29. Apartment

Jorge, Newt, Minho, Frypan, Aris and Teresa all helplessly watched as the building lit with fire and completely collapsed. Brenda, Thomas and Athena, nowhere in sight. Silence ran over the group. None of them knew what to do or say.

"What do we do now?" Frypan asked. All their gazes still on the building.

"We head to the Right Arm I guess." Minho replied his eyes glossing over.

"First we have to make a pit stop." Jorge said as he turned round to look at the group.

"What do you mean?"

"We are going to see my friend Marcus, he will know where the Right Arm is." Jorge replied, trying to cover his sadness.

As the group walked away Minho turned round to see Newt still stood in his place looking at the burning building. Walking up to his friend, he placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "Come on, man." Minho spoke softly.

A tear leaving Newt's eye and rolling down his cheek, he finally took his gaze off the building, and looked at the floor. "She's gone." Newt mumbled.

Not knowing how to reply, Minho simply brought him into a hug, Newt's emotions spilling out the second he was in Minho's embrace.

After a few moments, the two walked off after the group, Newt's emotions still fully on display, but he didn't care. Why should he. He had just lost the most important person in his life. And he just wanted her back.

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"Let's go." Brenda said, to the two.

As the three teens jumped through the gap and onto the level below, they followed her lead, and went through a round tunnel. Coming out of the short tunnel, they looked to see a long unendable corridor, spray paint covering the walls.

Looking round Athena stood between the two that were holding flashlights. "Well..." Athena piped up, "This looks homely." she said which caused Thomas to give her a look, to which she just shrugged.

"I think it's this way." Brenda told, causing the two to turn and face the same way as her.

"You think?" Thomas mumbled, as they followed her. The water squelching beneath their feet.

"Do people live down here?" Thomas asked after a few minutes of silence.

"The solar storms forced people underground. Jorge says there's settlements all over these tunnels." Brenda explained.

"Like I said. Homely." Athena proved, Thomas just rolled his eyes at her.

"So, what about Jorge?" Thomas said, ignoring the girl's comment. "Is he your further."

"Close enough." she answered, Athena noticing her slightly uncomfortable with the topic. "Truth is, I don't really know what he is. He's just always been there. And I've always done what he's asked me to do, no matter how stupid." She finished as she glanced at the two Gladers.

"Don't look at me, look at him." Athena counted as she pointed to Thomas.

"So you don't think the Right Arm is real?" he asked.

Before she answered the group heard an inhumane grunt echo throughout the tunnel.

Flashing the lights down the tunnel to the source of the sound, after a few moments of silence the group turned back round and carried on.

"I think hope is a dangerous thing. Hope has killed more of my friends than the Flare and Scorch combined." there was a pause as she continued. "Just thought Jorge was smarter than that."

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Play - Blood // Water by grandson 

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As they continued walking they came up to multiple choice ways, looking round Athen and Thomas walked left whereas Brenda walked right.

"Hey, I think it might be this way." Thomas said as he saw a light at the end of the tunnel.

As they turned round they looked to see Brenda was gone.

"Where the hell did she go?" Athena questioned.

"Brenda?" Thomas called out.

"Over here." Brenda replied. "Look at this." she said as the two walked their way over.

"What? What is it?"

Following the light's direction, they saw black and purple branches like things against the wall. Carrying on walking down the hall, they turned to see the walls covered with them.

"What the hell is this?"

"I don't know." Brenda replied.

"The branch things remind me of something." Athena spoke up, the two looking at her. "But for once I hope i'm wrong."

Hearing a squeal sound through one of the smaller tunnels the three instantly turned to look at it.

More and more fear creeping up through Athena's skin, the squealing becoming closer, and suddenly a rat popped out.

"Ugh! Jesus!" Brenda scoffed as she kicked the infested creature over.

