▪︎🔥🌆☀️▪︎
Chapter Sixteen
☀️ Favorite Song ☀️
With more walking, the mountains got closer but the water bottle got emptier. Eventually, the group stopped in the middle of an open area to rest and get some sleep. A little ways away from them, thunder flashes in the clouds as Thomas rolled over slightly as he slowly woke up.
His eyes widened slightly when, in the distance, he could see a bunch of lights. "Hey. Hey." Thomas said, his voice scratchy due to the lack of water, "Get up. Newt, get up. Come on, let's go. Frypan, Aris, Felisa." Thomas said as he started getting up, making everyone wake up.
"I see something." He said as everyone started getting up, following his line of sight. "What is it? What..." Minho asked slightly as Thomas smiled and pointed at the lights, "You see that? It's lights." Thomas said and Felisa smiled. "We actually made it." She said but before anyone else could say something, thunder suddenly cracked behind them making them spin around to see a bunch of dark clouds.
Lightning suddenly struck the ground making the group flinch slightly. "Let's go. We gotta go. Come on. Come on, let's go. Let's go!" Thomas said as they quickly grabbed their bags before running towards where the lights were coming from.
"Hurry! Keep moving! Come on!" Thomas yelled as the lightning got closer, "Let's go!" Minho yelled. "We're getting closer! Keep going!" Thomas yelled as they ran past old, broken down and rusted cars, every second the Lightning getting closer and closer to them.
"Get inside! Go!" Thomas yelled before all of a sudden a bolt of lightning struck down next to Minho, causing him to go flying to the ground while Thomas fell to the ground due to how close it was. Thomas groaned in pain as all he heard was a loud ringing until he saw Minho, passed out and smoking.
"Minho!" Thomas yelled, making Felisa stop and turn around as he quickly got up and moved over to him, "Come help him!" Thomas yelled as the others quickly ran over to him. "Come on, get him up." Newt said as he and Aris grabbed Minho, putting his arms around their shoulders while Felisa helped Thomas up.
"Keep going! Go!" Felisa yelled as they all quickly started running to the building again. "Move!" Frypan yelled as he held the door open, "Come on! Hurry up! Come on! Get in." Frypan yelled as they all managed to get inside before he shut the door.
"Put him down. Watch his head." Felisa said as Newt and Aris carefully set Minho down on the ground and Felisa instantly got down next to him, "Who's got a light?" Thomas asked before someone clicked on a flashlight. "Minho!" Felisa as she grabbed Minho's face, "Come on, come on. Minho?" Newt said.
"Minho?"
"Come on, Minho."
"Come on, man."
When Minho didn't wake up or make any movement, Felisa sucked in a deep breath. "I'm sorry about this..." She mumbled before lightly smacking him, making the others cringe.
Minho groaned, making everyone sigh in relief. "Holy hell." Felisa sighed softly, leaning her head on his chest as Minho looked at his hands,"Here you are. Are you okay?" Thomas asked. "What happened?" Minho asked in a slight daze and Felisa sat back up, "I think you got struck by lightning." Felisa and Minho furrowed his brows slightly.
"Did you smack me?" He asked, making Felisa smile at him, "Come on, let's get him up." Felisa said as Teresa glanced around while they pulled Minho up. "Thanks, guys." Minho said and Felisa gently grabbed the side of his face, "Sorry for smacking you." She said and he smiled at her. "Wouldn't be the first time you've hit me." He said, making her chuckle.
"Hey. What's that smell?" Teresa asked before clicking on her flashlight and as soon as she did, an infected person suddenly jumped out at her making them all scream and jump back. But the weird thing was, the man was chained to something, making him only able to go so far.
"Behind you!" Teresa yelled, making everyone spin around right as another chained person ran at them. "Oh, shit! Oh, my God." Minho yelled, grabbing Felisa's arm as they all shined their flashlights around to see multiple people chained up around the room.
"I see you've met our guard dogs." Someone said making them spin around as someone turned a light on before walking through a clear path where the people couldn't reach them. "Stay back! Stay back!" Minho yelled as a girl walked up to them before looking them all up and down.
