The First Gladers; Into the Scorch

Chapter 8: Starving

 "We have to get out of here, we have to find Teresa." Thomas states, "We escaped Wicked before, we can do it again."

Winston shakes his head from the corner of the room, "Don't you see? We never escaped! This was part of their plan all along. Maybe Gally was right, we should've stayed in the Glade."

Thomas spins on his heal to face Winston, rage burning in his eyes. "Oh yeah? You want to side with Gally, after what he did to Chuck!?"

"That wasn't his fault, he was aiming for you! I almost wish the stupid kid wouldn't have saved your shuck life!" Winston retorts.

Thomas's jaw clenches just before he lunges at Winston, pushing him to the ground with the sheer force of his rage. The fight lasts a total of 2 seconds before Minho and Newt rip the two boys apart.

"Are you out go your bloody mind!?" Newt exclaims, griping Thomas's shoulders, forcing him to face him. "We need to stick together. We're all just as confused as the next person and we need to keep our heads on straight."

"Oh yeah?" Thomas responds, "Tell that to Winston."

"I'm just speaking the truth!" Winston exclaims from Minho's iron grip.

"Is that really what you believe?" You ask solemnly, silencing the room. "Do you really believe all of that was nothing? We have come too far, we have grown too strong to let this defeat us. We're better than this, you two are better than this. We would've died if we stayed in the Glade. At least now we still have a fighting chance. Yeah, Wicked really shucked us up, wouldn't it be rude of us not to return the favor?"

You pause, searching the eyes of the boys around you, "Let's play their little game. We'll escape again. Then we'll show them what we're made of. Now, let's look around. There has to be some sort of clue as to what is going on." You instruct.

The boys move to explore, nodding respectfully as they pass in front of you.

"What would we do without you?" Newt asks from beside you.

You chuckle, "I'm sure you would manage just fine. It's like the tattoo on your neck says, you're the Glue. You're really the one holding us all together." You add, smiling encouragingly at him as you wonder off to find some sort of clue as to what is going on.

To your disappointment you find absolutely nothing, neither does anyone else. The room had indeed changed. You must've come into the building somehow, yet now there are no doors. The cafeteria is sealed completely except for the two bedrooms. And where a window once resided in the boy's room, now a back wall sits completely sealing you and your friends from the outside world. Even worse than that, there is no food and the only water around comes from the sinks. If you don't find a way out soon, you're going to die of starvation.

 Three days. Three awful, disgusting, miserable days. Hunger tears at your stomach like a ravenous monster. It hollows you out from the inside, reminding you every second that you're starving. Water, at this point is the only thing keeping you alive. Every hour you slump out of bed and trudge over to the sink to drink. Once you've had enough, you shuffle back into bed. Your frustration and anger levels are soaring through the roof. You can't even look at Minho anymore without getting mad at him. You know that there's no logical reason to be angry, he did absolutely nothings wrong, yet in this state the mere sight of his face or the sound of his snores angers you to a boiling point.

You stopped talking to the boys yesterday as the effort wore you out. Your muscles cringe with every attempted movement. Even the simple action of rolling over in bed sends a sharp shooting pain through your head.

Occasionally Newt will mope past your bed on his way to the sink. Oddly enough he's been the most aggravatable. Every little noise, every complaint, every person gets on his nerves, except you for some reason. Anytime his trudges past your bed he grabs your hand and squeezes it before walking away. You never respond, you're not really sure how to. But it fills your insides with joy like a balloon, and for that one second, you forget your hunger, it's almost as if it disappears. Yet as he walks away, the hunger returns even worse than before, leaving you both excited and dreading the next time Newt comes around.

The boys walk around like zombies in a daze. Their eyes have become sunken hollow holes as their heads hang low, the occasional groan of misery escaping their lips. You can just barely see their ribs poking through their baggy shirts. You burry your face in your pillow as the sight of them is a reminder of how real the pain is. You can't simply ignore it, it's all around you, it's inside of you, creeping into your mind and taking control of your thoughts.

All of a sudden, a strange buzzing sound emerges from the main room of the cafe. You sit up slowly, wincing as if the movement burns 10,000 calories that you don't have. The sound is familiar... almost like the first night. As the sound grows louder it becomes identical to the one you hear the first time the rooms changed. Something's happening.

Shakily, you crawl out of bed, every fiber of your being is screaming at you to simply lay down and die as pain sears inside your stomach. A glance to the right reveals Newt next to you, walking sluggishly toward the cafe. Instinctively you link arms with him, and together you make your way to the common room.

You use all of your remaining strength not to fall to your knees in tears at the sight. A mound of food sits where rows of tables once lay. All sorts of simple foods, fruits and crackers and breads. 

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

 John 1:5