Leo Short

"You ready?" Newt asks.

I pack away the rest of the supplies, putting the only vial of sedative I have in my bag. Beth is awake, she has been since yesterday, but she still makes me nervous. This time, I don't load the vial preemptively, though it was useful last time. It's a hassle to have what is essentially a loaded gun in your pocket.

"I was born ready to get out of here," Dawn whoops over Newt's shoulder. I can't help the smile that erupts on my face.

"Yeah, I am in desperate need of a facial," Minho's voice goes up an octave, and he moves his head in a way that is quintessentially Dawn.

She laughs, shoves him forward.

"What, my burns are so bad!" Minho continues. "I was set on fire if you've forgotten."

Newt offers me a hand and helps me up as the other two walk away. They continue to bicker, beginning our descent down the mountain.

We slept in, but we should still be at the safe haven by 6:00 tomorrow. It's only a short walk down the rest of the way. If we wanted to, we could probably sleep in much longer than we currently have. Exhaustion pins everyone to the ground.

"Hey, Leo," Sheil jogs over to us. He glances at Newt then back at me. "Can we have a minute?"

I remember Michelle's comments yesterday about Lott and decide to hold my ground. "What is it?"

"I had a break through last night," Sheil admits. "I think we can find our pairs based off our subject numbers. Do you know what yours are?"

I shake my head, even though I remember clearly.

"Let me look," he suggests, moving closer to me. He tries to lift my ponytail, but Newt smacks his hand away.

"Can't you see she's uncomfortable?" Newt asks, his voice climbing.

Sheil backs away, a frown on his face. He actually looks upset. Though I don't have a bad feeling about him, Michelle's intuition is always more accurate than mine.

Before Newt can ask me what is wrong, I begin to move away. He follows me as we move towards the rest of the group, which is slowly making its way out of the camp. The crowd provides me some peace in the space between us all. Sheil and Lott follow far behind. I let myself take the moment to tuck the oily strands of hair behind my ear. Newt tries to grab my hand as we begin our descent, but I pull away.

He flinches, stepping back. "Can we talk?"

I peer at those around us. Their eyes land on his hand, listening to his words. The night is so quiet that every sound is magnified. I can't handle their stares, so I nod, stepping aside to let the rest of this large group step forward. They pass by, until Newt and I are alone.

"I don't need you fighting my battles," I mutter, though I am thankful for his interfering. I wouldn't have had it in my heart to upset Sheil like that, especially when we are sort of becoming friends again. Even though I doubt that Newt had any idea what was going on between us, he still stepped in. Without a question, he was by my side.

"What was that about?" Newt asks, glancing back over. "I thought you and Sheil were fine."

"Michelle had a weird feeling last night," I offer, beginning to walk forward. We can't get too far behind from everyone else, or we will be lost to the Scorch. "She said not to tell them our subject numbers."

Newt nods but says nothing. Maybe he doesn't trust Michelle, or maybe he does. It doesn't really matter since I do. I trust both Michelle and Dawn, probably more than anyone else. Time and time again, they've saved me.

"What are we, Leo?"

I stop, turning to face him. His face is dimly lit under the stars, but I can see its stillness. I can feel the warmth from his body pulsating towards me. He wants to ask me what we are? This whole time, he has had the upper hand.

"What do you mean?" I ask, looking him over.

"I don't know. We haven't really had a chance to talk about any of this klunk," he glances up at the sky, letting the stars ignite his skin.

I step forward, my heart pounding in my chest. For the first time, I notice his breathing increase. His eyes skim my face, looking from my eyes to my cheeks, to my lips. I worry my hands are going to start shaking.

Then, I kiss him. Hopefully, every question he has ever asked will be answered now.

Dawn short

"Where did Newt and Leo go?" Minho asks, looking backwards.

I shrug. "They aren't far, that's for sure. I'm sure they're fine."

Minho isn't as convinced. Though he doesn't stop the group, which we are leading, he can't help but glance back every few seconds. "Maybe they got caught by Cranks."

"And none of us did?" I smile, since his concern is sweet. It's expected too, after all of this. This desert has done terrible things to all of us, but in just a few hours we will be down out and out of it finally. "Min, seriously. They haven't had a chance to be alone in weeks. Just let them talk."

Scanning my face, Minho grimaces. He looks down at the ground and he wrings his hands together.

"Did you really mean..." he takes a long pause, breathing in, "did you really mean that you were happy about what happened yesterday?"

