as he inches the truck forward.

"What's in there?" I ask, my eyes moving around the checkpoint as we slowly enter.

Screaming echoes through the space ahead, a chill running down my spine at the sound. What the hell made that?! Cranks join in the screeching, answering my question, shots firing off like fireworks after.

"Well, I think we just found the boys..." Jorge sighs, stepping on the gas pedal, the truck jolting forward. "Hold on!"

My hands move to grip the seat under me, my hold so tight my knuckles begin to turn white. The walls of the tunnel zoom past as we drive forward, the sounds getting closer and closer.