Michelle 51

"Michelle, let's go," Doug pleads.

I ignore him, hitting bulb after bulb. My clothes are beginning to soak through my skin and down to my bones. Lightning cracks down around us. The few bots that are left standing are making their way closer to me, slowly. There's only ten of them, but that's too many for me to handle on my own.

I've got to kill this one. Really, I do. I've got to stab at it until all its bulbs break. Until it is lying on the ground, its cold metal next to Rose's dead body.

I know that somewhere inside this thing, there is a camera and a control system. I want to hit it until it dies. I want WICKED to know that it can't shuck around with me anymore. Not after Dave, not after Gally, not now, not ever again. Someone will see me, in this lightning storm, topple a monstrous creature. Then, they will know they can't mess with me.

The bot swipes at me, so I duck, rolling away.

Doug manages to hit the bot that has been attacking him one last time. It goes dark, falling to the ground. "Michelle."

I am not going to leave the thing that killed Rose to walk around. I'll let it kill me first.

I roll on to my front, pulling myself off the ground. The bot reaches for me again. It scratches my arm with its nails, and I recoil in pain. Adrenaline keeps me going though. Adrenaline won't let me think about the ache in my arm. If I don't want it, then it isn't there. I am in control of my body and my mind. Pain only exists if I think about it.

The bot has a few small lights, flickering. Lightning strikes down, smashing into the coffin Leo and Dawn hide in. Klunk. I hear a scream, but I don't go to check for them. Running to them won't bring them back to life. If they are dead now, I can't save them.

It's odd, how I can feel the rain becoming my tears.

Finally, Doug leaves me. He runs to the small coffin behind me, but I don't watch him enter. Instead, I face the bot alone.

It lurches for me, and as I move away my boots slip in the mud. My back hits the ground, the wind knocked out of me. Though the bot is barely able to move, with only one bulb left, it manages to crawl over top of me. It kicks me and the cut slashes my calve, and I feel a guttural roar escape my throat.

A knife clangs into the back of the monster's head. It turns away from me to stare at Doug. I try my best to pull myself to my feet, but my blood gushes out of my leg. As I stumble forward, I watch the bot's arm collide with Doug's stomach and send him flying into the ground.

Then, the bot turns to me. I manage to swing my hammer behind me and I smash open the bulb. The bot's knees click. It crashes to the ground in one swift movement. Shucking finally.

I turn away from the beast, wiping sweat off my forehead. Thunder cracks down, hitting its metallic body. Klunk. We've got to go.

With all my weight on one foot, I grab Doug under both of his armpits and lift him out of the mud. He groans in pain, but I ignore his mutterings. Slowly, I pull his body over towards the metal coffin where Leo and Dawn are hiding. Doug is a lot heavier than I thought. Klunk, it must've hit him in the leg badly. Probably shucked it up. Maybe as bad as mine. Maybe mine will get that bad.

I rip the coffin open, choosing not to look over at Leo and Dawn. I would rather find out they are dead after I'm hidden safely, so that I don't change my mind about climbing into this thing. I'll die if I don't.

"What shucking took you so long?" Dawn's voice calls out. "You're such a shucking idiot."

I pay her no mind, helping Doug in. I climb in myself, lying down between Doug and Dawn. Dawn rolls her eyes but helps me lower the heavy metal lid down over us. There is a tiny hole in the silver from the blast of lighting.

"Don't get too tight," Leo offers, "we're supposed to get out of here in like five minutes."

"Like shuck we are," I roll my eyes. Why would WICKED send these bots to kill us if it just wanted us to get out of the Scorch safely? We are the Scorch now. We are dirty sand, and rot, and burns. At every possible turn WICKED could've brought us back to life, but they didn't. It isn't in their nature to help us survive. "Even if we could, that bot busted my leg."

Doug coughs, spraying the exposed skin on the back of my neck. It's warm. I try to pull my hand up to my neck, but the space is too tight.

"Is that blood?" Dawn asks. The spray must have hit her too. "That tastes like blood."

