Chapter 12
It was only a guess, but I knew I was right. But I decided that I wouldn't tell anyone.
At least not for now.
The rest of the Gladers were huddling in a group on the floor between the couches and chairs.
I walked over to join them, and sat down between Will and Gabe.
Will was trying to decide what to do next.
"Should we follow along with these guys, or should we leave?" He asked.
Gabe leaned in, trying to get close enough so the newcomers didn't hear.
"I don't trust them. I think we should leave." He growled.
Will shook his head, then turned to ask me, ignoring the scowl he got from Gabe.
"Cleo, how 'bout you?" He looked at me.
I shrugged.
"They haven't done anything yet, but they haven't denied whether they work for WICKED or not." I said, summarizing my thoughts.
Will considered this, then he nodded and turned to ask Joan who was sitting next to me.
I tuned out, and glanced at Gabe. He's been acting strangely ever since… well, I couldn't remember it exactly. His first major outburst that I've noticed was in the cafeteria at WICKED, but I thought it was just because Minho had been trying to hit on me.
I studied his face, but it was now in a stony calm expression, un-readable and very unlike him.
I glanced nervously around, trying to find out if anyone else noticed.
I caught Will's eye. He raised his eyebrow questiongly, and I eyeballed Gabe.
Will shook his head, signaling that we shouldn't call it out. So he had noticed.
Later, after Sonya and Harriet had brought us some food and water, we decided to ask Evelyn and Marley what their deal was.
The people chosen to ask, in case we prodded touchy subjects, were me, Charlie, and Gabe.
We found the two girls studying a paper on a big, round wooden table near the back.
As soon as they heard our footsteps, they whirled around, hiding the paper from us.
"What do you want?" Evelyn asked irritably.
Gabe glanced around.
"We wanted to know who you work for." He said, cutting to the chase.
The girls glanced at each other. Marley crossed her arms.
"Who says we work for anybody?" She asked roughly.
Gabe shrugged, and held out a crumpled piece of paper.
"Then I should assume this is some pass-time writing, then?" He said drily.
Charlie grabbed the paper from him.
"What the shuck is this, Gabe." She asked, her eyes scanning over the words printed on one side.
She froze, then shakily handed it to me.
It was a letter, I read it aloud.
"Now that you are in position for Phase two, please report immediately if they show up at your base. Signed, Ava Paige." I said in a clear voice.
Gabe pointed at them accusingly.
"You do work for someone, so you better tell us who it is." His voice sounded like daggers of ice.
Evelyn glared at him threateningly.
"Our group out numbers yours three to one. Best not to pick a fight with us." She said coldly.
Me and Charlie were still in shock over the letter, so we were unprepared when Gabe suddenly launched himself at the two girls.
"Tell us the truth!" He yelled at them, pinning each girl down with an arm.
Me and Charlie rushed forwards, grabbing his shoulders and pulling him off.
Evelyn and Marley straightened up, rubbing their necks where he had held them.
I heard a slight sound behind me, then Will whispered in my ear;
"We better go, they're not happy about what he just did."
I nodded, and grabbed Charlie's shoulder.
She flinched, then looked at me. I motioned towards the Cranks, and her eyes widened slightly.
The rest of the Gladers had gathered behind us, and we were almost completely surrounded by the band of survivors.
I gently tapped Gabe's shoulder.
He fidgeted around and glared at me.
"We need to get out of here, slinthead. Be prepared to fight." I whispered in his ear.
He grimaced, and balled his fists.
Will walked up to the two girls.
"We appreciate your hospitality, but we gotta go." He said calmly.
Evelyn looked at him sharply.
"You expect to be able to walk in here, accuse us like that, then leave?" She asked indignantly.
Will held her gaze cooly.
"Let us leave, and there will be no trouble." He said bluntly.
Evelyn glared at him, and Marley stepped forwards so she and Will were face-to-face.
"You try and leave, and I promise blood will be spilled." She growled.
Will's fists tightened.
"So be it, slinthead." He muttered under his breath.
Then we ran for the door.
The fourteen Gladers were sprinting through a big warehouse.
I was having flashbacks to when we were trying to escape WICKED. Rushing in a big group, people yelling in the background and the heavy pounding of pursuers.
A Crank pounced from the side and tackled a boy to the ground. He screamed and kicked at his attacker, eventually throwing her off.
Alex helped him up, and we kept running.
We reached a slit in the flimsy wall, and burst through, entering back into the Scorch.
Our feet were kicking up sand, throwing it behind us.
We raced through the desert, not even daring to look back until the warehouse was a small splotch on the horizon.
We slowed our pace to a brisk jog, the non-runners catching their breath in shaky gasps.
Charlie and Alex were supporting Joan as she limped after us.
We stopped only when we couldn't see the base at all. Joan sat down with a sigh, resting her leg on her sack she'd been carrying.
The other Gladers sat down too, drinking some water or just resting.
I looked at the horizon, and saw the sunset was being obscured by rapidly forming gray clouds.
I looked at the group, then walked over to Will.
"I know you shanks are busy resting your poor legs, but we need to find shelter. Those clouds don't look too friendly." I said, pointing to the west.
He looked up, then followed my gaze. His face went grim, and he nodded.
I was about to walk over to Joan, when the sound of coughing made me turn around.
Gabe was doubled over, each hacking wheeze wracking his whole body.
I ran over to him, and put my arm around his shoulder.
"Gabe, what the hell's wrong with you?" I asked sharply
He looked up at me, then shrugged off my arm.
