Maya POV
So far, we've been walking the desert for who knows how long. The sun is going to set soon, which is nice, considering we won't get burned by the intense rays of the sun.
We quickly approach a sand dune. The man that came along with us said his name was Jorge. He pointed at the top. "Okay, we need to hike this dune. Are you hermanas ready?"
We all nod without hesitation. Jorge smiles. "Tough girls. No wonder you all are from WICKED."
Jorge begins trudging up to the top, his boots digging into the sand. He shows no pain of the excruciating work, to which I'm surprised. He looks fairly older than the rest of us, and if he contracted the Flare, wouldn't the signs show on him? Then again, we have the Flare, too. That's why we need this cure no matter what.
We painstakingly follow him up the giant dune, our calves bursting with pain each step we take. A few people lose their balance, but quickly regain it and continue walking. Amber stumbles, but I help her back on her feet. She limps a bit, but I pay no attention to it.
When we finally reach the top, I gaze at our surroundings. Complete desert. I'd say it would be never ending, except I can see the slight outline of the mountains, and below that in the distance, the Crank City.
I gaze down the dune. Now, the fun part; getting down. Lucy sits down and slides down the giant sand hill. Others follow her example; but some try to walk down, and their feet gets tangled as gravity takes over. They roll down the dune until they land at the bottom with a loud grunt. Jorge stands at the top of the dune, a bit of amusement hidden on his face, watching them slide down.
Next it's my turn to get down. I attempt to follow Lucy's example, but it goes horribly wrong. I veer to my left and begin log rolling down the hill. Sand catches in my throat and I cough violently.
Friction stops me at the bottom of the dune and Harriet helps me up. "Thanks," I tell her.
She nods and we wait for the rest of the group. When everyone has painfully made it down, Jorge takes lead once again. We follow him, our legs aching with pain, but we continue on. It's important we stay as fit as possible, considering before we reach the mountains, we have to go through the city. Jorge said we're going to meet up with his friend at the entrance.
"Who is your friend anyway?" I ask, the thought floating around my brain.
Jorge turns around, and the group comes to a stop. "I don't believe that's important right now."
"Actually, it is. If we're going to risk our lives waiting for your friend, we have a right to know," Harriet says.
Jorge sighs and narrows his eyes. "Fine. She is someone I've known for a while. I've protected her ever since the sun flares occurred. We watched out for each other."
"Why isn't she with you now?" I ask, craving more answers.
"No need. I've already told you who she is. I don't need to tell you every single thing. This is just a business relationship, hermana."
I frown. "Fair enough. How long will it take us to get to the city?"
"A few days," Jorge answers, glancing behind him at the city in the distance. "But if we keep walking and stop talking, maybe less than that."
Sonya nods. "Sounds like a done deal. Let's keep moving."
We continue walking, then take a water break, and continue walking again. The sun sets throughout this endless routine. As the sun inches closer behind the horizon, it seems like everything is okay. But then, in an instant, everything isn't.
Amber collapses to the ground in an exhausted heap. "Amber!" I yell, and run over to her. The group stops and turns, heading over to her. She pants heavily, her face pale with pain. Her eyes look a bit cloudy, and almost roll to the back of her head.
I hold her head up. "Amber, stay with me," I whisper, getting out my water bottle. I hold it up to her mouth, and she takes a shaky sip, her face twitching. This doesn't seem right.
Harriet races over to me. "What's wrong?"
"Amber," I tell her. "Something isn't right."
Lucy gasps. I glance over at her, and she is gazing at Amber's leg. I look at it, and the sight terrifies me. Her leg is scratched, and the wound left a black gash, the surrounding skin veiny and purple. Her pant leg was lifted up slightly, which made it visible. No one knew until now. No wonder she limped earlier today. It wasn't from climbing up the dune. It was from this. Tears form in my eyes, and Jorge confirms my suspicions.
"She was scratched by a Crank," he breathes.
"But how?" I ask, my tears threatening to fall.
"I should've told you before," Amber breathes, her voice weak and frail. "But when we were staying at that Crank house where we met Jorge, one of his Crank friends scratched me in the middle of the night when they must've been moving around or something. I found out the next morning but didn't think it was a big deal, so I kept it a secret."
Tears stream down my face now, and I stand up. "We need that cure. Now."
Jorge shakes his head. "I'm sorry, but your friend will never make it."
"We have to go!" I yell, my voice cracking. My face is wet with tears.
Sonya holds my shoulders. "Calm down, Maya."
"No!" I shout, shaking her away. "We can't let her die!"
"There's nothing we can do," Harriet says, her voice filled with sadness.
Jorge pulls out a gun. "We have to put her out of her misery."
I fall to my knees and begin crying hysterically. I glance at Amber. He's right, though. We can't let her suffer anymore.
I get up shakily, and walk over to Jorge and grab the gun. My lip quivers, and my eyes are blurry with tears. I hold the gun up to Amber's head, my hand shaking profusely. "I'm sorry," I whisper. I squeeze my eyes shut, and then pull the trigger.
Newt POV
Our destination seems so close, but it's so far away. I continue jogging after the group. It looks like Thomas and Minho have been running their entire life. I try to catch up, but no matter how hard I try, I always find myself in the back of the group with the other Gladers. One of them is a boy named Frypan, and the other one who is named Patrick.
Brenda stops, catching her breath. "Water break!" she yells.
We do so and sit down. Minho walks over and sits beside me. "Having fun there, shank?"
"You know, Minho, you are quite the unique fellow."
He smirks, then smacks my shoulder. "Taking that as a compliment."
And off he goes, back over to Thomas. I sigh and sip my water, when a loud gunshot goes off.
Everyone stops and looks around. Brenda stands up, alarmed. "What was that?" she asks.
We all shrug. And listen for more noises, but nothing comes.
Brenda whispers to herself, "Maybe that's Jorge's group..."
Minho glances up at her. "What group?"
She looks at him, annoyance on her face. "Nothing. Mind your own beeswax."
Minho is about to say more, when Thomas cuts him off. He groans and continues to sip his water. Jorge must be the guy we are meeting up with. I accept that answer, and continue scanning through my thoughts.
Soon enough, we're back on the move. Hours pass. Walk. Heat. Water. Memories. A little bit later, the sun finally sets. Someone shouts all of a sudden.
"Look!" a kid exclaims, pointing across from us.
We look to our right, and hadn't noticed until now, that about 30 feet away from us is another large group. And it's made up of all girls, except for a man at the front of the group. They all look our way. Brenda nods to the man, and he nods back. Relief is filled in both of their eyes. Looks like he is Jorge. What is this all abou-
"Newt!" a girl screams. I snap my head to the back of a group, and a girl with long, wavy brown hair is jogging up to me. Her smile softens as she looks into my confused eyes.
She pulls me into a hesitant hug, and then lets go. Who is she? The girl stares into my eyes a moment longer, and then her smile forms into a frown. I can't take it. The question nags at the back of my head.
"Who are you?" I blurt out, confusion swirling in my brain.
In that moment, her face falls faster than anything I remember seeing.