As the rat scurried away it's journey was shortly ended, when one of the buried bodies arm's grabbed the rat, it's slimy body holding a death tight grip on the diseased creature. With a tight fit the alien monster brought the rat up to its mouth and ripped the mammals head off. The Brute had whited out eyes, and rotted teeth.

The three backed away, gasping in disgust of the demon. Brenda and Athena screamed in terror as another tore it's way through the black branches. More and more coming from out of the shadows, running towards them.

"Run!" Athena screamed as they retreated the other way.

Turning around, another Crank stood in their way. Just as deceased as the rest. Thinking quickly, Thomas grabbed the machete in the pocket on Brenda's backpack, and stabbed the Crank.

Jumping past the fitting Crank, the group looked in fear as the family of monsters daunting towards them. "What is that!" Brenda screamed.

"Go, go, go!" Thomas screamed, as the group ran away.

Coming to an opening, the group came to an immediate stop, they looked down and saw an over 100ft drop, hearing the Cranks behind them Athena turned to the side.

"Up there! Go!" She shouted pointing to an entrance to a demolished building.

Climbing up the building, she looked behind her seeing the Cranks close by. "Athena! Come on!" Thomas shouted at her.

"Watch out!" Brenda warned, as a metal box fell downwards towards Thomas and Athena, both ducking away, the box taking out a Crank.

"Shit." Thomas breathed out, the group continuing to climb up the sideways building.

"Come on!" Brenda shouted as she started to climb up the riggity stairs. "Follow me!"

"Yeah, we're right behind you!" Thomas shouted.

Pulling themselves up hundreds of steps, Athena looked down to see the brutes five stories below them.

"Hurry up!" Athena shouted.

Jumping through the middle of the stair cases, a Crank quickly made its way up to the three. "Woah, woah, woah!" Thomas shouted as a Crank started to climb over the railing, flaring its arms towards the teenage boy.

Grabbing onto the railing above, Brenda swung herself towards the zombie, and knocked it over causing the cranks to fall to the far ground below, killing it in the process.

"Ok, go, go! Come on!" Thomas ushered the pair.

As Brenda went to grab on to another railing, the building becoming more and more sideways, the rust railing snapped causing her to fall through a door and into a slanted apartment and landing on the window. A single pane of glass separated Brenda and an over 300ft drop onto the sandy plains.

"Brenda!" Thomas and Athena shouted both running to the door.

"You okay?" Thomas asked, as Brenda was laying still on the glass.

"Yeah." Brenda grunted back.

"Hang on, we're gonna find a way down."

As she started to get up the glass beneath her started to break, more and more.

"No! Brenda, don't move. Don't move." Thomas warned.

"Spread out your weight!" Athena informed.

Not listening to her, Brenda slowly stood up, the glass cracking more and more beneath, as Thomas started to climb down to the girl.

"Come on! Grab my hand!" Reaching out his hand towards her.

Suddenly a Crank ran up to Athena, as she was still standing at the entrance of the door. As the Crank held her up against the wall, as she kicked the Crank back the creature fell into the apartment towards Brenda and Thomas.

As it slid across the floor and down towards Brenda, landing on top of her. "Thomas!" she shouted as she fought the Crank off her.

"You've got to get to me!" Thomas shouted, still holding his hand out for her to grab.

Crawling past she reached up towards his hand, "I can't reach!"

The Crank grabbed the girl's ankle and dragged her back towards him, jumping on top of her trying to bite her.

"Thomas!" Athena shouted as she looked down the staircase to see the last Crank coming up the stairs.

"Come on!" Thomas shouted at Brenda once she kicked away the Crank again. As he jumped down he grabbed a pipe, as he grabbed onto Brenda's hand he smacked the pole against the already brink of breaking glass, th Crank falling down to the ground.

As he pulled Brenda up and into the building, another Crank fell down into the apartment and straight through the broken window.

"Sorry!" Athena shouted from the entrance of the door, as she panted.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------A/N - Sorry for the short chapter, will have another out today. Wifi still out.