ACT II SCENE XL
PHAETON

   "WHAT CAN we do?" Minho frowned in a mix of hopelessness and worry as he watched his friend shiver uncontrollably. Jorge had removed the bullet but the wound seemed to be getting septic.

"He needs medicine, but there's no buggin' hospital around here," Newt said.

"There was an abandoned factory west of here," Frypan said. "I spotted it when we ran past earlier."

"Maybe there could be medical supplies? A first aid kit or something?" Newt suggested.

"We don't know what could be out there, man," Minho pointed.

"Well, do you wanna just let Tommy die then?"

"I agree with Newt," Cassandra voiced. "We can't just sit here doing nothing."

"Okay, fine." Minho sighed. "Just a few of us will go."

They rounded up Frypan, Archie and Aris to go with them. Jorge watched them carefully from his perch on top of the outcrop. "Hey. You kids be careful out there," he said.

They gathered their stuff and started across the barren land again. A slight breeze blew against their skin and sent tufts of dust swirling around them. It took them about twenty minutes trekking across the dark landscape before the factory came within their reach. Darkness swallowed it whole, making it look like a shadow against a backdrop of the starry sky.

As they reached it, they could see that there were a lot of windows that had been smashed into. They walked through the front entrance, their boots crunching against broken glass and debris. Each of them switched on their torchlights and shone it around the main hall. The ceiling reached high above them and they walked deeper into the building.

"We should split up," Minho said in a hushed tone. "In pairs, just to be safe."

Everyone nodded and started going their separate ways. Minho and Cassandra turned to an opening in front of them. It was deathly silent the further in they walked, with only the sound of their footsteps bouncing off the walls. She didn't dare to speak in fear that someone might be lurking inside and hear her.

The corridor eventually extended out into a large room with two doors on both sides and some kind of conveyor belt in the middle. They looked around. There were a few crates and furniture scattered around the area and they started to rummage through them.

After a few minutes, they heard footsteps heading their way from the exit on the right. Cassandra looked at Minho in alarm and he gestured for her to hide. They stationed themselves on both sides of the opening and waited. Voices drew closer and they saw a glint of silver.

"Hey, look at—"

Minho pounced and there was a strangled yell as he fell on top of Frypan with his knife drawn.

"Dude!" the former cook shouted angrily. "Are you crazy?! You could have taken out my eye with that thing!"

"Oh, it's you." Minho looked at him before getting off the boy.

Frypan complained quietly as he picked himself off the ground and they stepped back into the large room. Archie pointed at the conveyor belt. "What is that thing?"

Cassandra shrugged. "Dunno."

"You found anything around here?" Frypan asked.

"We were going through all the crap." Minho pointed. "I was just about to pry that shuck cabinet open."

"I'll help," Archie offered and the both of them headed over to the corner.

"C'mon." Cassandra waved a hand at Frypan. "Let's see what's in that other room there."

He nodded and they crossed over to the second exit. Minho started to count down before he and Archie pushed the metal filing cabinet down onto the ground with a loud crash. It made her jump and look around warily, straining her hearing against the brief silence that followed. Then Minho started to pry the furniture open with a rusted bar of metal.

She and Frypan reached the other side of the room and peered into some kind of storage area. The place was trashed, some of the shelves had fallen over and all sorts of things were strewn around the place. It was even starting to get overgrown with some sparse vegetation. They took a tentative step inside and hesitated.

"You know," Frypan started. "Don't tell this to anyone."

"Have you finally realised that I'm the better Cook?" She snickered to herself.

He rolled his eyes. "Girl, you smokin' cow klunk."

"You'll crack soon enough."

"I'll crack ya like an egg," he retorted. "But I do miss the Glade."

She gave him a small smile. "Me too, Fry. Me too."

Frypan started when there was a squeak in the farthest corner of the room. A rat darted out of a pile of rotten wood and into a hole in the wall. "Gross!" the boy exclaimed. "I'm outta here."

He backed away and went to inspect the crates around the conveyor belt. Cassandra looked into the room again and shone her torch into the corners. There were a few plastic boxes stacked on a bottom shelf and she thought she saw a promising sign on one of them. She slowly stepped further inside, boot crunching against broken glass as she lifted a leg over a toppled shelf.

She bent down to inspect the boxes, opening the first one and finding two thin rolls of dressing. That could be useful, she thought as she pocketed them, and then went on to the next one. There was a crunch behind her and she whirled her head around to find a figure step out from behind the door. Her heart accelerated instantly as a gaunt face revealed itself from the light of her torch.

Cassandra cried out just as the emancipated man slammed the door shut. There was a click as the door locked itself and she shouted, "What the shuck!"

There was a scrape as the man moved his hands and a flicker of orange glowed between his fingers. She gasped and pressed herself against the shelf behind her, feeling it rattle against her back. Minho yelled from the other side of the door and banged on the heavy slab of wood. She only just noticed the smell of gasoline as she saw the Crank's raggedy clothes drip heavily onto the ground.

"Let it burn," the Crank whispered before giggling at her. Then he set himself on fire.

Cassandra screamed her lungs out as the man flailed and started to run about the room. Immediately, the wooden shelves and debris started to catch aflame as well. The Crank tripped and fell heavily to the ground as the flames continued to devour him. She stumbled to the other side of the room and made her way back to the door. It had all happened so quickly that she barely had any time to think.

"Cassie! It's locked from the inside!" Minho shouted.

She grasped the handle but it wouldn't budge no matter how hard she tried to turn it. Tears started to prick her eyes and her breathing came out in quick shallow gasps as the fire spread across the rest of the shelves. Thick sulphurous smoke quickly filled the room and she coughed into her sleeve, bringing it up to cover her mouth.

"The lock's stuck!" she yelled back.

"Shuck!" Minho cursed loudly and his boots thudded frantically on the other side. "Frypan! Archie! Find something to ram this shuck thing open!"

Cassandra choked as smoke irritated her eyes and tears streamed freely down her face. She fell to the ground and crawled to a spot next to the door where the wall was bare. The oxygen burned up along with the wooden furniture and debris. She couldn't breathe at all. Each time she opened her mouth to inhale, more fumes entered her system.

"Cassie, stay back!" Minho hollered and there were two loud bangs as he shot the hinges of the door.

She tucked herself tightly into a ball, covering her head with her arms and burying her face in her knees. It felt like her insides were aflame as well. Maybe she was already burning alive and she hadn't realised it yet. There was a deafening crash as the boys outside started to ram the door open.

Scorching heat surrounded her on all sides as the flames started to lick at her feet, blistering her skin and curling the ends of her hair. Cassandra whimpered and tried to make herself smaller as she clung onto consciousness. Minho and the others continued to pound on the door but she was slipping away as her lungs asphyxiated on the haze of smoke.

The door finally gave way, bursting in a spray of splinters and landing heavily on the metal shelf. She felt hands grabbing her a moment later, pulling her away from the inferno. Something caught against her leg and tore a large wound across her skin.

"Cassie!" She heard Minho's voice calling her desperately. "Cassie, hang in there!"

That was the last thing she knew before she succumbed to the darkness.