Chapter four is here! Before anything, I AM SO SORRY FOR THE ALMOST YEAR LONG WAIT! I had to plan out the story differently as the way it was going to go before was something I wasn't feeling. To SOMEWHAT make it up, I made sure this chapter was EXTRA long. 13k words for this chapter! I had a lot of stuff going on in my life (moving states, emotions, shit like that) and I just never got around to writing (or typing). But during that time, I made sure the story was going to be good. Anyway, ENJOY THE EXTRA LONG CHAPTER MY FRIENDS, AND ONCE AGAIN, SORRY FOR THE SUPER LONG WAIT. ( I also updated and added 2 new scenes in the first chapter of this sequel, so make sure to read those first ). - RedLemonCola
CHAPTER FOUR - Out In The Wild
Sand and dust flew fast in the air.
The sky was a very dark shade of blue.
The factory was on full alert of the situation.
Lincoln's group had just exited the factory.
The group stuck tightly together, although blinded by the winds of sand.
"I can't see anything!" Nick yelled.
The group was sprinting in a direction not seeable.
"Where do we go?" Sam asked.
"We gotta head back to the stadium!" Kaitlin shouted.
"The stadium?!" Lynn asked shockingly. "The stadium was-"
Stella looked to her left and saw a light in the distance. Two lights.
"Look!" Stella shouted.
The group looked to where she was looking and saw a bus.
There seemed to be a driver sleeping inside.
"None of us know how to drive!" Nick shouted.
Lynn thought of something.
"Come on! I have an idea!" Lynn said.
Lynn began to run towards the bus.
The group followed her, hoping her idea was their savior. The Unit 8 weren't far behind.
Lynn approached the bus.
The bus was similar to the coach that the group was in before. However this coach was a light blue with a painting of trees on its side.
Lynn knocked on the door to the coach, which was shut. She looked at the sleeping driver.
"HEY! LET US IN!" Lynn shouted.
The driver raised his head up slightly and wiped his eyes.
"LET US IN!" Lynn shouted.
"That's her idea?!" Nick shouted.
The driver wore a casual bus driving outfit, unlike the previous one which looked like a soldier.
The driver was confused.
"Huh?" The driver said to himself.
"OH MY FUCKING...CAN YOU JUST OPEN THE DOOR?!" Lynn screamed.
The driver opened the door, still half-asleep.
Lynn entered the bus.
The others followed.
"What's happening?" The driver asked.
Lynn slammed the driver's head onto the steering wheel.
Lynn clutched her hand against the drivers neck.
The driver screamed.
"Here's what's gonna fucking happen. You're gonna drive us the fuck out of here, don't ask any questions, shut the fuck up and no matter what, keep this bus moving." Lynn threatened.
"I don't have to do shit!" The driver yelled. "You're just a kid!"
Sage looked at the driver's gun holster.
Sage pulled the gun out and handed it to Lynn.
"This should do the job." Sage said.
Lynn grabbed the pistol and aimed it at the back of the drivers head.
"Yeah? Well i'm just a kid who has no idea how to properly use this fucking thing. So you better be afraid that it's pointed at the back of your head right now." Lynn said.
"Listen to her, you have no idea what she's capable of." Nick said.
The driver widened his eyes.
"O-okay..." The driver said slowly.
"DRIVE!" Lynn shouted while shoving the gun to his head.
"OKAY! OKAY! FUCK!" The driver shouted.
The driver immediately started the bus and began to move forward.
Nick looked out of a window.
What he saw was multiple soldiers with guns and flashlights running towards the bus. They were about 200 feet away from them.
"GUYS! HURRY IT UP!" Nick shouted.
"Where do you want me to go?!" The driver asked.
"Should we head back to the stadium?" Nick asked.
"Fuck no! That dick in the black shirt said the stadium was 'compromised' or some shit. Something happened back there!" Lynn said.
"What?!" Nick said worryingly.
"GUYS! LET'S WORRY ABOUT IT LATER! JUST FUCKING DRIVE!" Lynn shouted.
The driver began to move the bus forward into the dusted distance ahead.
The bus began to make its way out of the factory area.
Nick, Sam and Matias looked out a window in the back of the bus.
Two squads of soldiers entered armored Humvee's.
The two squads began to pursue the bus.
"Oh fuck..." Nick said.
"They're following us!" Sam said.
Lynn and the others looked back.
Lynn faced the driver.
"Okay...although this gun isn't going to be pointed at you anymore, you try anything, and I will fucking kill you! Understand?" Lynn said.
The driver gulped and nodded.
Lynn turned around.
"Anybody here a good shot?" Lynn asked.
Everyone was silent.
Matias looked at Sage.
"Sage, remember back in the glade when me, you and Luke would play that knife throwing game in the woods? You were the best at it and always hit the bullseye! What's the difference now?!" Matias said.
Sage looked at Matias and then looked at Lynn.
Lynn nodded and handed her the pistol.
"Keep them off of us." Lynn said. "Kaitlin, help me watch over this bastard!"
Kaitlin walked to the front of the bus.
Sage, Lincoln, Stella, Nick, Sam and Matias were at the back.
"How many bullets does it have?" Stella asked.
Sage looked at the pistol and checked the magazine.
"A full mag. Only 8 bullets though." Sage said.
"Make every shot count!" Sam said.
"Aren't those vehicles protected by armor or something?" Nick said.
Sage looked.
Sage noticed the one on the left and looked at the tires.
"The tires could do the trick. I don't know much about those vehicles..." Sage said.
The bus was driving on a road that was extremely hidden by sand.
The bus was around half a mile away from the factory now.
One of the soldiers leaned out of the window of the humvee with an Assault Rifle and began to aim.
"Yeah, i'll-" Sage was cut off by bullets flying into the back of the bus.
The teens in the bus ducked down from the window.
Lynn looked back.
"What the hell is going on back there?!" Lynn shouted.
The driver of the humvee looked at the soldier.
"Watch it! We need them alive!" The soldier said.
The soldier leaning out the window nodded.
"Shoot the tires." The driving soldier ordered.
Sage leaned against the back of the interior.
Matias was next to her.
Matias nodded at Sage.
Sage nodded back and closed her eyes.
Sage took a deep inhale and exhaled slowly.
Sage began to stand up towards the back window.
Everyone except Lynn and Kaitlin watched intensely.
Sage faced the two humvee's and took her aim at the left one.
The soldier leaning out the window noticed this.
Sage aimed at the tires.
The driver widened his eyes.
"SHIT!" The driver yelled.
Sage pulled the trigger.
The bullet went straight to the front right tire.
Unfortunately, the bullet didn't affect the tire as it was bullet proof. However, the bullet shocked the driver.
The driver of the humvee began to lose control and drive straight into a boulder, sending the soldier leaning out of the window into the air.
Everyone watching in the bus was shocked.
"HOLY SHIT SAGE! THAT WAS FUCKING AWESOME! AND YOU ONLY USED ONE BULLET!" Nick shouted in excitement.
Sage ducked down.
"There's still one more!" Sage said.
"Try the tires again!" Lincoln said.
A soldier leaned out from the top of the right humvee and aimed at the tires of the bus.
"SHOOT!" The driver of the humvee ordered.
The soldier took the shot.
The tire of the bus went flat.
"Oh shit!" The driver of the bus yelled. "I can't control it!"
The soldier looked at the driver from the humvee, which was still pursuing them.
The driver of the humvee looked up at the soldier.
"Shoot the driver!" The soldier ordered.
The soldier nodded and instantly took a shot.
"I can't see!" The driver shouted.
The bullet went straight through the driver's head.
The dead driver's foot was still on the pedal.
Lynn looked.
"Shit!" Lynn shouted.
The bus began to speed out of control.
Kaitlin looked in the distance.
"We're gonna crash!" Kaitlin shouted.
"EVERYONE HOLD ON!" Lynn shouted.
The speed, along with the strong wind and sand caused the bus to flip over on its side.
The humvee pursuing the bus parked beside it.
Lincoln somehow ended up outside the bus.
Lincoln's ears were ringing.
Lincoln slowly regained consciousness and looked up.
Lincoln slowly stood up and looked around.
Lincoln saw Sam and Stella crawling out through the front window.
He then saw Nick and Matias follow.
Lynn and Kaitlin followed after Nick and Matias exited.
The three soldiers in the humvee exited the vehicle.
The soldiers aimed their guns at the teens.
The driver of the humvee stayed inside.
"HANDS UP!" A soldier said.
"DON'T MOVE!" Another one said.
The soldiers aimed the AR's and flashlights at the kids.
The teens raised their hands.
"WHO HAS THE GUN?" A soldier shouted.
None of the teens answered. They looked around for Sage, but she wasn't with them.
"ANSWER ME!" The soldier demanded.
Everyone stayed silent.
Suddenly a shot rang out.
A bullet when straight through a soldiers neck.
The two soldiers looked.
"SHIT!" A soldier yelled.
The soldiers looked to their left to see Sage coming around from the back of the bus with the gun.
The soldiers aimed at Sage.
Sage pulled the trigger again at the soldier on the left.
The bullet hit the soldiers chest.
