William could hardly focus on what was going on around him. The pain in his neck made everything unbearable. He could only hear the rest struggling, trying to break free to help them. But it all was futile. The people there were way stronger than any of them.
Without a word uttered, the men let go. Jorge didn't show any displeasure, which led the group to believe it had been a silent order. They didn't let the chance slip by, and the group rejoined at the centre, Group S circling the rest to protect them.
"Right about what? What is she talking about?" Thomas asked, a hand lightly pushing Mae out of the way to face Jorge and the girl.
Jorge glanced at the screen and smiled. "I'm sorry, hermano. Looks like you're tagged. You came from WICKED." He passed the device to the girl. "Which means you're very valuable."
The people surrounding them got closer, ready to follow Jorge's orders. There was a loud thud, and most stopped in their tracks to see what had happened. George was on top of a man, a knife pressed against the man's throat, while Chuck stood behind with wide eyes and a hand on his shoulder.
"Touch him again, and you're dead," said George.
Two men fell to the floor the next second. Knives had barely missed their faces, leaving a cut on their cheeks. Flor and Leen pointed the throwing knives at them, eyes narrowing and noses scrunching. Just like with George, Frypan and Teresa stood behind them, eyes widened in fear and surprise.
"That was a warning. We won't miss next time," warned Leen.
"Lay a finger on them, I dare you." Henry, alongside Rowan, took out two knives and walked over to stand in front of Aris and Newt. "It'll be the last thing you do in your darn pathetic lives."
"Alright, stop," said Jorge. "This is not the way to do things."
Even with his eyes closed, William would have felt the girl coming over to him, but he had no strength to fight. Somehow, he had regained more control since the discussion had started, but his body wasn't at its fullest yet. She laid a hand on his shoulder and yanked him away from Mae's side, her hands quickly positioning themselves as if she were about to break his neck. A pathetic attempt at threatening his team, since the places her hands were in were wrong.
"Let go of him," Mae said, her tone more threatening than how William felt in the girl's hands.
"Brenda," said Jorge, a smirk playing across his face. "Scan him."
Aris took a step closer, but Mae stopped him, taking out a knife from her pocket. She motioned Henry and Rowan to keep Thomas and Minho in place, while Flor and Leen took care of Aris and Newt; the ones who were clearly dreading the idea of William being in danger.
"So you caught on, huh?" Mae smiled at Brenda and Jorge. "I'm sorry, but he's not our weakness." She threw the knife in the air after watching William regain more control over his own body.
Keeping his sight on the knife, William pushed Brenda back, her hands leaving his head instantly. He took the knife and gave it back to Mae, forcing his lips to curve into a smirk.
"Since when are you so dramatic?" he asked.
"It's Henry's fault," she said, causing their friend to huff.
"I literally haven't done anything!" Henry screeched.
Brenda's lips curved upwards into a mocking grin. She raised the device in the air and motioned with her eyes at the rest of the group, which had ended up being restrained during the three's distraction. They all struggled to get away from the grasp, keeping them in place; the weapons far away from anyone's reach.
"Alright, bloody scan me if you want, just let them go," said William, his hands raising to his neck's bandage.
"Not your neck, your arm." Brenda stopped him, her smirk widening as William complied. "Soldier S5. Property of WICKED. Current status: DEFECTIVE."
"The others, too," said Jorge, making Group S huff loudly.
Without a word, Brenda kept reading the others' numbers and titles out loud, being suspiciously more careful while reading George's. Apparently, not only Group S had some. Newt was A5, also named The Glue. Minho was A7, The Leader. Aris B1, The Partner. And, finally, Teresa, A1, The Betrayer. By the time Brenda was done with everyone, they realised only William had the title 'DEFECTIVE'.
"Take the kids out, except this one," said Jorge, stepping closer towards William. "I have plans for him."
