❝ I'm sorry, hermano. Looks like you're tagged. You came from WICKED. Which means... you're very valuable. ❞
ii. TAGGED
╳╳╳
"LETS GO." BRENDA GRABS CALLY'S shoulder as she walks past her, not giving the girl the chance to look back. Venny falls in behind them, trailing behind the group as they walk away from the Cranks inside the room that the kids had come through. The smell of rotting flesh and mold fade away the further they get, then slowly the smell of sweat finds its way back into the girl's nostrils again.
"Look at them, they look like as if they've been through Hell," Brenda whispers to Cally as they walk through the orange lit area. The walls are made out of tan stone, this is just one of the many entrances to the main living area of the facility.
Cally draws her eyebrows together and looks over at Brenda. Confused as if she was talking to herself or to Cally for a second. She looks back, it's a pack 6-7 boys. All of their faces are cut and bruised, one of them has a deep cut beside their nose. A boy who looks to be the tallest of the group, the one with scorched hair and burnt skin, looks to be walking fine, she guesses this is the one who gets struck. There is only one female is in the group, her dark wavy hair is stuck to the side of her oval face, her eyes are locked on Cally and it allows for the girls to examine each other. Cally would look away, but she finds her stunning. Curiosity and concern fill her crystal blue eyes. She's in the middle of the boys, like their protecting her. But from what Cally can see, she doesn't need protecting.
"Those things back there, what are they?" It takes a minute before one of them decides to speak. But Cally doesn't know whose mouth the words came from, due to the fact she was watching the girl.
Cally examines Brenda for a split second, she wants to know if Brenda will answer for her. They both stop at the door, her hand resting on the rusted handle that leads to the main area in the building, the glass behind it is fogged and disgusting. "You're not from around here, are you?" Brenda questions, all of them shake their heads, it's obvious that they aren't. By now they would know what a Crank is.
"Figures." Brenda pushes open the door, the metal sliding on the floor making a sound similar to nails on a chalkboard. As they walk towards the stairs, mostly men are awake, their scarred and dirty faces watch them walk through, sizing all of them up, but none of them dare to make a move.
With the girls still leading they make their way to the stairs. As soon as Cally steps onto the first rusted step, Barkley's voice booms. Rolling her eyes, Cally turns around to see Barkley, with his face into the lightning boy's. "Since when did we start letting just anyone come into here?"
"Leave him alone Barkley." Brenda commanded from beside Cally. Her hand slowly reaching for the gun in her holster. Barkley may be a selfish, annoying, and a dick all the time. But he knows when to take orders, especially if those orders are coming from Brenda.
The shadow that's being cast over his face makes him look as if he really is a Crank in disguise, his drained and expressionless stare watches Brenda and Cally, and as he makes his way make to his cot, the girl just knows that isn't the last time they will see him tonight.
They start their way back up the stairs, the girls still leading, but they can sense the visitors falling behind. "Come on, keep up. Jorge wants to meet you."
"Jorge? Who's Jorge?"
"You'll see... No one has come out of the Scorch in a long time, you've got him curious, and me too."
The smell is finally coming to normal, down this hallway and in Jorge's room is the only place in the whole facility that actually smells the way a place is supposed to smell. Or maybe it's because she's used it because she spends most of her time here.
The orange light from the stairs starts to fade away as the group makes their way down a long hallway to Jorge's office. At the end of the stretch is another light source, the lamp beside the large radio.
Brenda stops and turns around to face the group, she bites the inside of her lip as she inspects all of them, even Venny. All of their gazes aren't on Brenda, their looking around the place. Her eyebrows drawn together as she thinks. Cally watches her friend as she pulls out her pistol from her holster and holds it in her hand as if it's weightless. "When we get in there, I don't want no struggle, alright? Jorge wants to talk..." She looks over at Cally and clears her throat, "Grab the tall blonde one, I got their leader."
There's chattering going on around the kids, but the girl ignores it and pushes her away towards the boy. He's wearing a tan shirt that must have once been white, a brown jacket that has an old look to it, and a red scarf, but she can't make out his face. The darkness that surrounds them won't allow it. She would have laughed at what he's wearing if they were friends. Her small hands grab both of his wrists, jerking them behind his back, tightening her grip she pushes into his back. A grunt escapes his mouth, "Oh-okay- you have a tight grip."
His voice stuns Cally. It took a second or two for her brain to process his accent. Since she's lived with Jorge and Brenda, she hasn't heard one so soft. Well, besides Venny's of course, but his voice doesn't have the same odd affect.
"Ahem... Cally." The longer haired girl blinks herself out of the trance and lands her hazel eyes upwards onto Brenda. Having been lost in thought for only a second let her friend get a few steps ahead of her. The barrel of her gun pointed into the darker haired guy's back and his whole body was tense as if he actually thought she would fire if he made the wrong move. "You coming, or not?"
Not responding, she pushes his hands into his back, causing him to drag his feet across the rusty metal. The rest of the newcomer's group followed behind Brenda. Cally behind them, almost like dogs herding cattle.
Each step through the dark hallway made the boy tense, his fingers clenching into fists. Each time, Cally's grip grew tighter, she just knew they had some kind of plan in a situation like this.
As they entered Jorge's room, the boy who Cally is holding onto arm's tense and his breathing grows heavy. Jorge's hunched over with one side of the headset pressed against his left ear, his hand slowly turning the knob. By the way he isn't moving any part of himself beside his fingers shows Cally that he hasn't yet noticed that they walked in. "Jorge, they're here."
Right in front of the couch, they stop. Brenda goes to the couch and plots down, her fingers picking at the lose strings. Cally releases the boy's hands and walks to the front with Venny. The room is dead silent only noise is the heavy breathing of all the kids.
