Minewtenda

Did you hear that?" Newt asked, slightly jumpy.

"Aw, shank," Minho snickered. He brought the illuminated flashlight under his chin to give himself a weird look. "Stop being a pansy and try to enjoy the walk. It's cool down here, dark, and qui--"

The sound of glass cracking echoed throughout the tunnels. Minho's eyes widened for a second before going back to normal. "Ah, like I said, it's nothing. Anywa--"

All of a sudden, Brenda's hand met with Minho's face with a crisp slap sound. The Asian boy clutched his cheek and stared at the girl, "Why the shuck did you do that? I ain't gonna hit a girl, but I might make an excepti--"

She glared at him and placed her hand over his mouth and whispered, "Can you losers shut your mouth for one second?"

The crack sound echoed again; Brenda slowly took the flashlight out of Minho's hand and brought it up to chest level, making the light beam become a spotlight for a man with a ragged and ripped suit.

Every part of his body was moving, from his twitching head to the clenching of his hands to his shaky legs. The teens stared with horror as they observed the man.

His bloody scalp was the first of his features that they noticed for it looked like someone had just ripped chunks of his hair out of his head. Their eyes moved down to his red ones which were staring into the light. The thing that disgusted them the most, though, was the fact that his nose was completely gone. In its place was a bloody mangled hole which you could see through and be welcomed by his skull's nasal passage. The rest of his face was covered in scabs, scars, and sores.

When the trio thought it couldn't get any creepier, the man spoke six words with a low gurgled voice. Though it was quiet, it resonated throughout the tunnel.

"Rose took my nose, I suppose."

Minho pulled Brenda's hand away from his mouth, and his face expressed utter confusion and disgust. Brenda pulled a lesser version of the expression as the two simultaneously whispered, "What the --" each with different, but rhyming, endings.

The man didn't seem to notice and repeated the statement he said earlier. The sound of gargling snot in the back of his throat reverberated in the tunnel before his next sentence, "And it really blows." The man made a sound that was assumed to be a laugh and continued, "Get it? It really blows. My nose. Taken by Rose. I suppose." The man flashed them a gummy grin.

"Hilarious," Brenda said sarcastically. As she said that, she pulled out a can from her bag and whipped it at the Crank's face. A bloodcurdling shriek came out of his mouth, attracting a group of Cranks who were also missing their noses.

"Didn't really hurt." The man shrugged. "Nice noses you have there. I really want a nose again. We all do." He shot them a malicious expression while licking his lips and gesturing to the Cranks behind him, showing that he had a leader status. Then the group proceeded to advance towards the Gladers and Brenda.

"Shut up, Voldemort," Minho said all of a sudden. His two friends looked at him with confusion and alarm. Newt whispered, "Who's --"

"I don't know who the shuck he is! It just..." Minho tried to explain.

"My God." Brenda snapped, "Shut up!" On those words, another can was chucked towards the Cranks and the three sprinted. The screeches of the crazies echoed behind them. Luckily, they were a good distance from the teens.

After a couple of turns, Brenda shut off her flashlight.

"Whoa, are you crazy?" Newt asked. "Turn it back on!"

Brenda ignored him, grabbed each of their hands, and ran.

"In here!" Brenda stopped and led them through a narrow entrance to a room. "They won't be able to find this place. Trust me."

The Gladers could sense each other's skeptical looks. Brenda spoke again, "Alright, find a table. It's somewhere around here..."

They found the table and the girl led them to a secret compartment in the wall behind it. It was a tight fit, but they managed to squeeze. However, Newt ended up facing Minho instead of the wall, and their faces were only millimeters apart.

"Newt, how do ya mess somethin' like this up? Your breath smells like the potties after Fry's 12 bean chili night."

"We're bein' chased by buggin' crazies that wanna take our noses, and you're concerned about this?! And it's not like your breath is any better."

"My breath always smells minty fresh, what are you talking about? And what if we accidentally kiss?? That's Emily's job!"

Minho winced at his choice of words then a groan left his lips as Newt kneed him in his crotch.

"Shut the fuck up!" Brenda growled with annoyance. The boys had finally made her snap. "Keep your damn mouths shut! If they find us, I'm making sure you guys get your noses ripped off, or whatever the hell they're going to do, first."

The sounds of the Cranks were getting closer, and silence washed over the trio. Giggling, coughing, and screams echoed through the tunnel. The trio held their breaths as the first few Cranks entered the room.

"Little chilllldren... come out, come out wherever you areeee," A gravelly voice whispered.

"Yesss," another one hissed, "We want your noses."

The shuffling of feet was heard by the Gladers as well as some remarks about giving up and leaving. One Crank, the first man then teenagers ran into, persisted and continued to look around the room.

"There's nothin' here," A female Crank spat. "Just a dumb table."

"Did you check behind it?" Another Crank asked.

The table screeched across the concrete floor as the Cranks moved it. The woman confirmed that no one was there and decided to leave the room. She tried to convince the leader Crank, but he refused and yelled, "Shut up shut up shut up" multiple times before she left.

The remaining Cranks followed her out of the doorway while the leader stayed. He took a large intake of air as if smelling something, which caused his exhales to be loud and shaky. He continued to mumble inaudible words to himself as he walked around the room.

"No..." he breathed, "No no no no no no no..."

Suddenly there was silence. Complete and utter silence. The three continued to hold their breaths and waited to see if they would hear the Crank. Nothing happened.

"Alright," Brenda whispered, "I think it's okay. Let me get the flashlight on so that we can get the hell out of here."

"THANK SHUCKING GOD," The Asian boy shimmied out of the compartment and sighed with relief as he scratched his leg.

Newt said nothing and placed himself with his back towards the opposite wall. Brenda turned on her flashlight and Minho's expressions quickly transformed into horrified ones. Newt raised his eyebrow but then he felt and heard the shallow breaths on his neck.

With a rough hand over Newt's mouth and nose, the Crank snarled, "Hello, noses!"