The child sat up slowly, with a groan.
"Hey sleeping beauty." Alex smiled at the girl. She just groaned again.
"My head hurts!" She whimpered.
"Ya. You took a pretty hard hit to the head. No blood though. No stitches! So that's good" Alex tried to say brightly.
"Whoop de do." Chloe moaned. She looked around, her face fell, she frowned and her eyebrows knight together. Alex already knew where this was going to go. Alex looked at the ground and closed her eyes. Waiting. Dreading the inevitable conversation.
"Where's Zach?" Chloe asked. Alex fiddled with the hem of her shirt.
"Chloe..." Alex said quietly. She looked up into the child's eyes.
She will never have to know the full truth.
"I'm sorry Chloe." Alex whispered, her eyes filling with unshed tears. Alex reached for Chloe's tiny hand and held it tightly.
"He died saving you. Keeping you safe until his last breath. He was a hero." Chloe looked blankly at Alex. She blinked a few times, confused.
"What?" She questioned.
"Chloe." Alex's voice broke, "He told me he will see you on the other side of the rainbow."
Chloe let out the most heart wrenching cry. Alex pulled the child into a hug and held her tight. Both girls were now crying. A small child crying over the loss of her brother. Alex cried because she was the reason she didn't have her brother anymore.
Because you're a murder.
Alex rocked her back and forth. Holding the child in her arms, she started to sing. She didn't know if her voice would hold. But she tried. It always helped Chuck.
You are my sunshine. My only sunshine
You make me happy When skies are gray
You'll never know, dear How much I love you
Please don't take My sunshine away
The other night, dear As I lay sleeping
I dreamed I held you In my arms
When I awoke, dear I was mistaken
So I hung my head and I cried
You are my sunshine My only sunshine
You make me happy When skies are gray
You'll never know, dear How much I love you
Please don't take My sunshine away
Chloe's heart wrenching sobs had slowed. She was still hiccuping and sniffing. Alex was still holding her tightly in her arms and rocking her.
"Zach wanted you to know this song...I used to sing it to a dear little friend ..a brother. Before he..." Alex had to stop, she couldn't talk about him. Not out loud yet.
"Zach asked if I would sing this song to you."
Somewhere over the rainbow Way up high
There's a land that I heard of Once in a lullaby
Somewhere over the rainbow Skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream Really do come true
Someday I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me
Somewhere over the rainbow Bluebirds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow Why then, oh, why can't I? Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly Birds fly over the rainbow
Why then, oh, why can't I? If happy little bluebirds fly Beyond the rainbow Why, oh why can't I?
The girls were quiet. Alex's heart ached. Chloe had stopped sniffling, a few hiccups, but she was still.
"He will see you again, love. Over the rainbow." Alex whispered to the girl. She didn't say anything but slowly sat up, her big warm brown eyes were red and puffy. Her eyes reminded Alex of Newt's.
"Do you have a brother?" Chloe asked, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. Alex gave her a small smile.
"I do. And a twin sister." Alex replied.
"Can you tell me?" She asked, her big eyes pleading. Alex leaned back into the worn couch, and closed her eyes for a moment. Chloe had picked up her stuffed bunny and laid her head back down in Alex's lap.
"Well. My brother...his name is Newt, he's kind and caring. He has shaggy blond hair, and big brown eyes, like yours. He's really tall. He has a limp. He says the word bloody a lot."
"So do you!" Chloe giggled. "You also have a funny accent."
"Why bloody, Yes. We are bloody British. We both have bloody funny accents." Alex agreed, over using the word bloody just to tease the girl, with a small smile.
"He's very kind and gentle. Back in The Maze, he was a leader...still is. And he used to be a gardener."
Chloe was quiet for a moment. "You said you had a twin?" She asked, a bit of surprise in her voice.
Alex sighed. "Yes. I don't really remember what she looks like or who she is. But because we are twins.. I'm going to guess she looks like me." Alex teased quietly, tickling Chloe. She giggled for a second.
"Obviously! If you're both girls and twins!"
"Well I don't actually remember." Alex sighed sadly. "WICKED took my memories. I only got a few back. And that's how I remember Newt. I only remembered I had a sister, from a few dreams about her. Her name is Sonya. I don't know what happened to her. She was also in a maze, just like I was. Just like you were supposed to."
"Oh." Chloe said. She turned her head to look at Alex.
"Who gave you that necklace?" she asked. Alex reached for the rock around her neck.
"Aren't you little miss nosey." She teased. Chloe gave her a sheepish smile, "Zach always told me I asked too many questions."
"Ha. You would get along well with Tommy. He's always asking questions, and then doing things without thinking. He also likes to slip through small spaces. And we tease him all the time!"