Sage quickly shot two more bullets at the other soldier.
One of the bullets missed, but the other hit the soldier clean in the head.
The driver stepped out of the vehicle and aimed at Sage.
The driver shot, barely missing Sage's head.
Sage flinched and shot one more time at the driver.
The bullet went straight through the drivers head.
The driver's body fell to the ground.
The others except Lynn looked at the scene in shock.
"Damn..." Nick said to himself.
The others approached Sage.
"You alright?" Kaitlin asked.
Sage looked at the group.
"Yeah..." Sage said.
"You sure...?" Nick asked.
Sage nodded her head.
"Yeah...yeah, its just...a very tense situation..." Sage said.
Sage looked at one of the dead soldiers.
Sage walked towards the body and saw something.
"What is it?" Stella asked.
Sage leaned down and picked up a flashlight from the soldiers body.
"That could be useful." Kaitlin said.
Nick looked at the larger guns the soldiers had.
"Should we take those guns too?" Nick said while pointing.
The group looked.
"Hell, we don't even know where the hell we're going or what to do next, we are in the middle of a wasteland at night, and those things will probably knock us on our asses." Kaitlin said.
Sam looked at Lincoln and Lynn.
"Okay, you guys said on the bus that something happened to the stadium, as in like, it's not a safe option to go back to-" Sam said before being cut off by Lynn.
"It wouldn't be a safe option anyways..." Lynn said.
Sam continued talking.
"So, what the hell happened to everyone else? Luna? Luke? Are we just going to leave them?" Sam asked.
"I...I don't know...Lynn's right, we can't go back to the stadium regardless. Jay probably has his entire military after us and the stadium is gone apparently...I say we just...keep moving forward...find somewhere to stay for the night and continue in the morning, we'll figure this out when we're safe." Lincoln explained.
"I like that..." Nick said.
"This isn't something to talk about LATER, Lincoln." Sam said.
"Okay, can we just get the fuck out of this storm please?" Lynn said.
Lincoln nodded.
"Let's go!" Lincoln said as he began running forward.
Sage put her gun in her pocket.
The group began to follow him.
The first half of the group were stranded in the middle of nowhere, having no idea where to go. But everyone in that group trusted Lincoln. Lincoln was the one who got them out of the maze they'd been stuck in for years, and they all respected Lincoln.
Meanwhile, in the other half of the group, Aazay and the others were running towards the mall Sawyer had told them to go to.
"Are we going the right direction?" Luke asked.
"Almost positive, we're following what the sign said anyways." Aazay responded.
The group began to climb over a small sand hill.
Once they reached the top, they saw a massive building in the distance.
"That has to be the mall!" Aazay said.
"How the hell does Sawyer walk through this wasteland every night!?" Cyrus shouted.
"Come on!" Aazay said.
The group began to sprint towards the building.
"Are we sure this building isn't infested with cranks?!" Cyrus asked.
"We just have to take Sawyer's word for it!" Benny said.
The group arrived at a gate that blocked the entrance to the parking lot.
"Dammit!" Luke said.
Aazay looked at the gate and noticed a lock on it.
"Sawyer at least should've told us how to get in." Luan said.
Aazay looked and noticed that behind the locked gate, was a small booth, which might be the answer to opening the gate.
Aazay looked through the window of the booth and what he saw gave him a small fright.
Inside was a dark silhouette slanted on a chair.
"What, what is it?" Luke asked.
"There's...a body in that booth...and that booth might have something to open the gate..." Aazay said.
The group looked and saw what Aazay saw.
"Chances are it's either a crank sleeping...or a dead body..." Cyrus said.
Lori looked at Cyrus.
"Those things can sleep?" Lori asked.
"I don't know...sometimes they just chill on the floor or something and once they hear noise, they get up." Cyrus said.
Aazay looked over at the booth.
"One of us has to go in there and...see if there's anything useful inside..." Aazay said.
The group stood silent.
"I would go...but I don't think you guys are strong enough to lift me over that gate..." Aazay said.
"We'll let's just try..." Luke said.
Luke looked at Lori.
"Lori, help me out." Luke said.
Luke and Lori walked in front of Aazay.
Aazay nodded and faced towards the gate.
Luke and Lori positioned themselves.
"Ready?" Luke asked.
Aazay nodded.
Aazay gained a little momentum before jumping onto Luke and Lori's hands.
Luke and Lori struggled to lift him over.
"Holy shit, you are fucking heavy!" Luke said fast.
Luke and Lori lost balance, causing Aazay to fall.
Aazay grunted as he hit the floor.
Aazay stood up, dusting himself from sand.
"Sorry...I didn't you think you were that heavy man..." Luke said. "If only Lynn was here..."
Mollie looked at the booth before looking at the group.
"I can do it." Mollie said.
The group looked at Mollie.
Aazay shook his head.
"No, Mollie, it should be Luke or Lori...this is too risky." Aazay said.
"I'm not afraid...I can do it, trust me." Mollie said.
Jordan looked at Mollie.
Jordan didn't know what to say.
Aazay stood silent.
Aazay sighed.
"Okay...I trust you..." Aazay said.
Mollie smiled.
"Come on." Aazay said.
Mollie walked over towards the gate.
Luke and Lori positioned themselves again.
"Ready?" Luke asked.
"Yes." Mollie said.
Mollie gained momentum before jumping onto Luke and Lori's hands.
Luke and Lori had little to no trouble in lifting Mollie over the gate.
Mollie managed to make it over the gate. Mollie landed on the other side.
"Be careful." Aazay said.
Mollie looked at the booth and began to walk towards it.
The booth was right next to the gate.
Inside the small booth was the body on the chair, a desk, and no light.
Mollie walked inside the booth slowly.
The group watched from the gate anxiously.
Mollie looked at the body.
The body was barely visible, but it looked to be just a dead security guard.
Mollie looked at the guards waist and saw some keys.
Mollie figured this would be the key to the lock.
Mollie breathed before moving in slowly to grab the keys from the body.
The smell that the body produced was horrible.
Mollie swiftly grabbed the keys as she saw the face of the guard.
Mollie, keys in hand, backed away from the booth and turned to face the group.
The group sighed in relief.
Mollie walked towards the gate and began to use the key.
The key worked.
The lock opened and Mollie grabbed it.
Mollie threw the lock on the ground and opened the gate.
"Good job. Probably should've sent someone else with you...but good job." Aazay said.
"I thought for sure that thing was gonna move." Luke said.
Jordan sighed in relief.
The group began to enter the parking lot to the mall.
This mall must've been a pretty luxurious mall if the parking lot was locked up...
The group made their way towards the front entrance of the mall.
Once the group arrived, Aazay looked inside through the doors.
Aazay could barely see due to there being no light and sand covering the window.
"Here goes nothing..." Aazay said.
Aazay put his hands on the door handles. What kind of luxurious mall doesn't have automatic doors?
Aazay opened the glass door.
What was inside was lots of sand. The only thing illuminating the dark mall was the holes in the roof.
"See anything?" Cyrus asked.
Aazay looked around.
"Seems clear." Aazay said.
Aazay pushed the door open. The sound of the door screeching echoed throughout.
The group entered inside one by one after hearing this.
The group looked around and took in the environment around them.
Luke looked to his right and saw what seemed to be a large stand.
"Check it out." Luke said.
The group looked over to where he was looking.
Luke began to walk over towards the stand.
The stand had a logo above it reading "Muller's Hardware".
"This might have some good shit." Luke said.
Aazay, Cyrus and Lori walked over.
Muller's Hardware wasn't actually a store, but rather a large stand, most likely advertising it's future arrival.
Luke walked around to the back of the stand.
Luke crouched down.
"Guys, found us some goodies." Luke said.
Aazay, Lori and Cyrus walked around and looked.
It was flashlights.
Luke blew the dust off the flashlights before picking them up one by one.
Luke started handing out the flashlights.
"Make sure you save the battery." Luke said.
Luke, Aazay, Luna, Lori, Cyrus and Benny had flashlights.
Luke walked towards the open space.
"I think we should start searching. Look for supplies and shit." Luke said.
"Good idea. Don't go too far, we stick together." Aazay said.
Everyone took note.
"Come on." Aazay said, taking the lead.
Lincoln's group continued running through the sandstorm.
The darkness of night, combined with the thick sand blowing made it hard to see.
Stella was in front of everyone.
"I hate running!" Nick yelled.
"Stop complaining!" Kaitlin said.
Everyone stayed together.
Stella saw a bunch of glass only mere feet away from her.
Stella pressed her hands against the glass.
"What is that?!" Nick asked.
"It's a building!" Stella said.
"Half of it is swallowed by sand! It's literally slanting!" Nick said.
Stella looked and saw a broken window, revealing darkness inside.
"We have no where else to go!" Stella said.
Stella entered the building through the broken window.
There was no indication on what this building was.
"No! Stella!" Kaitlin said.
"Stella wait!" Lynn yelled.
"Don't go in there yet!" Nick said.
Lincoln looked behind him and saw the blowing sand.
"Get down here!" Stella yelled.
"Alright, just everyone get inside! Go!" Lincoln said.
