The Variable → The Scorch Trials

CHAPTER SIX

Amelia tried, she truly did, to locate the scream. But as she peered through the heavy fog, she could see nothing, she could still barely see the outlines of the white strikes as they hit the ground; her attempts were futile. She could still barely hear, and she saw nothing. Everything felt useless. 

She needed to see people, she needed their presence, she needed them to help her. As much as Amelia could get along just fine on her own, sometimes, she just needed someone else to refuel her, to give her the energy to carry on, to guide her to where she needed to be. Right now, she just needed another person. 

Sighing, Amelia sunk back into the wall, if the storm wasn't going to fade, she may as well make the most of it. Despite not being tired, she found herself slowly able to fall asleep to the hum of the rain, as though it were some soft lullaby. 

She slept for longer than she thought, so when she awoke, it was already the afternoon.  She peered out of the hole, but again, no signs of life. Whoever or whatever she thought she had heard scream, was a figment of her imagination.

Amelia pulled a new hoodie over her head, taking another bite from her cereal bar before packing her backpack up again, slinging it on her shoulder and crawling out of the awkward hole. Standing up, she looked in both directions, hunting for the mountain to provide her for some sense of direction. She took a few steps before eventually being able to identify the peak of the mountain just over the top of a building, she now had her target.

Without another thought, Amelia set off in the blazing sun, already beginning to drip with sweat after just a few steps. She pushed on through the pain, trudging through the thick sand, her entire body aching with every movement.

Now that the fog from last night had faded, Amelia could gain her bearings once again. Far beyond another city, was Amelia's final destination. All she had to do, was pull herself together enough to carry on her journey, and that she did.

The buildings in the distance became clearer with every step she took, going from tall, blurred lines, to intricately detailed architecture. Dotted across he sand before her was what Amelia could only imagine to be more cranks, more just like the one she had dealt with all to recently. Dozens of them scattered themselves across the city, ready to attack.

Given how Amelia had barely escaped the last crank, she knew that dozens would not be easy. The buildings stretched far and wide, and the only way past, was through. Amelia couldn't just bypass the city, she had to go straight into the heart of it if she wanted to make her way out of the Scorch alive. She knew she couldn't wait until nightfall, she had to make her move now.

As she got closer and closer, Amelia began veering off towards a larger building, she needed some kind of cover, she couldn't be out in the open, vulnerable to any attack. She could even hear the cranks through the thick, concrete walls. Humming, groaning, thumping. Echoes of their cries, their eerie screeches, and worst of all, the footsteps.

Although she had seen it from a distance, only once she could hear the thumping, did she truly realise how many there must be. Reaching into her pocket, she clutched the grip on her knife, poised for whatever might hit her.

Bump.

She flinched as she got closer, sticking to the wall and taking a deep breath. She could do this, she had to, for Emmie. 

Bump.

Suddenly, it seemed like the sound was coming from everywhere, as though it was almost inside her. Amelia shivered, but it didn't seem right, none of it did. Footsteps couldn't be this loud, they couldn't be this powerful, even if there were hundreds of them, it simply couldn't be right.