In my Blood

CHAPTER 26 - Crank Party

Trigger warning - SA

Jorge strides purposefully across the cracked, sandy streets, us following in toll. A few times he stops - a thoughtful expression painted on his face - before continuing, not answering any of our questions. 

"Jorge - please, just tell us what we're doing," I plead with an urgent tone. I want to find Thomas more than anything, but how can I put all of my trust into this stranger? I have no idea if he's even helping us - for all I know, he could be taking us to a different WICKED facility. 

"One moment, hermana," he replies coolly. I sigh, exasperated, feeling a lump rising in my throat. As much as I want to argue back, this man's made it very clear who's in charge. 

We walk through the desolate city for another hour, winding down narrow alleyways and glass-shattered sidewalks. I have to tie my back back into a messy top-knot, since my forehead is glistening with sweat from the intense heat. We don't see any other people. No other movement, or noises, other than the whistling of the warm wind. The city's big, much bigger than it first seemed to be in the suburbs. So why are there no people? Or... Cranks?

"This doesn't seem right," I mutter to Newt and Minho. "We're the only ones here. Surely there'd be others?"

"I wouldn't complain," Minho replies. "I wouldn't like to stumble across those shucking Cranks anytime soon."

Jorge lets out a hearty laugh. We all go quiet, staring at the laughing man in shock. When he stops, he faces Minho with an amused expression. 

"Sorry to have to tell you, hermano, but in a few hours you'll be surrounded by them," he says. "That is, of course, if you want to find your friend?"

"What?" Newt exclaims. "You never said-"

"Of course I didn't," Jorge muses. "I shouldn't have to. If you're as desperate to find him as I am to find Brenda, then I know that you'd all do whatever it takes to get him back. Even in this scorched world, we do still have an underlying sense of humanity." He raises his eyebrow, as if questioning us. We all nod hastily, eager to keep moving. I feel a deep anger simmering inside me at Jorge's assumption that we don't care about Thomas, but try to shrug it off. I don't really want to mess with him. 

"This guy's crazy," Fry murmurs in an amused tone when Jorge is out of range. 

"Yeah, let's just hope he's telling us the truth," Teresa says suspiciously. "He could just be taking advantage of our situation." 

"I don't think so," I argue. "From how it sounds, he wants to find Brenda just as much as we want to find Thomas. Let's just hope that they stuck together... and that they're okay." 

***

We feel the dull beating of a bass before we hear it. A low rumbling, shaking the concrete roads, and then the noise. Electric pulsing, like noises I'd imagine to hear from clubs.

Everyone stares at Jorge with confusion. Almost an hour has passed since we arrived in the city and we haven't seen a single other person out on the streets. The sky's intense heat is swallowing us whole, the air has turned to dust; I just want to find shade. 

The music gets louder with each new step we take forward. Jorge steers us down into a shadowed alleyway, and blending in amongst the shadows is a tall man, leaning against the graffitied stone wall. The first man we've seen all day. He's dressed all in black, his face appears waxy and pale and his eyes are sunken deep into his face. The man isn't healthy. 

However, Jorge strides up to him confidently, as if he has no care in the world and begins to talk to him in a low mutter. I turn to face Newt, who wears the same cautious expression as me.