Chapter Text
Neither of you could sleep. You looked outside the whole time. With the rain it was hard to see very well, but when people in ratty clothes and strange sores began to pound on the sides of the vehicle, it was hard to miss. Or sleep peacefully.
It took about two hours for the bus to stop.
They pulled into a muddy parking lot surrounding a building with several rows of windows. The rescuers shuffled you all outside, through the front door and a flight of stairs. Then you made it to a huge dormitory with bunk beds that lined up across the walls. On the opposite side were dressers and tables. Curtain covered windows checkered each wall of the room.
There was so much more colour than you'd seen in so long, especially since the couple of days with lack of colour in the glade. Minho squeezed your hand tightly as he took everything in. "I've been shucked and gone to heaven."
The leader who had collected the group left everyone with a small staff. Nine or ten men and women, dressed in pressed black pants and white shirts. They were so clean and they smiled at you all. It was so... weirdly comforting?
They assigned you beds; you and Teresa bunked together in a different room, to Thomas and Minho's clear disappointment. The two of you were given clothes and bathroom appliances in you room. You and Teresa shared a look of excitement.
"We can be clean," Teresa squealed.
You were in complete disbelief. You hadn't properly cleaned yourself in so long. You'd genuinely gotten used to being so dirty, but the cleanliness of everything around you suddenly made you more aware.
The two of you basically ran to the showers. You heard Teresa's shower head run as you hesitated in doing it yourself. You stared at the body soap and the loofah they'd given you. Along with the shampoo and conditioner. It was all scented, a strawberry scent it seemed.
"Y/N!" You heard Teresa's voice echo across the shower room. "It's amazing!"
Taking a deep breath, you turned it on. The water dripped across your naked and dirty body, filled with scratches and stitches. Before you showered, they'd cleaned your bruises and scrapes and deeper cuts. They checked your eyesight and reflexes, but they knew everything would be pretty decent, considering your journey.
The hot water was so wonderfully soothing. You relished in it for a while, before finally opening up the bottle. The strawberry smell was wonderful for every one of your senses. You lathered it into your hands and put it in your hair. It was so grimy that you needed to wash the shampoo out and shampoo two more times. You stuck your hair up as you enjoyed giving yourself a very well deserved head message.
Then, you picked up the conditioner, applying it to your hair. As you let it sit, you scrubbed your entire body with the soap, and just the sight of your dirty skin leaving brought you great joy.
At the end of it, you felt and smelled so unbelievably clean, but the water itself had tired you out.
You changed into the clothes that they provided, so very soft and new and wonderful.
They let you eat with the boys, and Minho's eyes practically lit up when he saw you. With a wide smile, you practically ran over to him, jumping into his arms and swinging into a hug. Minho held onto you tightly. "You smell really good."
"You do too," you grinned, pulling back and scrunching your nose. "I never realized how much we stink." You took in his clean face and hair and clothes and body. "You look so good."
Minho laughed. "Didn't think I could be more into you, but here we are." He pulled you up for a kiss, which felt better than it ever had. Less like Gally's drink and more like minty freshness. He parted from you, raising a brow. "You taste better, too?"
You grinned. "They gave us chapstick."
"Flavoured?" He asked, raising his brows. You nodded and he leaned in to kiss you again.
"Alright lovebirds," Newt smacked Minho's head as he passed by. "How about you guys eat up the food they're gonna serve instead of each other."
Everyone laughed, getting settled for the food. Honestly, all of this felt like a dream. A very wonderful dream, that lacked a lot of people you wanted here. For dinner, pizza was served. Real, very good, greasy pizza. You all practically melted from the joy, quiet as the food was eaten, everyone appreciating it by eating it all up.
Soon, after eating, you were exhausted and full. So, when it was time for bed, you were pretty happy. Minho grumbled at the rule of separating girls and boys, as he kissed you before you left with Teresa. "I'll try to sneak into your room," you whispered to him, winking and leaving him grinning as you followed Teresa.
She grabbed your arm, looping hers under yours as she grinned at you slyly. "What are you thinking of doing?"
Shrugging, you grinned at her. "My only option while we're stuck here. Unlike you, I can't talk telepathically with my boyfriend and it kinda sucks."
She rolled her eyes at you.
Minho woke up to the insane noises and reacted quickly. His body always acted ahead of him thinking of the smart thing to do in dangerous situations, and especially recently, he'd constantly been in dangerous situations.
Everyone else had gotten up as well, running around and shouting. Minho found Newt, who shared a look with him before the two of them moved, running to the door. Whatever these disgusting looking people were – cranks – Minho knew they were terrible news just from the look and smell of them.
They screamed over and over again, begging the group of gladers inside for them kill them.
When he spotted Thomas, he hurried over, slamming his hand down on Thomas's shoulder from behind. Thomas cried out and turned around but Minho stared past him, straight at the so called 'cranks' screaming through the window.