A man placed his hands on William's shoulders, forcing him to stay still as his friends were dragged out of the room. Most shouted his name or the nickname that Newt had given to him. He watched them disappear one by one, all of them trying to struggle in their own ways.
William's eyes closed on their own. All he could think, feel, and worry about was the pain he was rushing through his shoulders. From his neck to his shoulders, slowly dripping down to his arms. Like thick, hot blood, it choked and burned him inside.
"Leave," ordered Jorge to the man that kept William still. "Alright, hermano, to the couch."
"What?" William asked, a hand trying desperately to loosen the bandage around his neck.
Brenda walked over to him, the scanner no longer in her hands. "I don't know what Jorge's planning, but we need you alive, and you look even worse than your friends—" she pointed to the sofa with her hand, "so go. Now."
"You want me to sleep?" William repeated, incredulous. "You really think I'll do it? I don't trust you guys. Why would I ever? So you can get my friends and sell them back to WICKED, huh? Is that what you want? Is it!?"
"No," said Jorge. "Why would we sell the tickets for our freedom?"
"What do you mean?"
Brenda and William turned to stare at Jorge simultaneously, both equally confused about the man's reply. Contrary to them, Jorge flashed them a smile; something between pride and relaxation.
"Why don't you tell me, hermano? Why are you and your group with the Munies looking for the Right Arm? What is Group S, the kids trained to kill Cranks since birth, doing with some Munies out in the Scorch?"
Not hesitating, William raised a knife in Jorge's direction. "How do you know about that?"
"One has to be deaf or dead not to know." Jorge smiled at him, his lips curving into a smug grin. "Nothing will happen to your friends. Just like you, we want something from the Right Arm. Think it more like …we're tagging along."
"Oh, really?" William chuckled bitterly, the grasp on the knife trembling despite how much he tried to stop it. "And why would I let you do that?"
"Because I know someone that can lead all of us straight to the Right Arm." Jorge offered him a glass of whatever transparent liquid he had. "Your friends are trapped, you're ill, and nobody in your group has a solid idea of where to go, I assume … so let's ally, hermano."
"Then everyone for themselves?" William asked, lowering the knife to accept the drink, but not taking a single sip from the glass.
"Everyone for themselves." Jorge nodded, his eyes landing on Brenda, who was nodding along, rather doubtfully.
"Alright." William drank from the glass and gave it back to Jorge, placing a hand on his hip, while the other pinched the bridge of his nose, the pain reaching past his arms to his hands. "I'll … I guess, I'll go to sleep."
Jorge left the room as William lay down on the sofa. He would like to go after the man, but he could barely move. His eyes were stuck on the ceiling, tracing invisible patterns that almost rocked him to sleep. For unknown reasons to him, Brenda stood beside him, a hand landing on his forehead as if she were trying to check his temperature. The touch was warm, but it didn't comfort him like Newt's did.
"Just close your eyes," she said. "We'll leave while everyone's asleep, so it'll take a couple of hours."
Following her instructions, William closed his eyes, falling deep into a dream.
The light from fluorescent lamps on the ceiling engulfed the darkness. The pain was gone, together with his physical body. He couldn't see himself — his hands, his hair, his feet — it was all invisible.
"Don't call me that, Li," said the girl from his previous memory, just way younger-looking than expected. "My brother was right. It's cruel. I … My name's not Sonya. My name's Elizabeth, but I swear, you call me that, and I'll kill you."
"What can I call you, then? Lizzy?" His body finally appeared, much younger than he was. Perhaps he was six or seven at the time.
"That's what he used to call me all the time before we were named … Newt and Sonya, I don't like it." Little Sonya shrugged. "What does it matter, anyway? I'll be in the maze by tomorrow."
"It matters to me. You're my best friend. Of course it matters." He said, placing his hands on her shoulders. "I'll be here, OK? I'll be waiting for you and … your brother. I'll be here, and I'll tell you everything. You know I can't stay away from you two for too long. It roots my brain."
