A5 // The Scorch Trials

Chapter 1

(Y/N) awoke from her peaceful sleep because of yelling and shifting of the people around the helicopter. The guard was doing the most yelling, shouting orders to the Gladers as they approached their destination, which was a lot closer than (Y/N) would have liked. She still didn't even know what was happening.

"As soon as I open these doors, you run as fast as you can and don't look back!" The guard commanded all of the Gladers, the most stable ones nodding in answer.

Newt, who was still lying under (Y/N) as a pillow, noticed she had woken up and brushed the hair from her face to gain her attention. "It's alright, love. They took us some place safe but getting there isn't easy. Just stay by me and everything will be fine, yeah?"

(Y/N) could only nod, her voice caught in the back of her throat until she was unable to speak. She peeked outside the cloudy window and could just barely make out the building they were heading towards. What really stood out was the gunshots being fired into the desert surrounding the building, animals (or at least what looked to be animals) collapsing as soon as the guard hit their target.

The helicopter hit the ground faster than any of the Gladers realized, some of them even toppling onto the kid beside them from the sheer hit. The guard reminded all of them of the plan before drawing open the doors, allowing the scorching desert air to fill the previously cold air.

Newt grabbed his girl's hand, dragging her out of the helicopter when he noticed she was a little paralyzed when she looked around the desert. The pair ran as quick as their limps could carry them as they followed the trail of Gladers also running in the same direction towards a large door left open specifically for them, or so they were told.

The group crossed the line into the building just moments before the doors sealed behind them, allowing everyone to finally breathe in another breath of cold air contrasting against the hot air outside. As nice as the air felt, this place didn't feel any bit like home as it was filled with a hundred crates and boxes, each with their own objects inside that the Gladers didn't know about.

"You kids must be hungry." A women's voice caught all of them by surprise, causing each of them to dart their heads towards the sound. A tall woman walked confidently toward them, a white coat covering the nice blue dress she was wearing. There was a clipboard in her hand and she just finished checking something off when she glanced at all the Gladers, her lipstick colored lips curled in a genuine smile as she saw their terrified faces. "Don't worry, kids. We are here to do everything we can to make sure you are all safe and never to be touched by WICKED again."

"You know about WICKED?" Minho was already showing how skeptical he was of this place and unfortunately, he took it out kind of harshly on the poor woman.

However, she seemed unfazed when she nodded. "We are the group who rescues the kids WICKED have stolen and take them somewhere safe." She glanced behind her before continuing. "I will explain everything in a minute, kids. For now, I figured you all would be very hungry from your escape and would want some food. How does that sound?"

"Very buggin' good right now," Frypan chuckled, speaking for the entire group.

The woman smiled brightly again. "Good. Then if you all would follow me."

The woman, whose name they had yet to learn, led them through multiple passageways to bring them to this food she spoke of. The building reminded (Y/N) similarly to the maze with all of its complicated twists and turns.

She opened the door and locked it shut once all of the Gladers were inside. While that should have been a red flag, the Gladers were too overjoyed to see the table ahead of them overflowing with an array of many different foods. Frypan was the first one to move, calling out something about wanting all the mashed potatoes and then everyone else ran forward.

Normally, the kids had enough manners to know to fill up their plates before they ate but they were too starved to even bother, most of them picking up the delicious item and eating it with their hand under their mouth like a bib. That half an hour of eating was the most fun they had had in weeks and once they were all stuffed, they found a comfortable spot somewhere around the room where they could wait for further instructions.

The Gladers felt they had been waiting for hours before someone entered the room, a skinny looking man with a scowl permanently etched onto his face. The kids in the room all walked towards the door but kept their distance as they eyed the creepy man in front of them.

"You kids doing alright?" His voice matched his unsettling appearance perfectly, causing (Y/N) to shudder behind Newt.

"Who are you?" Thomas stood at the front of the group, putting up the illusion that all of them were just as brave and fearless as he looked.

The man in front eyed him momentarily before his scowl fell into a fake grin. "My name is Janson. I am the head of operations here."

"You look more like a rat-man to me," Minho commented, which soothed a few of the more nervous Gladers.

The "rat-man", as Minho had just addressed him, didn't seem bothered by the comment and instead began explaining everything the Gladers were wondering. He led them through the building just like the woman before had done, only this time he was less caring about where he took them, forcing some of them to jump out of the way when a power tool began a little too close to where they were walking.

"Soon, we'll get you kids squared away, but first: let's get you all cleaned up." A different woman came from behind the Gladers and handed Janson a clipboard. "If the two young women would follow my colleague here, we'll get everyone on their—"

"Um they're not going anywhere," Thomas spoke over Janson as soon as he heard that the girls would be going somewhere else.

Janson glared at Thomas, shocked that he would even have the nerve to argue with him over something he believed to be so miniscule. "It is procedure for the girls to be separated from the boys when it comes to freshening up. Wouldn't want anything to happen when no one's looking?"

(Y/N) shivered in place, disliking the way Janson smirked when he said that last sentence. It was disgusting and drove her to cling into the back of Newt's shirt for dear life.

"The girls are staying with us even if it goes against your procedure," Newt argued, spite in his voice at the thought of being separated from his girl. "They stay with us and that's final."

"It'll be okay." Teresa surprised the group when she said this. They figured she would be just as insistent as the others were about everyone staying together. Teresa looked between (Y/N) and Thomas. "It'll be okay. (Y/N) and I will be together and we'll find you guys as soon as we're done. There's nothing to be worried about."

All eyes seemed to turn to (Y/N) considering she was half of the group being led off to somewhere different. Newt had spun around and gazed down at his girl, waiting for an answer. He trusted her so whatever she decided, they would go through with. It was the intimidating scowl of Janson's face that got her to cave in.

"Okay. We'll go and you'll bring us right back to the boys as soon as we're done right?"

Janson nodded, his lips curling into a smirk hidden under a painfully fake smile. "Certainly. Now, if you'll follow her."

(Y/N) moved forward, only to be stopped when Newt grabbed her and spun her into his chest, his lips brushing against her ear. To the Gladers, they could see him whispering in her ear, but to Janson, it looked as if he was simply hugging her goodbye.

"Don't worry, love. I'll find you as soon as I can. I love you," he whispered so quietly in her ear to be certain Janson couldn't hear. (Y/N) nodded and pressed a quick kiss to his lips before following the woman aforementioned.

Newt watched her the entire way down the hall until she turned a corner where he couldn't see her anymore. This had been the first time Newt was apart from (Y/N) where he had no idea where she was, and he absolutely hated it.