Lynn entered first, followed by Nick, Kaitlin, Matias, Sam, Sage and Lincoln.
The group had to walk down a hill of sand to get to the bottom.
Nick and Matias barely balanced on the slope of sand before reaching the floor.
The group reached the floor and was surrounded by darkness and another building inside of the building they were in.
Sage turned on her flashlight.
Everyone looked around.
Sage pointed her flashlight around.
She saw debris and clutter.
The building they were inside of was strange. It had multiple buildings inside of it.
Ahead of them was a long open space. It was hard to tell what was there due to the darkness.
"Where the hell are we?" Sage asked to herself.
Lincoln looked at everyone.
"Alright, a lot of these buildings seem to be locked, so we can start by going forward, do a quick search, find supplies, we'll check to see if it's safe, we could rest here and we should start in that direction." Lincoln said.
"Lincoln." Sam said.
"If you guys find anything useful, take it." Lincoln continued.
"No!" Sam said trying to get Lincoln's attention.
"We should go forward and see what's ahead of us, we should al-" Lincoln was cut off.
"LINCOLN, STOP!" Sam yelled.
Lincoln turned around and looked at Sam.
Everyone except Nick, Kaitlin and Matias looked at her.
"Tell us what's going on." Sam said.
Nick, Sam, Kaitlin and Matias looked at Lincoln.
Lincoln approached them.
"It's the Unit 8. They lied to us about who they are." Lincoln said. "Me, Lynn and Stella, we found bodies. Too many to count."
Sage looked at Lincoln.
"What do you mean? Dead bodies?" Sage asked.
Lincoln shook his head.
"No, but they weren't alive either." Lincoln said.
Sage, Matias, Nick, Sam and Kaitlin were listening.
"They had them strung up. Tubes coming out of them. They were being...they were being drained." Lincoln explained.
"It's whatever's inside of us, what the doctor explained, that's what they want." Lincoln said. "So we need to get as far away from them, as possible."
Sam nodded her head.
"We don't even know where the hell we are. For all we know, this could be one of their bases." Sam said.
Nick looked behind him.
"Well, considering the fact that the presumed entrance to this place is covered with a hill of sand, and the only way in is through a shattered window in a dark building, I'm voting on this place is abandoned." Nick said.
"Okay...so what's the plan?" Sam asked looking at Lincoln.
Lincoln didn't say anything.
"I mean he did say before we should search for supplies." Nick said.
"That's not a plan. We have no idea where we are going or what we are doing." Sam said.
Stella stared at the ground.
"Jay and that other girl said something about...defectors hiding in an old factory, in a place called San City, or Casborough, I don't remember where. Some kind of resistance or army." Stella said.
Lincoln nodded.
"The Defectors...if they are really against The Unit 8, maybe they can help us." Lincoln said.
Sam looked at them.
"People, hiding in a factory...factory people? That's your plan, right?" Sam asked.
"It's the only chance we have." Lincoln said.
Sam nodded her head.
"I hope you're right about this." Sam said.
Lynn was kneeling down and looking at something.
"Hey guys...check this out." Lynn said.
Everyone looked over.
"Sage, gimme your light." Lynn asked.
Everyone walked over.
Sage walked next to Lynn and kneeled down with the flashlight.
Sage pointed it at the thing Lynn was looking at.
It was footprints. Human footprints...at least that's what they can make out.
Sage shined her flashlight further ahead on the ground, revealing a multitude of footprints scattered around in the sand.
"Someone's been down here." Lynn said.
Everyone looked at the foot prints.
A distant metal creek noise was heard.
Matias looked around with his head after hearing this.
Everyone looked ahead of them, not knowing if they were truly alone.
Aazay's group walked around.
Some were looking for supplies, others were making sure the place was clear.
Multiple abandoned stores were present.
Most of the stores signs had been warn off and broken. The glass windows were cracked and any memories of this mall before the sun had scorched the earth were long gone.
The sand was covering the majority of the floor.
The only sources of light were the flashlights and skylights.
Outside of the mall, the sky was dark.
The group had spread out.
A darkened store caught the eye of Lori.
Lori used her flashlight to see inside.
It looked to be an old clothing store.
She saw basic store things. A cash register, some old clothing, "FOR SALE" posts and a dead mouse.
She turned her flashlight towards the right part of the store.
The flashlight revealed an old mannequin.
Lori jumped from this.
Aazay looked back.
"Everything good?" Aazay questioned.
Lori looked at him.
"Yeah, i'm fine..." Lori said looking back at the old mannequin.
Luke looked around and noticed a lot of things.
There were many gates and chain fences, very similar to the ones at the stadium.
There were many empty crates and boxes and tarps covering objects.
Luna pointed her flashlight at every dark corner.
Luke saw a door covered with a wide metal shelf.
Out of curiosity, Luke approached it.
Suddenly, a loud noise which sounded like a bowl falling on the floor was heard.
Everyone looked towards the source of the sound.
It was Benny, who had tripped on a metal frame.
"Sorry." Benny said.
Everyone looked back to what they were doing.
Luke put his flashlight down and began to remove the metal shelf.
Luke pulled the metal shelf away from the door and placed it aside.
Luke pressed his ear against the door to see if he could hear anything.
Nothing.
Luke slowly opened the door, flashlight in hand.
The door opening created a large creaking sound that echoed throughout the abandoned mall.
Behind the door was just another section of the mall. Floor covered in sand, abandoned stores...
Luke felt something was off. Something told him to stay quiet.
Footsteps.
Luke pointed his flashlight away from the source, hid behind the corner and grabbed the nearest thing he could find. A stick of metal.
Luke listened carefully.
The footsteps got closer.
Luke could see a flashlight getting closer as the footsteps approached.
Luke without a second thought, ran around the corner with his stick of metal in his hand raised up and the flashlight pointed at the figure.
...
Luke's eyes widened. Who he saw had him shocked.
...
It was Sage. Pointing her gun at him.
Sage's eyes widened as she put the gun down once she saw who it was.
Luke dropped the stick of metal and lowered his flashlight.
"SAGE!" Luke yelled.
Luke quickly jumped at Sage and hugged her as she smiled.
Luke turned his head towards the door.
"Guys! Come quick! You're not gonna believe who I found!" Luke yelled.
Aazay and the rest quickly ran over to see what was going on.
Sage's group also showed up from behind.
"Luke!" Nick yelled in excitement.
Aazay was shocked.
"Holy shit." Aazay said.
"Sam!" Luna yelled.
"Luna!" Sam said back as they hugged.
Cyrus ran towards Stella.
"Thank fucking god you're alright." Cyrus said.
Kaitlin hugged Aazay.
"Good to see you again." Aazay said.
Luke approached his best buds.
"Nick! Matias!" Luke said.
Luke did his "Bro Hug" with Nick before hugging Matias.
Luke looked around.
"Kaitlin! Lynn! Lincoln!" Luke yelled.
Luke then faced Stella.
Luke struggled to remember her name.
"...Stella? Did I get that right?" Luke asked.
"Yeah." Stella said.
Luke faced the group.
"How the hell are you guys out here?!" Luke asked.
"We could ask the same to you." Lynn responded.
Aazay nodded.
"We got lucky." Aazay added.
What were the chances that both groups end up at the same place?
"We heard something about the stadium being fucked over?" Lynn said.
"Yeah, remember that quiet kid? He somehow managed to lead a giant mob of these...crazy things into the place. If they could takedown an entire military unit that quickly..." Aazay explained.
"Crazy things?" Nick questioned. "Grievers?"
"No, they're called Cranks. Basically just a very bloodthirsty, hungry, not-in-the-right-state-of-mind human that just wants to kill everything breathing." Cyrus said
Nick's eyes widened.
"I hope I don't ever get to meet one." Nick said.
"Trust me, those things are everywhere out here." Cyrus said.
This made Nick and a few others look around.
Stella looked around and didn't see the rest of her friends.
"Wheres everyone else?" Stella asked Cyrus.
"They stayed behind to help other kids get out. Sawyer said he'd meet us here soon." Cyrus explained.
Stella nodded.
"What happened to you guys?" Aazay asked.
Lynn and Lincoln looked at each other.
"A lot...too much to fill you in on all of it, but long story short, these guys aren't on our side." Lynn said.
"Remember on the recording after we got out of the maze, that doctor warned us about the Unit 8." Lincoln explained.
The group took note.
"Wait, that Jay guy and the people at the stadium are part of that Unit 8 group?" Aazay questioned.
"Not only is Jay apart of them, he's one of their goddamn leaders." Lynn said.
Nick was confused.
"Wait, ONE of their leaders? There are more? I didn't catch on to that." Nick said.
"Well, you know his men call him 'The Owl' for some dumb-fuck reason. I overheard him talking to the guy that we took hostage. He mentioned someone named 'The Shark' and when me, Lincoln and Stella broke in to that gallery of the dead, we overheard the bitch he was talking to call herself 'The Wolf'." Lynn explained.
"I figured it out too." Sage said.
"Once we figured it out, we got the hell outta there." Lynn said.
"Yeah, and if it weren't for Sage, we'd be fucked. She saved us three times!" Nick explained.
