TST: Searching In The Scorch :Sequel to The Maze In Her Heart: ✔ (UNDER EDITING)

Chapter 1: Cranks.

I stare up at the ceiling, hands clasped right below my chest. Every second that passes, I feel as if it passes like an hour. Every noise I hear causes me to shoot up, clutching the blankets to my chest. The other girls were most likely just as restless as I was, but were remaining still. 

Sitting on the bottom bunk let me glance out the window. The room was all white and pale, as were the curtains that shifted. The window was open, only covered by large, metal bars, like we were in a jail cell. Through large slabs of metal revealed the moon, bright in the sky, that stretched in an endless ocean of blue ink. My eyes fluttered. The dawn of sleep was beginning to take over. Soon, I'd fall into a restless fit of sleep I won't be able to shake. 

I flatten myself against the pillow and try to recall the events of earlier. Everything happened in a blur- being rushed from the bus and into the building, the mass of masked men, Newt's lolling head, the blood from his wound, the uncertainty of everything. THe girls has been rushed into one room, and the boys into another. The doors locked, and the halls fell silent. As far as Marie was concerned, she was supposed to sleep, but being separated from her friends made her uneasy. 

Was Newt being treated to at this moment? What were the others doing? What were they thinking? 

I shake my head, grab a pillow, and hug it. I try to imagine it's Newt, and that every shift I make is his heart beat, and soon, I feel myself lull. My eyes begin to close, and as soon as I slip into unconsciousness, there's a scream. 

Not a scream from a night terror, or a split second scare. It was a scream that caused my blood to run cold. For a second, the woman screaming sounded exactly like those who had been stung- Ably, Chuck, and even myself. 

        I jump from my bunk, the top narrowly missing my head, looking around. The world goes in slow motion, and I can't comprehend most of what's going on in front of me. I grasp for the wall, bracing against it. 

A figure jumps down from the top bunk- Minnie, with her famous bedhead. She must've been out good, deep in sleep, because as soon as she hit the ground, she crumpled. I give a groan of confusion, reaching up to cover my ears instinctively. Despite the rays of moonlight giving the room a silver sheen, it was still too dark to understand what was going on. 

"Who is screaming?" I shout over the screams. 

Minnie rises to her feet, grips the ladder, and groans to herself. We look around. My eyes are beginning to adjust, but in small patches. The lights behind the door haven't turned one at all. There was no way that the masked men couldn't hear the screams. 

I walk to the door and jangle the handle, knowing it already wouldn't work. "Shuck!" I shout, resting my forehead against the door. 

As soon as they came, however, the screams stopped abruptly, as if the source was stifled. I lift my head slowly, the cool metal feeling on my forehead ebbing. 

I turn to look at Minnie, who was alert now. She stoof defensively, fists slightly clenched. "Who was that?" She asks, and I give a shrug. I honestly didn't have an answer to give her. It was either Samm, or Roxie. However, as I glanced up to the top bunk, I saw Roxie was missing. Samm, on the bottom bunk, was sitting up and rubbing her temple.

"Sammantha, where's Roxie?" I say. The redhead gives a small exhale, and looks up. In the moonlight, her eyes look wide and brown, baleful. 

"I have no clue... I-I heard the screaming and assumed that someone was having a nightmare." 

"That sure as shuck didn't sound like a scream from a nightmare." Minnie snapped, her own fingers pressed to her temples. I look over, and hold out my hand to her to calm her. 

"There's no need to get into any cat fights. We have to stay calm." I say, moving to stand in front of my twin. 

Minnie glares on. "Do you know what this means? We're not safe! We leave that maze and as soon as we do, something else happens. I mean, we can't even get a night of rest!" She was near yelling now, cheeks flushing rose. 

I didn't need to hear Minnie yell to know she was stressed, but seeing it made the situation seem all the more real. I swallow hard, gripping the insides of my palms so hard it might have drew blood. 

"Yeah, and we don't even know where the boys are." Samm said, almost as if whining. 

"We don't need any boys, okay? Who we need is Roxie, and she's missing! And I'm gonna take a wild guess and assume she was the one screaming." I fell silent as I glanced over at the window. Something had snuck up in the panic, and two scabbed hands gripped the metal bars the boxed the window.

The curtains are swept away from gust of wind. 

All three of us stumble back, and I reach for the handle again. My hand grasps it and jangles it again, adding another metal shaking sound to the air. The hands gave the bars a squeeze before pulling up their owner. I could only see from where I was standing was the cracked skin, divots snaking across the persons face, and blood running down their chin and lips like waterfalls. 

The person glanced at us, eyes as dark and wide as rain puddles. It gave the metal bars a shake, and shuddered itself. From it's mouth came droplets of red, fresh blood as it spat out,

        "I'm a crank!"