"Is he coughing up blood?" Leo jumps in.

Klunk. Oh klunk. Is it? Is he coughing up blood?

"Doug?" I ask, turning my hands over to him. I grab his wrist. It's as cold as the metal which encases us. Klunk. "Klunk, where are you bleeding?"

"He's been bleeding?"

"I thought it was his leg," I admit, trying to breathe. "Or his foot, or something."

He coughs again. "It's my stomach."

I reach my hands over, trying to find the wound. I touch his stomach, but his shirt is soaked through. Oh klunk. He's bleeding out.

"Is it bad?" Leo asks.

My hands are trembling.

"You can't die!" I shout out. The panic in me numbs the pain in my leg. It's there, but it's idle in the background. It isn't a stab wound in the stomach. It isn't Doug. "Not now. You can't. We're going to be rescued in a few minutes."

Dawn places a hand on my shoulder, but it doesn't matter. I can't shrug her off though, since we are in too small a space.

"Open the lid," I instruct.

"That's not a good idea," Leo begins.

Dawn ignores her. She lifts her hand off me to prop the lid up. Thanks to her, a few flashes of lighting ignite the small space. Though it's is dim, I can see him now. His tan skin is pale, his rose lips soaked in blood. Klunk, he's going to go.

Doug lifts a hand up towards me. I grab them, squeezing as tightly as I can. He can't die. He gets it. He knew Dave and Gally, and he loved them too. He has lost, just like I have. We're both here, wandering this desert alone. How could he leave me like this?

"You'll be okay," Leo offers.

Doug cracks a half smile, but it quickly contorts into a wince. My clothes are soaking in his blood as it puddles around us. Leo and Dawn are both sitting up, so they can see us better, but I lie down next to Doug.

I lift a hand up to his cheek, resting it on his still face.

"I'll be where WICKED wants me," he cracks, coughing. Blood sprays across my face, and I try not to blink. I don't want to lose these last seconds. He isn't the first I will watch go.

"Shuck WICKED," I say.

"Drop my body on their porch when I die," his voice shakes at the end of the sentence, as if he is realizing that he is on his way out. Maybe we've seen enough death to become accustomed to it. "Oh, that's so shucked up to say. Shuck. I am going to die. Oh shuck."

I don't know if I believe in a God, or a Heaven, but I want Doug to believe he is going to be somewhere safe. Somewhere with Dave.

"I'll see you on the other side," I tell him. "I will find you again."

He tries to laugh. "Michelle, please just leave me alone."

I can't laugh, but I try to smile. I can feel a hand on my shoulder, a knee against my leg. Even if I am lying down, I can feel Dawn and Leo beside me. They are holding me up. Even as his face stiffens. Even as his breathing stops, but his eyes stay open.

I stare it for a minute, even though water is beginning to fill the metal pod. It pools into my open mouth, but instead of washing away the blood, I begin to soak in it. It fills my skin.

The sky begins to rumble. I look up, my hair dipping into the cool rain water. A berg breaks in through the clouds above. It's far enough away that the sand on the ground only begins to stir, instead of wreaking havoc.

"That's ours," Leo notes. She glances down at her watch. She pulls herself out of the container, Dawn following.

"I can't leave him," I tell them. "Not in the Scorch."

Dawn's face drops. She looks over to Leo, who shrugs indifferently. Dawn moves over to the other side of the coffin, pulling Doug out from in the water.

She stares at me, waiting for me to follow after them.

I do, even though my clothes are heavy against my skin. Leo helps pull me out of the slosh. Her legs are wet too. We're all catching sand on our clothing. Soon, we will be hidden in the sand by the raging storm.

When my legs hits the ground, I stumble and am barely caught by Leo. It's not just pain now; it's cut something deep within me. Deep enough that walking is a chore, letting alone carrying someone.

Yet, I grab hold of Doug. Thanks to Dawn's help, we manage to move forward. I almost use Dawn as a crutch through Doug, forcing her to carry both of us. Leo reaches into my belt, grabbing my hammer. She swings it in her hands carefully. The Berg is getting closer to the ground, and as it does, the bots move closer to it.

