flower | newt ✓

EIGHTEEN

chapter eighteen;
trust

THE BUILDINGS IN SECTION A SURPRISED THALIA. It was half more decent than the buildings she saw earlier. There were a lot of people too. Not infected people, in fact. The place that Brenda led her to, also looks more like a party than what Thalia had expected.

They walked past several girls who was drinking and looks like they're having fun. "Are you sure this is the right place?" Thalia asked. Brenda didn't get a chance to answer before one of the girls that they walked by earlier approach them.

"You here for the party?" she asked. Thalia and Brenda glanced at each other.

"No" Brenda said. "We're looking for Marcus. This is his place isn't it?" Brenda asked. A voice in front of them answered.

"This is my place" Thalia and Brenda snapped their heads at the source. A man with a black shirt and red maroon vest was standing in front of them with a glass of, what Thalia assumed was, alcohol. The girl behind them pushed Thalia and Brenda towards the man.

"Are you Marcus?" Thalia asked.

"Marcus doesn't live here anymore" he answer. Thalia sighed and turned to Brenda.

"Do you know where we can find him?" Brenda asked. The man nodded.

"Sure. He's over in Zone B" he said. Thalia turned to Brenda and she had a confused look on her face.

"What Zone B?" Thalia asked. The girl behind them moved to the man's side as she answered Thalia's question.

"It's where they burn the bodies" she said. Thalia sighed. She didn't come all the way here for nothing. Thalia walked towards the man.

"Has anyone else been here looking for him?" she asked. Thalia glanced over to Brenda and she nodded. "They're around our age. There's a girl with them, dark hair" she described. The man kept his gaze at Thalia.

"You know, I think they might be inside" he said. He pulled out something from his pocket. A flask of alcohol. "Here" he gestured it to Thalia. "Drink this" he urged.

"What is it?" Thalia asked. The man shrugged.

"The price of admission" he said. Thalia glanced at the bottle in front of her. "Drink it!" the man urged. Thalia wasn't sure if it was the flare affecting her brain, but somehow she snatched the flask from the man's hand and drank it when she knew she shouldn't be.

The burning sensation of alcohol ran down her throat as she took three gulps of the drink. She could already feel the effects of the strong alcohol as she handed the bottle back to the man. Thalia caught Brenda's stunned look and shrugged. The man smiled and turned to Brenda. "Your turn" the man said.

Brenda hesitated but finally took the drink. She gave the man the bottle back and Thalia could see the grin plastered on the man's face. Thalia felt a hand on her shoulder. "All right" he said. "Let me just take this real quick.." he said, snatching Thalia's bow from her grip and her quiver. Thalia was going to object, but he already pushed them towards the room. "You two, enjoy the party"

Thalia was immediately greeted with obnoxiously loud music around her. Half naked girls were walking around, some of them serving drinks. "Maybe we should split up" Brenda said. Thalia turned to the girl and nodded. "Thal" Brenda called out, snapping her attention. "Don't drink anything else" she said. Thalia nodded and watched Brenda took a right turn. Thalia turned to her left and wandered across the room, trying to find any of her friend's familiar faces.

Thalia felt dizzy, and she could feel the room getting hotter and hotter by the minute. This has to be the alcohol, she thought. Thalia made her way through sweaty dancing people when she heard the sound of growling. She went closer to the sound and she could see crank chained up to the side. The people around it played with the crank, like a dog and the master.

Is that what I'll be if I turn into one of those things? If I'm not immune? Thalia asked herself. Thalia turned her head just in time as she heard a gunshot was fired. The sound of music and cheering were just muffles in Thalia's ear. She shook her head and slowly made her way backwards and bumped into someone. Thalia turned and she saw Brenda with an unsatisfied look on her face. "They're not here" Brenda said.

Rage rose in Thalia's chest. Thalia has never been a person who got mad easily. But, the strong alcohol affected her brain to work otherwise. "What?!" she exclaimed. "I followed you all the way out here because you said we'll meet out friends!" Thalia fumed.

"Thal, I'm sorry-" Thalia didn't let her finish as she cut her off.

"Save it" she said. "I didn't even know why I trusted you in the first place" she hissed. Thalia turned away from Brenda and walked away from her, ignoring Brenda calling her name. Thalia walked through the group of people dancing, and she could feel her throat getting tighter and tighter, making her harder to breath.

Thalia pushed her way from the crowds to a less crowded area to catch her breath, but something else caught her gaze. A girl with long blonde hair was standing at the other side of the room, smiling at her, and Thalia knew exactly who that was. "Sonya?" Thalia called out. The blonde girl smiled at her and Thalia walked towards the figure, but she wasn't there. "Sonya?" Thalia called out. Thalia turned to her right and she saw the girl again. Thalia followed her, but as she got there, there was no sign of the blonde girl.

The sound of music got louder and louder in Thalia's ear, making her more and more dizzy. Thalia turned to her left and the image of a griever was there with it's sharp claws, growling at her. Thalia yelled in surprise and ran to the other side of the room, she stopped as she saw Harriet, her closest friend, lying on the ground with blood, forming a puddle around her. "NO!" she yelled.

Thalia put her hand over her mouth as tears fell over her cheeks. "Harriet.." Thalia whispered and knelt down, but Harriet disappeared from her view just as quick as she imagined her. Just as that, Thalia fell to the ground and her eyes closed into unconsciousness.

EDITED
31/05/2019