My pants have finally dried, but they are stained. I tied my jean jacket around my waist, hoping to hide the deep red colour as best as I can, but to no effect. Can I say the experience was pleasant?

"I'm not happy," I whisper, looking around. No one is paying attention to us. Fry and Harriet are deeply enthralled in a conversation about who knows what, and the rest of the group is too far behind to hear us.

"Why did you say you were?" He asks.

"I didn't," I shake my head back and forth. I take Minho's hand in mine, before sighing.

"It really sucked," Minho starts, his voice shaking. "I was so shucking worried about you Dawn. Not like I've ever been before."

Minho isn't normally this serious. I've only seen him like this twice before. Once in the school, when he exploded, and when we first met in the Scorch. Despite all the other klunk we've been through, he has been able to brush stuff off, even just a little bit.

"I know," I tell him, since I was panicking too. "I just wasn't ready for a baby."

"You think I was?" He asks. "Shuck, not having a baby is somehow the best news I've had in weeks. The only thing better would be you telling me that this is all a game show, and the prize is a hot shower and a million dollars."

"I'd take a hot shower over a million dollars," I mutter.

Minho smiles, pulling me in towards him. As we walk, he hugs me from the side. "Please, I'd give you up for a hot shower."

I shove him off, and he just laughs. I can't help but laugh too. At the end of this all, I know we will be okay. Somehow, someday, we will be fine.

Michelle short

One foot forward, then the next, then the next. I force myself further and further down the mountain. We are approaching the bottom, step by step. We should be there in just an hour. Hopefully, we will be there in less time. The sun has yet to even kiss the sky, which I am happy about. Honestly, I could care less about this journey anymore.

I am alone here.

Rose walks with Hilde, further and further through the desert. For such intense rivals, they sure are being friendly. I don't quite understand exactly what has gotten into them, but I take it Hilde is just done fighting.

Although, they still haven't talked to Jay. He's walking with the other two boys, who are far too suspicious. Their giant bodies tower over me, blocking out my view of essentially most other things. Though I have a bad feeling about them, I can't help but wonder which one of them is supposed to be me. Only because Lott brought it up like it was some terrible prophecy.

I wonder where Gally is now. Is he in Denver, or is he with WICKED? Both options make me equally uncomfortable. I don't know if I will ever find him again, and I don't feel scared anymore. If there is anything I've learned here, is that the world is full of coincidences. Every time I say goodbye to someone for the final time, they pop back up again.

Honestly, life is a pretty terrible game of whack-a-mole.

"Hey there senorita," Jorge moves up next to me. Brenda takes my other side, until I am sandwiched between them. "How are you?"

I don't think I have ever actually spoken to this man, so I don't bother answering. Besides, the answer seems far more than obvious, doesn't it?

"We think they dyed your hair to make you harder to find," Brenda whispers, so quietly I doubt Jorge can even hear her. "Although I could be wrong."

"What are you talking about?" I ask, looking back and forth between them.

Jorge erupts into a coughing fit. It is loud, and heavy, and Brenda whispers beneath his voice.

"The Right Arm is looking for you," Brenda whispers towards me. "Gally will tip them off. Once you are through the third trial, they will find you. You must get Leo to them."

She reaches across me, grabbing Jorge. As if a switch has pulled inside him, he stops coughing. He glances over towards me, and winks.

Ella Short

"What is wrong with you?" Sonya asks. She leans in towards me, waiting for me to provide her with an answer.

There isn't one.

"Are you sick?" She asks, moving towards me. "Please talk to me Emily."

Of course I am sick. I am sick of living in an empty space. I am sick of cycling over the same facts in my head over and over, but I am determined to get to the bottom of this. I will stop WICKED and I will avenge Eli.

Finding her was the first step, and I've done it. She is fine, and we will be out of the Scorch in hours. I've wasted too much time on this Earth. Pretending that things here matter hasn't actually made my life easier. If anything, I've lost touch of what I need to do.

Our coalition working together to stop WICKED. There is a flaw though. They knew what was going to happen.

Which must be the fault of the other girl. The one who betrayed us.

I scan the crowd, searching for her. Which one was she? I don't know anymore, I don't care.

I will never know for sure which of them caused me all this pain. I try to remember, racking my brain over and over.

Though we are no longer those people, I've got to know who betrayed us. It was the girl who got Eli killed. Maybe from the beginning, WICKED had her keeping tabs. They must have planned to send the four of us somewhere or do something with us. I hate the feeling that I haven't been pulling the strings around us.

"Why won't you talk to me?" Sonya grabs my arm, but I slink away.

This is more important.