The former businesses Evelyn and Newt walked past had a variety of functions, a few only needing a quick glance to know they should just move right along. Drug dens and the like. One time Evelyn tried to turn into one, something catching her eye, but Newt had a death grip on her arm and pulled her away. A lot of the others had become informal eateries, usually a couple of those Launcher-bearing guards keeping watch on the inside to make sure things didn't get out of hand—it was an unstable trifecta, indeed: Cranks, food, hunger. 

They finally found "Old Leroy's" and they both happily accepted a plate of food and chowed it down, even though they'd eaten not that long ago. It was beef again. Chicken again. Apparently the Crank Palace had no idea what a fruit or vegetable was. As Newt took his last couple of bites and wiped his mouth with a scrawny, half-wet napkin, he chuckled, making Evelyn look around with a raised eyebrow.

"Where in the hell were they getting all these bloody cows and chickens?"

Evelyn opened her mouth but then closed it, and then she snorted. The crank in her head laughed sadistically, making Evelyn laugh along. Newt gave her a twisted smile, and chuckled with her.  Evelyn's wild laughter finally slowed down and she sat quietly again, looking out the broken window. Her eyes grew sad, her body shrunk and she felt as if fingers of despair were clutching at her heart. Her eyes filled with tears and she looked back up at Newt. He was watching her with worry.

"Newt...can we go back to that shack and live unhappily ever after with Keisha, Dante, Terry, and a crazy woman with burns all over her hands and knees?" A tear slid down her dusty sweaty face. "Like...really. What are we going to do here? What's the plan?" 

Newt sat quietly for a moment. He ran a hand through his hair, and then let out a long sigh. 

"I don't know Lee. I really don't. How are you feeling?" 

She shrugged. He looked at her sadly, like he knew she was trying to hid how bad she felt and how much the Crank had ahold on her mind.

"I...I don't think I have much longer Newt." She finally admitted quietly. She looked down at her hands, which where in her lap. "This..." She gestured to the broken window and what was going on outside, "It makes sense to me. It doesn't bother me, it feels...normal. And the longer I'm here, the easier it is to slip into it, I don't have to try so hard to keep it contained, but...do I wanna say Shuck it and just let it happen or try and fight it as long as possible...even though it hurts?" 

Newt sighed, he looked out the window and shook his head, he closed his eyes for a moment, trying to collect himself. 

"Maybe, right now we just need to be with bloody familiar people again, no matter how slight the familiar part might be." Newt suggested. Evelyn just shrugged her good shoulder. 

"Come on Love. Let's finish out loop and go back. I'm sure Keisha is waiting worrying the weird mother hen she is." 

"She's worse then you, Mama Nootie!" Evelyn tried to joke, his tight lipped smile and broody eyes indicated he didn't appreciate the joke. Evelyn rolled her eyes and left back into the chaos. 

Newt held her hand tightly as they finished their circular sojourn around the Central Zone.

A few more eateries. A gym for boxers, an idea that shone supreme if they could just get the brawlers off the paved clearing and into the makeshift ring they'd set up inside. A market with crafts and odds and ends. A library, a place so crammed with books and ratty but cushioned chairs that it seemed the very definition of cozy; Evelyn actually squealed. 

"Newt!" She squealed, running over to the broken window her big green eyes wide in wonder as they flicked all over the shelves. "Keisha would love it!" She let out a gasp. "NEWT!" she turned and grasped onto his arm, and shook it, "Maybe we can bring a book or two for Dante! He would love to have a book! There isn't anything for him to do! And he's been such a good little boy!"

"Yes Love, maybe we can come back here tomorrow and bring him a book or two back, that's a great buggen' idea!" 

Evelyn saw his brown eyes soften into their regular gentle ones. She sighed happily, even with one small goal for her mind to latch onto, her body relaxed slightly. Her mind felt slightly calmer as they left the library and continued. Another location was packed wall to wall with bodies; at first Newt recoiled, pulling Evelyn with him, pulled her tight into his chest protectively. 

"Is that a morgue or mortuary" He whispered in panic.

"No." Evelyn said without inflection, "the bodies...they are moving. See?" She pointed. 

"Dance club? A bloody cult?" Newt asked, still looking at the bodies in the building with trepidation.

She stood watching, feeling nothing good or bad. 

"It reminds me of Saints & Sinners, in the club." She said softly, almost wistfully.  She watched as the bodies wiggled and swayed. They were clothed in odd apparel, writhing on the floor to bizarre music. Newt turned and hightailed it out of there, dragging Evelyn with him.

And then there was the bowling alley. Newt couldn't believe it. How could such an ordinary, yet totally random thing show up in the Crank Palace, but there it was- although there hadn't been a whole lot of bowling going on for a very long time. A joke, after all.