"Quiet! Damn it." Jorge growls as he throws down the headset into the table and spins around to face them. He brown eyes scan all the kids and his patchy grey eyebrows draw together in thought. He walks toward the silver tray that holds the glass bottles, each step he asks the kids a new question. The normal three that he asks all newbies.
Where'd they come from?
Where are they going?
And how he can profit.
He hasn't asked them in a long time— well at least Cally hasn't heard them in a long time. These three questions are the same ones she asked her years ago when he found her half dead in the Scorch. But, having no memory of her past, where she was going, or who she was, Jorge knew that the scared and weak girl would remember someday. Days have gone by and Cally still hasn't remembered her past, even though Jorge said it would come back to her soon enough. Through those days sent spent in a fetal position in a corner, rocking herself back and forth wishing she could get out of this dream she was stuck in. Once the older man realized he would never know, he took her in as his own. Taught her everything she knows now, alongside Brenda.
Suddenly, knocking her out of her thoughts, was Venny. He has pushed down the brown haired boy onto his knees and Brenda is now scanning the back of his neck. Still, somewhat in her mind, Cally doesn't hear the words that come out either Brenda or Venny's mouth. A dining noise brings her fully back and she watches as Brenda hands the device to Jorge. "You were right."
"Right about what?"
"What is she talking about?"
The two of them stand almost huddled over the screen of the scanning device. Cally tried to get a look from where she is standing, but it's no use. She doesn't want to walk over and look at it herself because she knows she will know what they are muttering about soon.
Jorge lets out a menacing laugh, his eyes locking with the leader's eyes for the first time. He outstretches his arms, still holding the scanner, "I'm sorry, hermano. Looks like you're tagged." He pauses, taking in their shocked faces. "You came from WICKED. Which means... you're very valuable"
"Wh—"
"Brenda, Cally, Venny... Bring our guests to the nicest view. I'm sure they will want to hang out for a while." He snickered as she turned back around and went to stand in front of the large window. The two girls obeyed, Brenda jerks up the kneeling boy by his collar, pressing her gun into his back again. They all followed. Cally once again in the back.
"What is this big pile of klunk anyway?" The tallest of the group asked as she scanned the walls that are around them. His arm running along the metal handrail of the stairs.
"Minho, why not try asking... what is the place we are going?"
"This is our home." Almost forgetting about the other question their leader asked, Cally blurts from the back of the group. Immediately regretting her words as soon as they came out her mouth because all of the boys gaze land on her. A few of them had confused looks on their faces as if they had forgotten her presence.
"Who are you— I mean.. who are you guys?" The same one asked, slowing his pace so he could get closer to Cally.
She didn't want to answer, partly because she didn't know how to. Who were they? They aren't the Right Arm and they sure aren't close to anything special. "I'm Cally, that's Brenda." She thought for a second, trying to make her answer wittier, "The real question is, who are you lot, Newbie?"
"We're looking for something." A darkest skinned boy answered this time, his eyebrows are turned up making him have a worried expression. She watches him as he turns his mouth into a line and looks forward again, there's something about him that Cally likes.
"Who sent you here?" Cally asked the group. It was a stupid question to ask because no one in their right mind would willingly go into the Scorch. And these kids sure didn't look like they have had any help on their journey.
No one answered due to the fact Brenda had led them to the place that Jorge called the best view. Cally knows this place well, its a quiet place. Somewhere she goes to get some time alone because its the only place that no one comes and just a few know about. It's a dark, gloomy place that is very reminiscent of a medieval torture device.
There's a lever sitting beside the large gaping hole, a series of ropes connect onto it. The perfect amount of what the Jorge had in mind for them. When they entered the room, the WICKED kids stop in their tracks, watching Brenda as she pulls the lever extending the ropes long enough to time them around each and every one of their legs. "Cal, catch." Brenda tosses the pistol she was carrying to her friend. "Make sure they don't do anything stupid."
Nodding, Cally cocks the weapon. All of the guy's eyes watch Cally. Unlike Brenda, she can't hold a gun like its weightless, guess that's something that sets the two apart. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees her friend grab a long pole with a hook on the end and grab a rope.
She holds the thick rope in her hand and pulls it to see if it's steady. It is, so she points at one of the boys and motions for him to come by her pointer finger. "You. Blondie, come here."
The same boy that Cally had escorted earlier is called. His friends look at him with concerned looks before he makes a step towards Brenda. "Alright, so, I'm not good at tying knots." Nervous laughs leave the boy's mouth like he thinks she's joking. She shakes her head and continues, "You think I'm kidding? Man, I wish I was... So if it comes lose and you fall to your death, don't blame me. Blame yourself for coming here." As soon as she finishes her sentence she locks the knot into place, tugging at it to make complete sure.
He's sitting on the ledge, his tied feet dangling over. From where Cally's standing she can only see the back of him, but she can see him shaking. Like sitting on the edge, and maybe falling to his death reminded him of something.
Then, suddenly, Brenda shoves him off. The thick top jerking him into an upside down position. A hiss a pain leaves his mouth as it does. "Bloody Hell!"
Brenda quirks the side of her mouth upwards and watches him away back and forth. "Who's next?" Brown eyes gleaming with pleasure as she holds out her hand for another one.
-
ive been trying to hint things through this whole chapter. and i'm really hyped about these nexts chapters to come. well, i'm ready for this whOLE BOOK. i feel like this chapter is really poorly written, but i promise it gets better.
we have a 5 day weekend this week starting friday so i'm going to try to post 2 chapters this weekend so i can catch up to spaceleia . i seriously think she stays up all night and write non stop.
and i posted a 'meet my ocs' book and i would love if if y'all go and vote on that sucker.
i hope you guys like the chapter!
unedited.
word count - 2555