Luke looked at Sage.
"It was crazy, Lynn did a crazy fucking ninja twirl or some shit on some guard, and Lincoln did this badass slide under this closing door! And then Lynn threw a grenade at a wall to get us out, and-" Nick was cut off.
"That's enough Nick." Kaitlin said.
Luke was shocked.
"What the actual fuck happened over there?! All we did was crawl out of a damn hole." Luke said.
"What about Ronnie?" Lincoln asked. "I mean we can't just leave her behind." Lincoln said.
"Look...as hard as it is to say, we need to worry about ourselves right now. We don't know where they took her, what happened to her..." Aazay said.
"But we'll find her." Lincoln said.
Aazay looked around.
"Alright guys, let's focus. Let's look for a place to settle down for the night if we can, we'll look for supplies while we're at it." Aazay said, taking lead.
"Watch for cranks." Cyrus added.
Aazay began to walk forward.
The rest of the group followed.
"Have you guys searched this part of the mall yet?" Aazay asked.
"No, we only just got here about 5 minutes ago." Lynn said.
The group walked down a strip. Stores on both sides.
"One of these stores has to have something." Luna said.
Cyrus used his flashlight to look into a dark store.
Each store entrance was covered by metal rolling gates.
Cyrus saw an empty store with empty boxes.
This store had been abandoned prior to the scorch of the sun.
Luna and Sam looked up at the store signs.
"Do you think this place was popping before everything happened?" Sam asked.
Luna kept staring at the signs as they walked forward.
"No clue. I don't know how long it's been since the sun scorched everything." Luna answered.
"Definitely more than a few hundred years." Cyrus said.
"That long?" Luna said. "How do you know?"
"Saw a poster at the stadium that advertised a game. Said it was taking place in 2019." Cyrus said.
"What year is it now?" Nick asked.
"211." Cyrus answered. "Which means back then, they were going by a different calendar system. Sometime after the scorch, they must've reset it."
"Observant." Mollie said.
"Well, when your ears are fucked up, might as well use something that isn't." Cyrus said.
Sage used her flashlight to look inside another darkened store.
Sage looked closely inside.
With the flashlight, revealed a room.
There were stacks of clothing in one spot, next to it were multiple water jugs, some had wires connected to a machine.
There were bottles and glass jars.
Sage turned around.
"Found some stuff." Sage said.
Everyone turned around and headed towards her.
"No cranks right?" Cyrus asked.
"No, it's not a big place, looks to be a smaller store." Sage said.
"Alright then, let's get it open." Aazay said.
Aazay kneeled down and grabbed the handle to the rolling door before pulling it up.
The rolling door opened.
The group entered the darkened store.
The ones with flashlights used them to look around the room.
Cobwebs, dusty clothing and tables, bottles and jars.
"Looks like someone lived here." Kaitlin said.
Luna looked around.
"Where are they now..." Luna said.
"The whole place was filled with gates, fences and tents." Luke said.
Cyrus looked.
"Probably used this place for an old quarantine zone. Those were common back then according to Jay." Cyrus said.
Everyone was inside the room.
Nick approached a lantern and switched it on, providing an extra source of light in the room.
Lynn approached some more flashlights.
Lynn blew the dust off of them before picking one up.
"Got some more flashlights here, everyone make sure to pick up one before we head out." Lynn said.
Everyone took note.
Jordan, Stella, Mollie and Lynn herself picked up flashlights.
Jordan turned on her flashlight.
The flashlight quickly blinded her as it was facing the wrong way.
Aazay and Kaitlin observed the water jugs.
Most of them were empty.
Jordan used her flashlight to look at the dusty clothing.
"Hey guys, got some clothing over here." Jordan said.
Lynn and Lincoln approached.
"There are some that aren't adult sized." Jordan said while examining them.
Lynn leaned over and picked up a blue-gray jacket.
"It's gonna get windy." Lynn said as she put it on.
Lincoln was still wearing Sam's old shirt from the maze.
Lincoln saw an orange jacket on the top of the pile.
Lincoln grabbed it and examined it.
Lincoln shook it around to get the dust off before putting it on.
Aazay noticed a few backpacks next to the water jugs.
Aazay got closer and picked one up.
Aazay turned around and faced the group.
"Let's pack some of this stuff up. Anything you think we might need." Aazay said.
Everyone took note.
"Aazay, look." Luan said.
Aazay turned towards her before walking over.
"What's up?" Aazay said.
Luan pointed.
"A map of the place." Luan said.
Aazay looked and saw a map of the mall nailed to the wall.
Aazay walked over and examined the map.
"Basement...parking lot...security room..." Aazay said to himself.
Aazay looked at the floor and saw many wires around. He had also noticed them outside of the store around the mall.
"You know what...I'm betting these wires were what made the lights of this place go on." Aazay said.
"Really? This place looks like it hasn't been used in forever." Nick said.
"You said there was a basement? Seems like a place for the source of these wires i've been noticing..." Luke added.
"Yeah, I saw those too." Aazay said.
Aazay looked at the map again before turning towards one of the bundles of wire. Aazay followed it outside of the store.
Aazay looked down the large strip and noticed the wires going all the way up the walls and straight ahead.
Aazay looked ahead and saw a sign.
"Level 0."
"That must be the basement. The wires are heading towards that direction." Aazay said.
Aazay walked back into the store where everyone else was at.
"Alright, listen up." Aazay said.
Everyone turned towards him.
"Wires for the power seem to head toward the direction of the basement. Level 0." Aazay explained. "We should have a group check it out while the rest of us scavenge."
"Yeah, but if the power is on, this entire place is gonna light up like a goddamn beacon. It's going to attract attention." Lynn said.
"The water jugs are completely empty. We need power for that machine to work." Aazay said.
"Do you wanna take that risk?" Lynn asked.
"We need the water, but the lights might draw attention like you said..." Aazay said.
"I'm willing to take that risk. I'm fucking thirsty." Luke said.
Kaitlin walked towards Aazay.
"So what's the plan?" Kaitlin asked.
Aazay looked at the map again before removing it from the wall.
Aazay grabbed a backpack and put the map inside.
"We'll split up. See what else we could find and meet back here." Aazay explained.
"So who's doing what?" Lori asked.
"I'll go inspect the basement to see what's there. Lynn and Lincoln, you guys come too." Aazay explained.
"Got it." Lincoln said.
Aazay looked at the backpacks.
"There's not enough backpacks for everyone. We'll have a group look around the mall and search for supplies. If anyone else finds supplies, hold on to them if you can." Aazay said.
"How many are there?" Mollie asked.
Aazay looked.
"Theres 18 of us. Theres only seven. I got one which makes it six." Aazay said. "We should give the backpacks to the ones doing most of the scavenging." Aazay said.
"I'll search." Luke said.
"Me too." Sage said.
Matias looked at the backpacks.
"Back in the glade, I would keep track of all the food we had. I guess I can use that." Matias said.
Aazay nodded.
"Alright, Luke, Sage and Matias will do the scavenging. Make sure you guys stay safe and your guard is up." Aazay said.
"The rest of you, look around for anything useful, but stay close by." Aazay said.
The group took note.
Aazay threw three backpacks at Luke, Sage and Matias.
"Make sure you guys don't lose those. It'll have our most important shit in there." Aazay said.
"Got it boss." Luke said.
Sage placed her gun in her backpack.
"Mollie, Benny, Lynn, you guys take the other three backpacks." Aazay said.
Aazay took out his flashlight.
Aazay switched it on.
"Let's go." Aazay said.
The group began to exit the store, splitting up.
Luna and Sam stuck together.
Luna and Sam had their flashlights.
The pair had been extremely close since they arrived.
Sam looked at Luna while walking slowly.
"Earlier...a few minutes before we found you guys...I kinda lashed out at Lincoln." Sam said.
Luna chuckled.
"Why? Did he upset you? You want your old shirt back?" Luna responded jokingly.
"I mean...I wasn't MAD at him, but...so much was going on at once. We just escaped from a factory, the bus we stole flipped over and crashed, we had to run through a sandstorm, and once we finally found somewhere safe, Lincoln kept rushing us, telling us to find supplies. It was just too much. I still didn't really understand what was happening because everything just happened so fast. I just...needed a quick rest." Sam explained.
Luna looked at her.
"Life nowadays...it sucks. Having to worry about dying everyday. Lincoln was probably just trying to make sure everyone was safe..." Luna said.
Sam nodded.
"I still live with me killing Sully. It happened a few days ago, but it feels like forever. I had to do what I had to do...dude was a nutcase, but he was going to shoot Lincoln. I didn't throw the spear fast enough before Sully fired..." Luna explained.
Sam turned towards her.
"Wait...are you saying you blame yourself for what happened to Clyde?" Sam said.
Luna stood silently.
"Look, Luna, you did the right thing. Clyde protected Lincoln himself. It was all happening at once. It's okay...its not your fault." Sam said.
"But you saw how we was. Sully wasn't in his right mind. He was an asshole, but...the Sully I know would never do the thing he did...I killed him..." Luna said.
