A light flicked on and the silhouette of a female was visible. She stood there for a moment. The group of Gladers instinctively packed together, assessing the new threat. Alex slowly reached for her knife on her thigh. The girl from the door walked towards them, head held high; right through the middle of all the yelling angry cranks, who turned their attention to her and tried to grab her. She showed no fear, didn't bat an eye, almost bored.

Total power move! Respect, Queen.

She walked right up to the group, and stopped. Looking each one of them up and down. Her eyes landed on Thomas and she smirked a little. Her eyes trailed over Minho, and her smirk grew even more. Minho still somehow managed to have his hair on point even after getting blasted with lightning. Alex clenched her jaw, the girl's eyes stayed on him for a little too long for Alex's liking. The girl's eyes trailed down his arm, to Minho and Alex's intertwined hands.

Her eyes slowly traveled up to Alex's face. Her eyes froze and went wide, her mouth dropped open. Alex glanced at Minho who gave her a confused look back and a little shrug. Alex's eyes went back to the girls. There was something about her, but she couldn't put her finger on it. The girl had short brown hair, and dark eyes. Her clothes were dirty, but definitely cleaner than the Gladers. Her constant stair was getting on Alex's nerves.

"Can we help you?" Alex snapped, nervously twirling her knife in her other hand. The girl in front of them shook her head and then smirked, turned on her heel.

"Come on. Follow me." She started walking back through the chained up screaming cranks. The Gladers didn't move. The girl got to the door and looked over her shoulder,

"Unless you want to stay here with them." She indicated to the monsters.

"I'm willing to take my chances." Alex muttered. .

Minho snorted, "for real."

I don't trust someone who just says come, I'm not a shucking dog.

However Thomas followed, which meant the rest of the Gladers followed. Alex grumbled, but followed at the back, holding Minho's hand tightly.

The girl pushed open a big sliding door, into a big warehouse.

"Well shuck me." Alex breathed when she realized what she was seeing.

"Love to." Minho whispered back.

Alex rolled her eyes, but felt the blood rush to her face in a very deep blush.

What Alex saw inside the warehouse was a mini settlement. There were tents set up, and fires burning in barrels or right on the ground. Alex saw middle aged adults and the elderly. Only a few people their age. The Gladers had slowed down to take in the scene around them, this was the first they had seen humans not trying to eat them since WICKED.

"Come on, keep up." The girl called, she was waiting for them by a set of stairs at the back of the warehouse.

The girl kept glancing at Alex. Minho leaned in "Do you know her? She seems to know you...or she thinks, just like me, that you're shucken hot..."

Alex whispered back frustrated, "I don't remember her. But there is something itching at the back of my brain...and I can't figure out what!"

"Jorge wants to meet you." She called from the front of the group, as she led them up the stairs.

"Who's Jorge?" Thomas asked, he was following her, and hanging onto every word. He was almost tripping over his own feet. Alex rolled her eyes. Teresa and Newt looked a little hurt. Alex frowned.

"You'll see." The girl teased, and winked at Thomas. She led them to a door that was falling off its hinges, she opened the door and walked through.

Down this hall was a bunch of huge hulking men. All of them dirty, playing with some kind of weapon. They looked up as the girl and the Gladers walked down the hall. They eyed them up, especially Alex and Teresa.

Alex clenched her jaw and narrowed her eyes, and started twirling her knife in her hand again, a nervous habit. Teresa shrunk back. Newt looped a protective arm around her shoulders, Thomas was too busy making googly eyes at the new Girl. Fry pan packed tighter to the girls as well. Minho tightened his grip on Alex's hand, she noticed his back and shoulders stiffen when the dirty guys stood up and followed the group. This didn't seem to phase the girl who was leading them.

"No one's come out of the Scorch in a long time. You've just got him curious." She led them up another set of creaking metal stairs, she glanced over her shoulder and looked Alex dead in the eye. "And me, too."

