Alex jerked awake. Her head snapped up. She heard Thomas yelling. She nodded off still sitting up. Her eyes were so tired. They were burnt and were so dry. She opened them to see Thomas yelling at a bird.
"Shucks sake Tommy. Seriously?" She muttered angrily.
She heard a few others groan as they woke up too. Minho still had his head in her lap. He blinked a few times, and smiled at her. When she didn't return the smile he sat up, and eyed her.
"You didn't sleep did you."
It was a statement, not a question. She avoided eye contact, staring at the little wood statue in her hands. No, she didn't sleep. She listened to the inhuman screaming late into the night, until they finally faded away when the sky started to lighten. And when she wasn't scared stiff from the cranks, her heart broke into too many pieces to put back together. She cried last night, when everyone was asleep. She was done crying now. She had no more tears left. She cried everything out.
She shook her head, and whispered "No. I couldn't."
Minho pulled her head towards him and kissed her.
"I love you." He said quietly.
She smiled sadly. Her eyes were tired and scratchy. It was already getting warm, taking her jacket off, she got stiffly to her feet.
"How are you feeling?" She asked Winston, she could finally see the extent of the damage done. It was not pretty. And she had nothing but water to clean the wounds and a few bandages. If it was possible, her heart broke a little bit more. He just groaned.
"Come on. We should keep moving." Thomas said, standing up and grabbing his backpack.
"Are they gone?" Frypan asked.
"Ya, I think we're safe for now…" Thomas answered, "Okay, we should get moving. Let's pack it up. Aris, come on. Fry, Winston. Let's go."
Thomas clapped people on the shoulders, trying to give them some encouragement. Alex was not in the mood, so she brushed his hand off and picked up her backpack.
"Hey, man. You okay?" Fry asked when Winston groaned and winced trying to get up. Frypan held out a hand to help him up. Alex watched suspiciously. Teresa caught her eye, they both knew this wasn't good. He was in a lot of pain, and they didn't have anything to help. Everyone was ready to leave in a few minutes. They ventured out into the wide wild world.
The sun was bright and harsh. The sand was hot and rough. And it was everywhere. They had taken refuge under part of a crumbled wall. It was also covered in sand. They walked up the sand hill and looked out, what they saw was not what they expected.
They were gazing out at a city. But the city was broken, abandoned and crumbling. Buildings falling over or already laying sideways half buried in sand. Broken rusted cars lay abandoned everywhere. And sand. Everywhere Alex looked there was sand.
"I see lots of sand…but no ocean" Minho whispered quietly to Alex.
She nodded sadly. She reached blindly trying to find his hand without taking her eyes off the apocalyptic scene in front of her. It was very eerie, even in the sunlight. With a deep breath she took a step forward. Her and Minho led them down the sand hill.
One step further from WICKED.
"What the shuck happened to this place?" Frypan asked, looking around the buildings they walked between. Skyscraper buildings had windows smashed out, there were no more doors. Cement walls smashed, crumbled in rubble heaps.
"I think I've been here before..." Alex mumbled.
"Really?" Fry asked, his eyebrows raised.
"It kinda looks like a memory I had... Captain Ronin and I..were running down a street, maybe this one... being chased...I don't really remember much other than that. Like I remember having a huge pack, tactical gear and a huge gun. " Alex shrugged, rubbing her forehead. She let out a frustrated sigh, "I wish I could remember. Bits and pieces are frustrating!"
"But what actually happened here?" Fry asked again, still looking at the fallen buildings.
"I don't know." Thomas answered, his eyes wide, head spinning in circles like an owl.
"It doesn't look like anyone's been here in a long time." Teresa added.
It was true. Everything was abandoned. No one could live in a place like this.
"I hope the whole world's not like this." Frypan said apprehensively.
They walked in silence for most of the morning. The sun was beating down on them. They all had stripped their jackets off. Alex could feel sweat sliding down her neck and down her back. She wanted her water. But knew she had to ration it. She was thinking of how they could find more when there was a quiet steady thump interrupting her thoughts. At first she thought it was a headache forming, but it was getting louder and faster and it wasn't coming from her head…she was hearing it.
"Hang on, stop." Alex said, and stopped in her tracks. Minho bumped into her. Thomas looked at her eyes wide.
"Do you hear that?" She asked him.
"Ya." They both looked at the sky.
"Get down!" Alex yelled at the group.
"Everybody, hide!" Thomas yelled, panicking. He spun in a few circles, "Shit! Where?"
Alex rolled her eyes.
Why do I put my trust and life in this kid's hand? Seriously. This shank!
"Hide! Hide! Get in here. In here, in here!"
She ushered the group under a fallen piece of building. She grabbed Thomas and dragged him with her under the broken piece of building. She reached for Teresa's hand. She could see her trembling. Her eyes wide in terror. Teresa's other hand rubbed the back of her neck, where Alex knew her tattoo was. Alex reached for Minho's hand too. She needed his comfort. He squeezed back, needing hers too.
