Those were real stars. Millions and millions and millions of miles away, great floating balls of gas, just there… in space. It wasn't a hologram. It wasn't fake. It was real. Really real. Or at least I thought it was. Ugh, I was so not in the mood to think about the whole no trusting our brains thing right now… so I averted my gaze focusing instead on the faint twinkle of the lights coming from the town we were headed towards.

And ugh… that pack was really getting really heavy. I pulled it back up on my shoulder. Newt looked down at me. "MaC, gimme the pack." He wasn't asking.

I didn't bother objecting, simply hefting the pack and handing it over. He didn't complain either, though I think he was a bit surprised I gave in so quickly. But the truth of it was… he was stronger than I was.

And left without the weight of the pack I could almost enjoy the sights. The twinkle in the distance and the lights in the sky… It wasn't soon until every last trace of dusk had fallen and night settled onto the land like a black fog.

It wasn't long after the darkness had settled that a scream pierced the air.

At first I didn't realize it was a scream. I didn't know what I was hearing, or if I was just imagining it or whatever. With all the noises –the rustling of the packs, dry thumps of our footsteps, heavy breathing and whispers of conversation- it was a bit hard to be sure. But what had started as a barely registered buzz became much much more. Somewhere ahead of us, perhaps in the town, though more than likely it was somewhere a bit closer, a girl's screams ripped through the silence of the night.

The other noticed as well -how could they not?- and soon enough they'd all quit running. Once we'd all caught our breath the sound was easier to hear.

It was horrible. Smidge like a cat actually, and injured, howling cat. It was the type of noise that sent shivers down your back and made your skin crawl. The type of sound to make you want to press your palms against your ears and speak, just to drown out the noise and pray it went away. It was almost unnatural… and the darkness only amplified the creepy feel to it all. And whoever the source was… she wasn't very close, and was obviously in some sort of extreme pain, her screams simply bouncing along, echoing, smashing against the dirt until they faded into nothing.

It was almost like the changing. With the unnatural edge to the torturous screams and the sheer power to it all. Only someone who had well and lost all control let out a sound like that.

"You know what that remind me of?" Minho asked in whisper, a tinge of fear.

I nodded, though he probably couldn't see in this darkness. Thomas was the one to answer. "Ben. Alby. Me? Screaming after the Griever sting?"

"Bingo," I said solemnly.

"No, no, no," Frypan moaned loudly. "Don't tell me we're gonna have those suckers out here too, too. I can't take it!"

"Doubt it," Newt said from just a few inches to my right. "Remember how moist and gooey their skin was? They'd turn into a big dust ball if they rolled around in all this."

"Well," Thomas began, "If WICKED can create plenty of other freaks of nature that might be worse. Hate to say it but that Rat Guy said things were finally going to get tough."

Cheery, Tommy.

"Once again, Tomas gives us a cheerful per talk," Frypan announced. I was certain it was supposed to be of a playful jab than the spiteful rub it came out as.

"Just saying it how it is."

Frypan let out a huff. "I know. And how it is sucks big time."

He could say that again.

"What now?" Thomas asked.

"I think we should take a break," Minho said, looking around bit. "Fill our little tummies and drink up. Then we should book it for as long as we can stand it while the sun is still down. Maybe get a couple hours sleep before dawn."

Sounded good to me. Well 'cept for-

"And the psycho screaming lady out there?" Frpan said voicing my thoughts.

"Sounds like she's plenty busy with her own troubles." Funny, Minho. Very funny.

Newt was seeming to get increasingly agitated the more the screams went on. He repeatedly clenched his jaw or his fist before attempting to relax, only to start up the next time she let one go. "Hey, you okay?" I asked.

He shook his head yes but didn't say a word and that almost always meant no.

"Newt-"

"I'm fine MaC," it was short but not rude per say. Not quite curt but a simple statement. Enough to make me rethink pushing the subject.

So instead I tried a different approach. The next time she screamed I cringed a bit, moving a step closer to him. They really were horrific, but it wasn't anything I hadn't heard before. H looked down at me, seemingly puzzled. "Are you alright?"

I nodded. "Screams just starting to get to me a bit. Reminds me of the Changing a bit too much, if you catch my drift."

He nodded. "Just don't feel right."