"I think after the grievers came...he was pushed over the edge...I mean, you saw how we wanted to kill Lincoln and Ronnie. The old Sully we knew was gone after that. He would've done it, stung or not." Sam said.
Luna stood silently.
"Still...I can't help but feel like I did something wrong now. In the moment, I had no hesitation, I threw the spear with no second thought. But now..." Luna said.
"Sully's the one that pulled the trigger. He's responsible." Sam said.
Luna kept quiet.
"Do you miss the glade?" Sam asked.
Luna looked at her.
"I don't know...we had our community going...we had friends. Fun parties every month...good food..." Luna said.
"But we dreamed of escaping. Now it's back to running again." Sam said.
Sam looked at Luna.
"Do you remember Dray?" Sam asked.
"Of course I do. He was one of the most special people I've ever met." Luna said.
"Sometimes, I blame myself for what happened to Dray..." Sam said. "Maybe we could get through the bad memories together...it's something Dray always told me..."
"Sounds like the dude had a mondo crush on you." Luna said jokingly.
Sam smiled.
"Now that I think about it...he probably did..." Sam said.
"Did you like him too?" Luna asked curiously.
Sam didn't respond for a few seconds.
Luna could sense the awkwardness on Sam's face.
"He wasn't my type..." Sam said while blushing.
Luna shook her head.
"Do you even know what your type is?" Luna said jokingly.
Sam stood quiet.
Sam stared at Luna without saying a word.
Luna's heart began to beat fast but she kept to herself.
...
"We should uhm...keep searching. I bet the others would prefer that." Sam said.
"Oh...yeah, yeah." Luna said.
Luna and Sam looked away from each other and set their eyes ahead of them.
"I guess i'll fill you in on everything that happened." Sam said.
"Yeah, i'd like to know." Luna said.
The two continued to walk further down the mall.
Jordan was walking down the strip with Mollie.
The two used their flashlights for better sight.
"What you did back there was brave." Jordan said.
Mollie looked at her.
"What?" Mollie asked.
"The thing in the parking lot. You volunteering to open the gate." Jordan said.
Mollie understood.
"Oh." Mollie responded. "Someone had to."
Jordan thought of something.
"I wonder what happened to everyone that stayed behind." Jordan said.
Mollie looked at her.
"Hope they're okay." Mollie said.
"Lance, Hassan, Joy..." Jordan said.
"I kinda miss taking care of Hassan." Mollie said. "He was funny."
Jordan nodded.
"After the attack from the grievers, I didn't even realize how many we lost until I saw the wall. Chandler, Tal, Michael, Mickey..." Jordan said.
"Maybe one day we'll see everyone else again..." Mollie said.
Jordan noticed Cyrus coming out of a store with a small metal bat.
"What's anti-hear up to?" Mollie asked.
Jordan shook her head.
"I'll ask him." Jordan said.
"I'll be over here." Mollie said while pointing in a direction with her thumb.
Jordan nodded.
Jordan approached Cyrus.
"Where'd you get that from?" Jordan asked.
Cyrus pointed to the store he just came from.
"Some sort of sporting good store." Cyrus answered.
Jordan nodded.
"Hey..." Cyrus said.
Jordan looked at him.
"I just wanted to say...thanks for convincing me back at the stadium...It kinda helped me feel more welcomed within the group." Cyrus said.
Jordan smiled.
"Well, I didn't really say much. Maybe you're just too easy to convince." Jordan joked.
Luckily, Cyrus had a great sense of humor.
Cyrus laughed.
Cyrus looked behind him and pointed.
"I saw another store down there. Looked to have more stuff inside. Checked real quick and saw no cranks. Might need help entering it." Cyrus said.
Jordan nodded.
"I'll help out." Jordan said.
Cyrus nodded and the two walked over towards the store.
The sign above it said "Bellenne's Boutique."
"Might just have clothes inside." Cyrus said.
Jordan opened the rolling door to the boutique.
Jordan and Cyrus used their flashlights.
Jordan looked over and saw another switch on lantern.
Jordan approached it and switched it on.
"We can put our flashlights away...saves battery." Jordan said.
Jordan switched off her flashlight and put in her strap.
Cyrus did the same thing, however he didn't have a strap, so he just put his flashlight down on a bench along with his bat.
Jordan looked to her left and saw a display of bows.
"What are these for?" Jordan asked.
Cyrus looked at what she was talking about.
"Oh, those are bows. You put them on your head." Cyrus answered.
Jordan was confused.
"For what?" Jordan asked.
"Just to look nice?" Cyrus answered.
Jordan looked at the bows.
"I don't know why but I feel like these things are calling my name." Jordan said. "Should I try one on?"
Cyrus shrugged.
"Sure. Why not." Cyrus said.
Cyrus sat down on the bench.
Jordan looked at the display of bows, originally for sale.
Jordan examined all of them before picking up a red one.
"How do I put it on?" Jordan asked.
"Here, I'll help you." Cyrus said.
Cyrus got up.
Cyrus grabbed the bow from Jordan's hand.
Cyrus began to explain how to put the bow on.
Cyrus did it for her.
Cyrus backed away and sat back down.
Jordan turned around and faced him.
"Well, what do you think?" Jordan asked.
Cyrus smiled.
"Wow. You look good." Cyrus said.
Jordan chuckled.
"This is kinda fun. I wish we had more opportunities to do stuff like this." Jordan said.
Jordan removed the bow and put it back.
"Which one should I try next..." Jordan said to herself.
Jordan grabbed two.
"Which one should I do? White or Black?" Jordan asked Cyrus.
Cyrus immediately answered.
"White. It fits you better." Cyrus said.
"I don't know how you got to that conclusion. I'm wearing an ugly old gray jacket." Jordan said.
Cyrus chuckled.
Jordan began to put on the bow. She was a quick learner.
Cyrus sat from the bench as he stared at Jordan putting on the bow.
Cyrus's stomach began to feel woozy.
Cyrus felt very comfortable around Jordan.
He began to blush.
Jordan turned around.
"This look good?" Jordan asked.
"Wow, yeah, you looked awesome." Cyrus said.
Jordan smiled and turned around once more towards the bow display.
Jordan's eyes and smile widened as she saw a particular bow.
"Wait, this is the one." Jordan said as she reached up to grab it.
Jordan grabbed the bow and stared at it.
"What color is it? A cool pattern? Is it made of diamonds?" Cyrus asked.
"No...better than that. It's my second favorite color. I think they ran out of yellow since I didn't spot any. But look! Teal." Jordan said excitingly.
"Teals your second favorite color? Why?" Cyrus asked.
Jordan answered.
"When I first got to my maze, I wore a teal shirt. Loved it ever since." Jordan explained.
Jordan excitingly put on the teal colored bow on her hair.
Jordan faced Cyrus.
"Does this look nice?" Jordan asked.
Cyrus nodded and smiled.
"Amazing." Cyrus said.
Jordan nodded and turned back around.
Jordan's smile faded away.
"I...shouldn't keep this...it's not useful." Jordan said as she put the bow back.
Cyrus got up.
"What, why?" Cyrus asked. "Why not take it?"
"It's just...if I come back with only a bow, and not something to help us survive..." Jordan said.
"Just put it in your pocket or something." Cyrus suggested.
"No...it's fine." Jordan said.
Jordan turned towards Cyrus.
"It's better we focus on the safety of the group." Jordan said.
Jordan began to exit the store.
Cyrus looked at the teal bow.
Cyrus grabbed it and placed it in his pocket before grabbing his bat and flashlight and following her out.
Jordan and Cyrus walked outside the store and back out onto the indoor strip.
Suddenly, the two looked ahead of them and heard something fall over.
"Shit." Cyrus said, gripping his bat.
"Is that one of you guys?" Jordan asked.
No response.
Jordan looked at Cyrus before looking back at the source of the sound.
Jordan and Cyrus slowly approached where the sound had come from.
It came from a dark alleyway between two stores.
As the two got closer, Cyrus was holding his bat.
The two stood in front of the dark alleyway.
Suddenly, a figure jumped out and made a sound.
Jordan and Cyrus yelped and jumped back.
It was Mollie in a mask.
Mollie took off the mask.
Mollie began to laugh.
Jordan grunted.
"Mollie!" Jordan yelled in anger. "You scared the hell outta me!"
Mollie kept laughing.
"Sorry! Sorry! But the look on your faces was absolutely worth it!" Mollie said still laughing.
"Where did you even get that mask?" Cyrus asked.
The mask was blue and had a creepy little face on it.
"Oh, follow me." Mollie said.
Mollie walked around the two and held her hands out towards a store.
"Found a store with a bunch of cool masks." Mollie said.
The store's sign said "Mall-oween Store."
"You just had to." Jordan said.
Mollie chuckled.
"Yep, it was worth it too." Mollie said.
Jordan and Mollie were best friends so Jordan, although not showing it, kinda found it funny.
"I'll get you back one day." Jordan said.
Mollie shrugged.
"I'll wait." Mollie joked.
Cyrus looked at the two.
"We should keep searching." Cyrus suggested.
Mollie sighed.
"Alright, fine." Mollie said as she threw the mask on the ground.
"I saw Luan and Benny head further down, so I'll meet up with them." Mollie said.
