Burning; TST ➵ Thomas

F I V E

"It's six o'clock!" A glader shouted.

Finally, Thomas thought. He didn't have to hear Minho showing off his tattoo while giving orders, for now.

The invisible shield turned opaque again, fogging to a splotchy white. A split second later, it vanished altogether. A large section of it had transformed into a flat, shimmering surface of murky, shadowy grey.

Minho instructed Thomas to enter last and ensure everyone follows him. Thomas nodded.

Minho stepped through, the wall of grey murk swallowed him whole.

No one complained as Thomas herded the rest of them behind Minho. Nobody said a word, just exchanged flickering, frightened looks as they approached the Flat Trans and went through it. Every Glader hesitated a second before taking the final step into the murkiness of the grey square.

After Alec, who was the second last to enter, Thomas followed. He saw nothing but absolute darkness. The Gladers counted off until Alec went last and called out, 'Twenty One'.

They felt their way along the darkness, hoping to find an exit as quick as possible.

"I found a staircase!" someone yelled.

Thomas heard the heavy stomps of Minho's footsteps as he ran up the stairs - it made a high-pitched ringing as if they were made of thin metal. Only a few seconds passed. Soon, other footsteps joined in.

A bang sounded from above, a deeper thump than the foot-steps, but still sounded similar to metal. Thomas heard Minho wince. There were a few grunts and groaned as Gladers bumped into each other before they could stop themselves. Newt asked if everyone was all right.

"What'd you hit?" Thomas called up through heavy breaths.

"The shuck top, that's what. We hit the roof, and there's nowhere else." Minho sounded irritated. Thomas was able to hear him sliding his hands along the walls and ceiling, searching for something.

Just as Minho yelled out that he found something, a distinct click cut him off. The world around Thomas seemed to ignite into pure flame. He cried out as he covered his eyes with his hands - a blinding, searing light shone down from above.

-

It had been a day since the group of boys had went through the Flat Trans. No events that Thomas found interesting occurred. Other than sand in their shoes, the scorching sun burning them.

"We'll take a fifteen minutes break, then we'll walk for a while. I know you shanks can't keep up with Runners like me and Thomas," Minho said.

Thomas took in a deep, full breath. When he relaxed his eyes, his eyes caught something.

A dark shadowy figure was a few hundred metres in front of them. But not directly in the path of their journey. A square of darkness against the faint glow of the town up ahead. It stood out so distinctly that he refused to believe he hadn't noticed it until now.

He yelled and pointed it out to the group. Minho asked what it was.

Before Thomas was able to respond, a figure of a girl appeared, stepping out from behind the dark building ahead.