IT STARTED WITH A MAZE - Newt x Reader (F)

- WELCOME TO THE SCORCH -

The lights flicker once.

Then again.

And then every single bulb above us flashes on at full strength, flooding the shattered dome in blinding white light. Shadows vanish in an instant, swallowed by the glare. We all squint, our bodies snapping to attention like the tension just gripped us by the throat.

Something's wrong.

Very wrong.

"What the hell?" Frypan murmurs, shielding his eyes.

"I don't like this," Teresa mutters, turning in a slow circle. "This place was dead a second ago."

There's a loud bang. We freeze.

The sound echoes through the mall like a cannon blast, rattling glass, shaking the walls. A dragging noise follows - a low, scraping grind like metal being hauled across tile. Jack, Winston and Aris make their way quickly back to us.

Then comes the screaming.

Agonized. Raw. Inhuman.

Teresa whirls toward the nearest corridor, panic in her voice. "Where's Minho? Thomas?"

They're not with us.

"Something is very wrong," I say aloud, even though everyone knows it already.

We press into a wider space - what might've once been an atrium. A warped skylight glares down at us. The air feels too tight. Too still.

And then - footsteps. Rapid. Erratic.

Thomas and Minho burst out of the corridor, wild-eyed and bloodied. Panic lights their faces. Thomas shouts like his life depends on it: "RUN!"

I don't wait. None of us do.

"GO, GO, GO!!" I scream, grabbing whatever I can as I spin and push the others into motion.

We scatter, scrambling up a nearby stairwell, slipping on crumbling steps. I glance back once - and that's when I see what's chasing them.

Cranks.

At least four. Maybe five. Once-human bodies, now twisted beyond reason - clothes in tatters, eyes bloodshot and gleaming with madness. One drags a broken leg behind it. Another is missing half its scalp. But they're fast. So fast.

"What are those things?!" Jack yells, nearly tripping.

"I don't know!?" Minho snaps, even though his expression says otherwise.

"Cranks?!" I shout the word like it might make this less real. Like naming the nightmare gives me power over it.

One of them screeches behind us, a sound so guttural it shakes me down to the bone. The dome has turned into a hunting ground, and we're the prey.

"Keep moving!" Minho yells. "Don't stop!"

We hit the next level - and then chaos erupts.

A Crank dives onto Frypan. He shoves it off with both arms, slipping in the process. Another jumps at Jack and sinks its teeth into his shoulder. Aris grabs a pipe and smashes it away, but blood is already spilling.

I grab the nearest weapon - an old metal pole - and swing hard at a Crank coming toward Teresa. It hits square in the head with a crack that sounds like splitting wood. The thing drops, twitching.

Then I hear it; Newt's scream.

I spin and see him go down. One of the Cranks is on him, pinning him to the ground. Its hands dig into his shoulders as it snarls inches from his face. He kicks and punches, but it doesn't let up. "Help!" Newt cries out, voice raw.