"You guys look like shit. Come on, follow me." She said as she started to walk away before turning back to the group when none of them moved, "Unless you want to stay here with them." She said. Everyone glanced at each other for a moment before following after her.
A few minutes later, the girl led them to a larger area of the building that had a lot of lights and people. "Come on, keep up." The girl said as the group glanced around, "Jorge wants to meet you." She said. "Who's Jorge?" Thomas asked as they walked up some stairs and the girl smirked and glanced back at them, "You'll see." She said.
"No one's come out of the Scorch in a long time. You've just got him curious." The girl said before glancing at Thomas, looking him up and down for a moment, "And me, too." The girl said. Minho gently grabbed Felisa's arm, pulling her closer to him as a lot of the people in the building were closely following behind the group.
"Anyone else starting to get a bad feeling about this place?" Newt asked and Thomas glanced back at him, "Let's just hear him out. See what he has to say." He said as they went up some more stairs.
"Jorge, they're here." The girl said as she walked up to a man who was standing by a table, listening to a radio. The man shushed her slightly as she sat down on a couch while he continued to mess with the radio. "Damn it." He whispered before turning the radio off and letting out a deep breath, turning to the group with his hands on his hips.
"Do you ever get the feeling the whole world's against you?" The man, Jorge, asked and Felisa raised her eyebrows slightly, "Wouldn't surprise me." She mumbled under her breath. "Three questions." Jorge said as he grabbed a drink, "Where did you come from? Where are you going? How can I profit?" He asked and the group didn't say anything, just stared at him.
"Don't all answer at once." He said, giving the group a look, "We're headed for the mountains. Looking for the Right Arm." Thomas said, making some people laugh. "You're looking for ghosts, you mean." Jorge said before taking a drink, "Question number two. Where did you come from?" He asked and Felisa squinted slightly.
"That's our business." She said and Jorge raised his eyebrows before shrugging slightly. A couple people suddenly grabbed Thomas while more people grabbed the other. "Hey! Get the hell off me!" Thomas yelled as they forced him down while the girl from earlier got up and grabbed something before walking over to Thomas.
"Get the hell off me, man!" Thomas yelled before the girl pushed his head down, "Shut up, you big baby." She said, holding a scanner to the back of his neck. A red scanning laser moved down his neck before illuminating some kind of mark. "What is that?" Thomas asked before the people let him go and the girl looked up at Jorge with slightly wide eyes.
"You were right." She said and Jorge put some glasses on before grabbing the scanner and looking at the screen. "Right about what? What is she talking about?" Thomas asked and Jorge chuckled and looked up at them, "I'm sorry, hermano. Looks like you're tagged. You came from WICKED. Which means... you're very valuable." Jorge said as the people around them closed in slightly.
Minutes later all of them were hanging by their feet in some opening. "Good plan, Thomas. "Just hear what the man has to say.' Really working out for us." Minho said, making Thomas roll his eyes, "Shut up, Minho." He said. "Maybe I can reach the rope." Thomas said before trying to reach up to the rope holding him but ultimately failing.
"Enjoying the view?" Someone asked making them look over to see Jorge walking up, "What the hell do you want?" Thomas asked and Jorge chuckled. "That is the question. My men want to sell you back to WICKED. Life has taught them to think small. I'm not like that. Something tells me that you're not either." Jorge said.
"Is the blood rushing to my head or is this shank not making any sense?" Minho asked while Felisa raised her eyebrows, "Mind telling me why I'm over here and not hanging like the others?" Felisa asked making them look over at where she was sitting on the ground, her hands tied to some pipe.
Jorge chuckled and walked over to her, "Wouldn't be fun hanging by that leg of yours, would it?" He asked as he lightly tapped her knee brace with his cane before walking back over to the others. "Tell me what you know about the Right Arm." Jorge said, pointing his cane at Thomas, making Newt furrow his brows, "I thought you said they were ghosts." He said.
"I happen to believe in ghosts. Especially when I hear them chattering on the airwaves." Jorge said before walking over to some lever connected to some rope. "You tell me what you know, and maybe we can make a deal." Jorge said and Thomas shook his head slightly, "We don't know much." He said.
