Subject A250: The Flame (COMPLETED)

Twenty-Two: Run!

A/N: Shorter chapter, sorry.........................(sorry again)

Trace had been dreaming. She was back in the Glade, hanging out with Alby, surprisingly enough. She and Alby were best friends in this dream, and they went shopping in the maze together because, of course, the maze was actually a giant mall. Duh. The Grievers all worked at their individuals stores which were inside the maze walls. To open them up, you had to stand near them and shout 'I've got Griever Fever!', then a magical opening would appear and you could stroll on in.

She and Alby walked past a Griever hair salon and saw Minho in there, teaching the Grievers how to style their own hair. He turned around and winked at Trace, who winked back before cartwheeling away.

She went into a dress shop with Alby, who tried on a lovely pink maxi dress with purple flowers all over it. He was admiring himself in the mirror when Trace heard a loud roar from behind her, and turned around to see a Griever screaming at her, charging in full force.

The impact woke her up, and her eyes fluttered open. The roar of the Griever didn't stop, and Trace had a sinking feeling that something terrible was about to happen.

A sudden, blinding flash of light confirmed her thoughts.

Lightning. Not the human, but the naturally occurring electrostatic phenomenon, which could only mean that the roar she heard was thunder. A storm had arrived.

And anyone who'd read the Scorch Trials knew that was far from exciting. Trace was terrified.

She sat up and shook Rose awake, all the while trying to find the direction of the storm in the darkness. Another bright flash indicated it was coming from behind them. From the direction of the city.

When the glow of the lightning ceased, and they were left in darkness once again, still peering back at the city, something else caught Trace's eye.

Two lights, located at ground level. Moving towards them.

"Headlights," Trace muttered. "They are coming after us."

"What's going on?" Rose almost yelled, struggling to be heard over the lightning. Trace just grabbed her arm and climbed to her feet, pulling Rose up with her. She didn't even try to explain.

"Run!" she shouted in Rose's ear.

They took off, sprinting in the direction of the building Trace had seen the day before, pelting along the hard terrain at full speed. It was hard to see in the darkness, and Trace kept stumbling over rocks and uneven ground. On top of all that, as fast as they were running, the thunder still got louder. By the second. Another bolt of lightning struck behind them. Closer this time. Trace knew it would only get closer; as talented as they both were, the Cake Crew couldn't outrun a storm.

Trace had let go of Rose in favour of picking up more speed, but the bright flash revealed that they were still running side by side. Rose was keeping pace.

The car was gaining on them, too. Trace couldn't understand why this stupid gang would wait until now to come after them. If it even was the gang. Trace decided it was best to assume the worst. After all, this was The Scorch Trials.

Another bolt of lightning hit behind them, shaking the ground. Close. Too close. Way too close. Closer than Thomas had been to dying in the closing maze doors.

Okay, not that close. That was impossible.

They ran on, occasionally kicking a rock in the dirt, which would almost make them lose their balance. Though they never fell, always moving as fast as they could, checking on each other once in every while, to make sure the other was keeping up.

Before long, another sound penetrated through the thunder, and Trace didn't dare turn around to check; she knew was it was. An engine. The Corpse Collectors were right behind them.

"Keep running!" she screamed at Rose. The light from the incoming car was just enough for her to make out her silhouette, still running beside her in the darkness.

Another flash. The ground jolted and Trace almost lost her balanced, stumbling to one side. She mentally thanked her body for choosing this moment to be coordinated. Although, she supposed, there were many times where that could have also been convenient. She looked over at Rose, and was overwhelmed with relief to see the girl still running, determined as ever.

The next flash of lightning really did knock her off her feet. It launched her forwards, sending her sprawling, grazing her face along the dirt. It hurt, and it was why she was still struggling to her feet again when they reached her.

When the Corpse Collectors grabbed Rose.

Trace wasn't paying enough attention. She was concentrating getting up. On continuing to run. On getting back into step, catching up with Rose, who'd remained upright the whole time.

That was probably why they did it; Trace had fallen and wasn't as easy to grab. Rose was still standing. An easy target. Smaller, too. It happened too quickly to stop it; they drove past, swooping her up and into the back of the ute as they drove. Trace didn't hear a thing. No scream, no yell, no call for help — she could barely even hear the sound of the engine over the continuous roar of thunder.

Trace dived towards the truck, hoping to grab a hold of it and climb on, but they turned away, heading back towards the city. She screamed and turned to run after them, feeling utterly useless, watching as Rose struggled in the back, trying to free herself from the firm grasp of the two men holding her down. One of them reared back a fist and hit her hard across the face.

And then it happened. The worst nightmare of all. The event Trace would give everything to unsee, to forget. Nothing had ever seemed so awful.

A bolt of lightning came down, striking the ute and erupting the whole thing into a ball of flames.

"ROSE!" Trace screamed, sprinting towards the truck at full speed, not caring at all for her own safety.

Within seconds, a figure crawled from the wreck, completely engulfed in flames. This time, she did hear a scream. One she'd give anything to forget.

Rose.