𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐒, thomas ✓

fifteen.

"The Right Arm oppose WICKED. If they still exist and have numbers, they can help us-" she bargained, her hands going to Newt for reassurance.

"And what if they don't? What if the Right Arm don't want to help us, Rosa?" he asked, backing away from her.

"They will, I know they will," she smiled, finally setting her hand on his arm.

"People. In the mountains. Mountain people. That's the plan?" he asked, looking down at her hand.

"It's the only chance we have."

"Hey guys," Winston joined, "Check this out. Minho, give me a light!"

The other eight walked over, Minho using his torch to reveal a series of footprints in the sand, leading further into a building. "Someone's been here and I say that we follow these prints to find out who," Rosa smiled, already beginning to trail the impressions in the sand.

Thomas nodded, catching up with her and holding her hand so that she couldn't go too far from her. They stopped at a door, Winston being the one to pull it up so they could all enter. The escapee's separated, all of them going in different directions to see what they could find.

Rosa stopped at the sight of newspapers and blew away the dust to reveal all of them displaying devastating titles; 'SCARED ON THE SCORCH', 'DEATH TOLE RISING', 'FEAR THE FLARE'. Rosa forced herself to stop reading, finally picking up the one at the top of the pile. In the centre of the page was a picture, below a title of 'WICKED IS GOOD', of several scientists in a laboratory. At the front of the group was Ava Paige, her arm over Rosa Paige. She gulped, ripping the page from the newspaper and folding it into her pocket.

She turned to join in the conversation, being handed a torch by Teresa which she took and didn't say thanks for. Rosa could barely look her in the eye after what she had done, and she was not going to roll over so easily."Looks like people lived here," Minho muttered, shaking out a jacket that he had found on the floor.

"Where are they now?" Newt asked, his torch scanning around various corners of the room. Spiderwebs hung from the breaking ceiling where lights would dangle at awkward angles, posters and signs were partly ripped from the walls and broken glass covered the flooring.

"Let's pack some of this stuff up," Thomas spoke, pulling a jacket over his arms. She nodded, taking a backpack and shoving the medical supplies that she had stolen from the compound into it, "Anything we think that we might need. We'll split up and meet back here."

Newt passed Thomas a torch before he walked out, Rosa soon following him as she shoved various items into her bag. She thought about what she needed, seeming as she didn't want to be carrying unnecessary weight around the desert as Minho followed her, his eyes carrying the usual look of hope and dignity.

"Thomas," he sighed, the trio now in a more open area of the building which Rosa had found out to be a shopping mall thanks to one of the many signs they passed, "All of those kids that we left behind back there, I don't want to end up like that. Hey, do you hear me?"

"Yeah, I heard you," he replied, both of them nodding.

Rosa shook her head, "None of us will end up like that, you hear me? I promise that I will not let us get like that, she doesn't deserve us."

Minho smiled at her, "Now, what are we even looking for out here?"

"Signs of life," Thomas shrugged, "People. Survivors. Anyone who can help us."

Minho and Rosa paused, their torches staying on a lifeless body that sat on a chair, "Does he count?"

As they got closer, the bag around his head became more visible to them, tied firmly around his throat. "Shit," she mumbled, turning to Minho as he clicked the switch on the lamp on and off.

"They had power," he remarked, pointing to the lamp, their torches now illuminating a trail of wires that they followed to heavy double doors that opened into a room that was home to even more wires. On the back wall, was a fence lined with children's toys and stuffed animals, Rosa felt shivers run through her body.

She followed Thomas whilst Minho went another way, the other two more interested in the toys and metal fence. Behind it was a pink mattress covered in blankets, meant for a child. They turned at wiring, Minho having pressed a button that caused for a machine to power up. "Hey, Minho, wait-" Thomas almost shouted, jogging over to him whilst Rosa stayed still with her hands clamped around a stuffed cat toy.

One by one, lights began to flicker on around the building. Minho looked pleased with himself, but his smile was quick to fade and freeze over with feat, "Rosa! Watch out!"

She jumped back, a scream almost leaving her lips as a small girl threw herself at the metal fence that separated them. Thomas pulled her back even more as the child rattled the fence and groaned at them. "Her eyes-" she tried to mutter, getting stopped by another scream behind them. They all turned around, another person - yet it wasn't a person, more of a possessed, diseased corpse - appeared and shook, kicking cans and boxes out of the way.

Minho shouted "Stay back," as he hit the man with a metal hammer around the face, making him fall to the ground, so the others can run away to safety.

"What the hell are they!" Thomas shouted, pulling Rosa by her sleeve as they backed away from the man convulsing on the floor. More screeching and shouting sounded, "We gotta go!"

Just like in the Maze, the three ran as if Grievers were behind them, instead, it was Cranks. They made it to the double doors just as several of them piled up behind them, Thomas, Rosa and Minho pushing their backs on the door to keep the Cranks out of reach.

"Hold it down!" Minho shouted, leaving Rosa and Thomas to keep the doors shut as he pushed a metal file cabinet.

"Minho, what are you doing?" she screamed over the banging from the diseased people behind the doors, Minho screamed louder for them to move as the cabinet fell down to lock the doors in place. Yet, they weren't safe, from most directions screaming could be heard along with running footprints, "We have to keep going!" Rosa screamed as she ran away from the doors with the two boys behind her, she jumped over a crate on the floor and continued to run even when a large broke down escalator was in the way, keeping up her fast pace as she vaulted over steps.

All three of them began to shout at the Gladers that huddled down the hallway, them now turning to face them. "Run!" Thomas shouted with a heard of Cranks behind them as they sprinted.

As Thomas and Minho shouted words of encouragement and tried to get their friends to run to safety, Rosa could only shout expletives and an occasional Glader slang.

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Hope everyone is enjoying the story so far!