Scorched // Thomas (The Scorch Trials)

VIX

The group sat next to a fire they'd built and after awhile, Minho said, "I thought we were supposed to be immune."

"Not all of us, I guess." Teresa answered.

Newt had a nervous look in his eye as he replied, "If Winston can get infected...we should assume so can the rest of us."

Frypan spoke up. "I never thought I'd say it, but I miss the Glade."

Ariella glanced at him. "At least we were safe. Mostly."

The next morning, after some sleep, the group continued their trek through the desert. The mountains were looming closer, but they still had a ways to go.

When night fell, they huddled together in a circle and slept.

Thomas was having trouble sleeping and his eyes opened. He noticed what seemed to be a light. "Hey. Hey. Get up." He stood up. "Newt, get up. Come on, let's go. Frypan. Aris. Ari. I see something."

The group got up and Newt asked, "What is it? What..."

"You see that?" Thomas asked, pointing. "It's lights."

"We made it."

The sound of a storm brewing behind them caught their attention. Thomas said, "Let's go. We gotta go. Come on. Come on, let's go. Let's go!"

Once again, they ran through the desert to escape yet another threat trying to kill them.

A lightning strike knocked Minho to the ground. Thomas ran to investigate and Ariella turned back to the boys. "Minho's down! Help him!"

Two Gladers ran back to help Thomas with Minho. They entered the compound and shut the door behind them. It was pitch black.

Minho seemed to be dead and then let out a breath. The boys got him up while Teresa and Ariella looked around.

She screamed as a monster tried to reach for her. Newt pulled Ariella back just before the creature could get her.

Lights turned on and a girl with short hair walked up to them. "I see you've met our guard dogs." She smirked. "You guys look like shit. Come on. Follow me. Unless you want to stay here with them."

The Cranks continued growling and the girl led them to a room. She opened the door and they walked into a refugee camp. "Come on." The girl said. "Jorge wants to meet you."

"Who's Jorge?" Thomas asked.

The girl glanced back. "You'll see. No one's come out of the Scorch in a long time. You've just got him curious. And me, too."

The kids didn't know what to think. The girl gave them a weird vibe and neither of the kids knew what to think of the place. Ariella figured they could become valuable allies or dangerous enemies. Based on their current situation, she chose to go for the positive.

The girl led them up a flight of stairs and said to a dark man sitting down, "Jorge, they're here."

Jorge was trying to listen to a broadcast of some sort, but was clearly having no luck. He stood up and turned to the group. "Do you ever get the feeling the whole world's against you?" The Gladers shared a knowing look that it was. "Three questions. Where did you come from? Where are you going? How can I profit?" The kids remained silent. "Don't all answer at once."

"We're headed for the mountains." Thomas said after a moment.

Ariella nodded. "Looking for the Right Arm."

A laugh erupted from others at her words and Jorge said, "You're looking for ghosts, you mean. Question number two. Where did you all come from?"

"That's our business." Minho said.

One of Jorge's guys lunged at Thomas and forced his head down. "Get the hell off me! Get the hell off me, man!"

"Shut up, you big baby." The girl said.

"What is that?" Ariella demanded, feeling protective of Thomas.

"You were right." The girl said, giving Jorge the device.

"Right about what?" Thomas asked. "What is she talking about?"

"I'm sorry, hermano. Looks like you're tagged. You came from WICKED. Which means...you're very valuable."

Thomas could only hope that they didn't realize Ariella's true identity right away. As far as these people knew, she was just a random girl and not the daughter of the woman in charge.