"No," I breathe, face falling. Getting out of my hammock and standing up, my face falls when Newt's grey bandanna falls to the floor. I crouch down to pick it up carefully, clutching it in my palms. My eyes close, my lips pursed together as I shake my head. This can't be happening.
I start running out of the room to the hallway, looking through the different doors. I turn to Brenda, grasping her shoulders. "When did they leave?"
Brenda shakes her head rapidly, her big brown eyes fearful. "I - I heard a car engine running about an hour ago, but I just thought it was Vince - I didn't know, (y/n), I didn't know they ran away! I've looked everywhere, in the different warehouses, on the beach... I don't know what to do!"
I let out a heavy, exasperated sigh, running my fingers through my hair. I pull it out of its bun and let it fall loosely past my shoulders, anxiously twisting a strand of hair between my fingers with the bandanna still in my palm. "It's... it's not your fault, Brenda... we just need to find them before they get themselves into trouble."
"(y/n), they could have been going anywhere. How would we find them?"
"We'll head towards that city, that's where they'll be going. Even if we can't find them on the way, they'll end up there. We'll find them."
Brenda's eyes fall to the floor. "What if... they don't get there?" she asks quietly. I swallow, my hands shaking.
"We'll find them," I repeat louder, clenching my jaw.
Brenda and I jump as we hear a door creak open to our left. Jorge steps out from the other side, shooting us a concerned, weary expression.
"What's going on?" he grumbles.
"The boys are gone, all three of them," I explain quickly, striding over to him. "Jorge, we need to go after them. They could be in serious trouble."
He ponders for a moment, a thoughtful gleam in his eye. "We need to find Vince, get his input."
"There's no time!" I argue, trying to keep my voice as low as possible. "Besides; there's no way that Vince'll let us go after them. We're meant to go to the Safehaven tomorrow, I'm not leaving without them!"
Jorge nods, Brenda tugging on his arm. She looks up at him with a pleading expression, her eyebrows drawn together in worry. "Jorge," she says softly, "we have to go after them. Please."
Jorge grits his teeth together, nodding ever so slightly. "Alright..." he mutters. "Alright. Well, it's not like we haven't thrown ourselves into danger for those boys before... just another Monday, right?"
Jorge chuckles as he strides down the hallway, gesturing for us to follow him. Me and Brenda exchange a worried glance before trailing after him, making our way outside.
***
The sun breaks over the mountains ahead of us, the dusk light filling the sky with a dim lavender colour. I bite my lip impatiently as the truck begins to slow up the steep incline, spluttering forward at an agonisingly slow pace. Brenda checks the map again, holding it at different angles to establish where exactly we are, and where we're going.
"It looks like there's only one main route, so we should just stick to this road," she explains, putting the map back down. Jorge grips onto the steering wheel tighter as he slams his foot down on the accelerator, jolting the truck forward forcefully as it struggles up the slope. I take in a deep, stuttered breath, clenching my jaw as I look out of my window. With the bandanna wrapped tightly around my wrist, I slowly run my fingers along the frayed edges, closing my eyes as I sigh deeply.
We've been on the road for an hour now, travelling up the side of a vast mountain, overlooking the whole Scorch in vividly painful detail. I never thought I'd have to set eyes on those steep orange dunes again, each mound of sand a reminder of those difficult days in the Scorch. I open my eyes, tugging my hair back and weaving a side braid on my shoulder, pulling the hair out of my face. The likelihood of running into danger is high in the Scorch, so I want to be as prepared as possible if it comes to that. When it comes to that.
"Are there any towns between here and the city?" I ask Brenda.
"Doesn't look like it," she replies, referring to the map once more. She squints harder, holding the map closer. "It's just this road for a while until there's a checkpoint to get into the city. It looks like a tunnel."
I nod slowly. "But we're runaways... they'll catch the boys before we do..."
Jorge looks at me from his rear view mirror. "WICKED are the the least of your worries, hermana. That tunnel's been overrun by Cranks for years now, that's why I never went back. Let's just hope they have the sense to turn back like I did."
I shake my head, my eyes widening in horror. "But... Jorge, you know them, they won't turn back for anything."
"I figured about as much..." he mumbles, pressing harder on the accelerator.
***
Four slow hours pass. We finally get off the mountains and weave through the valleys, the tracks covered in golden sand. Overturned cars line the sides of the road, metal and shrapnel scattering the sand, but there's been no sign of obvious life other than us.
"It's like the world is haunted," I mutter, looking out to the still, mountainous landscape. Brenda nods, swallowing.
"The tunnel isn't too far away, though..." she replies quietly.
"There!" Jorge exclaims suddenly, causing me to jump.
"What?" I ask, leaning forward. "Is it the tunnel?"
"No, tracks!" he grins, pointing to the road. Sure enough, amongst the sand-covered road, there are fresh prints of tyre marks, leading along the road. I let out a relieved, disbelieving laugh, but I notice Brenda wears a concerned expression.
"Brenda?" I say hesitantly. "What is it?"
"Jorge, stop the car," she hisses.
The truck slows to a halt as we all sit in silence, listening closely. Brenda rolls a window down, her lips parting as if she's about to say something, before several loud, ear-splitting shrieks cut her off. The familiar screeches causes the hair on my arms to stand on edge, making my breath hitch in my throat.
Cranks.
"Go, go!" she yells, rolling the window back up as the truck speeds up, sliding along the road. My heart pounds against my chest as we rush through the valley, jolting over potholes as the sounds get closer. We drive along the road until we round a corner, finally able to see past the mountain on our side. A large, gaping tunnel stands in the side of a mountain up ahead, pitch-black and uninviting.
"That's it!" I cry out.
