Chapter Two: Like Your Life Depends On It

A/N: Alright alright! The intent was to come back to this once I wrote more than at least ONE chapter (to help with the updating and all) but I'm busy and that'll take a century. Haven't written the epilogue/my muse for this just yet but the ending is set in stone and man oh man are you guys in for a ride! Since they aren't confined in one setting, let's just say there's much more world building here. I can't wait to get to all the important bits! Now, onward!

Enjoy!

Perspective: Katherine

-x-x-x-

"Follow me and run like your life depends on it. Because it does."

-James Dashner

It looks like you made it to a road.

As delirious as you feel right now, you're fairly sure your walk hadn't gone in a U-shape. There's nothing visible down either ends of the path, and hopefully it's not the same road as the one the Port Hill transport had been taking.

"Elena," you call.

She answers with a stifled groan.

You glance at her, leaning the barely conscious girl at the base of a tree. You're far enough from this road that if anyone appears on it, they would never immediately spot you.

Just as you think it, the bright lights of a car zooms by; proving your estimate when it doesn't even bother to slow down.

You're relieved but also a bit disappointed.

"Hey," you cup your counterpart's cheek, patting it lightly.

Her lashes flutter but she doesn't make eye contact.

You lick your lips, feeling that concern you usually reserve for yourself creep up. It's different from a simple ask of whether she's okay. On the way here, you two had been holding conversation—not just for her sake, of course—but it's slowly dwindled down to muttered responses from the younger girl.

You hurt all over. You had no time to check yourself, so you have no idea what injuries that crash had given you, if at all, but Elena's are bad. That concussion takes the cake and if you don't find a way to get help, you can only think of the worst outcome.

You glance around again. There's no way you're going to let this be your end. Not after surviving prison, Sage, Isobel, and a bus crash of epic proportions.

"Hey, Elena."

You pat her cheek a little firmer and she blinks at you.

"Katherine," she mumbles. You're close enough to hear. "I don't feel so good."

You nod. She's already mentioned this but there's nothing you can do. Not out here.

She mutters something else but you're sure she isn't talking to you.

There's a bright light from your peripheral and you turn your head a bit too quickly as another car passes by, and briefly illuminates something across the street.

Taking a moment to shut your eyes, you see what caught your attention.

Even in this moonlight, you can spot a dirt path perpendicular to the road you're on.

You squint, glancing around the area. There's an owl hooting in the distance, a few crickets sounding, and all the noises you'd expect from the woods in the middle of the night. It makes your skin crawl.

Elena relaxes into one of the protruding roots of the tree and you realize that you have no idea what State you're in—if you even crossed borders—and the chances of another vehicle passing by is slim to none.

There's no way that you're planning on staying on the main road, lest the police run into you, but there is a chance that that unpaved road leads to somewhere useful.

A house. Or a few cabins. Anything is better than aimlessly walking around in circles between dark, ominous trees.

You move to stand but is tugged back by Elena's sudden death grip on your arm.

"W-Where are you going?" she asks.

You place a hand over hers, not sure if you can pull away from her spontaneously tight hold.

"There's a path on the other side of the highway. I'm going to check it out."

"By your—? No..."

She trails off, but you understand.

"Yes, by myself. I'll be quick."

"Katherine."

"Elena, you can barely stand," you state. The police should find the crash quickly, if they haven't already. Once they realize a good portion of their prisoners have made a run for it, they'll be scouring the forest faster than you'll be limping away. You need to find a vehicle. Something faster than your legs. "I'm just checking the area. I'll be right back."

"Wait. No," she shakes her head, "Just don't come ba—"

You scoff, cutting her off. "Fine. You're right. There's no point in going and coming back. We'll waste less time if we leave together."

She breathes your name in protest between a groan as you pull her up again.

"Elena, shut up," you admonish, eyeing the empty road. You'd say she should expect more from you than to just abandon her, but in all honesty, doing so would make escaping so much easier. You feel like you've been wandering in the dark for forever now and the limping around doesn't help. You expect the inevitable question of why you don't but she's too out of it to ask. "Save your energy. And maybe use it to help me walk. You're really cramping my shoulder and it's your turn to be the crutch."

It's not even a question of if she'll ask, because Elena always does. You'll cross that bridge when you get to it, or better yet, find a way to permanently close off that bridge and burn it down.

Some stones are better left unturned.

Elena clenches her teeth as you pull her up the slope to the paved road to cross it. The other side is leveled so you don't have to worry about going down another incline.

She takes your advice on not speaking.

You glance at her once more to make sure she's still conscious, before looking to the dirt road you'd been eyeing.

It's dark. Darker than the open highway, despite it's lack of streetlights.

You huff.

The possibility of some sort of safe haven prompts you forward.

-x-x-x-

"Welcome to Trentlake Conservation."

You only make the outlines of big titular letters on the entrance arch but you're sure that's what it reads.