"Li." She sniggered, making him smile. "You remember that you're not Immune and still fight with Cranks regularly, right? That joke's actually scary."
"Yeah, and the Cranks better watch out, 'cause I'm not going to the other side without seeing my boyfriend and my best friend again." He pulled her into a hug, which she accepted right away. "I don't want you to go without knowing my name. Even if you won't remember, I want to tell you, Lizzy. My name's—"
Music was the first thing William heard when he woke up. The second was Jorge yelling at him to hurry up and run. It took a minute for William to recall everything that had happened and where he was. His friends, nowhere near him, had been scanned and threatened in the room he was now in. Alone with Jorge and Brenda nowhere to be seen.
"Brenda went to get your friends. Come on, let's go! We don't have much time!" Jorge kept rummaging through the different drawers as if looking for something. He took a gun out of one and looked at him. "Here you go, hermano. We'll need it."
William got up from the sofa, took the gun from him, and hid it in his holster. His prior confusion was washed away as he heard Janson's voice reciting some sort of speech about how the people in the building had WICKED's property.
What the hell is he doing here? Is it because the mission's a failure? Because I'm with them? Because I'm remembering? His breathing quickened, and his heart pounded, but Jorge didn't allow him to drown in his sorrows for a second.
"Alright, all set! Let's go!" Jorge shouted, patting William's back to make him follow.
"What's the song for?" William asked as they ran, trying to distract himself from Janson's voice.
"It's gonna blow this whole place down," Jorge replied, slowing down as they reached a staircase, which Brenda and the rest were going up to meet them. "Brenda! Hurry!"
"Liam," said Aris, almost out of breath, as he rushed over to hug William.
Jorge's shouts pulled them back to reality, and, most importantly, to their escape plan. "We don't have much time! Hugs later! Let's go, let's go, let's go!" He went over to a window, which he pushed open to reveal a zip line that connected to the building right next to them. "Right this way!"
"Oh, you gotta be kidding me," Frypan muttered, resting a hand on Chuck's shoulder to keep the boy behind him.
Jorge turned around to look at Thomas. "Plan B, hermano. You kids want to get to the Right Arm? I'll lead you to them. But you're gonna owe me." He took a trolley and ran to slide to the next building. "Follow me!"
"Alright! Let's go!" Brenda pushed down another rope trolley, which Thomas encouraged Minho to take, closely followed by Chuck, Newt, and Frypan.
William watched as the others followed after them. Apparently, Brenda was planning to be the last to make sure no one got left behind. However, as George took the rope to slide off, she instinctively checked her pockets, missing whatever she was hoping to find in them.
"Brenda?" William said, watching her grow more frustrated by the minute until she ran off. "Hey, Brenda!"
"No." Thomas stopped him, exchanging worried glances with Mae, the only other person left apart from them to take the rope. "You go, I'll go after her."
"You mean we'll go." Mae corrected, her eyes travelling to William. "Just go, William. I promise we'll be right behind you."
"You guys better be, or I'll get mad!" William took the rope and gave a quick glance at their figures — rapidly disappearing as they followed after Brenda — before sliding off.
The ride was shaky, and his sweaty hands did not help at all. The landing wasn't any better. Between a broken window and a destroyed wall, there was a gap for him to land, and he almost missed it. He landed on his knees and hands, getting a couple of small pieces of glass to prick him through the bandages.
"You fell too, huh?" Bea helped him out as he tried to get up.
"Well, at least now I don't feel like an idiot," he said, stifling a laugh as he accepted the help.
"Where are Mae and Thomas?" asked Flor.
William glanced behind him, hoping for their two friends and Brenda to appear out of nowhere, but no such thing happened. He looked back at the large group, his eyes softening as they landed on his friends.
"Brenda ran out. Those bloody idiots ran after her," he said. "They'll be back. Mae promised."
"We'll wait for them, then," Newt said, giving William an indecipherable warm look.
