I Corrupt. ~ Minho (The Sequel to "For My Help")

The Unexpected Deflection

The light that was currently blinding her eyes, unfortunately, wasn't River's biggest problem. The shocking heat piercing down on her skin was quite a big issue from the moment she stepped outside the tunnel to meet with her friends. She reached her arms out, feeling the intense heat on her skin. She decided that even though it was hot, it was bearable, which was good enough.

She whipped her head around, looking for the three boys, and found them standing in the sun, with white sheets wrapped around them.

"Why do you all look like ghosts?" She laughed.

"How do you  not have third degree burns?" Thomas flung his arms out to his side, before letting them drop back down again.

"What do you mean?" River questioned, instinctively looking down at her skin.

"He means the sun is so hot it's burning our flesh off." Newt clarified. 

"I think that's a bit of an exaggeration." River smirked, cocking her head to one side.

"Well I would show you what we mean, but I honestly don't want to stick a large part of my body out in the sun for very long." Thomas said.

"Alright you babies." River smiled at him, her nose wrinkling as she laughed. "Also, be thankful you were born boys, because you would not make very pretty girls." River nodded towards the sheets they were wearing. They had wrapped them up around themselves like an old woman's shawl.

"Thanks." Thomas stated, squinting into the sun. The heat and light had clearly taken its toll on the boys as they found it hard to walk back to the tunnel to get everyone else. Their vision was completely obstructed by the light, and the heat seemed more than uncomfortable for them.

River grew worried. Why didn't it have this kind of effect on her? Did this have something to do with whatever happened to her when she was held captive? The questions swirled around her head as a trail of sheet-covered Glader's exited the tunnel two by two, lead by Thomas, Newt, and Minho.

They had to use the buddy system for everyone to be able to take cover under the thin fabric. And apparently, it was imperative that everyone have shelter. River herself didn't feel the need for that, but she pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind. 

This isn't the time to worry about yourself.

She found herself repeating that in her head quite often as of late. The only problem is, when would be the time to worry about herself? She kept pushing these thoughts deeper and deeper down, but she knew that she would have to face them one day.

River was sucked out of her mind by a shout from a Glader that she unfortunately couldn't name, which was no longer a rare occurrence for her.

"Why doesn't she seem bothered by the heat?" The voice was loud and accusing. It instantly made River feel as if she was doing something wrong by not squinting or hiding under a sheet. She opened her mouth to talk but was cut off by Minho.

"That doesn't matter. All that does matter right now is that we've gotta get to that destroyed looking town over there." He reached out to point in front of him, and River looked over the miles of barren, rock covered dirt to see a torn down town far out in the distance. Seeing how long it would take to walk made her feel ill, but she knew she should be grateful for not being affected by the heat. Shouldn't she?

"We can travel for a bit, but we'll try and cover the most ground during the night." Thomas continued.

"Hopefully it will be cooler then." River added. A few annoyed glances were shot at her and she immediately wished she didn't say anything. If she did end up getting way too hot, there was no way she could complain about it now. 

They set off on foot, and seeing that he was alone, River hopped under Minho's sheet.

"How's it going?" She asked nonchalantly at the exhausted, sweaty boy walking beside her.

"Great! I'm having a lot of fun out here. But it's getting a bit cold." He panted, his eyes still locked on the brownish red dirt that they were trekking over.

"Yeah we should have brought a big jacket." River laughed nudging him a bit with her elbow. They fell into a comfortable silence. River decided that it was best to not talk to him as he focused on not dying. Every once in a while she would catch him glancing at her though, and she would send polite smiles back.

She was shaken out of her daze when she heard Frypan shouting loudly, panicking over something that she couldn't see. Everyone stopped suddenly, and River almost tripped over her feet. Lifting up the sheet slightly so she could look, her heart sank into her stomach. In the distance she could make out two people running towards the group at top speed, they looked like silhouettes in the light, as they kicked up dirt behind them.  

Shifting his bag higher onto his shoulder, Minho wrapped his arm around River and pulled her closer, protecting her instantly. River was momentarily shocked by this, but after all he had said since she got back, she wasn't really surprised. She just wasn't used to Minho acting this way. The Minho that she knew - or thought that she knew - would definitely never have cared this much.

"Everyone group together!" He shouted back to teenagers, hugging River tighter to him as he turned around to face the Gladers. "If these shanks are trouble then we need to be prepared." River clutched onto the material of his shirt and held her breath momentarily. This could be bad.

The two strangers stopped a few metres in front of the group and stared. One was a man, and the other a woman, although it was difficult to tell by the state of them. They had fabric wrapped around their heads tightly, not showing any skin. Their clothing was like a collage of different materials and was all tattered from use. 

"Who are you?" River asked, a surge of courage washing over her. She let go of Minho's shirt and tried to step out from under the sheet, but Minho held onto her tightly, not letting her go anywhere.

The couple didn't respond. They continued to stare at the group, eerily still.

"Who are you?!" River shouted this time.

"There are a whole lot more of us than there are of you, so I'd start talking." Minho shouted as well.

The couple finally answered with two words that seemed to terrify everyone but River, who was confused at what they meant.

"We're cranks."

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Author's Note

Oooo River's first meeting with cranks, seeing as she wasn't there for the boys'. And something else is happening to her that she can't explain! What surprise haha! Also, this will mainly follow the Scorch Trails except for a few things so expect a few twists that weren't in the book, especially to do with River (which I guess are some twists that would be obvious as to why they're not in the book).

Thanks for reading!

Marin