We Lay Strangers

Chapter 10

The wind howled outside, and the sand whipped around Carter like a group of angry bugs. It scourged her skin, causing it to grow red and irritated. She tried to cover her eyes, following Frypan's lumbering run through the storm.

Shouts cut through the wind as they ran, and lights flashed from behind them. Adrenaline pumped through Carter's veins as the stumbled through the desert, looking for something, anything that would provide them shelter.

"Over here!"

Frypan took a sharp turn and Carter followed him. Thomas was standing near a smashed window, sand pouring down into the partially covered building. "Come on!"

Thomas slid down first, motioning for everyone to follow him. Newt and Minho climbed in without hesitance. Thomas helped Teresa down, Winston following. 

"Aris, get in!" He said. Aris slid down the sand bank. "Let's go, Fry." Frypan climbed in as well, Carter following. She tripped, rolling down the sandy bank. Someone grabbed her hand, pulling her up.

"Thanks." Carter brushed her hair out of her face. Newt let go of her hand, nodding. 

"Where the hell are we?" Frypan asked, looking around. It was almost pitch black, with junk scattered all over the floor. 

Flashlights were passed around, and Carter flicked her's on, moving the beam of light around the space. Thomas pushed past everyone, still frantic.

"We gotta go." He said. Newt reached forward, grabbing his shoulder. 

"No. Thomas, stop!" Newt said.

"We gotta keep moving." Thomas protested.

"Tell me what's going on." Newt said. Thomas finally stopped.

"It's WICKED. It's WICKED. They lied to us. We never escaped. Me and Aris, we found bodies. Too many to count." Thomas said.

Looks were traded around the circle.

"What do you mean? Dead bodies?" Newt asked.

"No, but they weren't alive either. They had them strung up. With tubes coming out of them. They were being drained. There's something inside of us that WICKED wants. Something in our blood. So we have to get as far away from them as possible." Thomas said. 

Newt lowered his hand from Thomas's shoulder. "Okay. So, whats the plan?"

Thomas paused.

"You do have a plan, right?" Newt asked again.

"Yeah." Thomas said. "I dont know."

"Well, we followed you out here, Thomas... and now you're saying that you have no idea where we're going... or what we're doing." Newt was getting frustrated now, the tone of his voice gave it away.

"Wait. Janson said something about people hiding in the mountains. Some kind of resistance or army." Thomas said.

"The Right Arm." Aris supplied.

"The Right Arm. If they're really against WICKED, maybe they can help us." Thomas said.

"People. In the mountains. Mountain people. That's your plan?" Newt asked.

"It's the only chance we have." Thomas said.

"Hey, guys. Check this out."

There was a collective spin around, everyone looking to see what Winston had found. He was standing by some sort of door-thing, shining his light between the cracks. 

"Minho, give me a light." Thomas said, walking over. The group walked over, everyone craning their necks to get a better look at whatever Winston saw.