Michelle 23

Rose and Hilde stand on either side of me, only sparing me glances. I squint back at them, both because of my anger and the sunlight above us. Marie is on the ground, tending to Ella's unconscious body, and Teresa has her arms crossed, as she faces me.

"Did you help her escape?" Teresa asks, again. She rubs her eyes with the palms of her hands, shaking her head back and forth. When she glances up at me, her bloodshot eyes narrow in, her brow furrowing.

So, I simply return the stare.

This gesture is unappreciated by her, so she stalks off, grumbling under her breath, again, about how the sign across from us, painted on to the brick wall of the building in front of us, is simply propaganda.

THOMAS, YOU'RE THE REAL LEADER.

The words stare back at me, expecting me to challenge them. I don't, even if I doubt them. I still don't like the shank, but I don't particularly like Teresa anymore. The survival alliance has proved to be nothing more, and I just hope Ella's seizure gave Leo the ten-minute head start she needed.

It worked especially well since I said I didn't wake her up and that Sonya had asked me too (even though, obviously, none of that is true). So, after Marie dealt with Ella for an unsuccessful five minutes, Harriet finally asked where Leo was. Then, she wasted another five minutes going underground, and searching around for her down there. Thankfully, Sonya has yet to tell them she woke up Leo, not me.

Now, there are two search parties. One above, and one below. Now, I am being guarded by four different girls, all of whom I could probably take with ease. I can't help but smirk.

"Hide it better," Rose whispers, nudging me in the side.

I roll my eyes. I'm getting off of this free and she knows it. What's the worst, possible thing that could happen? They banish me? Good. Maybe they will try to kill me, in which case I will take at least one of them down with me, and Teresa knows it. I'm not worth the hassle.

"Seriously," she continues on, glancing over at Hilde.

Whether she is actually paying attention or not, Hilde is paying me no mind. Obviously, I can't say I blame her. She must be bored to shuck watching over me like a guard dog.

"Why do you too hate each other so much?" I ask, not because I care, but because it's going to start klunk. My voice is louder now, and I look from Rose to Hilde. "Is it because Jay was screwing you both? Or were you both trying to be the Map holder once Beth died?"

"Shut your mouth," Rose warns, gritting her teeth.

"Why, Roe?" Hilde can't resist the urge to egg her on. She smirks, letting her guard off me. "Can't admit that you're jealous."

"I'm not jealous," Rose answers, her grip on her bow tightening. "You're jealous that I got Jay."

"You can keep Jay," Hilde laughs. She glances up at me and winks. She knows what I'm doing, but I don't think she realises exactly how angry Rose is getting. I can feel her huffing from here. "After all, he crawled back to me the night before we left."

Rose chucks her bow on the ground, and I lean backwards. She jumps over me to get to Hilde, tackling the girl to the ground. Rose holds her down, reaching back with one fist and punching her in the face.

Hilde screams and kicks her legs up, causing Rose to tip forward. With the surprise, Hilde rolls from out from underneath her, and slams the girl against the ground.

I could run, but I don't. With so many girls roaming around, I would get caught anyway. Plus, the action is too fun to miss.

Harriet rounds the corner and sees the two tumbling on the ground. She looks up at me, then back down at the other two. She crosses her arms over her chest and sighs, before moving over. Bending down, she pulls at Hilde until she is off of Rose. Both of them have blood dripping down their noses, but Rose is laughing.

"Seriously?" Harriet demands, rolling her eyes. She glances up at me, straightening her mouth.

Double plus, when someone gets back, they will see them fighting, realise I could've run, and trust me more. This way, if I want to escape at any point in the future, I will actually have a shot.

Sonya comes down the hallway shortly after Harriet. She leans down on the ground, carefully helping Rose up. The other girl is dizzy as the blood continues to stream down her face. I bet her nose is broken, from the beating she took. If Jay was going to pick either of them, I doubt he will pick her. From the sounds of him, he seems to be the kind of person to care about things like the attractiveness of one's nose.

I lean against the wall, looking up at the sky. I wish they would just get this over with, since we aren't going to find Leo. At this rate, the medical benefit her presence would bring is outweighed by the violence occurring in the search for her. The quicker we move, if Teresa was smart, the quicker we'd intercept Leo.

"Stuck," Harriet mutters, staring down the alley. She drops Hilde, the girls body hitting the sand full force. I follow her gaze.

At the end of the aisle is a girl I don't recognize, standing with Gally. She has a round face and chapped lips, and her fingers are wrapped tightly around Gally's hand. Her long brown hair flows in the wind, as do the shreds of her clothing. Gally is almost still, other than the light ripple of his shirt in the breeze. His eyes are wide, his feet are spread apart, and he stares at us.

"Beth?" I hear a girl call out next to me. She must've just rounded the corner. It's the one with the shucked-up ankle, and she stumbles forward towards the girl. "Beth!"

The girl, Beth, flinches. She lets Gally go, and with tears in her eyes, she sprints away. The blonde girl can't help but run after her, even though she is stumbling. For shuck's sake, she needs to get a hold of herself.

I take a step forward, expecting Gally to run away just like Beth did, but he doesn't move. In fact, he barely pays me any mind. I take another step closer, almost slipping on my feet, and he still hasn't move. I can see his Adam's apple moving in his throat. His skin is still pale, and his eyes are still bloodshot, and nothing has changed between us.

"Gally?" I ask, stepping closer to him.

He takes a shaky step forward, as if he has suddenly realised his feet work too. Maybe WICKED is controlling him again. Maybe that's why Beth cried as she ran away.

