Dawn 46

"We didn't kill him, if that's what you think," Harriet barks, crossing her arms over her chest.

Somehow, I doubt it. When I step closer to her, Leo blocks me. She shakes her head back and forth, as she spins around to look at all of the others. "They exiled Teresa, once they realised, she was lying."

"Your Thomas ran away in the mountains, probably to come find you sticks. We don't know where either of them are. Put those things away." Harriet insists, pointing at Doug. He continues to twirl the knife in his hands despite her please.

"We lost Aris. He disappeared."

"I bet the three of them ended up meeting up somewhere," Leo's voice is a bit too quick, almost breaking into a nervous laugh.

"Let's shucking hope not," Minho nudges Doug beside him. In response, Doug shoves his knife back into the pocket of his belt.

Harriet mimics Minho's gesture on Sonya. She lifts her hand in the air and whistles. A few of the girls grumble, but they follow Harriet and lower their own weapons.

"Anything else we should know about?" Minho demands, his voice biting into the crisp air. His hands rub together. I can hear him cracking his knuckles as he stares the girls down.

Leo looks around the rest of the group, waiting for anyone to answer.

"We aren't interested in killing you," Harriet says, sticking her head forward. Her dreadlocks swing around in the air. "That was Teresa's game. We were just interested in making it out of the Scorch."

"At our expense," Doug cuts in. His voice is harsh and low, and in the dim lighting, his face is hidden in shadows.

This isn't good. Leo puts herself directly in the center of both of our groups. Newt reaches for her, but she ducks away from him. Why is she so keen to work with these people? If I remember correctly, they've threatened to kill me and Leo and Michelle and Ella (although, I am totally fine with them trying to kill Ella).

"Would you knock it off Doug?" Minho asks. "When WICKED makes you the slinthead in charge, then I'll listen."

Minho looks down at me, smirking. He offers Leo a wink, waiting for her to continue.

"I know we have a lot of differences, but we both want one thing," Leo continues. "Surviving is all that matters. Let's not get ahead of ourselves and kill each other. Thomas will meet us at the Safe Haven."

"Did you forget about all those times those shanks attacked us?" Fry pushes in, looking across our group. "We're the pigs, and they're the Slicers."

"You certainly look like a pig," Hilde sticks her tongue out at Fry.

I hide the smile from my face, mostly to please Leo. Instead, I grab her by the arm and pull her in close to me. Her eyes still remain focused on the others, trying to prevent a fight. Honestly, Leo baffles me.

"They kidnapped you, Lee," my voice is more of a whisper as I lean in closer to Leo. "Especially Ella. Shuck Ella."

She nods, her ponytail bobbing up and down. It's impossible to tell if she cares about any of the klunk Group B put us through. At least she doesn't come to their defence. They took her, again! Forgive me if I am not going to trust them.

"Sonya was sick," she whispers back. "It was to save her life."

I roll my eyes, sighing out loud. Seriously, Leo? She always has to be somebody's saviour. I should be used to that by now. As much as I love her, I guess I've got to let her do her thing.

"The only shot is working together," Leo continues, raising her voice so that the others can hear her. "Group A has the food and water to get us through the mountain, while Group B has that weaponry."

That's a fair way to put it. Those Cranks almost got us yesterday. If Michelle wasn't so strong, they would've. Although, a hammer is barely a weapon. Those girls have machetes, and spears, and bows and arrows. They can take us far.

"We will cooperate if he'll do the same," Harriet nods over to Minho.

I spin around to look at him. Minho's face tightens. I squeeze his wrist and furrow my brow. His eyes meet mine. He nods his head from side to side, finally resolving to listen to me.

"I'd rather kiss a Griever than work with you," his throat tightens. Doug's hand moves back to his waistband, resting on the knife. Leo stands, frozen, grabbing Newt's hand and pulling him out from in between both of our groups. Harriet unsheathes a machete. I can feel panic climbing in my throat. "Course, you'll die without us. And, unlike you, I'm actually nice."

Harriet rolls her eyes. I wait for her snarky comeback, but she never has one.

Finally, Minho turns to look at Doug. When he sees the knife, he kicks Doug on the leg. As Doug puts his weapon away, and everyone else follows suit. Then, Minho leads us off. We continue to walk in the darkness. I consider pulling off to talk to Leo, but she is gripping on to Newt so tightly I imagine they are going to lose circulation in their hands.