"I'll cover," she offers, though we all know she is the last person who should be providing brute force. "You guys just run for it."

We begin to move, digging our feet into the shifting, wet sand. It feels as though I'm sinking in, as I push my feet off the ground and further forward. When flecks of dirt splash up into my cut, I can feel the pain bubbling inside me, until it turns to bile which I swallow down.

Around us, people begin to charge forward. I don't know how long we have, but its entrance is beginning to open.

The creatures spot us, moving towards us. Klunk.

Leo charges for one, smashing it with the hard end of the hammer. It roars in pain, stumbling backwards. There is another one on her too, at the same time. Even if I dropped Doug, I couldn't help her. Dawn is weaponless too. Klunk.

One runs in close to Dawn. I try to pull myself forward, as I watch the other one gets up off the ground.

A boy leaps in, slamming the creature from the back. Klunk, it's Jay. I hate that shank, but I guess I'm going to have to thank him now for this.

I take that back. Rose is dead, and on the ground, and she really hated him.

Dawn pulls through, passing by the group. We get to the bottom of the Berg, pulling ourselves up on to the running track. She quickly drops Doug, running back out into the Scorch.

Unlike her, I slam into the metal ground. Doug and I are both on the bottom of the platform. My breath is heavy. I wipe my soaking hair out of my eyes, trying to see past my mane. The ship is empty, it seems. Other than its metal insides, that is. I don't see anyway.

Without Dawn to help me, I pull myself into a sitting position, grunting as I do. I grab Doug by the arms, and drag him up the platform as I drag myself. Once I am near the top, someone takes him from my arms. From between my soaking strands of hair, I can't see them.

Once I've crawled into the ship, I notice Hilde. She coughs, water sputtering on the ground, before she collapses next to Doug's body.

"Stuck," she looks down at him. "I thought there weren't any bodies."

Klunk. There was one more.

I don't tell her, not immediately. It feels like we sit for minutes, but every second without Doug feels like an hour. I watch her wring out her dark black hair, tossing it over her shoulder. She wipes water off her face, careful not to splash it on Doug.

She has to know. "I left Rose."

The breath hitches in her throat.

Someone screams outside. A woman.

"Sacha," Hilde mutters under her breath.

The voice screams again, and Hilde winces, turning away.

Clint barrels up next, and I watch Minho and Newt on the ground still. More bodies begin flooding on. Ella and Harriet and Sonya, all in a row. Two of the girls I don't know, one of whom is crying. Even though I am soaking wet, I feel like I'm burning up.

I move closer to the door, waiting for Leo and Dawn. They haven't come yet. Where are they?

Jay barrels on board, looking around. He spots Sheil and Lott, heading over for them.

I try to turn to look at him, but he disappears into the crowd.

The ship dips, lifting itself off the ground. Klunk. There are still so many people on the ground.

Leo and Newt run up, sprinting next to each other. They leap on board, turning around. Behind them come Dawn and Minho, helping Aris forward. Aris grabs the edge. I run over, grabbing the boy's hand and pulling them up.

Newt moves back down, grabbing Minho's arms. He and Dawn work together to pull the boy on board. He's bleeding from his shoulder. The red stains the metal. Dawn follows up after him, moving away from the entrance.

"Where's Thomas?" She asks, looking around.

"Not here," Hilde answers, holding her body tightly. "Hasn't come up."

"Klunk," Minho mutters, kneeling down. He looks out into the darkness. The ship is already three feet off the ground, getting higher. I hear him wince, gripping on to his shoulder.

"He's coming," Leo notes, staring out.

"Run, Tommy!" Newt shouts, leaning down.

I look into the darkness, spotting four bodies shifting in the sand. Jorge is the first to grab hold, pulling himself up. He begins to slip, since the ground is so wet. Jay grabs his arms, pulling him up. Minho grabs Thomas's hands before the boy can try to pull himself in. Thomas turns around, moving back to Teresa, for some shucking dumb reason. Jorge has already pulled Brenda on board.

