Conflicted

chapter 8

I woke up with the sun just starting to rise into another miserable day. I yawned and stretched, rolling over. Thomas was already awake, his gaze set somewhere in the distance. I put my hand on his wrist, and he looked at me with a strange longing.

"Good morning," I sighed, staring into his dark eyes.

I couldn't place what color they were, they seemed black but not pitch black, maybe with a tinge of brown or some other color.

"Good morning," he said back, grabbing my wrist.

"Enough with the lovey-dovey stuff, come look at this!" I had no idea who said that, until I realized Newt was standing outside, looking at a plaque on the wall. Thomas sighed and let go.

"What is it?" Thomas asked, curiosity filling his voice.

"It's a sign. But look what it says," Newt said, pointing.

"Wha-" Thomas' sentence was cut short as he stared, dumbfounded.

I stayed back, already knowing the five words on the sign. In big, bold letters, it said "Thomas, you're the real leader." Thomas probably would've stayed there if the sound of a gun loading didn't break the silence.

"Hey there," someone said.

I looked down the alley, startled by the sudden noise. Three Cranks, not completely Gone, stood there. All with weapons. The one who spoke was the menacing one. He held a rusty gun straight at my face.

"You wanna come to the club with us?" the girl asked, her voice polite but full of menace. Thomas and Newt stepped into sight, seeing the threat.

"Um, no thanks, we have to, uh-" Thomas started.

"Report back to our leader," I finished for him.

"You must of not understood my question. Do you want to come to the club? You don't turn down an invitation to the club," the girl hissed again, her voice just plain menace now. I looked at Newt and Thomas, and they shrugged. We didn't have a choice then.

They escorted us into the unseen place in the alleyway, making us do the "special knock." They had reassured us none of the Cranks here were half-past the Gone, but you never know. A tall Crank opened the door, showing us inside.

"Welcome Thomas, Newt, Brenda!" he said.

"How-"

"We've been watching you all night," he responded before the question even left Thomas' lips.

The fact that they were watching us sent shivers down my spine. The three Cranks kept the gun pressed against my back, like I was the threat. They forced us to dance, and before Newt could protest, he was whisked off by some drunk lady.

Unexpectedly, Thomas pulled me into his arms and started swaying to the beat. He whispered into my ear, "Better do what they say."

I nodded and rested my head on his shoulder. If we played the part of lovers, maybe they wouldn't try and kill us off. Or they could just kill both of us.

"Here , drink this," the Crank who welcomed us said, handing us cups filled with liquid.

It was brown. In my head, I was like, why is he giving us shit water? Thomas was about to decline, but he repeated the sentence more forcefully. I felt the pressure of the gun in my lower back. Without a second thought, I swallowed the water in two gulps. Thomas followed. And just like that, my vision went black. Again.