Jordan nodded.
"See ya. Stay safe." Jordan said
Mollie put her thumbs up.
Cyrus looked at Jordan.
"She's a very...interesting person." Cyrus said.
"She sure is...that's why I love her." Jordan said.
Meanwhile, Luke, Nick and Kaitlin were searching through an old store.
Nick was helping Luke put things in his bag.
The two were kneeling down.
These things included rations like pudding and canned beans.
"The people that controlled the maze might've trapped us in there for five years, but damn, weren't they generous to send up beans and rice every month?" Nick said.
Luke looked at him.
"You miss cooking Nick?" Luke asked.
"Yep. I loved seeing people enjoy my food. It's a feeling you can't compare." Nick said.
"Look, you know when I say your cooking is garbage, I don't mean it right? You worked hard to keep us fed." Luke said.
"Yeah, I always knew that. Otherwise, I would've cooked YOU." Nick said jokingly.
Luke chuckled.
"Surprised you hadn't made Griever Gumbo." Luke joked.
Nick shook his head.
"I don't want metal and hair in my stew, thank you very much." Nick said.
The two laughed.
Kaitlin was walking around the dark store.
She used her flashlight for sight.
There were old couches and tables that looked to be placed after the scorch of the sun.
Kaitlin noticed there were also used mattresses and sleeping bags scattered around.
Beside one mattress was a pile of books and an old toy.
Kaitlin walked ahead and noticed a pile of clothing.
She shined her flashlight on it and poked around.
Kaitlin disliked her coral colored shirt.
Kaitlin noticed a purple hoodie amongst the pile.
She picked up and pressed it against her body.
It fit perfectly.
Kaitlin grabbed the purple hoodie and dusted it.
Kaitlin walked behind a small room divider and began to remove her coral colored shirt.
...
Luke opened a water canteen he had found and checked inside of it.
Both Luke and Nick were still leaning down.
Nick was rummaging through a pile of supplies, sorting out what they do and don't need.
Nick heard the sound of fabric moving.
Nick turned his head to his left and saw Kaitlin behind the room divider beginning to put on her hoodie.
Nick stared at this.
Luke looked up at him and saw what he was staring at.
Luke looked back at Nick and placed his fingers on his cheek and used them to turn his head towards him.
Nick and Luke looked at each other.
Luke smirked.
"What?" Nick said nervously.
Luke shook his head while smirking.
"Keep your eyes over here." Luke joked.
Nick looked back down at the pile of supplies.
Nick pushed a dusty shirt aside and picked up another can of beans before placing it in the bag.
"That's everything in here." Nick said.
Luke zipped up the bag and put it on his bag.
Luke walked outside the store.
"Hey, imma go check on Aazay, Lynn and Lincoln." Nick said.
Luke nodded.
Nick walked down the strip.
Luke looked over and noticed Sage trying to open a rolling door. Matias was behind her shining his flashlight to help her see.
Luke approached the two.
"Hey guys." Luke said.
Matias and Sage looked up.
"Hey." Sage said.
Matias waved.
"Trying to open this shit without making too much noise." Sage said.
Matias looked at Luke.
"Isn't this place so cool?" Matias said.
Luke looked around.
"Ehh, I wouldn't say so. It's creepy and abandoned." Luke replied.
Matias shrugged.
"I mean, all these stores and cool stuff around...I bet this place was super fun back then." Matias said.
Luke looked around.
"Man, I'm going to stay here for the rest of my life." Matias said excitingly.
Luke shook his head and chuckled.
"Alrighty settling in that quick, huh?" Luke said.
Sage grunted as she struggled opening the rolling door.
Luke looked at the rolling door.
"Here, i'll help." Luke said.
Luke grabbed the rolling door handle along with Sage.
The two lifted it up at the same time.
The rolling door made a horrible screech sound that echoed.
"Well, that plan failed." Sage said.
"At least the door is open." Luke said.
Matias flashed his flashlight inside.
A bunch of couches and mattresses were present.
"That Sawyer kid must've really had an easy overnight life here." Luke said to himself.
The three entered the store.
"Look out for supplies." Sage said.
Luke looked at Matias.
"Wanna swap bags?" Luke asked.
Matias looked at Luke.
"Why?" Matias asked.
"You're better at keeping watch on things. I'd probably lose this and the most important stuff is in here." Luke said.
Matias shrugged.
"Ok, if that's what you want." Matias said.
Matias handed out his backpack to Luke, Luke did the same. The two swapped.
"Woah. This is heavy! What have you got in here?" Matias asked.
"Food, weapons, some clothing, blankets, flashlights, a lantern." Luke answered.
Matias nodded.
"Good finds." Matias said.
Luke looked over and noticed Sage inspecting a wide drawer with her flashlight.
Luke approached her.
"What you up to?" Luke asked.
Sage responded.
"Looking for stuff."
Luke looked at her.
"Mind filling me in on what I missed?" Luke asked.
Sage kept looking.
"Later." Sage said.
Luke was a little confused.
"Everything okay?" Luke asked.
Sage responded.
"Yes. I'm fine." Sage answered.
Luke shrugged.
Sage spotted something in one of the drawers.
"Jackpot." Sage said.
Luke looked.
"What? What'd you find?" Luke asked.
Sage picked up the object and showed Luke.
It was a pendant.
"Wait...I thought this was a knife or something..." Sage said sounding disappointed.
Sage and Luke looked at the pendant.
It had a picture of a little girl hugging a stuffed animal.
Both of them stared at the pendant.
"Hey...do you still have that thing I gave you?" Sage asked while staring at the pendant.
Luke was confused.
"What thing?" Luke asked.
"The thing I made for you on THAT day." Sage said.
Luke's heart dropped.
"Oh shit! Fuck! I left it back in the glade..." Luke said. "I'm so fucking sorry!"
Sage sighed.
"It's okay...it was very eventful." Sage said.
Luke sighed in shame.
"Luke, for real, it's okay! No matter what, I'll still love you." Sage said.
Luke smiled.
Luke placed his hand on hers.
The two looked at each other and blushed.
Suddenly, a light flashed on them.
The two looked over to see Matias.
"Uhh...Did I miss something?" Matias asked.
The two awkwardly looked at him.
"Oh...right, you guys don't know..." Sage said.
"Fuck." Luke said.
Matias smiled.
"Is there something going on between you two?" Matias said.
Luke and Sage looked at each other.
"How long?" Matias asked.
Luke took a deep breath in and faced Matias.
"About a year." Luke said.
Matias's eyes widened.
"Secret lovers?" Matias asked.
Luke nodded.
Both of them thought back to the time where it all began. They hadn't told a single soul about their relationship...
The sun was shining down on the glade.
The sky was a bright blue.
It was around lunch time.
Luke, Sage, Matias and Mickey were in the forest playing a game.
The group had a box of throwing knives set on a long log.
Sage backed away and faced a tree which had a makeshift target on it.
Sage readied her knife.
She lifted her arm and threw the knife.
It landed directly in the middle.
"Beginner's luck." Luke said.
Sage faced him.
"No, master's skill." Sage said.
"Wooooo!" Mickey said, using his signature yell.
"Do you ever go a single sentence without 'Woo-ing'?" Sage asked.
Mickey shook his head.
"Hey! Let the man have his style." Mickey said while smirking.
Sage faced Luke.
"Alright, your turn, Luke." Sage said.
Luke grabbed a knife from the wooden box and stood about 10-15 feet from the target.
Luke readied himself.
Luke threw the knife toward the target.
It missed.
"Son of a bitch!" Luke said.
Mickey and Sage started laughing.
Matias stood smiling.
"Good try, Luke." Matias said.
"GOOD TRY?!" Mickey said, still laughing.
"Oh, let's see you do better!" Luke said.
"You shall." Mickey said.
Mickey grabbed a knife and got ready.
Mickey raised his arm and threw the knife.
It hit the target, but not the bullseye.
"Ha! You didn't hit the bullseye!" Luke said.
"Yeah, but I still hit the fucking board and did better than you." Mickey replied.
Luke groaned.
Sage was up next because Matias was just spectating.
Sage grabbed her knife off the board and aimed it at the board again, this time farther.
Sage threw the knife at the board.
Bullseye.
"That's how you do it." Sage said.
Luke clapped.
"WOOO!" Mickey yelled.
Matias nodded his head.
"Batter up, Luke!" Sage said.
Luke grabbed his knife.
"You got this! You got this!" Luke said to himself.
Luke readied, aimed, and threw.
It missed.
Mickey practically wheezed.
Luke just stared at the target unamused.
Sage chuckled.
"You're the runner here! I thought you were supposed to be the most skilled!" Mickey laughed.
"Bush head, I swear to fucking god, I will make sure your woo-ing days are over!" Luke said.
Mickey kept laughing.
Suddenly, the sound of a stick hitting a pot was heard.
"Oh shoot! Forgot about lunch! Nick is probably wondering where i'm at!" Matias said.
"I'm with ya. I'm starving!" Mickey said.
Matias looked at Luke and Sage.
"You guys coming?" Matias asked.
Luke looked at Matias.