Once Teresa has swung her legs up, Thomas turns to us. He is completely out of breath, but he tries to speak. "Are we missing anyone?"

"Only you, ya shank," Newt around the room. "Unless the girls are missing someone."

"Rose is dead," I say, choosing not to think about Doug. Somehow Rose is easier to imagine dead.

"We lost also lost Misi and Sacha," Harriet offers, looking around amongst our faces.

There is a collective sigh of relief. We continue to rise, sand blowing in through the door. My head pounds, from the bright light in the Berg and the sound it makes as it rises higher of the ground.

"Who are these people?" A man calls out. I can't see him, but I can hear his voice overtop of the heavy pounding of this machine.

No one speaks. The crowd breaks for the man, in a dark uniform. He carries a pistol, swinging it in his hands precariously.

He looks around, gripping his gun tighter. "I'm not asking again." His voice rips through the silence.

"Would you shut the shuck up?" Minho rolls his eyes, pulling himself off the ground. "Give us at least an hour to mourn the friends you killed."

The man pushes through to grab Minho's arm. The boy cries out in pain while the man digs his fingers into the wounds in his shoulder. Minho swings at the man, narrowly missing his face. The man's pistol slams into Minho's jaw. Minho falls to the floor with one hit, slamming against the metal. Blood pools out his mouth, joining the puddle forming beneath his shoulder. He's out cold.

"Minho!" Dawn shrieks, trying to break forward. Both Newt and Leo hold her back as she leaps for the man. The two aren't that strong, and every passing second is one where Dawn is closer from breaking out. One move, and she could grab the man.

He looks at Dawn, popping the safety off his gun. He aims it at Minho on the ground. Dawn shakes but stops moving.

"That's what I thought," he smiles. "Now, who are they?"

He gestures to Jorge and Brenda. The two are standing next to Thomas, who jumps in.

"They are our guides," his lip quivers, Thomas's nervous tick. "They got us through the Scorch."

"You can't just bring extra people on board! They need to get off." The man doesn't seem to like that answer.

"It's not like we have extra room or anything," Hilde jokes, rolling her eyes. She blows a strand of black hair out of her eyes.

I would roll my eyes if I weren't frozen. Does she realise this man has a loaded gun?

"Doesn't matter," he continues. "We can keep one."

"What happens to the other?" Thomas asks.

The man shrugs, aiming his gun at Brenda and Jorge. The two stay still next to each other, looking from one to the other. "Pick. You've got three seconds."

Thomas stumbles. "Are you crazy?"

"One," the man begins. Thomas doesn't answer. "Two."

"Kill her," Thomas offers, stumbling forward.

The man grabs Brenda by the shirt, pulling her towards the hatch door. Thomas tackles him, and he throws Brenda. Teresa moves over to grab her.

I grab the gun off the floor. It's really shucking heavy. As I hold it, I stand. Everything inside me seems to squeeze out the gash in my leg, but I don't give a shuck. I keep my hand off the trigger, aiming it at the ground.

Thomas gets up, looking around. He spots the gun in my hand and moves up next to me. He softly grabs the gun from my hand, aiming it at the man.

"No one else dies, gotcha?" He demands, staring the man down.

The man nods, carefully. His face is spread apart, his eyes open wide. Now he is afraid, so suddenly.

"It's over, yeah," the man says. "The last trial."

"I've heard that before," Harriet mutters.

"We've got what we need," the man continues. "Trust me, it'll all make sense at headquarters. Would you put that gun down? Keep it all you want, but you're going to shoot someone who isn't me, keeping your hand on the trigger."

"Not until we get the cure," Thomas insists.

I grab the gun from Thomas's hand, easily. I knock the safety back into place before handing it to the boy.

"Trust me, the Cure won't matter to you when we get to Headquarters."

I roll my eyes. Though the others listen, I limp away. I don't care about anything else this man has to say. I can't be here. I've done my job. I dropped Doug's body on their doorstep. Their response is theirs.