The thumping grew louder. In the sky Alex saw a huge black flying machine and 2 helicopters flying beside it. Her stomach clenched. The helicopters circled the city and then followed the big black flying machine.
"They're never gonna stop looking for us, are they?" Minho asked. Alex could hear the fear laced in his words. She shook her head, and squeezed his hand again.
"Everyone good?" Thomas asked as they crawled out.
"Yeah." Was the general consensus.
They continued through the broken and abandoned city. Up sand hills, and down the sandhills. The sun baked them. Alex could feel her skin burning, but it was too hot to put a jacket on. Sweat covered her whole body. Her hair was plastered to her face and neck. She could feel the sand in her boots.
"Minho, how come your hair still looks perfect, while I'm literally looking like the Hot Mess Express?" Alex pouted.
"I'm just awesome. And I see you more of my personal Spicy Disaster!" He replied with his signature smirk. Alex scoffed and rolled her eyes.
They slowly made it to the edge of the city. They had to almost crawl up the sand hill, it was so big. Everyone kept sinking into the sand. Winston had the most trouble. He kept stumbling and falling. His breathing was labored. He also looked like he was shivering, despite the heat. The wind was picking up blowing sand into their eyes.
Alex slowed down and helped push Winston up the last of the hill. They got to the top as everyone was standing looking at something in the distance. Alex scrambled up beside Minho.
"A little further, guys." Thomas said, trying to be positive.
"Those mountains, that's gotta be it. That's where we're going." Alex said, shielding her eyes from the glare of the sun, pointing ahead of them. There was a faint hazy range of peeks off in the horizon.
"Well, at least we can see a destination," Minho sighed quietly.
"That's a long way off." Newt looked at him skeptically.
"Then we better get moving." Alex huffed.
She took a few steps down the sand hill when Winston coughed and collapsed. He rolled down the sand hill.
"Winston! Hey, Winston!" Thomas called.
"Winston!" Newt called.
"He's hurt pretty bad." Minho commented.
"No shuck Sherlock!" Alex snapped as she dropped to her knees beside him, at the bottom.
"What do we do?" Frypan asked.
"Shuck!" Alex muttered, she pulled out her precious water and used a little to clean the sand away from the open wounds, trying to keep it from getting infected. She was doing a horrible job.
"Winston. Can you hear me?" He was coughing, his eyes kept fluttering closed. His eyes rolled to the back of his head.
"It's okay." She tried to reassure him as much as herself. Her voice shook.
Thomas had come up with an idea to make a stretcher out of whatever they could find. No one was willing to leave another brother behind. It wasn't pretty, but they managed. The boys took turns carrying the stretcher and Winston. While the girls carried the extra backpacks. Alex and Teresa walked ahead of the group, hand in hand. Heads down, the wind was picking up.
"Hang in there, Winston." Minho told him.
They pulled him up yet another sand dune, when they tried going down, everyone stumbled.
"Grab his legs. I got his arms!"
The boys picked him up and carried Winston down the hill. The wind was now whipping the sand. Making it almost impossible to see. Alex pulled her bandana over her mouth and nose. She handed Minho the extra scarf, wrapping it around his face, trying to keep the sand out of his face. Thomas doing the same, he turned to Minho, "How do I look?"
"Like the ugliest shanky girl I've ever seen,' Minho responded, "You better thank the gods above, you were born a dude."
"Thanks." Thomas rolled his eyes.
"Nice babe." Alex chuckled.
"My eyeballs hurt!" Minho whined. It was his turn for a break, so he walked beside Alex and Teresa.
"I'm pretty sure this is bloody hell. Always thought you'd end up here, Minho, but not me!" Newt yelled from behind.
Minho laughed, "Good that!"
"Right next to my throne." Alex teased.
Minho's sparkling brown eyes meet hers, and under the scarf, she could tell he was smirking at her.
"Gotta find shelter!" Teresa yelled over the noise the wind was making.
The wind howled at them, ripping at their clothes. Making everyone stumble and fall. The sand felt like daggers to the bare skin.
"Yeah. You see anything?" Alex bellowed back.
Thankfully this time she had something covering her mouth when she opened it.
"There! Just up there!" She pointed. Alex turned to the group.
"Shelter. Just up ahead. Need a break!"
The boys nodded. They made their way to a broken piece of some kind of wall. The wall blocked the wind. Alex didn't know what else to do for Winston. They couldn't afford to waste more water. Alex was already down a bottle trying to clean it last night. Everything was covered in sand. Everything inside her bag was covered in sand. She couldn't even use a t shirt to wipe the sand. She felt useless. Hopeless. Winston started coughing in his restless sleep. Alex rubbed the back of her neck nervously. Running her fingers over her tattoo.
"Hey, what's that? On your neck" Minho had crawled over, she felt his fingers brush her sweaty hair out of the way. Alex sighed and twisted so he could read it.
"The shuck? When did you get that?" He gasped, running his fingers over it. Alex shrugged.
"I don't know. It's WICKED, who knows what the shuck they do and how! Tes has one too. What about you? Did you notice anything?"