I move forwards, ignoring the sinking feeling in my stomach with every step I take. Gally smiles, running towards me. I can't help but mimic him, and suddenly I am in his arms. His arms are wrapped around me, stroking my hair as it blows in the wind.

"Michelle," he manages, shaking his head. He is whispering in my ear, as if the placed is bugged. "I don't know what's going on."

I lean back, looking at him. His hand is resting in the small of my back, a gesture he has never done before. Gally doesn't come running for me, and he doesn't hug me either, and everything about this is foreign. It isn't him. It isn't right.

"What are you to me?" He asks me, his face pale. "Don't you love Dave?"

I shake my head. "Dave's dead."

Gally chuckles, picking at the dry skin on his lips. A piece comes off, and his lips start bleeding, but he doesn't seem to notice. Maybe he doesn't. Shuck, I hope he can feel it. I hope it hurts, and that he cares.

"That doesn't..." his head twitches back and forth, as his voice climbs higher. "You aren't answering my question."

"Michelle," I hear a voice warn from behind me. It's Rose. Last I checked, she was barely conscious. Who is she to give me advice?

"Michelle," Gally's voice is high pitched as he mocks the girl behind me. "You sleeping with her too? Everyone sleeps with Michelle."

"Enough," I mutter, though he pays me no mind.

He laughs and shouts to the sky. "Didn't you hear? First it was Doug, or maybe it was me first. Probably at the same time. Then Dave, also at the same time, and Winston too, and Ben, and every shucking Glader who's ever laid eyes on her."

He glances down at me, his eyes bright red, and firing. This isn't him. Something has happened. Something isn't right. I grab his arm, and he throws me backwards, knocking me onto the ground.

"Knock it off, or we will shoot," I turn to see Harriet holding a bow and arrow, straight for his head.

This has happened before. Alby, and Ben, and Dawn, and this isn't happening now. What is going on with him? It's like WICKED has stolen his soul from me and put a harsh layer underneath his eyes. Maybe he's always been like this, or maybe he has the Flare, or maybe I am just thinking too much into things, a habit which has never happened to me before.

"No," I grunt, calling back to them. "He won't hurt me."

Gally pauses, looking at their arrows, then looking down at me. His red skin seems to dim, and he can't help but linger. He darts down, taking my hands in his, holding them tightly.

"Why are you in the Scorch?" He asks, glancing around. "It's dangerous here. It's the Crank zone."

He looks back up at the crowd, getting to his feet. I join him, since I know Harriet won't risk shooting me. They absolutely can't kill Gally. Not after Dave died and it was my fault. I've got to keep Gally safe.

"This is Crank zone!" He shouts, sending me rocking on my feet. "Crank! You are Crank? No? No! This is Crank City! I'm a Crank!"

I shove him backwards, and he stumbles to the ground. He puts his hands against the sand below us, digging into it as if he has just realised it isn't solid. He tosses it forward at me, digging and digging into the ground. Darting over, I grab him from behind, forcing his arms behind his head. It's a precarious headlock (what with him being so much taller), but it works all the same. I'm forced to spin him around, so my back is to the girls and he is hidden.

"No!" He loosens, his body becoming mush. Falling down to the floor, slipping out from within my hands. He rolls on to his back, scampering away, sand flying everywhere.

"You are dead!" He yells, staring at me. "They threw the knife, flying. My hands. It flew. Ginger hair. You were dead. How are you in the Scorch?"

Is he seriously talking about that? It was more than a week ago and I sincerely almost forgot about his murderous actions. Does he know what day it is?

"You killed Chuck!" I scream, trying to knock some sense into him. I reach down, to grab the collar of his shirt. "Not me!"

He shakes his head back and forth, violently. Nothing I can do will convince him. I bend over on the ground, as he buries his head in his arms.

I reach down to place an arm on him, and force him up, but he explodes. Pushing past me, he runs, darting out the same alley Beth went down. He pushes past the girl who chased her, knocking her to the ground, since she has been using a wall to support her weight.

I'm frozen.

Harriet rushes up behind me, rounding the corner, only to discover Gally has ducked out behind another. She mutters to herself, clenching the bow tighter in her hands.

"Are you alright?" Sonya comes up next to me, about to offer to help me back. She is practically sweating through her clothes, and her skin is almost clear it is so pale. Even her bruise is yellow, but I attribute that to the healing process. Obviously, the heat isn't helping her.

"I'm fine," I argue with her kindness, pushing her aside. Ignoring this situation is the only way to through it. It's difficult, but I try to convince myself that Gally wasn't here. If I think it long enough, he wasn't. Impossible, and without a doubt. He is dead, and he has died.

I get back to the group, with Teresa staring at me. She crosses her arms over his chest, turning her back to me. I roll my eyes. Would she just grow up? Honestly, half the time she acts like we are all in shucking preschool, sucking our thumbs. If she feels I've personally attacked her that's fine, but she's getting in the way of my survival.

Which means, I'm going to have to run away, doesn't it?

"That's your groups Beth, huh?" Rose asks. She's holding her shirt up to her nose from its collar. The blood has slowed enough that she drops it, choosing instead to glance at me.

I shrug, looking back down the hallway. "Let's just say he is the Rose to my Jay."

"Don't like the sound of that," Rose laughs. "Makes you seem like a stick."

"Makes you both seem like sticks," Hilde shoots over, pinching her nose and holding it forward. Her entourage surrounds her and is too busy arguing amongst itself to hear her comment.

"Wouldn't that be the truth," I agree.