The Scorch Victims

Chapter Seven

Thomas ran with the rest of them following him, Jay in his arms. They ran down a hallway with pipes running along the left wall. Two guards appeared in front of them and frowned at they sight.

"Hey you aren't-" One started but Minho and Arris quickly disposed of them with a few swift punches. Minho snatched up one of the guns and tossed the other to Newt. "We need to find a medic room. See if they have anything to wake Jay up. Then we're out of here." Thomas explained to the others who nodded in agreement.

Then they were off again. The maze of concrete walls painfully reminded him of the Glade and of the others left behind. He quickly snapped himself back to reality. There was no time to reminisce on the past. Not until they were out of this place.

It wasn't long before they found a spare room and barged in. Scientists looked around, bewildered as Minho and Newt held their weapons up. "We need a little favor."

Minutes later, Jay was hooked up onto one of the various beds while Newt worked on barricading the door efficiently. Thomas held her hand and in the other, a large gun he had acquired when a guard showed up at the door.

"Thomas...If she doesn't wake up.....We have to go.." Minho murmured. It reminded Thomas all too painfully of her Griever induced coma in the Glade. It tore him apart. But how long would she be unconscious?

Apparently, not long.

Jay woke with a start, gasping for breath. Thomas dropped the gun and used both hands to cup her cheeks. "Jay, Jay, Jay....I'm here.." He murmured and she looked around. "Where are we?...What's going on?"

Thomas helped her up, pressing a chaste kiss to her lips. After pulling away, Newt tossed Jay a spare weapon. "WCKD was behind all this. We have to get going before they find us." A loud bang shook the door.

"Too late." Jay winced and looked towards the window that led to another room. Without a second thought, she grabbed a chair from one of the scientists desks and smashed it against the fragile surface. Glass flew everywhere. But at least there was a chance of escape.

"Alright! Everyone through!" Jay yelled as she carefully stepped on the bed by the window and pulled herself through the glass. One by one the Gladers and Arris crawled through the window until the door slammed open.

But by then, they were long gone. They ran down a hallway towards a large and open entrance. Their relief wasn't long-lived. Guards appeared in front of them instantly and Thomas fired round after round. "Go, go, go!"

Jay, Newt, Minho and the others ran to the other side of the entrance just as alarms started to go off. The intercom started to wail:

Lockdown initiated. All doors will be sealed in fifteen seconds.

"Thomas run!" Jay screamed while a metal plate started to descend to seal off the exit. Thomas stiffened once he heard the sound of boots echoing off the walls, Janson and his men rounding the corner.

Then he did what he did best.

He ran.

The Gladers cheered him on, bullets narrowly missing Thomas as he bolted towards the others. He gasped when one found home in his side but slid under the metal plate just as it shut.

"You idiot!" Jay murmured, Thomas leaning down and kissing her. "I'm your idiot." He grinned and held her hand as they ran off towards the closing doors.

Hearing a thumping noise on metal, Thomas glanced behind him to spot Janson banging on the door through the small window. A smirk covered his features and he didn't hesitate when he flipped him off before running again.

Finally, they were free.

Running out through the large doors, they didn't slow down their pace through the howling sand. They stopped behind a dune once they deemed it safe and hid behind the sandy mountain.

Shouts littered the air and flashlights seemed to roam everywhere. The group remained silent.

It seemed like hours before the flashlights and shouts diminished. But they knew it wasn't over yet. Thomas winched when he stood, blood covering his side. Luckily the bullet had gone clean through so there was no worry. It also wasn't too deep so it didn't need stitches, the wound being only a graze. Seemed like a lucky shot since it barely left any severe wounds.

Jay tore a strip off of her shirt and cleaned it up before using the thick gauze Jeff had managed to snatch to bandage it up.

Standing, she held Thomas' hand as they walked off into the swirls of sand to find shelter for the night.

It didn't take them long before they found a strange structure sticking out from the sand. Once they arrived, Newt kicked out the glass on the top and sat on the edge of it and pushed himself down.

The Gladers followed him inside and examined their surroundings. "Looks empty...." Jay remarked, her eyes trailing over the dim area. It was an abandoned mall which was practically almost fully buried under years of sandstorms.

"Everyone spread out. Search the area. If it's safe, we'll stay here for the night. Then we'll gather our supplies and move out tomorrow." Thomas declared and the group set off through the dusty setting.

Jay went with Newt, Minho with Thomas, and Jeff with Frypan and Arris.

Jay walked by Newt in silence, looking for anything she could use as a weapon. A smile crawled across her face when she noticed a weapons store. It was mostly cleaned out but twin katanas remained under the rubble.

Strapping the katanas onto her back, she stored a magazine of bullets in her pocket. Enough to last her a week or two. Maybe a month if she was lucky.
But the odds weren't exactly in their favor.

~

Thomas and Minho walked along a chain link fence and Minho smiled once he saw a generator. "Nice! I can get this up and working." Thomas nodded and hung back, peering past the fence.

Blood spattered the walls and floor; rustling in the darkness showing that they weren't alone. A girl wandered out from the shadows. Where her eyes once were remained two gory holes. Her fingernails were covered with blood, pieces of flesh stuck under them.

The little girl stared blankly into space, Thomas recoiling slightly at the sight. "Minho...I don't think..."

"Done."

~

Jay and Newt walked down the plaza with the others in nearby stores, not saying anything.

As they searched stores, Newt yearned to say something. Anything. His feelings hadn't faded in the slightest. But he just didn't know what to say.

He opened his mouth to say something when a whirring noise brought him out of his thoughts. The lights flicked on with a loud clang and whoops could be heard throughout the mall.

That is, until the sounds of snarls and roars reached their ears.

Hope you liked this :3 And I'm thinking about doing a new contest! 😋
-A