"Exactly." And that, my friends was how I got him to relax by having him 'help' me. I might have known him a bit too well for my own good. I almost smiled at that thought. He sure as hell knew me better than anyone else. Well, except Minho, but he was a whole other sort of… friend seemed to frivolous for what Minho was to me. I need him as much as I need Newt, but for much different reasons.

And speaking of Minho…

"Potty break!" He exclaimed, hands on his hips as he caught his breath. "Bury your klunk and don't do it too close. We'll rest for fifteen, then we'll just walk a while. I know you shanks can't keep up with runners like me and Thomas."

Er… I really didn't need directions on bathroom use… or lack there of. Though, being the only female in the group tended to complicate that little issue. Plus, girls pee a completely different way than boys and really it'd be some much easier to piss like a boy. Especially in a place like this.

Er, awkward train of thought.

Wait. Was that? A dark sort of shadow of a shape stood maybe a hundred yards out, not directly in our path, but pretty darn close. A square of darkness against the faint glow of the town behind. Why hadn't we noticed it before?

"Hey!" Thomas yelled pointing towards the structure. "Look like a little building up there, just a few minutes away, the right some. You guys see?"

"Yeah, I see it." I said walking up beside Thomas where Minho now stood as well.

"Wonder what it is," Minho said.

Before anything could be said or done, two things happened. One, the screams stopped, cut off abruptly, like someone simply flipped a switch or set her to mute or something. And two, a figure appeared, specifically a girl's figure, from the dark building up ahead of us. She had long flowing dark hair like black silk and she stood looking at us.

"You think that's Teresa?" Newt asked, standing behind me, but closer than just about any other Glader dared.

Thomas nodded silently, though he didn't seem to notice he was doing it and quickly looked around to see if anyone had noticed afterward so I simply pretended I hadn't. "No clue," he said.

"You think she was the one screaming?" Frypan asked, joining out conversation. "It stopped right when she walked out."

Minho grunted before responding. "Better bet she was the one torturing somebody. Probably killed her and put her out of her misery when she saw us coming." Well, as down heartening as that sounded, he was probably right. He clapped his hands once in front of him. "Okay, then, who wants to go meet this young lady?"

One of my favorite things about Minho was the levity he brought to any situation. His light-heartedness baffled the others, but it never ceased to make me smile. Even in times like these.

"I'll do it," Thomas said, a bit louder than was strictly nessecary.

"I was just kidding, shuck-face," Minho said, "Let's all go over there. She could have an army of psycho girl ninjas hiding in that shack of hers."

"Psycho girl ninjas?" Newt and I said in unison. The difference? I was simply amused while Newt was surprised, if not a bit annoyed by Minho's attitude.

"Yeah. Let's go."

"No!" Thomas said, springing forward a step. He lowered his voice when he continued on. "No. You guys stay here –I'll go talk to her. Maybe it's a trap or something. We'd be idiots to go all over there and fall right into it."

"And that makes you… what?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Well, we can't just walk on by without checking it out. I'll go. If something happens or gets suspicious, I'll call for help."

Minho paused for a moment. A long one. "Alright. Go. Our brave little shank," he said whacking Thomas on the back. That actually sounded like it hurt a bit.

"This is bloody stupid," Newt insisted, stepping forward. "I'll go with him."

"No," Tommy snapped. "Just… let me do this. Something tells me we need to be careful. If I cry like a baby, come save me." He didn't give anyone time to argue before he took off at a brisk pace towards the girl and the building.

Waiting was not fun. At all. I sighed again, kicking at the dirt. "Stop doing that," Minho said, clearly irritated.

I grunted, looking back towards the shack of a building which Thomas and the girl had disappeared into. There hadn't been a sound since.

Newt raised his arm, placing his forearm on my shoulder so his arm rested on my shoulder… locking me in place. Sneaky. I looked up at him to see a sort of half smile upturn to his lips.

And then Tommy was running, running back to us, quick. That wasn't comforting.

"Tommy, what-" I began, the others voicing their questions as well.

Tommy didn't answer a single one. "We have to go," He said. "We have to run. Get away as fast as we can." And that was it. He started running, running towards the town until he broke into a full-fledged sprint.

And we sprinted after him. I maybe a bit faster than the others as I was really quite worried about him and, well, I wanted to help.

It was no use, really, there was no was in hell I was catching up to him. That boy was running for the hills.