"They're everywhere. And there's no sign of those shanks who rescued us."
His voice came out gloomier than he'd intended. With all the chaos, he was scanning around for you and Teresa as well. But there was no sight of either of you.
"Have any of them gotten in yet?" Thomas asked. "Do all the windows have these bars?"
Minho nodded toward the walls. "Yeah. It was way too dark to notice them last night, especially with those stupid frilly curtains. But I'm sure glad for 'em."
"Where's Newt?" Thomas asked, looking around.
"Right here."
Thomas turned to him. "What's goin' on?"
"You think I have a bloody clue? Bunch of crazies want to eat us for breakfast, by the looks of it. We need to find another room, have a gathering. All this noise is driving nails through my buggin' skull."
Thomas nodded absently, clearly out of it. Newt nodded at Minho, gesturing to round up all the boys. Minho nodded, glancing at Thomas, before calling out for everyone. In the back of his mind, Minho knew he could get Thomas to communicate with you, if anything. You and Teresa must be together, after all.
Someone had called Minho, while his mind wandered. "Yeah?" Minho asked as he hurried over. They gestured to the door that led to the common room, where everyone had ate their first meal in what felt like a lifetime. Minho let out a huge sigh, preparing for the worst, before trying to jerk the door open.
Of course, to no avail.
There was nowhere to go. Newt had come over, when Minho had grunted and given up on the door, giving it a try himself. Of course, it didn't open with his magical hands either.
"It's locked," Newt muttered as his hands fell to his side.
"Really, genius?" Minho asked, arms folded. Minho didn't think he'd ever felt so tense, he could feel his veins pumping and it was getting to him. "No wonder you were named after Isaac Newton – such an amazing ability to think."
Newt was clearly not in the mood, but Minho wasn't either. It was good that Newt probably realized that, and ignored Minho's smart ass remarks. "Let's break this bloody handle off." He looked around, for someone to have something to break it off with.
"I wish those shuck... Cranks would shut up!" Minho yelled, nearing his breaking point as he turned to glower at the closest one - it was a woman with a bleeding wound crossing her face.
He really hoped you weren't with one of these creatures. He really hoped you were on the other side of this jammed door.
"Cranks?" Frypan repeated.
Minho gestured at the woman he had been glaring at. "That's what they keep calling themselves. Haven't you heard?"
"I don't care if you call 'em pussy willows," Newt snapped. "Find me something to break through this stupid door!"
"Here," Jackson came forward, holding a fire extinguisher. How Minho missed that, he didn't know. Newt grabbed it, lifting it before slammed it down on the round brass handle. It cracked, and only needed three more whacks before it crashed to the floor.
The door inched outward. Newt stared at the long and narrow gap of darkness, absentmindedly handing back the fire extinguisher to Jackson. "Let's go."
"Wait," Frypan called out. "We sure we wanna go out there? Maybe that door was locked for a reason."
Minho wasn't gonna sit around behind a door, knowing full well you could be on the other side. He stepped up, standing next to Newt. He looked back at Frypan and then made eye contact with Thomas. If there was anyone who wanted to find the girls desperately, it was Thomas.
"What else're we gonna do? Sit here and wait for those loonies to get in? Come on."
"Those freaks aren't breaking through the window bards anytime soon," Frypan retorted. "Let's just think for a second!"
"Time for thinking's done." Minho kicked out the door with his foot. "Plus, you should've spoken up before we blasted the lock to bits, slinthead. Too late now."
Frypan looked away, but looked back to the door, fornwing. "I hate when you're right," he grumbled.
Still, everyone else hesitated to go through the door. All anyone could see was pitch darkness. "Shuck it," Minho decided. "I'll go first." He didn't have time to wait for anyone else. He walked through the open door, and everything was still pitch black. And it smelled disgusting. He could hear other gladers start to come out the door from behind him.
Suddenly, he bumped into something and yelped. "Woah, be careful. Something... weird's hanging from the ceiling." Whatever he bumped into, kept creaking, swaying back and forth slightly. It was too low to be a chandelier, though.
There was someone else who bumped into something, because he grunted. "Table," Newt huffed. "Watch out for tables."
"Does anyone remember where the light switches were?" Frypan asked.
"That's where I'm heading," Newt answered. "I swear I remember seeing a set of them somewhere over here."
Minho kept walking, with no clue of what was around him. But then he walked face first into something, and the wretched smell filled all his senses. He groaned loudly and backed off. The creaking sound came back here, too.
"Found it!" Newt shouted.
A few clicks, and the room was lit up so quickly that Minho had to quickly shut his eyes and readjust. But he opened them again quickly and yelled.
Because the disgusting smell that surrounded the room wasn't for nothing. Because the objects he'd been bumping into were people. Dead people. All strung up by the neck, the ropes twisted into their purple, bloated skin. The bodies swung slightly, their pale pink tongues lolling out of their pale mouths. Their eyes were left open but glazed over. They were dead.
