Burning; TST ➵ Thomas

T W E L V E

The welcome statement from the Crank caused Thomas and Amelia to freeze in their spots. Before anyone to say something, the long-haired man pulled them into the building. He ushered the duo through a tight, packed crowd of dancing bodies. The music was deafening. 

Long Hair leaned over and spoke to Thomas as they slowly made their way through the dancing crowd. Despite the fact that he was yelling, Thomas was still unable to hear him. 

"How did you know my name? Why were you waiting for me?" Thomas yelled back. Amelia clung to his arm, disgusted by the sweaty bodies everywhere. She turned to the man who laughed at the questions.

"We watched you all night. Then this morning we saw your reaction to the sign through a window. Figured you had to be the famous Thomas!" Amelia jerked her head to Thomas, he was just as shocked as her. She removed her hands from his arm and wrapped it around his waist. She squeezed him even tightener. Thomas wrapped one arm around the back of her neck to keep her close. 

Thomas turned back. Blondie and his friends were following on their heels. The gun was put away. Despite that, he knew it was be taken out again soon. He sighed and turned back to Long Hair. 

The music blared, Long Hair shouted something about getting them drinks. Thomas wasn't sure what did he actually say but Long Hair was gone in a second. He turned around again, Blondie and his friends were just watching them, staring at them. They weren't dancing. Ponytail caught his attention with a wave of her hand. "Might as well dance!"

The three didn't take her advice. Thomas twisted around to fully face Amelia. It was like she could read his mind. She wrapped her arms around his neck, she brought him close until her mouth was next to his ear. 

"How did we get into this piece-of-crap situation?" she asked. He wasn't sure what else to do except wrap his arms around her back and waist. He didn't reply, only tightened his grip on her. The song changed, it was darker and more haunting. The beat slowed a bit, the drum sounded deeper. 

None of them was able to make out the words of the song. It seemed to be the singer was lamenting a horrid tragedy. The voice was wailing, high-pitched and sorrowful. Thomas took note that they were actually dancing, they didn't mean to or thought of it. They moved with the music, slowly turning, their bodies pressed tightly together.

A lock of her hair moved. Thomas spotted the tattoo on her neck. He softly sighed, remembering the times in the Maze. Maze. The Gladers, Jorge and Brenda. He wondered if they were okay, if they had gone without the duo. They needed to escape the party, fast. 

Long Hair returned. He held two cups, one in each hand. The duo separated a bit but were still holding each other. Brown-ish liquid sloshed inside the cups. Long Hair reached the duo who were looking at the liquid in disgust. "Drink up!"

Something inside Thomas went off. He felt as if taking the drink was going to lead to something dangerous. The situation became even more uncomfortable. He turned to Amelia who didn't look back. She didn't get the bad vibe that he felt. She reached out to grab a cup. 

"NO!" Thomas protested. He raced to cover his mistake. "I mean, no. I don't think we should be drinking that stuff. We've gone a long time without water, we need that first." 

He licked his lips, his face was as red as a tomato. He fully knew he sounded like an idiot. He cringed as he saw Amelia shooting him a strange look in his peripheral vision. Something pressed against his temple, he didn't need to turn to see what it was; Blondie's pistol.