Conflicted

chapter 1

It was just like any other day in the Scorch. Hot, dry, and utterly miserable. I stepped onto the main floor of the building we had established as our base. Jorge was there, dividing the Cranks in our group into small teams for scouting.

"Late start, compadre?" Jorge asked, barley glancing over his shoulder.

I just grunted in response. I was sure I was going to rot in this horrible place, either from madness or one of the many dangerous infected humans that roamed this ruined city.

Jorge came up to me as the scouting teams left.

"I have a special task for you, chica," Jorge said, pulling me aside.

"What do you want me to do?" I asked curiously. Last time he had wanted me to explore the Underneath-the complex underground system that laid beneath the city-further for more hidey holes. Barely made it out of that alive.

"I want you to secure the perimeter of the building, maybe everything within a two mile radius. We want our base to be secure," Jorge said, "We don't want to be taken over, not in these times."

"Sure, Jorge," I agreed. I was basically Jorge's right hand man, or girl, in that case.

I took a backpack and filled it with a can or two of food, a flashlight, and my ever-trusty knife. I knew I wasn't going far, but better be safe than sorry. By the time I set off, it was late afternoon, maybe four of five. It was hard to tell, since dark storm clouds had covered the sun. I was thankful, since our water supply was dwindling.

I started to the right of the building, since it was on the edge of the city, all that was to the left was desert. The building next to ours looked like a monster had run through it, there was barley anything left. I stepped into the building, and stopped and listened, as you could never be too careful. Nothing.

Once I had the right side secured, I set off for the left side. This would be easy, since it was only desert and debris. It started pouring by the time I got there, but I didn't mind. I felt like a caged-up animal anyways, covered in filth. Sifting through the wreckage, I picked up the sound of hissing, like smoke. I looked farther into the desert, and saw the lightning. And lots of it.

Figuring I should probably go inside, I decided against it, deciding I was far enough away from the immediate storm for me to search and secure the rest of the perimeter. By the time I had searched all the wreckage, the lightning had become closer.

I was about to set off, until I saw movement. Human movement. From what I could make out through the pounding rain, they were all boys and there was about eleven of them, give or take a few. Feeling the odd urge to help them, I froze, not knowing if I could trust them. I turned my back to them, until I heard a scream. The next thing I knew, a hand was clamped over my mouth and my arms and legs were being held by someone. Then everything was black.