A light cast long shadows on the walls at the end of the long tunnel. They were moving and dancing and drinking. A crude kind of music, which was mostly just what sounded like pots and glasses being banged together, echoed off the damp ceiling.

The group of girls had been spotted before anyone had time to move or run in the other direction.

"Guests!" someone shouted, only a flickering figure outlined against the merrily crackling fire. "Come! Come!"

When no one moved, the man half walked- half jogged over to you, staggering a little as he went. "Don't be shy!" he called, stopping in front of Harriet and flashing her a wide, toothy grin. His teeth were yellow and full of gaps where he'd long lost some.

"Back off old man!" Harriet shot back, taking a few steps towards Sonya. "We don't want any trouble." He cackled. Really cackled.

"We're not going to hurt you," he said, voice softening suddenly as if he was talking to a baby. "I promise. What do you need? Water? Food?" Harriet glanced back at Sonya, then at you. You just shrugged.

"No I don't-" Harriet started, then cut off as a loud, high-pitched screech pierced the air, and a few dozen people were standing around you, cutting off any exits.

"What is this?" Sonya hissed, walking right up to the old man and shooting him a hardened glare. "We'd like to be on our way, thanks."

"You must come party with us for a while!" he exclaimed, raising his hands in the air. "There's plenty of food for all!"

Before anyone could react, the surrounding men and women began pushing in, and the group of girls was herded towards the light and shadows. You walked with them, eyeing the broken bottles and ropes and splintered shovels-- one older woman had a rusty-looking gun hanging from her belt.

You caught up to Harriet and nudged her with your shoulder. She turned to you and bent down to whisper urgently, "What the hell are we supposed to do now?"

"I think this guy's a Crank," you hissed, looking at her with wide eyes. "He's off his rocker." She only nodded and stared ahead again, eyes glazed over.

The old man (who'd been walking in front of you, glancing back every five seconds or so, as if a puppy was following him, and not an angry group of teenagers) turned a corner and everyone followed. You were bathed in muddied light as you came out into a crowded room. Everywhere, people were dancing and singing and drinking. You ducked behind a couple who were just stumbling around, doing a few turns but hardly dancing.

"Go!" the man shouted over the noise. "Dance! Enjoy yourselves!"

Harriet snatched your hand and pulled you through the crowd and over to one of the only corners that weren't occupied by a couple either eating each other's faces off or puking off to the side.

"We have to get out of here!" she whispered harshly. You ripped her hand out of her grip and nodded.

"I know, but you realize they have... guards, I guess, at every possible exit?" She glanced around at the few men on the far side of the room who weren't dead drunk, holding tightly to a few pitchforks and knives. One had a screwdriver, and you didn't care to think about what he used it for exactly. "And besides, how're we gonna get twenty-five girls out of here unnoticed?" 

She sighed and shook her head. "I don't know."

"You think we can overpower them?" 

Harriet looked at you like you'd grown a second head. "W-what?"

"Well, there are a lot more of us than there are of them. It's so loud in here, a little scuffle wouldn't bother anybody."

"Are you crazy?" 

You shrugged again and slumped back against the wall. "Do we really have a choice? We obviously can't stay in here." 

She looked up at the guards again. "We'd have to steal their weapons."

"What are you girls talking about?" someone slurred behind you. A hand grabbed your wrist roughly and spun you around to face them. An older man stared you in the face, grinning widely. "Aren't you pretty then?" His breath smelled like puke and alcohol, and you had to hold down a gag as it washed over you. Harriet marched up, and before either of you could react, she swung a fist and punched him square in the jaw. He let go of you and stumbled back, letting out a cry of pain.

"What are you doing?" you shrieked, running back to her. The man had regained his balance and was blundering forward, his crooked face twisted into an angry snarl.

"You're going to regret that!" he screamed, swinging blindly at you. You ducked easily and shoved him back. The man fell onto his butt and you grabbed Harriet's arm and forcibly pushed her away.