"Anyone else get a bad feeling about this place?" Alex whispered loudly.

"I can hear you, you know." The girl in front challenged, with an eye roll.

"Ya, you were supposed to, shank." Alex called back with her own eye roll.

"Wow good job! You can do the basic human functions." Alex snarked.

The girl grinned evilly at her, her dark eyes sparkling. "Ooo. We have ourselves a mouthy one."

"Shuck ya we do. You should see what it can do." Alex smirked at her and cocked an eyebrow.

"I'd like to see what it could do." One of the big dirty guys behind them said. The Gladers all stiffened. The girl narrowed her eyes.

"Barkley." She snapped, "enough."

Alex stiffened but kept walking, and brought her knife up higher flipping it end over end now in front of her face.

"It will lick your blood off my fingers after I'm done sacrificing you." Alex said dangerously quiet.

The girl's eyes went wide and then she doubled over laughing.

Newt gasped and face palmed, Minho howled with laughter beside her and shook his head.

"That mouth of yours Sunshine!"

She side eyed him with a smirk, "what about it?" Alex whispered flirtatiously, batting her eyelashes.

He smirked back at her and leaned in to whisper back. "I'd like to kiss it and I'd like to see what it can do. Really bad."

Alex smirked back, slowly licking her bottom lip. "I know. Sammers."

Minho gave her a roguish smile, and squeezed her hand.

The group made it to another door, the Gladers hesitated outside the door. Thomas glanced over his shoulder.

"Guys, Let's just hear him out. See what he has to say." Thomas said.

The girl opened another door that was falling off its hinges, the paint was peeling. It creaked as the girl opened the door, the Gladers following her, even if they didn't want to, the big dirty guys blocked the door. They had to follow.

"Jorge, they're here." The short haired girl announced. She walked to a dirty old couch and flopped onto it.

"Quiet!" A middle aged Hispanic man snapped.

He was leaning on a desk, covered in tools, books, a few knives, and papers. He was fiddling with an old radio. Alex caught a few words but it was so staticky you couldn't make anything out. It reminded Alex of talking to Sonya.

She hadn't been able to talk to her sister in so long. She had no idea where she was now, or how she was doing it. Alex was snapped out of thoughts of her sister when he switched the radio off.

"Damn it!" He muttered in frustration. He stood up with a sigh, "Do you ever get the feeling the world's you?"

Alex actually laughed at that. "Yes. All the shuckin time, actually." She said, crossing her arms sticking her hip out.

Newt elbowed her, "shh! Seriously! For 5 minutes be quite!"

"What? He asked." Alex motioned with her head.

The girl on the couch snorted in amusement. The man named Jorge tipped his head in approval.

"Three questions." He directed this at Alex, who raised her eyebrow. "Where did you come from? Where are you going? How can I profit?"

He picked up a clear glass cup that had some light brown liquid in it, it looked like Gally's Greenie fire secret recipe. And ice.

Where the shuck is he getting ice in the bloody scorch? And where can I get some?

"Don't all answer at once." He took a sip of his drink.

Everyone looked at each other, no one wanted to answer, how did they know they could trust these new people. Alex opened her mouth and replied.

"Well, came from...I fell from heaven. Headed to Hell. Not sure how you could profit, still figuring that out myself." She cocked her eyebrow at the man.

He snorted, and with the hand he was holding the cup with, pointed a finger at her.

"Your a mouthy little shit, aren't you." He said it as a statement, and he gave her a small crooked smile.

"You have no bloody idea." Newt muttered, rubbing his temples.

"You should've heard her with Barkley." The girl sniggered from the couch.

Thomas blurted out, "We're headed for the mountains. Looking for the Arm."

"Jeez Tommy!" She huffed, the mood in the room immediately shifted to a tense silence.

"You're looking for ghosts, you mean." Jorge replied, eyes flickering back to Thomas, as he took another sip of his drink, as he walked forwards towards them.

