The Desolation (The Maze Runner)

17. Ruins

The bright light of the day made the first change. Brenda relaxed, so did Jorge and Minho. The group took their backpacks and hurried down the valley. It was very early and the dawn was cool. Thomas and Brenda were the fastest today. They kept a steady tempo while walking towards the end of the valley. Jorge was joking with Minho. The horror of their night, filled with monsters and scary hallucinations faded in the daylight. Salsa was walking behind them. She kept their pace but she seemed so sad that she couldn't focus. She lost her energy, her power, her will to fight.

The sun rose higher and the day started to heat the air up. Five hours later, they finally saw the end of the valley. They made a quick stop for food, and continued their walk. It was getting dark when they reached the small city. It must have been industrial because they noticed abandoned factories with huge chimneys.

They entered the city after nightfall. They were quiet and Salsa took the lead again, scanning the streets in front of them. They saw a few Cranks, mostly wild and very skinny. It looked like they were hiding from one another because they had ran out of food. The group rushed through the ruins and finally stopped at the other end of the city.

They found a place to rest on the edge of a dried river that surrounded an old factory. The building was empty. There were three huge chimneys behind it. Salsa went through the factory with her gun, making sure they were safe. Thomas offered to come with her but she refused. She found a few rats and a van that was open with broken windows. She came back to the factory hall and saw the group gathered next to a wall.

"I'll take the first night watch," said Jorge.

Salsa nodded and moved to a corner. She lied on the ground and tried to sleep but Newt's eyes were in her head again. She couldn't do anything to stop her pain. Minho took the second watch, then Brenda. Around two a.m., Thomas told Brenda to go to sleep. He sat in the open space that had been a factory entry before and watched the sky. Salsa turned around. She wasn't able to sleep and had seen all the changing of the guards. She got up and walked to Thomas, sitting sown next to him.

"You need to sleep," he whispered.

"Shhhh..." Salsa suddenly turned around.

She could swear she had heard something.

"What?" Thomas looked at her.

"Come," she said.

They left the factory and snuck around the building. Salsa looked into the dark space between the chimneys and saw two black shapes moving in the darkness.

"Let's climb up," she said, spotting a small fire escape.

Thomas followed her up to the first floor of the factory building. The main section of the wall was missing and they sat behind the part that was still standing. Salsa took her gun out, checked it and laid it across her lap.

"How many?" whispered Thomas.

"Two," she replied.

"You can..." he muttered.

"They're not doing any harm now. If they get too close, I'll take them down," she said.

She watched the two shapes crawling around and looking in every trashcan, and in whatever that was left. They found the van and crawled inside. But when they hadn't found anything interesting, they moved back to the chimneys. One must have spotted a rat because he fell onto the ground and started to chase something in that position.

"What is he doing?" asked Thomas.

"Rat chasing," said Salsa.

"That's not too clever," muttered Thomas.

She was quiet. Soon, Newt will be like them. Chasing rats and people. She took a breath. How long could he stay human? She saw his brain scans. The virus was moving inside him quicker than in any living being.

"He won't be like that. He's strong, a survivor. He survived the Maze and the Scorch," whispered Thomas.

"You know it's not true. Either we get the cure or he'll be just like them," Salsa felt like a knife was cutting deeper and deeper into her heart.

"WICKED seems to have a lot of respect for you," Thomas moved closer to her to have a better view of the two Cranks.

"It's just fear," Salsa watched how the crawling Crank caught the rat and used his hands to tear it in two halves.

She turned around.

"That's... disgusting," Thomas shuddered.

Salsa rested her head against the wall, suddenly feeling so tired and sleepy. She moaned out loud.

"I'll take it, it's my watch anyway," said Thomas, grabbing the gun from her lap.

She closed her eyes, trying to ignore the sounds the Cranks made when they moved further into the darkness while rat hunting.

"Your neck will be sore, get a more comfortable position," whispered Thomas. "We can change places, I'll be in a better watching position."

"Okay."

Salsa got up and he moved across the floor to the open space. He leaned his back on the broken wall. Salsa looked around, trying to spot a rock she could rest her head on.

"What are you looking for?" asked Thomas.

"A pillow," she said.

"Use my lap, come on," he smiled.

"Um..." Salsa felt strange.

"We're friends, come on," Thomas smiled again.

"Brenda will be jealous," Salsa lied down and rested her head on his lap.

"You know by now that I love Teresa, even if she's such a liar," he said, but his voice was soft and calm.

Salsa smiled a little. Yes, love was doing terrible things to all of them.

She closed her eyes and fell asleep.

It was a strange wave, a wave that moved through her body and made her shiver...

It was a strange wave, a wave that moved through her body and made her shiver. . .

Thank you so much for all your support. Over 500 reads, that's so cool :)

What do you think might happen next? I have this story written till the end so no worries, I'd just love to know your ideas :)

One more thing. What do you think about the story cover, is it ok, or should I work on something different?

i dedicate this chapter to GracetheLoricGlader :)

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