"Yeah, I'll be there in a second." Luke said.
Matias nodded.
"Cool." Matias said as he and Mickey began to head towards the center of the glade, leaving Luke and Sage alone in the forest.
Luke turned towards the board and went behind the tree it was strung up on.
Luke looked around in the bushes.
"Where is that goddamn knife?" Luke said to himself.
Sage walked over towards him.
"Here, I'll help." Sage said as she bent down towards the bushes.
The two began to rummage their hands in the bushes, trying to find the knife.
"Bobby ain't gonna like us playing games out here while everyone else is working their asses off." Luke said.
"Well, we deserve a break after all the shit we went through." Sage responded.
"Yeah, but we do have those night parties and lunch time." Luke said.
Sage and Luke kept looking.
"Yeah, but don't you think we have done so much for this place? You are a Guardian and a top runner. That's not something easy to get or earn, and I have the most jobs here. I build, I garden, I cook, I slice the meat, I keep tally of our weapons and resources...and for what? You told me that there could be no way out of the maze, and that Bobby said for all the runners to keep this quiet, to provide that 'false hope' you guys were trying to set on the rest of us." Sage explained.
"Look, Sage, we can't just give up on our jobs. Bobby gave us that order to prevent total anarchy in this place. What do you think happens if we tell everyone? Everyone will just lose hope and give up. We aren't sure if the maze is just a fucking lie. Maybe one day, we'll find something out there. I only told you about this and not anyone else because I trust you." Luke explained.
Luke felt something metallic and picked it up.
It was the knife.
Luke stood up and walked over to the box of knives and placed it inside.
"I'm not giving up, I'm just saying, this all feels like were going in circles." Sage said.
Luke started counting the knives in the box.
"Did Miguel or Colton lose any motivation to go out in the maze when they got the news?" Sage asked.
"No. They wouldn't. Lynn, Javier, Colton, Miguel, Oscar and me, we all keep going for the rest of you, not for us." Luke said.
Luke stood up and grabbed the box of knives.
"I should go give these back to Colton and Oscar, they're probably wondering where the fuck it went." Luke said.
Sage pulled something from her pocket.
"Luke, wait." Sage said.
Luke turned around and faced her.
"Put down the box." Sage said.
Luke was confused.
"Why?" Luke asked.
"I got something for you." Sage said.
Luke shrugged and placed the box down on the log.
"Hold out your hand." Sage said.
Luke lifted his hand out towards Sage.
"Close your eyes." Sage said.
"I don't like where this is going. Don't put a fucking spider in my hand please." Luke said while he closed his eyes.
"You just said you trusted me, right?" Sage said while smiling.
"Yeah, which is why I closed my eyes. Never would've done so for anyone else. Not since what Mickey and Jason did to me a few months ago." Luke said.
"Oh, yeah, I remember that, that was definitely a show." Sage responded.
Sage held the object in her hand tightly.
"Ready?" Sage asked.
Luke sighed.
"Yep." Luke said.
Sage placed the object in his hand.
Luke still had his eyes closed.
"Doesn't feel like it's moving...or gooey." Luke said.
Sage backed away.
"Open your eyes." Sage said.
Luke looked down at his hand and opened his eyes.
Luke's eyes widened.
It was pendant, made of wood.
It had Luke's face carved into it with a small L beside it.
Luke was amazed.
"You carved this?" Luke asked.
Sage nodded.
"Spent weeks on it." Sage said.
Luke looked at the pendant.
"Did you do this for anyone else?" Luke asked.
Sage shook her head.
"No. Only you." Sage said.
Luke was surprised.
"Why only me? Am I just better than everyone else?" Luke joked.
Sage played along.
"Yeah! You're the best! Only you have the honor of being carved into wood!" Sage joked.
Luke laughed.
Luke looked at the pendant again.
"This is so awesome! Thanks!" Luke said.
Sage walked over towards Luke.
"Can I ask you something?" Sage asked.
Luke looked at her.
"You just did." Luke joked.
Sage rolled her eyes.
"Do you feel like we don't have to follow the rules?" Sage asked.
Luke widened his eyes.
"Are you joking?" Luke asked.
Sage got closer.
"I always had a feeling that you cared about us more than yourself. You love to make people laugh, you love to make others happy, you have such a special personality that no one else in the glade has..." Sage said.
"I've always loved that about you. You're always there for me. That day, a few years ago, when I tried to...end it in the maze...when I snuck in...you were the one who found me and convinced me to get down...at that moment, I figured it'd be best to just give up and not give any of those people who put us here what they want. You got me to care about living..." Sage continued.
Luke smiled.
"I couldn't have just let that happen to you. You weren't in your right mind at that moment." Luke said.
"I know! That's exactly why I grew to like you! You risked your life for me, climbing up those vines, and especially since the doors were about to close...I'll never forget that..." Sage said.
Sage took a deep breath and looked at Luke nervously.
"We don't have to tell anyone." Sage said.
Luke's smile faded away and he became more confused.
"Tell anyone what?" Luke asked.
"Obviously this is up to you...but I kind of want us to be something more...I want to give it a chance..." Sage said was looking at Luke.
Luke's cheeks turned red and his heart began to beat faster.
"W-what? As in, super best friends, right? Right?" Luke said nervously.
Sage sighed.
"No, Luke, as in me and you, together." Sage said.
Luke stood frozen.
"I...but what about the rules? Rule number three? It's not like I don't want to, because to be honest, I fucking WANT to, obviously I never told you because it was against the rules, I always liked you...but wouldn't it be super risky?" Luke said.
Sage smiled.
"Fuck the rules. Do you really think they are gonna banish us to die because of that? After all we've done for this place? No one has to know. We could keep this between us." Sage said.
Luke grinned and stared at Sage.
Sage stepped forward closer to Luke.
Sage put her hand on Luke's cheek.
The pair looked at each other and smiled.
Sage leaned in and placed her lips softly onto Luke's.
The sun glared onto both of them.
Sage pulled away and smiled.
Luke smiled and placed Sage's hand onto the pendant.
Sage blushed.
Sage then looked at the box of knives.
Sage picked up a knife and took the pendant.
Sage began to carve something on the pendant.
Luke couldn't see what she was carving.
Sage finished carving and put the knife back in the box.
Sage got close to Luke and placed her head onto his shoulder.
Sage lifted up her hand and showed Luke the pendant.
There was now an S next to the carved L.
Luke smiled.
Luke looked at Sage.
"Can't believe this is happening." Luke said.
Sage smiled and looked at Luke.
"I thought you weren't gonna take this seriously." Sage said.
"Why wouldn't I? A chance to talk to you, who wouldn't take it?" Luke said.
Sage laughed.
"I'm not that entertaining." Sage said.
"Hell yeah you are!" Luke said.
Suddenly, a voice came out from the woods.
"LUKE! SAGE! YOU'RE MISSING OUT! JASON'S GOAT JUST ATTACKED MICKEY!" The voice said, which sounded like Matias.
"Holy shit, really? We'll be there!" Luke yelled back.
Luke and Sage looked at each other before both stood up.
"We should go check it out." Luke said.
"I hope he's not hurt." Sage said.
"I bet they're gonna banish the goat. Jason's gonna be pissed." Luke joked.
Sage laughed.
Luke picked up the box of knives while Sage held the pendant.
Luke and Sage began to leave the woods and walked towards the glade.
Luke smiled to himself, finally understanding everything he felt around Sage.
"And that's what happened..." Luke said.
Matias smirked.
"So you two were in love for that long? And I never noticed? I need to pay attention more." Matias said.
Sage looked at Matias.
"Don't tell anybody." Sage said.
Matias shrugged.
"If that's what you want." Matias said.
Sage took a step forward.
"I'm serious." Sage said.
Matias nodded.
"I can tell you are. Your secret will stay with me forever." Matias said.
The three looked at each other in silence.
"We should keep searching." Matias said.
"Oh, right, yeah." Luke said.
The three separated.
"Those motherfuckers better hurry up with that power." Luke said to himself.
Lincoln, Lynn and Aazay walked down the shut down escalators.
The three entered a dark room with cables and construction pieces scattered around.
They could only see with their flashlights.
"So you guys figured all of that by yourselves, huh? Not surprised." Aazay said as Lynn and Lincoln told him everything that had happened.
"Sage stepped up so well and got us the hell out of there. To be honest, I forgot she existed." Lynn said.
"Probably why she never got the runner role, you two just never really spoke to each other." Aazay said.
"How do you think the others are doing?" Lincoln asked.
"Probably fucking around, not helping, just being useless." Lynn said sarcastically.
The three continued to walk around the dark room.
Lynn pointed her flashlight to the left and saw piles of clothing and a dusty couch with brown stains.
Lynn shook her head before pointing the flashlight to the right.
Lynn stood back.
Lincoln looked at where her flashlight was pointing.
What was revealed was a body on a chair.
The body had a bag over its head and was highly decomposed.
There was a turned-off light above the corpse and a cage beside it which held a decomposed animal inside.
"Shit..." Lincoln said.
Lynn stepped towards the body.
Lincoln followed.
The two stood in front of the corpse, staring at it.