Now, you're often labelled as a logical person. You don't like placing bets, and your plans are as precise and definite as facts. You aren't the type of person to place any faith in coincidences, but that path somehow led to the entrance of a regional camp area, and that's not something you can claim you willed into existence.

Despite the deteriorating "Closed. No Trespassing," sign, the rusted chain linked gates are wide open.

There are a few dimmed lights on the sides of the two small registration buildings you can see.

"Ominous…" Elena mumbles. Why would condemned property have lights turned on?

"No kidding."

Your eyes sweep across the area. The trek here had been a journey. You know this because you can feel the heat from the exertion; though, its not nearly as prominent as the cold crawl up your arm. If you had any other option, you wouldn't step foot into this place. Maybe it's the lights that indicate that someone is in but if you had any other choice, you're certain you'd turn back.

"We're going in there, aren't we?" Elena asks, also getting the creeps.

"If you know anything else around here, we won't have to."

You imagine Elena would've shaken her head if the action didn't hurt. You take her closed eyes as a clear "no."

Before going through the gates, you try to spot something to move towards. The door to the building? Some sort of storage box? A parked car? Unwelcoming squatters?

"There. I think…" Elena points.

On the far end, half covered by a small shed, is the tail end of an old rusted sedan.

You feel relief.

There's probably a key in it. Or at the very least, inside one of the two buildings.

"Shit," you mutter when you cross the lot, round the corner of the nearest building, and stand next to the car.

It's missing wheels.

"That's disappointing."

"Stay right where you are!"

You gasp. The startling voice comes from behind you.

"Turn around slowly," the voice demands. Cops already?

Why does it sound so familiar?

"Okay, wait," you hold up your free hand to show that you don't have anything dangerous. "Please. We're just passing by."

When you turn around, your hand drops and your brows furrow. It's a blonde. She's disheveled, but she holds a knife out in front of her with a firm grip. You've been in this situation before, but despite the gun you'd stuffed in your coveralls—given that you're shouldering another person—she has the advantage.

"Sierra," you name, just as someone else does.

"Sierra." There's someone behind said woman, holding the door of small shelter open. You'd be more alarmed if they weren't also wearing prisoner attire. "It's Katherine."

"I know," the blonde hisses, refusing to take her eyes off you

"What she's saying is: put that down before you hurt yourself," you say. Your tone is purposely condescending.

"Why don't I put you down?"

You step back with your hand already feeling the cold grip of the gun.

"Stop!" the second woman has moved up and she pulls Sierra away. "You're really going to commit murder just for kicks? What's the point?"

"The point? For all the times she's humiliated me in front of the entire block," her fingers tighten on the hilt. "Besides, I going to need the money."

"Unless you intend to go back, Block D is gone. And even if this is about the bounty on her head, do you really think the Pierces will give you a single penny if Katherine meets her demise in the middle of the woods?"

You raise a brow. As absurd as that sounds, it makes sense, and Sierra reluctantly agrees.

Her frown is deep, but she turns and walks into the building. The door shuts behind her, automatically.

You feel Elena glance at you with confusion.

Unlike her, you know this helpful woman personally. "I'd say thank you but…"

"You could've handled that on your own?" the woman's eyes are hard. "We all know how you handle situations."

You return the glare before breaking into a grin and holding out your free arm.

"I'm glad you aren't one of the casualties, Pearl."

"Hmm. You know I always collect my debts. You still owe me."

You shake your head, "Of course."

"Well, I'm glad you aren't dead either," she gives you a half hug, but then looking to Elena. "Is she okay?"

"I'm good."

"She really isn't," you correct. Pearl glances around before nodding behind her.

"Come on, lets get inside."

"I don't think it's a good idea to stay here," you say. You don't want to stay in one place too long. It isn't safe. And it doesn't help that it seems like it's the only place for miles. There's no doubt that this will be the first stop on the sheriff's list.

"We're working on a way out of here. Just bring her inside. Set her down," she offers. "Let me take a look."

You want to protest, but one look beside you and you know you have to take at least a second to rest.

"Alright," you nod, walking into the cabin as Pearl holds the door open. When you get inside you see Sierra kneeling beside another prisoner. She's unconscious.

The space is small and mostly empty. Pearl directs you to the opposite side as Sierra gets up to leave.

"I'm going to check on Lin," she tells the woman beside you. Pearl nods as she helps Elena sit on the floor.

Pearl Iwakura is a doctor. Granted, a Pharmacist but a doctor all the same. All in all, she had used that to her advantage in Port Hill, and against Isobel in particular.

You've learned how good Pearl is at her job, and just how adaptive the woman is, which is a combination that helped you decide to be her friend.

Pearl crouches in front of Elena, maneuvering her head so she can see.

"How are you feeling?" she begins, suggesting, "Any nausea? Dizziness? Ringing in your ears?"

You blink a few times and sigh, mentally answering her questions regarding yourself.

You shift on your feet.

"Yeah," is Elena's answer.