He shook his head and shrugged.
"Well, we both had our shirts off in the bathroom, and I didn't notice anything…but I wasn't looking at the back of your neck. I was a bit distracted." He winked at her. She couldn't help but smile.
"Ok Romeo, turn around, let's see." She rolled her eyes.
He did what she asked, and she pulled the collar of his t shirt down. She gasped and he freaked out. Trying to twist his head to see. That got the attention of the rest of the group.
"What's his bloody problem?" Newt asked, watching Minho try to look at his back. He was circling like a dog trying to get its own tail. Alex giggled for a second.
"Minho. Sit." She commanded.
He stopped and looked at her with wide eyes. She patted his head, "good boy!" She cooed, "now ...sit." she commanded.
"Shut up, Shanket! Tell me what you saw!"
"Saw? What's he talking about?" Thomas asked.
"Tes and I noticed yesterday we both have tattoos on our necks, and some kind of barcode."
"Property of WICKED subject something and a title." Teresa said quietly.
Alex nodded.
"Minho apparently has one too. His says: Property of WICKED, subject A7. The Leader. "
"The shuck?"
Everyone panicked trying to read theirs.
"SLIM IT!" Alex roared over the Gladers and howl of the wind. She stood up and read each one, pulling the shirts back.
"Newt, you have Property of WICKED, subject A5. The Glue."
"The glue?" He asked, "blood hell does that mean?"
"Ya, probably because you're kind of like our glue. The glue that holds us all together. I don't know." Thomas responded with a shrug.
"Aris, yours says Property of WICKED, subject B1, The Partner."
Aris just looked confused. "Subject B?"
"Ya, you were in a different maze than us. Probably what it means."
"Partner? Partner to what? Or who? That doesn't make any sense!"
"Slim it dude, WICKED never makes sense…I mean they named their bloody organization wicked for shuck sake!" Alex shushed.
"Ok, Frypan. Yours says the same, Property of WICKED, Subject A3, The Cook. -self explanatory. Ok Tommy. You're up." She pulled his shirt down and gasped. Her eyes widened and she backed up.
"WHAT? WHAT DOES IT SAY?" He yelped.
Alex just shook her head. Teresa came and pulled it down.
"It says, Property of WICKED, Subject A2."
She paused and said in a small voice.
"To be killed."
All eyes went wide. Thomas paled and gulped.
"Wh…what?" He croaked out.
"I don't know." The girls said.
"We don't know when we got them or how. Mine and Tommy are the only different ones." Alex explained looking at the guys.
"What does it say?" Newt asked.
Alex sighed, "same beginning, Property of WICKED subject A0, The Defiant. Herculean Trial subject 1. And Tes's says Subject A1, the Betrayer. Which sounds super ominous." Alex explained.
The boy's eyes were flicking between Thomas, Alex and Teresa. Teresa was labeled a betrayer, Alex was some kind of trial for a different test and Thomas was labeled to die.
Fan-shucking-tastic. What else can WICKED do to mess with us, dehumanize us as much as possible. Sick shanks. We're branded like cattle. Wouldn't be surprised if they could…use..mind control ...
"OH SHUCK! Hang on…guys! Do you remember Alby, how he said he felt like he was being controlled? And Gally looked kinda the same as Alby did at the gatherings? Tes, you said you feel like something was living inside your brain?"
Alex started thinking out loud. Minho snapped his fingers and slapped his forehead.
"Min, you okay?" Alex asked.
"Captain Ronin, while hissing all kinds of klunk information at me as he shoved us down the halls; he said we all had chips in our brains, to monitor brain activity or some klunk. I think he mentioned they could possibly control us! Except you Alex." He pointed at her, "Your head trauma from the Griever hit and Gally knocked the chip loose and your brain and whatever's in your blood or immune system, and those experiment serums, apparently was ripping the shuck chip apart. That's why you had those headaches and klunk. The Doc said it was killing you, and he took it all out. Also why you have like she-man super human strength sometimes."
Alex sat still as a statue. Staring at him, mouth open.
"Then…then…maybe they will use you, Tes, to do something to us...which would explain the...betrayer thing." Minho finished, looking shocked at his own discovery.
Teresa looked absolutely terrified.
"No. No no no. I'm sorry! Guys! I'm sorry!" She whimpered, tears forming. Thomas pulled her into a hug. Alex rubbed her back.
"Tes. We don't blame you. This is WICKED. It's their fault. They use and abuse. They take children and torture us. It's who they are and what they do. Manipulate and torture for their own means. It won't be you." Alex tried to comfort her. The guys all nodded solemnly. They were done with WICKEDs shenanigans and cruelty.
The group was quiet. All deep in their own thoughts. All they had to listen to was the wind dying down and Winston's cough getting worse. Alex handed out some stale granola bars. Minho leaned back against the wall, and pulled Alex in-between his legs and pulled her back. She rested her head on his chest. He played with her tangled, sweaty and sandy hair. It was comforting. Her eyelids slid shut and her exhausted body slipped into darkness.