My head hurts a lot. I'm sick to my stomach too, but I can't eat anything anymore. Since yesterday, every time I've so much as looked at anything Fry has offered me, I've felt the back of my throat surge. We can't afford to keep feeding me if I am going to waste it against the rocks.

"You trust them?" Minho asks, looking down at me. I'm not exactly sure when his steps fell into rhythm with mine. Actually, I'm not even sure how long we've been walking since we met Leo. It could be minutes or hours. Time is beginning to stretch unevenly.

I glance back at the girls behind me. Harriet is whispering to Sonya because of course she is. So, I shake my head back and forth. "I trust Leo though."

"If you trust her, I trust you," Minho leans in, kissing my forehead. "Besides, I couldn't be mad at you."

"Really now?" I ask.

He nods, grinning. "If I were mad at you, I'd have to try to flirt with someone from Group B, who'd surely cut off and feed me my own-"

I nudge him, demanding him to shut up. Though a smirk takes over his face, he remains quiet.

"Why is she unconscious?" Fry looks back.

I follow his gaze. They are carrying one of the girls, Leo introduced her as Beth, though her head sways side to side. There is no way she is awake at all. My hands find Minho, tugging at his arm to draw attention to the girls.

"How did you get her down the mountain?" Leo demands, staring them down.

Harriet shrugs, looking over at Beth. "I couldn't tell you, honestly. There were some ropes involved. We dropped her like, ten feet."

Klunk. That's pretty nasty.

"You bloody did what?" I ask, looking them up and down. "Is that why she is out?"

"She's a Crank," Leo clarifies, looking back at me. "She had a fit, so I sedated her."

Michelle blows hair out of her face.

"Does that mean Gally is a Crank?" Doug asks, looking around. He turns to Michelle, looking at him. Michelle's face pales, and she recoils back a few steps. "She's Gally, isn't she?"

"Is that Rose?" Hilde asks. She breaks out of the crowd, pointing through us.

The boys in front of Rose part. Though Rose tries to slink back to her hiding spot behind Michelle, the ginger won't offer her space. Hilde drops Beth, which nearly causes Saph to topple over under her weight. Hilde pushes her way through the crowd to Rose. She takes the girl in her arms, hugging her and pulling her into the center of our group. I'm not surprised when Rose doesn't move. If she were proper, she'd hit Hilde. Those two are like, mortal enemies.

Hilde glares at Jay, pulling Rose back towards the rest of Group B. Everyone huddles around the girl, who is essentially a vacant body.

"Leave her alone," I let go of Minho, pulling towards the girls as the dot over her. "You're scaring her.

"What happened?" Sonya asks, looking around. "She's a knobhead now! What did you do?"

"Nothing for shuck's sake, she was just alone for a shucking week!" Michelle exclaims, rolling her eyes. "None of you know what that's like, except me. Don't coddle her."

Hilde lets go, raising her arms in defensive. Harriet rolls her eyes but pulls off. Of course, Sonya can't go away. She kneels in front of the girl, staring at her. Despite the fact that she is free from contact with anyone else, Rose's body is frozen. She tilts back and forth on both her feet.

"Wait, what was Sonya sick with?" I demand, looking at the girls. "Is she a Crank too? How many Cranks have you got hidden in there."

"Sonya was going to die," Leo explains. "She had an infection from the hit you gave her."

My face heats up. That's my bad, honestly. I didn't mean to hurt the poor girl. She's smaller, and at least a year or two younger than me. She is closer in age to Ella than I am. At least Sonya's better now, that's what I tell myself. I'm not perfect, and I know that.

"Listen, while all this is interesting and important, we need to keep moving," Newt orders.

He says it as if any of us have forgotten that we are trying to escape this inferno. Like, give us two seconds to figure klunk out before we are forced to trudge down a mountain together. We've got three Cranks here, after all.

Eventually, everyone breaks off, moving on. They abandon Rose, letting her continue to sulk. Hilde and Jay glare at each other. Harriet helps to carry Beth. The world keeps on going, even though it feels like I am standing in a crowd with strangers. There are too many people who I don't know and who I don't understand.

I walk with Minho, though I have so many questions. Where exactly has Teresa gone? Did she and Thomas run off together? I wouldn't be surprised if Thomas tried to be with her again, since he is little more than a lovesick puppy from the few times I've seen him since I got here. Still, Teresa was firm in her denial of him.