"Yeah? I'm going to need specifics, Elena. Yes, to which ones?"

"All… of the above?"

Pearl asks her a few more basic first-aid questions you don't listen to. Your attention is on your surroundings.

The unconscious woman, you recognize, was one of Sierra's neighbors in Port Hill. You don't linger on her but, like Elena, she's bleeding from her head.

There's a punctured corkboard by the door, a table, and an overturned chair on the floor. There's an open cash register near one of the mud-caked service windows, and there's shreds of paper scattered everywhere.

Of all the things you could find in the middle of a forest, an abandoned camp conservation shouldn't be as odd a finding as it feels. Like a sore thumb, this entire area is a sure stop for the cops.

You need to get out of here.

"What's the verdict, doc?" you nod to Pearl.

"Not good. A sure concussion, a bruised shoulder, and I'd say a fractured rib," the older woman concludes by pressing the tips of her fingers to Elena's side. The girl doesn't bother muffling her disgruntled cry. "If we were anywhere else but a forest, I'd say she'll be fine but…"

"We're in the middle of a forest?" you finish.

"Yeah."

She nods and turns to you; double taking when you lean your temple onto the cold brick wall and sigh.

"Are you okay?"

You make a face. Somehow, idly standing around for a moment is wearying.

You breathe through parted lips.

You have a pretty good idea why; the adrenaline you'd been riding on, the only thing physically moving you forward, is fading. When Sage plunged that knife into your torso, she'd only had time to do it once, but she had twisted it. Your stitches had been messy, Penny ripping them open hadn't helped, and now you were bleeding.

The dull soreness you'd been feeling since you woke up is gradually turning into jagged aches.

"Shit," you hiss.

Pearl is on her feet, hands gripping your arm and shoulder, ready to assess the damage. She goes straight to the stab wound, knowing everything else isn't as important. She unzips your jumpsuit and pulls back the flap of the left side to see.

Your muffled whimper turns into a shaky groan as she pulls at the medical tape that's somehow still glued to your skin.

"Hey, sit," she instructs but you pull from her grasp. Sit? Crouching like that would only make things worst. And that's not even mentioning the urgency to leave this metaphorical lighthouse.

It's just about a miracle more prisoners hadn't stumbled onto this place.

"We need to leave," you repeat.

"Sierra and Lin are working on that."

"Actually…"

You glance up as Sierra returns with another prisoner and the rusted door creaks close.

"The rust bucket won't start. Everyone else took the working cars."

So, more prisoners had come this way.

The other woman, Lin, looks around. Her gaze travels from the unconscious woman on your far right, to Elena, and then to you.

She frowns.

"This wasn't what we agreed on."

"What?" Pearl turns around.

You blink a few times, attempting to shake away the fatigue that's creeping up.

"When everyone left I had to stay because I was helping you out. No one wanted the liability of one injured person, but now there's three?"

"No one forced you to stay," Sierra recounts, taking offence for her unconscious friend.

"And you weren't the only one left behind," Pearl adds.

"Well, the car isn't starting, and the other office hut we broke into is empty. No offence but I'm not about to wait for any of you."

Lin shakes her head with one foot already out the door.

The door shuts behind her.

Pearl huffs. "For the record, no one agreed on anything."

She jokes but an extra pair of hands would go a long way to solving this dilemma.

"Is there only one car?" you ask.

"A van," Pearl answers and questions Sierra, "You couldn't get it to work?"

The blonde nods, "We couldn't find the key. It's a crap vehicle. I doubt it would start even if we did."

"Did you…hot wire it?" Elena suggests suddenly.

"What?"

"Did you try hot wiring it?" she repeats.

"Oh yeah, because I definitely didn't think of that. No, dipshit. Not everyone knows how to do that. And I'm not about die in an accidental car fire right after surviving a crash."

"Okay," Elena places a hand on the good side of her head. "I know how."

Your brows furrow slightly. Why doesn't that surprise you?

"If you just take me to the car…"

"That's not a good idea."

Everyone turns to you.

You elaborate, "You can't even walk straight."

Elena nods softly. "Are you volunteering?"

"No, I don't even know how…" you trail off. Honestly, up until your murder conviction the only real crime you could ever be tried for was petty theft. Could, because you've never been caught for it.

"Then we don't really have much of a choice. I can… go with Sierra. Tell her what to do."

"Now wait just a minute. I didn't agree to this," the eldest woman interjects. "You can't just volunteer people to do shit."

"Do you, or do you not want to get the hell out of here?" Pearl speaks up.

She's the only other conscious person who would be able to follow directions from Elena. She's also the only person with some sort of medical training, and she isn't about to let you go without checking up on your injuries.

And there's no way in hell you're going to trust Sierra to do the latter.

She would literally rather stab you.

As if reading your mind, the blonde woman glares at you like you're the one forcing her to help out.

Annoyed, you roll your eyes, so she can see how stupid you know she is.