"Go, go!" you shouted. The two of you were quickly enveloped into the pulsing crowd, and the drunk man was left behind, picking himself up slowly and glancing around, a bewildered look on his face.

"We have to get out of here!" she yelled again over the noise.

All the other girls were still clumped together at the entrance, looking around uncertainly, eyes wide and searching.

Multi-colored lights were flashing on and off now, and the whole thing was giving you a headache. "It's hard to see in here, we might be able to overtake them!" you shouted at her. She just nodded and ran over to Sonya, started whispering urgently, pointing to the guards and then to you. You stood there until they came to some kind of agreement. Harriet beckoned you over and you slipped away just as a large guy in a ripped top hat and broken suspenders staggered over to you.

"We're going to split up," Harriet whispered. "You and Sonya are going to take half the group and get those guys from behind-"

"Good luck with that." 

You might have jumped at the voice if your ears weren't already pounding from the blasting music. A man walked over to the two of you, wrapped in a long black coat that was much too big for him. He had on sunglasses and he tilted them down the bridge of his nose to look at you. "I can help you," he said, eyebrows raised softly. Harriet just glared at him and pulled you back with her.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she spat. The man chuckled and took off his glasses, stuffing them into a ripped pocket at his chest. He wasn't terrible to look at, with slight age lines forming around his mouth and eyes as he smiled, looking far from drunk.

"I'm not a Crank," he started, then stopped and laughed again. "Well, actually, I probably am, but aren't we all?"

"Who are you?" you asked, not looking at Harriet, who was most likely flashing you a glare. "Why do you want to help us?"

"... I know where you're going." 

A loud crash sounded before he could get another word out. You glanced back to see what must have been a chandelier, shattered and flickering out on the ground. Two men were wrestling on top of the mess, the glass cutting up their faces and arms. "Can we go somewhere a little more.... private?" he asked, eyeing the scene. Harriet shot you a look that said Are you crazy? We can't trust this guy.

"Fine," you said after a minute. "But Harriet and Sonya, here are coming too." He just shrugged and beckoned for you to follow him. You did, and Harriet begrudgingly followed, dragging Sonya along behind her. You dodged a few flailing arms and dancing bodies as you went, and let the man pull you into a side room. For a second, you were left in pitch darkness, then there was a buzzing noise and the lights flickered on, just a few weak bulbs hanging from the crumbling ceiling.

"Sit," he said, gesturing to an old wooden stool that stood under a small, rickety table. "I have a proposition." You raised an eyebrow and moved to lean against the wall behind you. Neither Sonya nor Harriet sat in the chair, and the man smiled a little, then plopped down into the chair opposite you.

"What did you have in mind?" you asked quietly when he made no move to speak.

"I want to come with you, for the Cure." Harriet glanced at you and shook her head.

This guy's an idiot.

"What?" you asked, incredulous.

He smiled. "My name's James, in case you were wondering."

"I wasn't."

"What's this about a Cure?" Harriet piped up, uncrossing her arms and stepping forward. "How would you know anything about that?" 

James shrugged. "Oh, word's been getting around ya know. We Cranks know how to carry news fast." She raised an eyebrow.

"So... you're a Crank?"

"Hm, yes and no." 

You clenched your fists. "Give us a straight answer."

"Everyone around here is a Crank, whether they know it or not." he said simply, with another grin. You tilted your head and James smiled a little. "The Flare is everywhere. You're probably a Crank too."

"I'm not a Crank," you spat, taking a few steps towards James. "We're getting a Cure."

"Exactly," he said, lifting his legs to rest them on top of the desk. The wooden chair creaked as he did so and you glared at him harder. "And I want in."

"What's in it for us?" Harriet asked.

"I'll help you get out of here."

"That's not good enough." James sighed and crossed his legs, staring Harriet dead in the eye.

"I"ll help you get out of here."

"I think," you whispered to her, "he means The Scorch."