"Did he give you that?"
"No. Not Tommy. His name is Minho. And I love him very much. He gave it to me before we escaped The Maze. It represents our promise. Hmmm, what can I say about that shuck face..? Hmm. He's also very tall. And very good looking." Alex winked at Chloe who giggled again. "And is very strong, has lots of muscles, and loves to run. He has black hair that always seems to be perfectly spiked up. He's sarcastic. He doesn't smile a lot, but when he does, his whole face lights up, his eyes get squinty and he throws his head back and laughs. He also doesn't get all emotional, but when he does he gets nervous and it's really cute. Under his tough exterior he's sweet, caring and attentive. He's also very stubborn and determined.. "
"Ya, you definitely sound like you love him! You gonna marry him?" Chloe asked, fiddling with her bunny's ear.
"Hmm. Maybe. One-day. We never had the chance to think about it. We were always running and fighting for our lives. But once we get to the Right Arm..maybe that can change." Alex paused for a moment, letting that happy thought take over her dark soul.
"Why? You want to be my flower girl?" She asked, tickling the girl again. Chloe yelped and giggled.
The girls were quiet for a little. "What do we do now?" Whispered Chloe, the fear and sadness creeping back into her voice.
"We keep going. We try to honor the sacrifices that were made for us to be here. Newt told me that not too long ago. It's okay to be sad and scared and angry." Alex said quietly. The girl nodded and curled up a little tighter in Alex's lap.
"As for tomorrow? We rest tonight and then we try find this Marcus guy and find my friends and we get to the Right Arm. Sound like a plan?" Alex asked.
The girl in her lap just sniffed. She eventually fell asleep, crying quietly. Alex had a hard time falling asleep. And when she did doze off her nightmares jerked her away.
It was a long night. Alex heard faint screaming, but never anything close. It still sent shivers down her spine and made her heart beat faster. The sun finally started to shine and the screaming disappeared, the Past Gonners crawling back into their dark hiding holes. Alex had slipped out from under Chloe and was rummaging around in the cupboards and fridge, giving her nervous energy an outlet. Finding nothing, she had closed the cupboard door a little louder than she intended, causing Chloe to wake up.
"Oh shuck, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you." Alex sighed. She got up and limped over to the couch. Her calf was burning and her ankle was throbbing. Chloe rubbed her eyes sleepily.
"Sssokay. I guess we need to get going soon. Zach always kept us moving, never staying in one place for long." Alex smiled sadly at the girl.
"Lets eat first. Refill our bottles." Alex suggested. Chloe nodded. Breakfast was a quiet affair, each eating their own cans, lost in their own thoughts. Chloe had just got back from the bathroom and was shouldering her pack when there was a crash from the front of the store. Both girls froze. Chloe's eyes went wide. Alex placed her finger on her lips, and slowly pulled her pistol out of her belt. Alex quickly glanced around, pointed to the cupboard. Chloe nodded, she quietly tip-toed over to it. She opened the door and crawled inside. Before Alex closed the door she handed Chloe a knife and mouthed "wait until I tell you it's safe."
Alex stood up and crept to the door, she could hear voices. Alex crept down the short hall, towards the main store, she crept to the corner when she felt something cold and sharp held to her neck.
"Don't move."
Alex froze. Her lungs forgot how to work, but her heart was working overtime. Every muscle was coiled, ready to either run or fight. She felt the cold steel move a little higher on her neck and a huge body press against her back.
"Look what we found guys!"
"Isn't this a pretty little thing!"
"Hmmm, she would make us a pretty penny!"
Alex didn't dare move her head, with the blade held to her throat, it was giving her Chris flash backs, she tried not to hyperventilate. Her eyes traveled around the room, trying to locate the voices. She spotted one guy, he was short and squat. There was a woman standing beside him, who looked like she had slept in her makeup, lipstick and eyeliner smeared. She was giggling.
Pretty sure she's not all there. Shuck. More cranks.
"Definitely a pretty penny. Let's bring her to Gemma! We could be done for the day already!" The other voice said from behind her. He had taken a handful of her hair and smelt it. "Yup. She will definitely be worth more than one payment!" He cackled. He lowered the knife a little. He also ripped the gun from her shaking hands.
"Guys... I already made plans for today. Maybe we can rain check?" Alex asked.
The woman in front of her stopped giggling. She pounced forwards, clamping her hand around Alex's chin, and squeezed her checks, her dirty nails digging into her checks.
"I don't like a mouthy girl." She whispered, her face inches from Alex's.
"That is unfortunate, isn't it." Alex replied, mock concern laced in her voice. She hated cranks, and these guys were sane enough to know that they were going to kidnap her and sell her to someone. The woman did not like her response, she let go of Alex's face and slapped her. Alex's head whipped to the side, her check stinging.
