The Scorch Trials Rewrite

Part 9

I covered myself as concrete and smoke rushed out of the shaft and filled the room. The smoke snuck into my mouth and we all coughed loudly.

"Y/N?" Thomas said through his chesty coughs.

"I'm alright," I groaned, pushing myself up as debris and metal slid off my back. Brenda flicked on a flashlight, and it was hard to see from the smoke, but that was settling. I brushed dirt of Thomas' back. "Are you?"

"Oh, yeah, great," he muttered sarcastically. The shaft was completely filled in with concrete pieces and metal. There was no way we were getting back up through there, and honestly I didn't even want to try. It looked like the whole thing would come tumbling down if even one block was moved.

"How are we gunna get back to the others?" I asked.

Brenda looked around for a second then grabbed her bag. "Relax, sweetheart. I'm gunna get us out of here." She handed us each a flashlight, but what I really could've used was some water. Thomas rubbed my back gently as I coughed, and I gave him a thankful smile.

"Why are you helping us?" he asked Brenda.

"Trust me, it's not my idea. Jorge seems to think you guys are our ticket to the safe haven."

"Wait a minute. Safe haven? What is that?" I asked.

"You know, paradise. Safe from the sun, free of infection." She slung her bag over her shoulders with a grunt to indicate its weight. "Supposedly, the Right Arm's been taking kids there for years. Immunes, anyway."

"And you know where that is?" Thomas asked.

"No. But Jorge knows a guy—Marcus." She excitedly bent down at something wooden that looked like a small fallen shelf. "He used to smuggle kids up into the mountains." She tossed it to the side. "If Jorge made it out, that's where he'll be taking your friends."

"If he made it out?" I said.

"You know what? You guys ask a lot of questions. Can you just come over here and help me with this? Please?"

Thomas and I shared a glance before we knelt down next to Brenda. There was a grate that she had been trying to open, and we each slid our fingers through and pulled. Admittedly, Thomas did most of the grunt work because when it finally started to open, I had to let go in order to keep my fingers, and Thomas lifted it the rest of the way until it was open.

I shone my light down into the hole, looking up at Brenda with a frown when I heard cranks screeching down there. "My day just keeps getting better." Brenda chuckled lightly, her eyebrows jumping up.

"Yeah. Down here, they'll be full term." I didn't get a chance to ask what that meant because she jumped down into the tunnels. It was probably a five-foot jump, nothing I couldn't handle at this point, but I looked to Thomas first.

"If we die down here..." I cut myself off, my heart pumping a little harder with nerves.

Thomas nodded and squeezed my hand lightly, then he kissed my cheek. "We won't." I felt a little shock at the touch, considering he hadn't touched me like that since the Glade. It ignited a fire in me, one that had been dulled but now shone brighter than ever. I leaned forward without thinking, squishing my lips to his.

His kiss was exactly as I remembered, the soft lips massaging mine, and his hand caressed my cheek. His tongue prodded gently in my mouth every time I opened it, and his hand moved to the back of my head. Finally, I pulled away, looking down as I liked my lips with embarrassment. "We should go."

"Yeah..." He held my chin between his thumb and pointer finger, lifting my eyes up to meet his. He came in for one more soft kiss before he let go. "Go on."