Questions rarely plague me. The only reason I ask is that I think I might turn into a Crank if anyone else disappears or dies on me.

We continue on, stalking through the mountains. The air is silent, and our flashlights light up the passage ahead, obscuring the stars. As we get to a rocky hill, Harriet shoves herself to the front of the group.

"We can handle this," she looks up at the giant wall, and I see her gulp. Minho smiles, nudging me. I think he could be surprised by her.

Harriet, with her tiny stature, leaps forward. Her hands grip a few rocks, but her feet struggle to find a grip. She drops down when she hears Fry's giggles.

"I'd like to see Group A do better," she snorts, crossing her arms over her chest.

"For sure," Minho smiles. He gestures towards me. "Dawn was a big fan of wall climbing. Let her do it."

"Seriously?" Harriet demands.

"Knock it off stick," Rose pushes her way further up. "Remember when she discovered the way above ground. That girl can climb."

Minho raises an eyebrow at me, but I shake him off. Later.

I move over to the wall, grabbing hold of it. Carefully, I place a foot up searching for a grip. It's crumbling beneath me.

With my hand, I rip off some of the crumbling rock, jamming my hand in the crack. It hurts, and I can feel the skin on my hand shredding. Whatever. I'm not going to back down.

I do the same with my other hand, and then jam my feet into the walls as well. My toes ache, but it is a small price to pay.

I begin to climb. Slowly, I pull myself further and further up. My hands hurt, and I feel a bit dizzy. It'll be worth it to see their faces down below. We've got to be climbing ten metres up, total. A fall from that height will kill me, but I've climbed higher before. Thought they'd take the piss out of me? No way.

"Come on," I look down. They've got to be three metres below me now. "Jam your fingers in."

Slowly, but surely, they begin to climb after me. I keep going up, further and further, until I am able to pull myself over the edge. My heart is thumping in my chest, but I am at the top. The rest of the groups follow me up from below, still metres below me. Looking down makes my stomach twist, even though heights have never really bothered me before.

"We can't bring up Beth like this!" Saph yells.

I glance down. Saph and Beth are the only ones on the ground. My eyes scan the bodies coming up until I land on Harriet.

"Still got that rope?" I call down to her.

Harriet nods, climbing up faster than before.

Pain erupts in my stomach. I stumble, falling over. My breathing explodes out my chest in raspy, quick breathes. I close my eyes, struggling not to grunt.

"Stuck," I open my eyes, noticing Hilde speaking above me. No one else has made it up. I'm surprised when she kneels down next to me. She takes my hand in hers, squeezing it tightly. "What's happening? You're bleeding."

I put a hand up to my head, realizing I scraped it on the way down. There is blood, yeah.

"Is it your time?" She asks, looking around.

I hear someone screaming. Hilde looks up, scrambling away. I pull myself off the ground, holding a hand over my stomach. A guttural scream rips out of someone's throat.

"No, no!" Hilde starts screaming next to me.

From my spot on the ground, I am barely able to see over the cliff's edge. Joan, the duo with Flore, is on the ground. She fell, landing next to Saph. The blonde is screaming at the girl. Her head has split open, and blood is pooling on the ground.

I recoil from the edge, resting my weight on my hands and knees. Then I start to dry heave. There isn't enough food in me to throw up, even if I wanted.

"Klunk," Minho pulls himself up, running over next to me. He puts an arm around me, pulling me further back from the edge. Harriet is up next, cradling Hilde, who is still screaming. I can hear her sobbing.

"Did you trip?" Minho brushes the strands of hair out of my face. "Your head is bleeding."

I try to get a grip on my stomach, but I continue to spit on the ground. No matter what I try, I can't stop myself. Something is wrong.

"Klunk," Minho moves me upright. I can feel my shoulders shaking. Joan is dead. She fell and died, straight down off this cliffside, and I did nothing to help her.

"Leo!" Minho shouts. "I need Leo!"

"Min, she's fine," Newt breathes. I look up, through my teary eyes. "She just hit her head, which is nothing special if we are bloody honest."

"She's bleeding," Minho says, gesturing at me. "Look where she is bleeding Newt!"

Newt scans me up and down, and his eyes widen. He stumbles backwards, moving over to the cliff. Looking down for Leo.

I look down at my own lap, noticing the small pool of blood forming in my crotch.