SOJOURNER (III): tmr gally

14: I should hit her

Dawn 14

"We checkin' out this building?" I ask, gesturing to one just a couple hundred metres from ours.

Everyone else has already begun to scope the area, pairing off into groups off three. Leo and I were the only one's paired off in two, each with one of the leaders. At this point, we are down to seventeen, so there was no logical reason to have two groups of two, one group of four, and three groups of three. Let me tell you, it was not done as a vote of confidence.

"Seems this spots ours," Sonya agrees, staring the building down.

We stalk over, our feet trudging in the sand. The sun is heavy above us, but I don't mind. Honestly, it's better than the tunnel.

The building is massive. It's three floors, which means it outnumbers us. There aren't any windows either, so it's difficult to get a glimpse inside. Sonya stops short of the doorway, staring up in front of us. I watch her swallow. She wipes sweat and honey-coloured hair out of her eyes. Geez, I bet Leo wouldn't even be this nervous.

"Got any weapons?" I ask, looking her up and down.

She nods, reaching her hand into her backpack. She hands me a knife. It's got a short shinning blade, and a heavy plastic handle. It feels weighted wrong, although I'm not used to working with knives. I don't like close range, but I'll go for this. I've taken on Grievers with less.

Sonya takes an arrow out of her quiver, pulling her bow up in front of her. At least she has a weapon she is used to using. Thankfully I don't have that shucking thing.

"You think there will be Cranks?" She asks me, her eyes fixing on the heavy metal door that waits in front of us.

Honestly, I don't even worry about Cranks. They are scary enough without me dwelling on them. Apparently, we are all doomed to become them anyway. Why fear the inevitable? I will worry when my fate bothers me.

"Could be," I shrug gently. "It's not like we couldn't take them though."

Sonya nods, accepting this reality. We move in, poising ourselves on either side of the door. She nods towards me, gesturing for my move.

"I'll open it on three," I offer, turning to face her. My hand wraps itself around the metal handle. There is the possibility it might be bolted shut. Either nothing happens now, or we run into our deaths. My heart flutters in my chest.

Sonya nods up and down. "Sounds good to me."

"One..." I count, "two... three!"

I rip the door open, stretching my knife forward. There is a crowd gathered in the centre of the room, illuminated by the high windows coming from the back of the building. The space, although a vast empty warehouse, feels constricting.

Fry-pan turns to face me. I drop my knife on the ground, and it echoes against the harsh concrete.

"Oh shuck," he says.

A few heads turn around to stare at me. I stumble into the room, Sonya close behind me. A few boys turn to stare at me, and I realise they have knives, shovels, and other weapons pointed at them. None of them are Minho.

I even see Doug, unharmed.

It was Minho who caught on fire during the storm, not some other Asian guy. I feel my heart sink into my hands.

"She's alive," Newt gasps.

Sonya grabs my hand, pulling me backwards. I tense my legs to try and stop her from pulling us out. Even though Minho is gone, I can't leave. These are my friends. I try to shake out of her grip, turning to face her and the doorway.