Jorge pushed the lever a bit making all of them suddenly lower a foot making them scream slightly while Felisa's eyes widened. "Okay! Okay, all right. They're hiding in the mountains. And they attacked WICKED. They got out a bunch of kids. That's it. That's all we know." Thomas said and Jorge stared at him for a moment before stepping forward, going to say something but someone else spoke up.
"Yo, Jorge." They said, making everyone glance over as a man walked into the room, "What's going on?" He asked. "Me and my new friends were just getting acquainted. We're done now." He said, making Felisa raise her eyebrows, "Woah, hold on. You're not gonna help us?" She asked making Jorge look at her.
"Don't worry, hermana. We'll get you back to where you belong. Hang tight." Jorge said, glancing at the others as he walked away.
A little while later Minho furrowed his brows as Felisa was trying to kick her boot off. "What are you doing?" He asked before she managed to get her boot off, making a small knife fall out of it. "Trying to get that." She said she used her foot to push the knife back to where she could grab it. She bit her lip slightly in concentration as she started cutting at the rope around her wrists.
"Hurry up, Felisa." Newt said, making Felisa shoot him a dirty look, "If you say that to me again I will go slower." She said. "Sorry." Newt said and after a moment Felisa managed to cut through the rope. "Yes!" She said as she quickly pulled her hands back before getting up.
"Hurry!" Thomas yelled as Felisa quickly ran over to the lever and pulled it. The others lowered a bit and Felisa reached out and pulled Teresa over to the side. "Help me get them over." Felisa said as she untied the rope around Teresa's legs.
"Good evening! This is the World Catastrophe Killzone Department. We have your compound completely surrounded." They heard Janson say through a loudspeaker as a helicopter flew around the building. Felisa reached over the ledge, grabbing Thomas's jacket and pulling him over, quickly helping him untie his feet while Teresa went to grab something by the window.
"You find yourselves, through no fault of your own, in possession of WICKED property. Return them to us unharmed and we'll consider this a simple misunderstanding." Janson said as Thomas and Felisa quickly stood up.
"Hang on, guys." Thomas said as Teresa held out a metal rod to Newt for him to grab so she could pull him over. "Or you can resist and every last one of you will die. It won't be long before the Flare wipes out the rest of us. The hope of a cure lies in your hands. The choice is yours." Janson said as Felisa held something out for Minho to grab before pulling him over and helping him untie his feet.
"Okay. Let's go, let's go." Thomas said once they got everyone over and untied. They were about to run over to the door but stopped when they saw the man from earlier, pointing a gun at them. "We're not trying to cause any trouble, okay? We just got to get out of here." Thomas said and the man chuckled, "Is that so?" He said before holding up a walkie talkie.
"Janson, I got 'em for ya. I'm bringing 'em down. Don't shoot us." The man said, making Felisa hum slightly, "Well that was unexpected." She mumbled as he lowered the walkie talkie.
"Come on. Let's go. I said let's go." The man said as he stepped towards the ground until Thomas suddenly grabbed the barrel of the gun, pointing it away from the group making it fire at the wall. The man fought against him for a moment until Thomas head butted him making the man stumble back a bit.
But before anyone could do anything else, the man cocked the gun, pointing it at them. "You little bastard!" The man said before there was suddenly a gunshot making the group flinch back. But instead of any of them getting shot, the man's eyes widened before he fell to the ground, revealing the girl from before.
"Okay. Come on." She said before starting to walk away but the group didn't move, making her look at them impatiently. "Come on! Let's go!" She said and after a second everyone quickly followed her. Not noticing Teresa hung back a bit as the man's walkie talkie went off.
All of the sudden, music started playing all around the building as the group ran up some stairs where Jorge was. "Brenda! Hurry! We don't have much time! Let's go, let's go, let's go! Right this way!" Jorge said before leading the group over to a window which he pushed over to reveal a zip line leading to the next building.
"Oh, you gotta be kidding me." Frypan mumbled slightly, "Plan B, hermano. You kids wanna get to the Right Arm? I'll lead you to them. But you're gonna owe me." Jorge said before grabbing a hanging piece of cloth. "Follow me!" He yelled as he jumped out the window, riding the line over to the next building.