As gladers took in the scene, they spat, gagged and threw up. Minho looked at all the faces, at least a dozen, probably a little more. His heart beat rapidly as he checked all of them, making sure none were yours.
Once he had checked, he joined Newt and Thomas who were horrified, standing by the bank of light switches, while swearing under his breath. Minho watched Thomas who had doubled over, his arms wrapped around his stomach. His eyes and face were scrunched... in a way that told him this wasn't just him being sick.
"Tommy," Newt said, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder. "What's bloody wrong with you?"
Thomas opened his eyes, and slowly straightened. "What... what do you think? Look around us."
"Yeah, but you looked like you were in pain or something."
Minho shook his head, placing his hands on Thomas' shoulders. "Look, as much as it breaks my heart to see you have a tummy ache, I need you to use your freaky powers right now."
Thomas sighed. "I tried, I tried reaching her in my mind... But I can't." Thomas looked past Minho, and at all of the dead bodies. He shook his head, and looked at Minho. "We've gotta find where they put them."
Minho nodded, turning to the group. "He's right. Spread out, find them!"
"Might've already." Minho turned to Thomas, as he hurried over to a door. A yellow door. How had he not seen this before? He followed closely after Thomas, who shouted over his shoulder as he reached the door. "Someone grab that fire extinguisher."
"Winston, go get it," Minho ordered.
Thomas reached the door first and tried the handle, which didn't budge. Minho tapped his foot impatiently, looking back for Winston. He would've gotten that damned extinguisher by now. He looked back at Thomas who was staring up at a small sign next to the door. Minho snapped his fingers at him, hoping he would rather focus on talking telepathically with Teresa instead.
"Hello? Calling Thomas? Not a good time to daydream. Lots of dead bodies, smells like Frypan's pits, missing girls. Wake up."
Thomas turned to him. "Sorry. Just thought that it was weird that Teresa's last name was Agnes."
Minho leaned forward to read the sign Thomas was referring to, and clicked his tongue. "Who cares about that? What's this freakin' stuff about her being the Betrayer?"
"And what's 'Group A, Subject A1' mean?" Newt asked, having just come over, handing over the fire extinguisher. "Anyway, your turn to break a buggin' door handle."
Minho's eyes had caught onto the rest of the sign now.
Teresa Agnes. Group A, Subject A1.
The Betrayer.
Property of WICKED. Group B, Subject B4.
The Sacrifice.
Thomas had swung open the door, and stepped into the lighted room. Thomas immediately called out Minho's name, which made him shove past everyone else and quickly head in.
Thomas was the one who pointed you out but it was impossible to miss you. Your blanket had fallen to the floor and it looked like you were almost about to as well. Minho knew you weren't a person who moved around that much while sleeping, so it immediately felt odd. But, he ran over to you and fell to his knees, pushing you back up on the bed, repeating your name.
Newt came over quickly as well, hovering over Minho. "Why's she not getting up?"
"Shuck, you think I'd know?!"
Newt sighed, lowering himself as well, and moving Minho over. Minho protested, but Newt ignored him. He called out your name and shook your lightly, which made Minho pretty ready to shove Newt over.
But Newt reached up and pinched your ear, hard.
Minho opened his mouth to protest, but your eyes fluttered open.
"Y/N," Newt spoke softly. "Are you okay?"
You nodded lightly, before your eyes started closing again. "What the..." Minho quickly grabbed your face with his hands. "Hey, no, get up, wake up again!"
A toilet flushing sound now had Thomas on high alert. He was panicked to see they'd found you in your state, thinking of the worst for Teresa. But his hopes were raised by... a toilet.
"You're used to living with a bunch of boys," Newt said quickly, getting up to stop Thomas, who was about to go in there himself. "I don't think it's polite to go stomping ingo the bloody ladies' room. Just wait till she comes out."
Minho tapped your face again, and you moved your head, groaning. "Let me sleeep, you shuck."
He frowned but turned to Newt. "We need to get everybody here and have a gathering. It doesn't stink and there aren't any windows for the cranks to scream at us." Minho glanced down at you. "Must've been why these two didn't get up like the rest of us."
"I'll get her up," Newt huffed, walking over. "You get everyone over here."
Minho nodded, and as he left, Frypan and Winston made their way in. They also immediately made their way to you. "She alright?" Winston asked, looking down at you.
Newt nodded. "Seems like it. Help me get her up though." Frypan did so, helping put you in an upright position. You were still drowsy, and you rested your head on his shoulder, seemingly fully asleep. "No, Y/N," Newt pinched your cheek, making you sit up. "I need you up."
"Newt?" You grumbled, raising your hands with a struggle to rub your eyes. Newt nodded, about to ask you if everything was okay, before hearing the bathroom door click. Thomas was quick to react, taking a step forward... but the person who walked through wasn't Teresa.
It was a boy.
Everyone was stunned. Even you, in your groggy state, grumbled. "Who's tha'?"