"Hey...Lincoln." Lynn said.
Lincoln looked at her.
Lynn kept staring at the corpse.
"All those kids that were strung up at the factory back there...I don't wanna end up like that." Lynn said.
Lincoln was surprised Lynn opened to him about her fear.
"We won't let that happen." Lincoln said.
"It's not like I'm scared of it...it's just...what we saw in that room...was a display of what those fucking kid-killer psychos really are." Lynn said.
Lincoln could tell she was lying when she said she wasn't scared.
"Hey, they won't get us." Lincoln said.
Lynn nodded.
Lynn looked at the lamp beside the corpse.
Lynn approached the lamp.
Lynn twisted the switch.
Nothing.
"Power must be nearby if they had a lamp here." Lynn said.
Lynn looked down and followed the cable that was connected to the lamp.
Lynn looked to her left and pointed the flashlight.
What she saw was a large entanglement of wires connected to all sorts of different things.
There was a generator beside it and a power panel.
There was a chain fence behind it.
"That must be it." Lynn said.
Suddenly, something was heard falling, which sounded like a tin can, from behind.
Lynn quickly turned around and flashed the light towards the direction.
Lincoln and Aazay quickly turned around as well.
"Ow! It's just me! Get that light out of my face!" Nick said.
Lynn lowered her light.
"Nick? What the fuck are you doing down here? Could you be anymore louder?" Lynn asked.
"I thought i'd come help out, I got nothing else to do." Nick said.
"You're the last fucking person that should be down here." Lynn said as she began to turn around.
"Hey! At least I'm trying." Nick said.
"Yeah, like we totally needed you down here." Lynn said.
Nick raised his eyebrows.
"You survived all of those years in the maze because of me! I fed you." Nick said.
"Yeah, your fucking stew was the most delicious delicacy in this goddamn world." Lynn said.
Nick raised his arms in disbelief.
"Alright! That's enough you two. We need to focus on getting this power on." Aazay said.
"Well I already found it." Lynn said as she pointed her flashlight towards the power source.
"Alright, Me and Nick will focus on getting that switched on. You two go ahead and look around for supplies and other things." Aazay said.
"Sounds like a plan." Lincoln said.
Nick joined Aazay as the two walked towards the power source.
Lincoln and Lynn separated as they both continued to look around the room.
Luan and Benny looked around a part of the mall by themselves.
"Don't you think we're pretty far from the meet-up point?" Benny asked.
"Aazay told us to look around." Luan said.
Benny shrugged.
Suddenly a door opened behind them.
The two turned around.
It was Mollie.
"I knew i'd find you two back here." Mollie said.
"Oh, it's only Mall-ie! Get it?" Luan said.
Benny chuckled while Mollie crossed her arms.
"Hilarious. Now let's get exploring." Mollie said as she began walking towards them.
"Is that why you're back here?" Benny asked.
"Yep, came to do some actual exploring. I have a good memory so I know how to get back to the meet-up spot if anything happens." Mollie explained.
"Cool beans." Benny said.
"We should check out that store first!" Luan said.
Luan pointed to a home supply store.
"Why not, a bit boring, but...why not." Mollie said.
The three began to walk towards the store.
It was completely darkened inside.
Something caught Luan's attention.
"Wait...is that a goat statue?" Luan said.
Mollie and Benny looked over to where she was looking.
It was indeed...a goat statue.
"Yeah, so?" Mollie said.
"Hold on. I wanna check it out." Luan said as she began to walk towards it.
Benny followed her.
"Oh my god..." Mollie said to herself. "I guess i'll explore by myself."
Mollie entered the store.
She used her flashlight to look around.
Mollie saw empty shelf, after empty shelf.
"Bland." Mollie said to herself.
Mollie kept walking down the store.
There were old papers and food stains on the floor.
Mollie then noticed a door.
Mollie flashed her light on it.
It was a red door.
Mollie placed her hand on the knob and turned it.
Mollie opened the door as dust came falling off.
The room was slightly lightened by a small lantern.
A radio was beside it.
It was a small office.
Mollie entered the room.
She wondered why there was already a lit lantern inside.
Mollie approached the desk where it resided on.
Mollie grabbed the radio and pointed her flashlight on it.
Mollie inspected it.
Her eyes widened.
On the side of the radio was a familiar logo...
The Unit 8 logo.
"Holy shit...GUYS-" Suddenly a hand covered Mollie's mouth from behind.
Luan and Benny looked towards the direction of the store.
"Yeah?" Benny said.
No response...
"Mollie?" Luan said.
The two looked at each other.
"We're coming!" Benny said.
The two ran over towards the store.
The two entered the store.
"Mollie, you okay?" Benny asked.
"Mollie!" Luan said.
No response.
Suddenly Luan was tackled to the ground.
Benny turned around.
"LUAN!" Benny yelled.
Benny couldn't get a step towards Luan before his vision went dark...
Mavys sat at a desk talking on the radio to someone.
She was in some sort of meeting room brightly lit.
"Okay. We'll get back to you on that. Stay safe." Mavys said as she got off the radio.
The door to the room opened.
Jay entered the room.
Mavys looked at him and stood up.
"So...did they get away? Did John and his men get them on the road?" Mavys asked.
Jay sighed.
"They got away..." Jay said.
Mavys sighed.
"I just got off the radio with Trevett. I told him the situation and he ordered us to meet at the mountain camp in a few days. He's sent out all of the men he could to locate them." Mavys said.
"Trevett does not need to get involved with this!" Jay said.
"Look, we're almost out of options. I had to." Mavys said.
"Trevett is a dangerous person. His OWN men are afraid of him. He'd get those kids killed and not give a fucking damn about it. His fucking desolation from empathy is fucking horrifying." Jay explained.
"You think I don't know that? But what other options are there? The stadium is overrun, Vinny's soldiers are on a mission, we can't call the soldiers back at the city, and we have barely any men left." Mavys explained.
"It's a bad idea." Jay said. "We need these kids. They are the future of our survival."
"Vinny was willing to help after the mission is done, but you know he's more loyal to Trevett than us." Mavys said.
"He doesn't need to be fucking loyal to Trevett, Vinny has his own leadership." Jay said.
Mavys looked at the whiteboard beside her.
It had a massive map and a bunch of names written on it.
"Our last operation went fucking south and it was all because of Trevett's reckless orders!" Jay said.
"Look, we need to focus on getting these kids and finding the defectors." Mavys said.
The board had a section of words written on it on the bottom corner.
It read:
Owl's Squad: 380 to 66
Wolf's Squad: 600 to 524
Shark's Squad: 1400 to 1283
Viper's Squad: 800 to 740
Gorilla's Squad: 200 to 0 - Killed In Battle
Kraken's Squad: 460 to 0 - Executed For Betrayal
Caterpillar's Squad: 240 to 0 - Killed In Battle
Lion's Squad: 4800 to 2389 - Stationed in Canadian Area.
...
"Lion can't help because of their Canada mission..." Jay asked.
"It's either Trevett and all of his men, or us, with our 600 men..." Mavys said.
"We can take out the defectors, theres only around 100 of them." Jay replied.
"Yeah, but they have skilled fighters. They killed Alex and his men at the Ganelocke Operation and took out most of yours. They know how to plan." Mavys said.
"Alex didn't even want to fight the battle." Jay said.
"But he did, and he died for it." Mavys said.
"Look, our people back at home, every single one, their lives are in our hands. There's not a single damn leader at the city right now, so we need to make sure all of those people survive. And if we can't-" Jay was cut off.
A knock was heard on the door.
Jay walked towards it and opened it.
"Hello, Tyler." Jay said.
Tyler Parker, the soldier Lincoln's group took hostage stood in front of Jay.
"Hey, they just sent out the men to look for them." Tyler said.
Jay nodded his head.
"Good." Jay said.
Jay turned towards Mavys.
"Mind if I show you something?" Jay asked.
Mavys approached Jay.
Jay turned towards Tyler.
"You too." Jay said.
Tyler nodded.
Jay began walking down the hallway.
Mavys and Tyler followed behind.
"We spent years building our place as the new world. We lost so many and so much for it." Jay said as he walked down the hall.
"I need you two to know what is really happening."
Jay walked onto a balcony.
Mavys and Tyler stood behind him.
"Look at this." Jay said.
The two looked below and saw the factory.
"This is one of many things we managed to save. But now we need to save ourselves. Humanity." Jay said. "We will kill or capture the defectors and take back those kids."
Mavys and Tyler looked at him.
"We're going to get them. No matter what it takes. I'm done taking this world's way of things." Jay said.
"We will." Mavys said.
Suddenly, Jay's radio went off.
Jay picked it up.
"This is the Owl. Any updates?" Jay asked.
"Yeah...we got some good news." The voice said.
Jay smirked.
"About fucking time." Jay said to himself.
Yeah, literally, about fucking time. Sorry I kept you all waiting for almost a whole YEAR. I had to plan out the story as the way it was going to go before was something I wasn't feeling tbh. I hope this extra long chapter will SOMEWHAT make up for the long wait. Don't give up on me yet! We still have many chapters to go. See you guys in the next one! - RedLemonCola