We get closer to the tunnel, Jorge turning the headlights on. Immediately I see a wave of pale, ghostly faces, illuminated by the flickering car lights. Their eyes are wide with insanity, dark blood flying out of their mouths. Their thrashing bodies move towards us, roaring as we approach them.
"Hold on!" Jorge yells. The truck hits the Cranks with such an immense impact that my head hits the back of Jorge's chair, but I hastily compose myself, staring out of the back of the truck where the hoard of remaining Cranks stumble after us. Jorge laughs wildly as he slams into more Cranks up ahead, sending bodies flying forward. I perk my head up as the sounds of gunshots echo throughout the tunnel, one after the other.
"They're close!" I exclaim. The truck continues to ram into a wall of Cranks, until they slowly begin to disperse, the crowd of half-dead bodies becoming smaller as we drive further through the tunnel, mercilessly running over any Cranks who try to get in our way. I feel dread rise in the pit of my stomach as the gunshots immediately stop.
We continue for a few more seconds until we round a bend, and then, my heart stops. A herd of Cranks, even bigger than before, are crowded around an overturned car, the headlights weakly flickering as the Cranks climb over it.
The lights go off.
"Oh, no..." I breathe. "N-Newt..."
Brenda slumps in her chair, squeezing her eyes shut. However, Jorge speeds up, and yells out, "they're there!"
I look ahead in the tunnel, my eyes widening as I see the three boys, surrounded by an army of Cranks. Jorge revs the engine and speeds forward, ramming into the Cranks around the vehicle. I grin as I see Newt, his face registering pure shock when he sees the truck coming his way. Brenda whoops loudly as she reaches for her gun, rolling down the window in the roof to stand up. She aims towards the Cranks, sending their bodies to the floor with powerful bullet shots, her eyes lighting up with intense adrenaline.
"Get in!" she shouts to the three boys, continuing to shoot down any Cranks who try to get closer. Without a moment of hesitation the boys clamber inside the truck, yelling at Jorge to go. The vehicle jolts to life once more as we make our way further out of the tunnel. The boys pat each other's shoulders supportively as they all struggle to catch their breath, grinning to each other. We finally emerge out of the tunnel, our vision filled with bright sunlight as we drive along the cliffside road, blocked off from view by trees on the side of the road.
"I'm impressed," Jorge states with a laugh. "You guys almost lasted a whole day."
Brenda turns to face them, shaking her head slightly. Thomas lets out an apologetic chuckle.
"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't want to bring you guys into this," he says. She raises her eyebrows, glancing to Jorge.
"I think," Fry adds, "what he's trying to say is thanks for saving us."
Brenda smiles. "You're welcome."
Newt looks to me, his grin falling as he sees my eyebrows drawn together and my mouth set into a scowl. "What's wrong?"
"You could've died, you slinthead, that's what's wrong," I reply with gritted teeth, hitting his arm.
"But I didn't, I'm fine," he laughs quietly, grabbing hold of my hand. I roll my eyes as he mimics a pleading look, his big brown eyes wide and lips pouted. I try to fight a smile, but can't stop myself, shaking my head as my smile widens reluctantly.
"Shuck, I can't be mad at you..." I whisper, as I pull Newt into a hug. I squeeze my eyes shut as I hold onto him tighter, adding, "Newt, you didn't even say goodbye."
"I am sorry, (y/n), but you would've just wanted to come with us, and I didn't want to drag you into any more danger."
I pull away from Newt, laughing in disbelief. "What do you think I've been doing for the past, what, seven months? Newt, I want to save Minho just as much as you do. I really don't care about getting a few scratches along the way."
"And if you'd gotten bitten again?"
I roll my eyes. "I could say the same about you, loser."
He shakes his head in light laughter as he looks to the floor of the car. I try to read his expression, and I frown when his laughter doesn't meet his eyes. Jorge looks at the two of us through his rear view mirror, shaking his head and chuckling to himself.
"Don't get your hopes up," he announces. "That tunnel was the city's last defence. If that's overrun, chances are the city is too."
Newt's smile suddenly falters as he looks out of the window, his expression in somewhat disbelief. "Yeah," he mumbles. "Unless they figured some other way to keep the Cranks out..."
I look to where he's facing, and gasp as my eyes fall onto a vast, glimmering city, with towering skyscrapers that loom above the desolate landscape around it, surrounded by a huge concrete wall that borders the city. Impoverished slum housing lines the edges around the wall, the small housing crammed together in a congested mess of crumbling buildings.
The car skids to a halt, Jorge staring out of the window in incredulity. Everyone slowly gets out, staring at the city with looks of amazement.
"It's funny," Newt says, shaking his head. "We spent three years behind walls and now we want to... break back in?"
"Yeah, it's hilarious," Fry replies, a bitter twinge of misery laced in his tone.
"Jorge, how do we get in?" Thomas asks.
"Don't look at me, hermano. I guess walls are WICKED's answer for everything."
"Well, we ain't gonna figure it out from up here," Brenda calls, climbing back into the truck. "Come on, let's go!"
Newt slowly saunters over to Thomas, who's standing at the edge of the cliff. I join the two boys, anxiously fiddling with my sleeve.
"You really think Minho's in there?" Newt quietly asks Thomas.
Thomas shrugs, a thoughtful look passing his face. "I guess we'll find out."
I lick my lips nervously. "Thomas, you know... she's gonna be there too."
The boy remains quiet for a second before looking to me, his eyebrows lowered in sadness and realisation. He slowly nods, looking back to the city, before walking back to the car. Just as I turn to go, Newt grabs my lower arm.
"(y/n), look out for him, alright?" he asks cautiously. "We all will, but I know you guys are close, just... keep an eye on him."
"Of course," I reply, weakly forcing a smile. "We all look out for each other."