"Nothing, just got some sand in my throat." He replied roughly.
He stood up, then walked away, as if to show me he's fine. But I knew he wasn't.
We had made camp behind a rusted, banged up and abandoned truck. We had first searched it for supplies, but found nothing.
The truck would hopefully provide some shelter from the wind and the possible rain.
I layed down on the sand, in between Charlie, who was already asleep, and Gabe.
He was just laying on his back, his arms folded beneath his head, staring at the stars above us.
I rolled over onto my side and looked at him.
"What're you thinking about" I asked.
He glanced at me, then looked back at the sky. He let out a long sigh, that sounded a little ragged and dusty.
"I'm wondering if it was all worth it." He said distantly.
He turned on his side so he could look me in the eyes.
"I can feel it eating away my sanity, Cleo." He said quietly.
My heart skipped, and I reached out to grab his arm.
"We're going to find a cure, if it's the last thing I do." I said firmly.
Gabe sighed again.
"But it might be the last thing I do." He mumbled, closing his eyes.
I felt my heartbeat quicken, but he was already asleep.
I turned to look at the sky this time, knowing I was far from sleep.
A loud booming sound shook me awake.
I stood up and looked around.
When I turned towards the horizon, I saw the clouds I had noticed earlier had become a great, rolling, black wave.
I quickly nudged everyone awake.
We gathered our stuff quickly, and started running for the distant mountains.
The night before, we had decided to head that way and see if we could find any civilizations to join.
The thunder crashed louder this time, closer.
I took a chance and glanced back.
Just then, a streak of lightning blazed from the sky like a column of fire, lighting up the dark.
We ran faster as lightning came down all around us, creating smoking craters in the sand where they hit.
I was sprinting near the head of the group, when a strong force pushed me sideways. I stumbled and fell to the side, just as lightning strikes where I had been standing.
I looked over, and saw a boy laying next to me.
I scrambled over and grabbed his arm. He flopped over with a groan, and I gasped.
It was Will.
I screamed over the thunder booming above our heads.
He was still alive, and whole from what I could see. His body was covered in burn marks.
I grabbed his arms and started dragging him along with me.
I felt a tremble go through his body, and he twitched his arms. I dropped him, and he rolled over onto his knees.
I helped him stand up, and we kept running.
We reached the base of the mountain, and found shelter under a rocky overhang.
We huddled in a tight pack until the storm passed.
The wounded were lying in a corner. I did a head count, and my stomach fell.
Out of the fourteen Gladers who escaped WICKED, there were only ten left, including the wounded.
Will let out a loud groan and sat up, rubbing his eyes.
I walked over to him.
"How you feeling, shank?" I asked him.
He looked up at me with a blank stare. My stomach twisted when I saw his eyes.
They had been a dark brown before, but now they were a light dusty burnt brown.
"Why is it so dark in here," He asked raggedly.
I looked outside at the blazing rising sun, then slowly turned back to him.
"Um, Will, it's sunrise." I said weakly.
His face contorted into panic.
"That shuck lightning must have blinded me." He said nervously.
Charlie, who had been listening nearby, walked up.
"It's probably just temporary." She said optimistically.
I heard Will sigh, and knew he didn't agree with her.
I turned back to where I had sat, and saw Gabe standing up. I was about to go talk to him, when his leg slipped and he stumbled back down.
I rushed forwards, but I stopped when I felt something small and cold pressed against the back of my neck.
"Yeah, you know what that is." A girl's voice said.
It was Evelyn.
I was still facing Gabe when he looked up and saw the girl holding a gun to my neck.
He stood up, and quickly covered the distance between us, his eyes sparking with anger.
"Lower the weapon." He growled at Evelyn.
She glared at him, then, quick as a snake, she grabbed my arms and held them behind my back.
"You take one more step, and there's gonna be a hole in her neck." Evelyn hissed at him.
I struggled, but stopped with a small yelp of pain when I felt a blade dig into my arm.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a girl, one eye glinting amber, the other green. Marley.
Gabe stopped walking with a scowl.
By then the others had noticed, and were all gathering behind him.
Joan and Charlie were helping Will move around, while Bits moved everyone out of the way for them.
The two girls holding me glared malevolently at them.
"If you try to follow us, she'll be dead faster than you." Marley threatened, eyeing Gabe.
They started leading me towards their car, which had been expertly hidden behind the overhang.
I started panicking when I realized they were going to take me hostage.
I reared back and smacked the back of my head into Evelyn's face.
She let go of me, clutching her nose. Marley was on me in a second, wielding her knife. But I pulled one of my own out of a pocket.
We started sparring with each other, jabbing and slashing in turns. I realized I wouldn't have a chance as soon as Evelyn recovered, so I went right for the target.
I aimed as though I was going for her arm, but then slashed at her side, where the Griever had cut me.
Blood spurted from the wound, and Marley fell back clutching her side.
Evelyn had straightened up, and there was a steady stream of blood pouring from her nose. She glared at me, and raised her gun.
I heard a staticky sound behind me, and I turned to see Gabe holding a Launcher. His eyes were burning with such anger, I almost took a step back from him.
He shot the Launcher grenade at Evelyn, and it made contact with her leg.
She fell to the ground in a spasm of silver lightning, twitching and screaming.
Then I realized I felt pain, and looked at my leg where the bullet she had shot had grazed me. Blood was running from the wound like a waterfall.
The edges of my vision started going dark, and Gabe ran up to me right as I began to collapse.
He caught me, and held me as the world went black and I passed out.