Atomic [Newt || Maze Runner]

[Chapter 10] ✙ Party of the Living Cranks

[Chapter 10] ✙ Party of the Living Cranks

As far as she could remember, Eden had always hated loud noises.

Whenever Ximena would raise her voice at Lotte for pulling some unnecessary prank on a poor unsuspecting Glenner, whenever they'd hold bonfire parties near the Decision Tree, or whenever the thunder and lightning roared in the skies, Eden would always find herself either flinching up with tension or covering her hands over her ears from the loud noise. Even more so if she saw a person suddenly raise a hand over their head.

Marie would often question it, curious as to why her friend was so sensitive to practically every sound and movement anyone or anything made. But much to Eden's dismay, she could never form a proper answer for the blonde.

She just did.

Eventually, Marie came up with her own theories as to why Eden was such a nervous wreck. And while she never shared her speculations on the matter, Eden would often hear her mumbling about how she'd 'beat the klank outta anyone who had hurt her.'

Eden herself had considered getting exposure therapy if she somehow made it out of the maze, but she never imagined it'd be under... these extreme circumstances.

With the drumming beat of some low techno music hammering against her skull, she shifted her body to the side, barely brushing shoulders with a girl who wore too-much black eyeshadow as she swayed to the beat. Everyone at the party seemed to be on some kind of high, and Eden had little to no doubt that the strangely coloured drinks in their hands had everything to do with it.

She clasped her hands before her chest, vividly recalling Jorge's words from barely an hour ago as he took their bags and snuck them into the Zone A building through a secret back entrance.

"I need to go look for Marcus. I heard rumours that he cut ties with the Right Arm and started making deals with WICKED instead, but at the time, I really didn't wanna believe it. I should've known that son of a bitch would do anything for money.

"You kids need to head into that party and blend in. Those WICKED soldiers will probably leave you alone since you're in Marcus's domain anyways. Once you're in, split up and start looking for your friend and Brenda. If my guesses are correct, they're probably in there somewhere. After you find both of them, take the backdoor out and meet me on the second floor of the building. That's where Marcus lives. Oh, and don't drink anything. We don't know what poison that jackass spiked his drinks with."

If Eden were being completely honest, she saw a bit of merit in Marcus's decision to side with WICKED. As terrible as it was for her and the others, it was important to remember that Marcus, much like the other soon-to-be Cranks that occupied the Zone A building, were just survivors of the terrifying Solar Storms that ravaged the earth. They had little to no power in their current circumstances, let alone the environment. And from what they've seen so far, WICKED was clearly the leading organization in this post-apocalyptic society with their advanced mode of transportation and technology; playing their side of the game would surely provide many more apparent benefits than working with some unknown rebellion group. It would be near impossible for any sane person to choose not to side with WICKED.