𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 | Scorch Trials | Thomas ✔️

A12: 𝘕𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘕𝘰𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘞𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥

Grace

It took us all of two seconds to make the decision to leave and all of two minutes to flee the leaning building. We climbed down the rusted old fire escape that used to be on the side of the building. My feet crunching on the sand and rock that covered floor, the sound of bustling people echoing through the streets. 

"Hey you hear that?" Thomas asked as he looked around for the source of the noise. 

The wound on my arm continued to sting and I could feel it pulse with every beat of my heart, it made my jacket feel tight around my arm, the feeling too uncomfortable to keep going. I quickly stopped in my tracks pulling my katana's off my back before I gripped the top of my sleeve, quickly tearing it off my jacket before wrapping it around my wound. 

Brenda then sat beside me her breathing quick and ragged as sweat dripped down her forehead. "Hey are you alright?" I asked kneeling down next to her as she lifted the edge of her trouser leg, revealing a bite mark on her ankle. One from a crank. I felt a slight hint of sadness inside me, I knew what a few scratches from a crank could do but I had no idea how much worse a bite could be. 

"Brenda..." Thomas sighed, knowing what was going to happen to the girl. 

"Yeah. Yeah." Brenda nodded, not wanting to discuss what she was going to turn into. "I know. Lets just go find Marcus."  

I finally tore my eyes from the wound, grabbing onto my remaining sleeve, ripping it from my jacket. "What are you doing?" Brenda asked looking at me as if I was doing something to hurt her. "Helping." I replied before beginning to tie it around her leg. 

"You know I'm gonna really owe you one when this is over." She said causing me to look at her before focusing back on her wound. "Really? Cause this is me repaying you after saving our arses back their." I replied taking a quick glance to her. "So we're even now." I added before we settled into silence "Thanks." She muttered, a small awkward smile placed on her lips. 

"Your welcome." I replied sending her the same smile to her before grabbing her hand and pulling her to her feet, picking up my katanas before grabbing onto Thomas' hand and following Brenda into the city. 

"Okay try to blend in." Brenda advised us, making me wonder what people would look like here, most likely no better than us, and relatively the same, we weren't walking into a city of cranks. Were we? 

My theory was true as I looked around at the situation these people were in. Luckily there was no cranks  and  they all seemed to be in the same situation as us. Everyone had dirt smeared across their face, their clothes ripped and old, the only source of heat coming from the fire in a metal barrel, or a small tent that some people lived in. These people looked like they were used to living like this and I found it hard to believe that the world had ever been better than this. 

We passed through a few more buildings, walking past one that had a banner on the side of it, the words 'ZONE A' written in white paint. 

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Thomas asked as we passed multiple people, including adults and teenagers, lounging around on old and used chairs and sofas, most of them looking half out of their mind, not as if they were a crank or a crazy person but relaxed and dazed, a feeling that I would have thought to be hard to come by in this world. 

"You here for the party?" A feminine voice asked from behind us as we turned to see a tall blonde haired women standing in front of us, her hair tied up in some sort of messy ponytail, bun thing as several necklaces hung from her neck and her fingers adorned in rings. She too looked slightly dazed however not as much as the others lying around us.