"Wow. Do you feel better now? A grown up slapping a child." Alex's anger bubbling up and coming out in sarcasm. The woman shrieked and raised her hand again to slap her when a large hand grabbed the woman.
"Enough. Don't damage the girl anymore. You damage her more and say goodbye to your potion!" The man behind her growled. Alex cocked an eyebrow at the woman, silently daring her. The woman hissed at her.
"Tie her hands and gage her." The man behind her commanded. The short man ambled forwards and tied a rope around Alex's wrists, and took a strip of dirty cloth and tied it around her mouth, effectively making sarcastic comments impossible. Alex growled in frustration.
What about Chloe? Will she be safe? Will someone else find her? Will these guys find her? Shuck shuck!
A voice in her mind whispered, sounding awfully like the crank she saw in the mirror last night, "Told you. You are a failure. You never keep your promises. You can't even last a day."
Once her mouth was gagged, the crank looped a rope around her neck, he gave it a quick tug on the rope, pulling Alex forward. She had no choice but to follow. They took the pistol she had. Her knife was with Chloe and she couldn't get the little knife in her boot, her hands were tied and she couldn't call for help. The crank who held a knife to her throat was tall, he had long stringy hair pulled into a ponytail. His eyes were calculating, in a crazy wild way. Her tiny frame had nothing on this giant of a Man Crank. He pulled Alex out of the store door and into the bright morning sunlight. Alex squinted, the sun was so bright. She hadn't seen the sun in a few days. Her situation sucked-
When does my situation ever not suck? Like seriously.
-but the sunshine was welcome.
She kept her eyes open, trying to figure out where she was, where they were going and see if by any chance she could see her friends. The one crank dragged her through the street. The woman was bouncing around the tall blond, batting her eyelashes and flipping her greasy dirty hair, giggling constantly. The short crank following behind Alex, he didn't say anything, but kept glancing around himself. He was fidgety and jumpy.
The street Alex was being dragged down was crowded with dirty people in ragged clothing. There were tents everywhere and little shops and stalls set up, fires burnt in barrels and garbage cans. A few of the people glanced at Alex, and gave her looks of pity, yet no one dared to say anything or move to help. The blond crank walked straight down the middle, the people walking around them. He would pull on the rope every once in a while, causing Alex to stumble and the woman to giggle. On one harsh tug Alex fell to the ground, ripping her pants, skinning her knees and hands. The crank behind her helped her to her feet, giving her a sad look.
Dread filled Alex, she had no idea where they were taking her, but everyone seemed scared of these cranks or at least the one at the end of her leash. They all saw she was tied and gagged, yet no one did anything. The further down the street they went, louder a thumping noise became and more crowded the street became. Most of the people were now carrying bottles of brown liquid, and stumbling around.
The woman crank skipped ahead to a huge two story building. There were flags hanging from the windows, loud music was blasting and people were laying, sitting and stumbling on the front steps. The woman skipped up to a man and started pointing towards Alex and the two cranks, who pulled her up the steps. The blond crank pushed her in front of the man.
"Look at this little treasure we found this morning!" The woman purred, running a finger down Alex's check. Alex jerked her head away with a growl, glaring at the woman. "She's feisty. And mouthy."
The man hummed. He grabbed Alex's chin, twisting her head left and right. "Well those scars on her chest.." he muttered, he ran his hand down Alex's neck and onto her chest. His eyes glittered, they were hungry, greedy and creepy. Alex growled, trying to yell into her gag. She twisted away. She bumped into the blond crank, who grabbed her shoulders, holding her still. The man chuckled.
"Those scars are a disappointment, but that ass makes up for it." He slapped her butt. Alex's chest was rising and falling rapidly, the heat was rising inside of her. Her eyes were flicking everywhere, trying to find a way out of this situation. She didn't see anyone or anything that could help.
"Take her to the back, to Gemma. Tell her she's worth..hmm triple." He said with a wave of his hand. The woman clapped and giggled wildly.
The blond crank pulled the rope. Alex tried pulling back, but he was stronger. Alex struggled and cried against the gage, pulling on the rope. The blond grunted and jerked the rope. She had no idea where they were taking her, but she knew it was not good. Alex had rope burn on her wrists and neck, but she still struggled. She fought until the woman grew impatient and pulled a blade out and held it up to Alex's throat. Alex stopped struggling, a terrified tear leaked over her eyelashes. She knew this crank would love to slice her just for the fun of it. Her throat felt tight, and her heart was beating rapidly, causing her to sweat, despite feeling cold and shivering.
The cranks marched her to a door at the back of the building, and knocked. A scantily dressed woman opened the door.