The Wilds (Part IV of the Runner Series)

Chapter 2

all places, characters (except my oc's), and terms, belong to so1tgoes
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It is impossible, inconceivable, completely and utterly shocking that she can't do anything other than stare at the creature making its way across the desert.

Kay has heard the creatures many times before, so much so that they have featured in her nightmares, but she has never seen them with her own eyes. At least, not fully.

Back when Babel was still standing and the only way inside was the tunnelled entrance, she could have convinced herself that the Scorchers were just figments of her imagination, or scary stories told by residents to keep children away from exploring too deep inside the earth.

But what is in front of her now is real.

When she first heard the cry deep inside Babel's tunnel system, she would've believed that the Scorched were something akin to a beast, an animal you cannot reason with, one that cannot be tamed. But the creature in front of her now looks so human it makes her question everything.

Kay knew what the Scorched were: Brutes that failed completion—stuck in an in-between state of being alive and being dead. But she never thought they would look so...real.

The poor souls that were trapped below Babel come back to her mind, Mia's petite form trapped under the control of the Madam.

Kay feels as hopeless now as she did back then.

"Luca," she breathes, unable to say anything else. She needs him to understand her meaning, even though she's not sure she even does herself.

Save him. Help him. No one should live like that anymore.

But her companion doesn't say anything back—just keeps his hunter eyes trained on the creature, his grip on the weapon tightening until his knuckles crack. When he raises his weapon to fire the first shot, Kay's hand flies to his tattooed arm, pushing it back down until the tip of his arrow buries in the soft sand below.

Luca looks at her inquisitively, his usually bright blue eyes suddenly darker. A flash of the two of them back at the airship hangar comes back, his familiar features drenched in rain and full of a murderousness that she swore she'd never, ever let happen again.

Heart hammering in her chest, she speaks from some deep, dark part of her mind she thought died with Babel. "We can help him."

Luca blinks, clearly shocked by her words. "How can you be so sure?"

Kay stammers, her mind working too fast to comprehend anything. "We— The Brutes. We saved the Brutes once. Why can't we do the same for the Scorched?"

Luca takes another glance at the poor soul, still trapped as one of the Madam's failed experiments. When he looks back at Kay, his eyes are slightly brighter. "What is your plan?"

The Scorcher, clearly unaccustomed to the terrain of the Wastelands, hobbles around the space before them in a large circle. It doesn't know what to do. It doesn't know where to go. It seems like the poor thing will rotate in a circle until the sun burns him to a crisp.

For so long Kay thought that there was nothing left of Babel to save. The labs were useless in her attempt to save Will, and she destroyed the Madam's lair knowing that he might never be saved. But something scientific, something way beyond her comprehension saved Will from that indifferent state. And here a Scorcher is now, waiting, begging to be saved from the position the Madam left them in.

But maybe science isn't going to be the thing that saves the Scorcher.

"Cover for me," Kay says, gripping the handle of her father's dagger so tight her hand shakes.