They all waited for a minute, and no one appeared. The lack of sound, especially music, was all it took to make them realise something was terribly wrong. However, the explosion was the one that took everyone's attention off the zip line to watch the rest of the building as it crumbled to the ground. They all expected Thomas, Mae, and Brenda to appear. Tell them how easy it had been to escape and laugh at them for believing they were in trouble. No such thing happened. The building collapsed in front of them. No signs of either of their friends.
"OK, we have to move," Jorge said, making sure WICKED's attention was far from them. "Brenda must have escaped with your friends through the tunnels. She'll lead them to Marcus. We have to move if you wanna meet them in the city."
"Marcus?" Minho asked.
"City? The run-down one?" Henry added to their general confusion.
Jorge turned to look at the group, who were trying to figure out if they should trust him. "We can't stay here forever. I'll explain on the way. Come on!" He then turned to the room's exit, trying to figure out the safest way out. "There's a bunch of WICKED people around. We better stay for the night down on the ground floor. Go look for them in the morning."
Newt exchanged glances with Minho, wanting nothing more than to come up with another plan, but there was no other way. Jorge was the only one that could lead them to Thomas and Mae, and Marcus, whoever that was.
"Alright, you heard him. Go, go, go!" Minho shouted, running behind Jorge as they crossed the run-down building to a staircase that led to the bottom floors.
William was close to last as he followed Minho. Not only did his entire neck and shoulder burn, but his movements felt weird. Even if he had woken up minutes ago, the running and the explosion should have taken all the drowsy feeling away. Being slow didn't frustrate him completely. It was the looks Newt and Aris kept giving him, or even Chuck, who ran beside him, that genuinely bothered him.
"Come on, birdies! Go, go, go!" Henry shouted from the lead.
The stairs seemed endless, and the countless encouraging words weren't helping in any way. They finally reached the ground floor; ruins all over the place. There were no windows around, which led Jorge to turn on a torch to at least see where they were stepping without someone tripping. At the opposite end of the hallway, the wall had crumbled to the ground, letting them have a faint idea of the destruction outside.
"This way," Jorge said, and began walking.
Losing his prior confidence in the man, Minho followed him dubiously. "Where are you taking us?"
"To Marcus," Jorge answered. "If someone knows how to get you kids to the Safe Haven, that's him."
"Safe Haven?" Chuck wondered out loud, glancing at William, who shrugged his shoulders.
"A place free of infection, no Flare, no Cranks … The Right Arm has been taking kids there for a while." Jorge looked over his shoulder to the group, especially Group S. "Only Immunes, though."
Instinctively, Group S glanced among themselves. William didn't know what he had expected to see in his friends' eyes, perhaps distrust or anger, but certainly not determination. The plan hadn't changed, not even after becoming friends with the Immunes. There was no doubt that they would leave after entrusting their friends to the Right Arm.
They reached the opening of the wall, watching as the lights of a city gleamed not too far away from them. If they departed right that instant, they would get there before morning came. However, the continued buzz sound coming from WICKED's helicopter wasn't encouraging them in the slightest to take the risk.
"Alright, there are a few buildings that connect to one another. It will be enough to lose WICKED for the time being." Jorge flashed his torch towards the outside, patting the ground with his foot to make sure it was safe. "We can't stay here. Once they don't find your bodies, they'll start to look around."
"Hey, man. You won't have other torches by any chance, right? It's kinda nerve-wracking to only have one light when there are so many things to trip over," George said, stepping closer to the wall as he and Minho stared at the likely fall.
Jorge took off his bag, rummaging around before tossing a couple of torches at Minho and George. "Here you go, hermano."
"OK." Flor brushed the seat off her face with her right sleeve. "OK, let's do this. We can do this."
"We're all going to die," Rowan muttered under her breath.
"The day you stop saying that, I'll actually get worried." Bea attempted to joke, gripping Leen's hand as they followed behind Minho and George. "Alright, careful. Careful."