𝙅𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙤𝙣

𝙈𝙞𝙣𝙝𝙤 shakes the petite brunette out of her sleep. "Come on, we gotta go!" He screams

The girl jolts up, blinking her eyes open at the boy frantically yelling at her. Blake shakes her head and looks around her as she hears the whirling of the helicopter and guards shouting at them to hurry.

Blake turns to see Thomas still sleeping. Minho rushes up to the boy, shaking him awake as he yells his name. Thomas' eyes shoot open as Minho screams at him to get up.

"Thomas! Wake up! We've got to go!" He yells over the commotion.

Thomas shoots up, his brown eyes connecting with Blake's as a guard grabs her by her upper arm, dragging her out of the helicopter.

Thomas jumps out of the helicopter as the guards lead them to safety—the teens sprint towards the doors of the building as they hear gunshots sounding from behind them, making the teens flinch as they continue forward.

"Cranks!" Blake hears from behind her as more gunshots fire.

God-awful screams erupt from behind them, and the girl's green eyes widen at the sounds.

Blake makes it inside the gate as they start closing, watching as the cranks run and scream towards the compound. Her emerald eyes stare in front of her with utter shock and confusion.

She stands frozen as she watches Thomas stumble into the doors, his head whipping back at the chaos behind them.

Blake grabs his arm— pulling the boy further into the facility as the doors close shut.

Panting—the teenagers look around them.

"Holy shit." Blake whispers.

The guards lead the group of gladers into a room, as the kids widen their eyes, "Oh my god" Blake hears from beside her.

In front of them—lays a table with a variety of different food. The teens all rush forward, scarfing down anything they can get their hands on.

"Holy—" the brunette girl huffs out as she lays down on the cold metal floor with a hand resting on her bloated stomach. "I haven't eaten that much since—shit I don't even remember."

Thomas chuckles from beside her as he also groans from the amount of food consumed. His head whips to the side to see the girl with her eyes closed, humming.

He pauses for a second—staring at her features. His eyes rake over her face before frowning at the dried blood.

"You okay?"

Blake blinks her eyes open and turns her head to meet his deep brown eyes. "Yeah, he barely nicked me." She responds with a soft smile.

Thomas' face rests in a frown. "Nicked you? Blake—he almost killed you."

The girl shrugs her shoulder. "Well, he didn't. I'm here, alive, and fell fed." She says, patting her stomach as she glances back over to Thomas, who still has a frown on his face.

Blake's facial expression drops as she remembers the past events.

"He deserved to make it out like the rest of us...I should've—" Blake fumbles with her words as the tears sting her eyes.

"You couldn't have done anything, Blake. And don't-" Thomas gets cut off by a guard opening the door, causing the teens to sit up quickly.

A man walks into the room and scans the teenagers before his eyes stop on Blake and Thomas. His face contorts into a smile upon seeing the two—𝘖𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.

"You kids doing alright?" He asks as the teens walk closer to him.

"Sorry about all of the fuss. We had a little swarm."

Thomas' eyebrows furrow, "Who are you?"

The man smiles, "I'm the reason you're all still alive. And it's my intention to keep you all that way. Now, come with me—let's get you kids squared away." He says backing up.

The man's eyes flicker from Thomas to Blake, holding her gaze as she glares at the man.

𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮. Blake thinks. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵?

The teens stay silent as they watch the man walk away. Blake lifts an eyebrow, turning to face Thomas.

"I don't like him either, but we have no choice." The boy responds before reaching for Blake's hand.

"Now, You can call me Mr. Janson. I run this place." The man says as he leads the teenagers through the facility.

"For us, it is a sanctuary, safe from the horrors of the outside world. You all should think of it as a way station. It's kind of a home between homes. Watch yourselves." Janson says as sparks fly from beside the group.

"That mean you're taking us home?" Thomas questions from behind the man.

"A home of sorts." Janson replies, turning his body towards Thomas and Blake, who walk side by side.

Blake's eyes narrow at the man's answer, not liking the fact he won't tell them exactly where. 𝘏𝘦'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘶𝘺 𝘐 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴.

Janson notices the girl's questioning look as he turns around to hide his face. "Sadly, there wouldn't be much left from wherever you've came from. But we do have a place for you, a refuge outside the scorch. Where wicked will never find you again. How does that sound?" Janson says, turning back to the kids as he meets Blake's scowl.

"Why are you helping us?" Minho questions from behind Blake.

"Let's just say the world out there is in a curious situation. And we're all hanging on by a very thin thread. The fact that you kids can survive the flare virus gives you the best chance of humanity's continued survival. Unfortunately, it also makes you a target. As no doubt from now, you've noticed." Janson says, coming to a halt at two doors behind him.

"Beyond this door lies the beginning of your new lives." He continues to say as he swipes a card through the reader. A buzz sounds, and the device clicks green, opening the door.

As the door opens, Janson turns to face the group, smiling. "First things first. Let's do something about that smell..."