"Do you remember bowling?" Newt asked excitedly.

Evelyn shook her head, "I was locked in a stone tower my entire shucken existance Newt." She spat bitterly. "I was like what? 4 When they killed my mother and locked me away. I know less than you."

"Well...me either, no memory whatsoever of holding a shuck bowling ball, much less playing the bloody game. It was a buggen' question Evelyn. Slim it." His tone was sharp now, and he was frowning at her. Evelyn gave a small growl. He rolled his eyes and dragged her to the door.

The wooden lanes used for play had been torn up, stacks of them scattered toward the far sides, where people manned actual fires in the niches where bowling pins once stood. They’d probably burned those, too. Sleeping bags, blankets, people lay everywhere. Maybe it was that long line of makeshift fireplaces, but the gloomy place had a cozy warmth similar to the library that made Evelyn want to come back. And no one was fighting, at least at the moment. Evelyn went to step further in when Newt pulled her back.

"No." He said sharply.

"Excuse me?"

"No." He repeated, his eyes were hard, the gentleness she saw at the Leroy's Dinner. It made her bristle. "We can come back tomorrow and explore more."

What right does he have to tell us what to do? He's not your mother! You were a leader in the Glade! Why does he get to tell us what to do?

Newt left through the open door, dragging a protesting Evelyn along with him. Based on the rusted, dangling hinges, the actual door had been tossed a long time ago and headed toward the big arch, the exit. Along the way, they were jostled, bumped, hugged, pushed, fell down twice, Newt helped her up once. The second time she ripped her arm away from him and hissed at him. She got up on her own. She felt angry. Her hands were opening and closing in fists.

She caught sight of immunes glaring at them, their Launchers held rigid in their arms, whispering to other Munies, sharing secrets. She couldn’t understand what value WICKED saw in making sure that people knew who they were, what they’d been through, and that they’d arrived at the hottest club in town for Cranks.

"We have to get out of this place." Newt mumbled over and over, making a beeline for the exit, his strong hand clamped over Evelyn's good wrist.

Newt was strong and wouldn't let go of her, despite her protests.

"Going so soon?"

The Mad Hatter was leaning on the wall right by the exit.

"Well, I’ve had enough nonsense. I’m going home!" Newt huffed and tried to stop away, but Evelyn yanked her arm free to stop in front of the man with the wild top hat.

"If I had a world if my own, everything would be nonsense!" The Mad Hatter said, snapping his fingers, like he just got the idea.

"This entire place is bloody nonsense!" Newt roared, his once always gentle eyes flashed dangerously.

"Too true, My British Chap, too true indeed." He nodded once, he swept his hat off his head and bowed to them. He straightened up wiggled his fingers in an odd sort of good bye, "tootal loo!" He jammed his hat back in his head and danced away into the wild crowd.

"What the actual shuck?" Newt groaned again

Running his hand down his face, he turned away back through the gate. He looked over his shoulder at Evelyn who hadn't moved, her head was twitching slightly. She clamped her hands over her head and was whispering to herself.

"Evelyn? Love?" Newt's anger and frustration vanished and it was replaced by worry.

He guided her under the arch and the bright-colored letters of its sign. He guided her, half-running. The noise of if The Central Zone died away quite rapidly. Now it was just a constant buzzing.

Evelyn fully relieved to be on the relative quiet of the path that led to the outer rings of the Palace. Newt slowed them to a brisk walk and then slowed to a stop.

"Hey...Lee?" He asked, "you...you okay?"

She ripped her hands from her hair, her face was twisted in anger.

"Do I LOOK okay Newt? I'm way more shucken gone than you! I LIKED it back there! And for some shucked reason...you get to boss me around? I'm not some child!"

"I realized that. Why do you think we left? Your calmer out here. You're not a THAT gone yet!" He yelled back, "I'm just trying to keep us safe!"

Evelyn let out a wild crazy harsh laugh.

"Safe? Safe, Newt?" She shrieked, "when has ANYTHING in my life been SAFE?!"

Newt spun on his heel and stormed down the path only to be stopped dead in his tracks. Evelyn ragging close behind him slammed into his back.

"What the actual shuck Newt?" She yelled. She stepped out from behind him, Newt threw his arm out to keep her from walking any further.

Three raggedy-looking Cranks stood in their way, each one holding a steel pipe, as if they’d just robbed the same plumbing store for makeshift weapons.

