SONDER (IV): tmr thomas

31: I shouldn't use a machete

     Michelle 31

The last time that I saw Gally was three days ago. He had promised that he would be waiting for me in the motel room every morning for a week. So, after hiding on the bathroom floor of the abandoned café all night, I am up before the sun.

When I wake up, Jay is gone. Shuck. Quickly, I make my way out of the room and then outside. I find him by the fountain where I had stood with Leo only days ago. He is running his head under the tap, soaking his hair. I wait for him to stand up, but he doesn't. Maybe he doesn't notice me, but that might be worse. He needs to care if we are seen.

"Lets go," I tell him, moving in.

When I touch his shoulder he stands up and shakes out his black locks. I blink as water droplets fling on to me but try my best to keep myself from flinching otherwise. Though I expect Jay to offer a klunk-eating grin, he does nothing but stare back. Not even annoying me to shucking death is bringing him joy. Fantastic.

Now, I tug his sleeve gently and begin to walk away. It takes far too long for the sound of his footsteps to reach my ears. I slow my pace until I can see his shadow, confirming that the bulking man is indeed following me.

Neither of us say anything the entire journey back to the hotel. After a block, we see the first Crank. I grab Jay and force him to duck into an alley with me. Sooner or later, we both are going to need weapons. Without them, I force Jay to slink along the shadows of the building by my side, just out of eyesight of a Crank.

I can normally take a Crank barehanded without even breaking a sweat. These ones aren't passed the gone, aren't even close. They move too quickly. I can hear them talking and laughing. One guy just rolls in the middle of the road, a never-ending stream of chuckles bursting through his lips and echoing down through the buildings. They basically look no different from us, which is even more terrifying.

I consider acting crazy around them just so they don't mess with us. After all, a Crank is nothing special and a munie is a target. However, I don't think I'm particularly good at acting, and I doubt that Jay could put his stupid emotions behind him for enough time to convincingly act out of control. When there are too many Cranks, Jay will duck us down a different road. Though I've got no idea where we are going, he seems fine. Navigating Denver is more like the Maze than the Scorch after all, and I know my weaknesses.

I know them all too well.

We finally get to the hotel. Both Jay and I sneak up the steps, trying to keep our noise to a minimum. Unfortunately, we are both bulky shanks who aren't light on our feet. I see a Crank across the street look up at us. He begins to wave.

When I stop, Jay follows my gaze.

"What do we do?" I ask, staring him down.

Jay shrugs. He waves back at the Crank. The man stops. He begins to walk away, leaving us to our business.

I let out a sigh of relief, hoping that Jay will be receptive. It's the best way I know to thank him. If he pays attention, he says nothing about it. Quickly, we both move up to the apartment.

I bang my fist against the door. It stings my knuckles, but the sting is familiar. "It's us."

The metallic clunk of the deadbolt unlocking knocks on the other side of the door. After a second to long, Gally peeks out. He only opens the door a crack, staring me down. I push the door open, letting Jay and I inside. We're barely through the door when Gally slams it behind us.