"All right! Let's go! Come on!" Brenda said as she started handing people other loops of cloths. "Everyone, go." Thomas said as Minho quickly followed behind Jorge, "Felisa." Thomas said and Felisa grabbed one of the cloths before quickly following. Soon enough, Newt, Fryan and Aris all went after, while Thomas turned to Teresa.
"Teresa, you're next. Come on." Thomas said as Teresa grabbed one while Brenda patted her pockets before her eyes widened and she quickly ran off. "Brenda, where are you going?" Thomas called out before sighing slightly and turning Teresa.
"Just go. I'll be right behind you." Thomas said and Teresa nodded, "Hurry." She said before following the others. "Where's Thomas and Brenda?" Newt asked when Teresa got to where the rest of the group was.
"I don't know, Brenda ran off and Thomas went after her." Teresa said, making Jorge sigh, "Damn it, Brenda." He muttered and Felisa looked at him. "How much time do they have until the song ends?" She asked and he shook his head slightly, "Not much longer." He said.
Seconds later the song ended and immediately after explosives started going off in the building making everyone flinch back slightly. "Come on, we need to get moving." Jorge said, making them look at him, "But Thomas and Brenda-" Felisa started to say but he cut her off.
"Brenda's smart, she would've been able to get them out and she knows where to go. Now we just have to meet them there." Jorge said before walking off making everyone glance at each other for a moment.
☀️
Eventually, the group managed to find Thomas and Brenda inside of some party filled with people drunk off their asses, including Thomas and Brenda. Although Thomas was worse than Brenda.
Thomas gasped awake before someone grabbed his shoulders. "Hey, you're okay." They said, making him look over to see Teresa as she smiled at him. "Hi, we have to stop meeting like this." Teresa said before Minho walked up behind her.
"Welcome back, you ugly shank." Minho said, making Thomas let out a breathy chuckle, groaning slightly when Teresa helped him sit up. He glanced around to see the entire group as well as the man, who made Thomas and Brenda get drunk, tied to a chair.
"I suggest that you talk! You son of a bitch!" Jorge yelled before punching the man making him groan, "Damn it!" He yelled before looking at Jorge. "I'm sorry but you're going to have to leave my house." He said as Thomas stood up and walked over to stand next to Newt.
"Looks like you've been having fun." Newt said, making Felisa look over at Thomas and raise her eyebrows in amusement, "You look rough." She said. "Listen. I don't enjoy hurting you. Okay? Where is the Right Arm, Marcus?" Jorge said, making Thomas look at him.
"Wait, this is Marcus?" He asked and the man, Marcus, laughed, "The kid catches on quick. Are you the brains of the operation?" Marcus asked, half of his face bruised, swollen and bleeding from the beating. "I know you know where they're hiding. So you tell me, and I'll make you a deal. You can come with us." Jorge said and Marcus laughed.
"I burned that bridge a long time ago. Besides, I made my own deal. You're the one who taught me, never miss an opportunity." Marcus said, making Felisa raise her eyebrows, "What's he talking about?" She asked making them look at her.
"I'm talking about supply and demand. WICKED wants all the Immunes they can get. I help provide that for them. So I lure the kids in... they get drunk, they have a good time. And then, later, WICKED comes in... they separate the wheat from the chaff." Marcus said before laughing.
"I changed my mind, hermano. I do enjoy hurting you." Jorge said before kicking Marcus, making him fall to the ground in the chair. He groaned slightly before Jorge crouched down on top of him, pulling a gun out and holding it to Marcus's head.
"Talk! Talk!" Jorge yelled, "Okay! Jesus! But I'm not making any promises. These guys like to move around." Marcus said before they pulled him up. "They have an outpost in the mountains. But it's a long way away. You got half of WICKED on your ass. You're never gonna make it." Marcus said and Jorge smirked.
"Not on foot." He said before grabbing Marcus's shoulders and leaning down, "Where's Bertha?" He asked making Marcus look at him like he was going to cry.
"Not Bertha." He said and minutes later, the group drove down the road in an older station wagon that had bull horns on the front. Jorge glanced back at the group before smiling as they headed for the mountains.