Scorched // Thomas (The Scorch Trials)

XII

They managed to escape and Brenda sat down to check her leg. Thomas turned. "You alright?"

Brenda lifted up her pants. "Shit."

"Brenda..."

"Yeah, yeah. I know. Let's just go find Marcus."

They walked into the open and Brenda said, "Okay. Try to blend in."

Thomas noticed a mom and son holding hands, vaguely remembering his mom who was probably long gone.

The two of them came upon a building that looked like a hotel and Thomas asked, "Are you sure this is the place?"

"You here for the party?" A woman asked from behind them.

"Uh, no." Brenda said. "We're looking for Marcus. This is his place, isn't it?"

"This is my place." A man said, leading them to a taller man dressed in a purple velvet blazer.

"Are you Marcus?" Thomas asked.

"Marcus doesn't live here anymore." The man answered.

"Do you know where we can find him?" Brenda questioned.

"Sure, sure. He's over in Zone B."

"What's Zone B?" Thomas asked.

"It's where they burn the bodies." The woman said, stroking Thomas' shoulder. He frowned, missing Ariella's touch. He hoped she was safe.

"Okay, look, has anyone else been by here...looking for him? Group of kids around our age? They had two girls with them. Dark hair and blonde hair."

"You know..." The man said. "I think they might be inside." He held up a vial of something green. "Here. Drink this."

"What is it?"

"The price of admission. Drink it!"

Brenda drank it and Thomas hesitated. The woman held it up and he felt the liquid going down his throat. "Alright. You two enjoy the party."

They walked in and Thomas could feel his senses being dulled. He felt like he was walking on clouds. He vaguely heard Brenda telling him not to drink anything else. He saw a Crank.

He saw his companion. "Brenda?"

"They're not here."

"Okay, well...we should keep looking."

"Why? We couldn't find the Right Arm anyway. Not without Marcus. Your friends are gone. It's over. It's just us now. Just try and relax. Let go." Brenda said, stepping dangerously close to him.

"How?"

"Like this." She kissed him and it felt wrong.

He opened his eyes and saw Ariella. He stepped back and Brenda asked, "What?"

"You're not her." He answered.

Brenda walked off and Thomas started to follow her. "Brenda."

He saw Newt turned into one of those creatures and saw Grievers before he passed out.

He found himself in the lab and saw Ariella and Teresa. They looked at him and Teresa said, "Hey."

"Hey. Did anyone see you come here?"

Teresa shook her head. "No, what are you talking about?"

"We don't have a lot of time."

"They're close." Ariella whispered.

Teresa frowned. "Thomas, Ariella, what's wrong?"

He met her eyes. "We just had to see you..." He looked at both of them. "...and just try to explain things before..." He saw a man in black walk past. "Oh, no."

He pushed Teresa against a wall and gripped Ariella's hand tightly. "Just listen to me, okay? Whatever they tell you about us, whatever they say, I just need you to know we had to do it. Okay?"

Teresa frowned. "What did you two do?"

"I couldn't keep watching them die."

"It's not right." Ariella said.

The man in black grabbed his arm, as well as Ariella's. "Over here! Come on."

"No!" Teresa cried, reaching for her friend.

He looked at Teresa. "I'm sorry."

Ariella nodded. "Incredibly."

"Thomas! Ariella!" Teresa screamed.