ᴜɴᴇxᴘᴇᴄᴛᴇᴅ

Crank attack

[Y/N P.O.V]

Clanging came from the end of the corridor, animalistic wailing echoing. Swiftly, I pushed myself onto my feet, breaking out into a sprint, boots making the dust fly up behind me.

Dashing closer to an opening, I kept my view forwards, going as fast as I could. Crunching from my left, a past the gone human jumped on me, dragging me down with a thump. Struggling underneath it, I kicked and punched, trying to pry it off. It snapped its teeth, fingers popping to claw at my skin, the sickening smell of rotting flesh making me gag. Cracking, the creature fell to the floor. Instantly scrambling up, I was face to face with Winston and Frypan.

"Thanks", I spoke breathles, eyes wide.

"No problem", held his arm out, a metal bow gripped in his fist, "we got this for you".

Smiling, I gratefully took it, Frypan giving me a sack of about 20 arrows, "We better find the others".

••••

Finding our way back to where he entered, the rest of the group was together, panicked expressions on their faces.

Newt dashed over to me, grabbing m shoulders, "what's happening?".

The screams of Thomas and Minho erupted, telling us to run. As they neared, screeching followed behind. Backing up, I twisted around, sprinting yet again. Up at the front, I lead the way to a large area, an escalator positioned in the middle. I can't remember what a mall looked like but I'm pretty sure they looked better than this. Ripping a plastic sheet from the base of the mechanical steps, I made my way up. Now at the top, I helped people up, the group together all except one boy.

"Thomas, come on!", I yelled at the boy, a crank pulling on his legs.

Desperately, he tried to kick it off yet the creature wasn't giving up easily, dragging him down. Snatching an arrow from my back, I placed it onto the string, drawing it back. Concentrating, I felt the stick graze my cheek as I released it, a perfect shot to the cranks head.

"Shit, Y/N", Newt murmured, wide-eyed.

Thomas scrambled towards us, another gaggle of cranks bursting through a shop window. Wasting no time, we took off.

Turn after turn, we came to a cluster of doors at the end of a hallway. Testing each one to see if they would open, Frypan crossed a loosely locked one. Repeatedly hitting it with his shoulder, the small metal slowly cracked from the pressure. Winston kept the cranks at bay with a gun, knocking them down like pins. Abruptly, the door swung out, the Gladers shooting through it. Winston fired a couple more times before jumping out, the creatures gripping onto his stomach. Grabbing his arms, Minho tried to free him, the boys screams of pain rattling my skull. Tugging harder, he finally fell to the ground, pressing a hand to his wound as he stumbled up.

Watching while they took off running, I slammed my back up against the door, containing the cranks inside. Thomas was next to me, grunting at the force, feet slipping underneath him.

"Thomas, go!", I ordered over the wails.

"I'm not leaving without you!", he answered, grabbing my hand tightly, "run on three!".

Nodding, I held my breath as he counted the numbers. On hearing the signal to leave, I used my remaining strength to sprint. Bursting through the barricade, the cranks shrieking, trying to catch up. Hands still clasped together, Thomas and I entered the scorch, coughing from the sudden gust of sandy wind.

Rubble from a fallen down building lay in front of us, concrete and bricks. Popping up from a ledge, Newt waved his torch, white light bright in the night. Dashing over, we slid under the shelter, the group squashed together. Fingers wrapped around Thomas's, I rested my head on his chest, panting hard. Legs aching, I waited until the last scream of a crank sounded to close my eyes and fall into a peaceful sleep.

[Thomas P.O.V]

Sunlight pried my eyes open, my back aching from sitting up all night. Blinking a couple of times, I went to move, only to realise Y/N was still asleep. Her H/C hair was lightly draped over her forehead, my hand gently moving it out the way. The warmth from her kept my chest warm and her hand in mine was comforting. Y/N had an effect like that. Even when the whole world is ending, being with her gives me a sliver of hope, like we will survive this. Not to mention she is a complete badass with her bow. A ghost of a smile haunted my lips while I admired her, the girl stirred, lids peeling back to reveal her sparkling E/C orbs.

[Y/N P.O.V]

Awaking slowly, my face was met with Thomas's, the corners of his mouth twitching into a smile. Sitting up, I was surprised to realise that we were still alive. The others were also coming back to reality, stretching out their limbs. Winston hissed in pain, fingers curling from the deep scratches the cranks gave him. I shuffled to my feet, Thomas helping me up as he also stood. Digging around in his bag, I found some bandages. Clasping them, I crouched down next to the injured boy, pouring some water over the cuts. He gripped my arm, gritting his teeth.

"Hey, Winston, look at me", I said calmly, "you're gonna heal and you're gonna make it, okay?".

All the poor boy could do was nod while I wrapped his stomach, making sure to be soft and gentle. Once done, I straightened out my legs, starting to walk away. A hand captured mine, my head whipping back to see Winston with a grateful expression.

"Thankyou, Y/N", he croaked.

I smiled at him, trying to keep the thoughts of losing another friend out of my mind. Letting his arm drop down, I returned to my original spot, picking up my bow and arrows.

"Where do we go now?", Newt asked.

"To the Right Arm", Thomas replied, pointing towards the distance.