Ticking Time Bomb [THE SCORCH TRIALS]

CHAPTER FOUR

Once all of the boys plus Ingrid were slammed into the room, she walked towards the edge of one of the cots, sitting down in it gently. Thomas eyed her continuously, and she rolled her eyes before saying, "Thomas, stop staring at me. Yes, this is blood on my face. Yes, you punched me. Yes, I hate you. Anything else I forgot to add?"

          "Give me the napkin, Ingrid."

          "What, why?"

          The boy said nothing as his hand brushed against Ingrid's as he snatched the napkin out of her hand, bending down to her height and beginning to dab softly on her face. Newt and Minho were nervously pacing behind the two, the other boys now holding a worried expression on their face. Thomas didn't stop at his constant dabbing as his two friends spoke, "What the hell were you trying to do, Thomas?"

"You don't really think they were just going to let you through?"

Thomas suddenly stood up, dropping the napkin on the floor as he reached into his back pocket, pulling out a very familiar I.D Card. Ingrid stood up as well, a shocked expression now taking place. "Of course I didn't," He held up the card as if it were a winning token. "I'm gonna find out what's through those doors. These people are not who they say they are."

          "Goddamnit, Thomas."

         "Thomas, you don't know that!" Newt stepped forward, his voice raised now at the pitch of a yell. Thomas's body was now facing towards the vent that Ingrid and him had just crawled out of a night ago. "The only thing that we know is they helped rescue us. They gave us new clothes, they gave us food, they gave us proper bed. Some of us haven't had that in a long time. Some of us, a lot longer than others."

         Suddenly, the screeching sound of the vent opening interrupted the two boys, Aris popping out from underneath. "Hey guys."

          "What the―"

         "You got the card?" Aris asked softly.

         Thomas waved it in the air, walking towards the vent, "Yeah, yeah, let's go."

          Aris looked at Ingrid for a second before shocking her with a simple question, "You coming with us?"

Ingrid's mind spun in circles at the sudden decision thrown at her. She could go and find out more about what secret Janson had been hiding from her, or she could stay here and attempt to make amends with her leader. Both ways would bring a whole different ending, but in Ingrid's mind, the only one that seemed right was to find out the secret that could be hurting her in more ways than one. Just as Ingrid was about to move towards the vent, Thomas spoke up to argue with his friends, "Look, I know you guys think I'm paranoid. But I've gotta find out for sure. Just cover for me. I'll be back as soon as I can."

And with that, Thomas and Ingrid lowered themselves into the vent, slightly falling into the deep abyss of darkness that engulfed them. They crawled in silence through the packed area, the memories of that night leading them to their destination. When they finally arrived, Thomas pushed open the vent, opening the pathways so that they were now in a compact hallway. Thomas jumped down to the ground first, followed by a shaky Ingrid. Thomas grabbed her hand as she jumped down as a way to guide, and she lightly smiled at him. He released his grip on her hand as they ran towards the door that the doctor had made her way into just the night before, swiping the I.D Card continuously. Ingrid stayed behind Thomas to keep watch on the hallway, but her attention soon averted towards the doors when she heard a loud noise signaling their opening.