"Question two. Where did you come from?"

"That's our business." Minho snapped. Alex nodded.

Need to know basis!

Alex had narrowed her eyes when Jorge stiffened at that answer. His jaw clenched. Alex knew something was going to happen, her hand tightened on her knife. She saw Jorge's eyes flick to the guys behind them and his head dipped. Alex spun around, raising her knife. She heard a yell. She tried to slash again, but there were too many and she was exhausted from dehydration, running in the storm and bringing people back from the dead.

Alex was hit on her bloody ear and cried in pain. Stars danced in her eyes, she stumbled and she felt a hand wrap around her neck, choking her. She heard scuffling and shouts. She was shoved to the floor in front of Jorge, beside Thomas who was being held down too. The two were struggling against the men.

"Why is it always us, Tommy?" Alex choked out, "Hey! Get off!" Alex tried to squirm away.

"Get the hell off me, man!" Thomas yelled.

She heard Minho trying to break free, from the corner of her eye. She saw him still when a knife was held to his neck.

"Shut up, you big baby." The girl called as she stood up and walked over to Alex and Thomas, she was holding some kind of scanner gun. She forced his head down and put the gun to his neck, it beeped.

"What is that?" Thomas asked, struggling.

The girl looked at the gun, and raised an eyebrow. She turned to Alex and forced her head down, and held the gun to the back of her neck. Nothing happened. The girl shook the gun and tried again. Again, nothing happened. She looked at Jorge with an odd expression, when she looked back at Alex she frowned, she forced her head back down and pulled her shirt back.

"Shuck girl! At least buy me dinner before you take a peek down my shirt!" Alex snapped.

She heard a snort for Minho behind her and a groan from Newt. Alex smirked.

"Ha!" She said in triumph. "You were right."

"Right what? What is she about?" Thomas asked again desperately.

"I'm sorry, hermano. Looks like you're tagged. You came from WICKED." The girl pulled Thomas' shirt back, seeing the tattoo on his neck.

"Which means... you're very valuable.' Jorge said with a hint of a question in his statement. His eyes danced between Alex and Thomas and the Gladers behind them. Alex jaw clenched.

Shuckin shuck face! We can not catch a bloody break! My guardian Angel must be drunk.

She growled in frustration. Jorge nodded at the men behind them and they hulled everyone up, they were stripped of weapons and their bags and pushed them out of the room. Before Alex was pulled out of the room, the girl was whispering something to Jorge and both of them watched Alex leave. They both had odd expressions, Jorge almost looked shocked. The girl was frowning.

The armed men brought them to a room that had a big pit in the middle, surrounded by a railing, and a pulley system rigged up, with ropes hanging over the pit.

"Oh shuck no!" Alex protested taking a step backwards. She was stopped by the biggest ugliest of the armed men, the girl had called him Barkley. He was also the one she had sliced earlier.

"Oh yes!" He growled.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her to the edge, Alex tried to fight him, she managed to get an elbow to his nose. He stumbled backwards. Alex tried to get under him, she had to somehow get to the others, who were all struggling in the arms of the men. Minho was swearing like a sailor. He wasn't as strong as he normally was...he was just struck by lightning. Alex made eye contact with him, only to have her world go black.

____________________

Minho

He saw Alex get dragged to the edge of the pit. He fought harder against the beefy arms that were chock holding him. They were going to throw her off or hang her! He struggled and grunted, he saw her throw a well placed elbow. She almost made it around the guy when they made eye contact, he tried to warn her. He watched in horror as the guy smacked her in the back of the head with the butt end of a knife. She crumpled, and didn't get back up.

He was forced to watch as the guy flipped her over, tied a rope around her ankles and tossed her over the edge.

"NOOOOO!!!!" Him and Newt both screamed.

_____________________________________________

**Super mouthy little Shanket! Is it too much? Do we love her smart ass mouth? **