Evelyn giggled, she was absolutely going mad. The sight of them was stupid. Comical. Like something from a 10-year-old’s vision of the baddest people on Earth. One of the Cranks even had a bandana tied around his head and affected an evil grin that made him look like he had something wrong with his lips. Evelyn let another giggle out when it stopped abruptly. These guys probably wanted something from them and she didn't want to give it.

She slid her hatchet from her belt and reached and pulled her knife from Newt's belt.

"We're not in the mood." She said rather calmly, but she swung her hatchet back and forth.

She knew with absolute certainty that she could pass a lie detector test right there on the spot, declaring to the officiator that she’d be perfectly okay with these idiots putting her out of her misery. She snorted, at that thought.

But fate decided not to shuck her over again.

One of the thugs, a man with long, greasy black hair and muscles bulging out of the rips in his shirt, walked up them and stopped about three feet in front of them. Every instinct and internal alarm told Evelyn to run like hell, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. The ever-expanding crazy part of her brain, her crank, urged her to lash out and punch the guy in the nose, get the brawl started and hope for the best. Instead, they waited.

Newt stood stiff and tense, his hands balled into fists. Evelyn on the other hand, was smirking, swinging her hatchet back and forth gently, she popped a hip out and raised an eyebrow at the guy. His half-crazed eyes slid over to Evelyn.

"We know who you two are,” the man said, finally. For such a tough-looking guy he had a soft voice. The word velvety came to Evelyn’s mind and she had an absurd urge to laugh. A small giggle left her lips.

“Out with it, then,” Newt muttered. “Who are we, then?”

Surprisingly, the man took on a somewhat humbled air, almost bowing his head. “We know the things they did to you. To the ones taken. We know the utter shite you’ve been through. At no choice of your own, trying to find a cure for the likes of us. Miss...they call you a witch, yet you were born with a gift. It's their own doing what they did to you. We’re here to tell you that it’s… appreciated. That people like us honor you."

Newt swallowed, and looked at Evelyn who was rendered speechless. This man didn’t appear to have any intent of beating the klunk out of them, after all. That, or this was all a ruse to… what? Catch them off guard? Nonsense. These Cranks could've taken them out when they were arguing a minute ago.

“Sorry,” the man said. “A tad on the cheesy side. We’re just…” He straightened his back, lifted his chin a little. “Hell, man. We just wanted you to know that a lot of us are on your side. No one will mess with you. Not until they get through us, first, anyway.'

Newt nodded.

Evelyn was a little thrown off balance but honestly thrilled at the prospect that they  might have their own personal security detail.

"We also are here to escort you."

"Escort us? Escort us where?"

"The name's Jonesy,” the Crank said, "and...uh, young Miss, the boss wished to stay anonymous."

"Oooo. The Boss?" Evelyn's interest was peeked.

"Yes. He came here a week ago and took over. He runs things now. Nothing happened here without him knowing."

"Well. I'm intreged." Evelyn grinned. It was absolutely reckless, she knew that in the back of her mind, but the Crank in her mind over road her thinking part.

"Evey! No! This is stupid!" Newt turned to her and hissed.

"You calling me stupid Newt?"

"No, I'm calling this situation stupid!" He snapped, "you gonna trust the Crank?"

"Incase you missed it Newt...I AM A FUCKEN CRANK!" she screamed the last part. "Get that through your thick skull! Shuck, your as bad as Minho was! I'm gonna be past the Gone soon! I ain't gonna go back to that sweet mama and her baby, what happens if I crank again and hurt little Dante like I did that one WICKED guard? Or attack Keisha the way I did Sonny? Huh, Newt? What then? I'm safer with them," she held her hatchet out towards the Crank named Jonsey, "then back in the little shack playing house!"

She paused, her chest heaving, her green eyes frosting again, she felt her hand getting cold, her constantly throbbing hand got worse.

"Uh..sorry to interrupt, but we need to go, Miss, he was particularly interested in your meeting." Jonsey said almost awkwardly. "If you don't want to come...that's okay. No hard feelings, you will always have our protection." He nodded his head at Newt.

"Lucky you." Evelyn snarled to Newt, "you still have a body guard. Now get going. Go play house with Keisha. You'll finally get your family!"

"Evelyn...please..." He pleaded.

"I'm cranking faster than you! Get over it! I release you from your promise. No one can ever keep their shucken promises. First Minho, then Sonny and now you." She stepped away from him. "I'll see you around. This place isn't big."

"Fine!" Newt yelled, his brown eyes flashed in anger, his face going red. Newt spun on his heel and walked away, down the street away from her.

We don't need him. I'll protect us my sweet, my little witch. Kitty has claws remember?

Evelyn growled. Holding her knife and hatchet gripped tight, one in each hand. She turned towards Jonsey and the other two guys who stood silently.

"Lead the way."