Jina stepped into the room and looked around. Her flashlight landed on a chair in the middle of the room.

"Does he count?" Jina asked.

"Oh shit." Thomas winced as he walked closer to the chair, letting go of her finger. 

There was a guy still in the chair, but he had a plastic bag over his head, clearly he had suffocated. His face was a grotesque blueish colour. He had ropes tied around his arms to the chair. He sat beside a small table with a lamp on it. Minho reached over the guy and pulled the little cord. The light turned on. Jina threw her hand up shielding her eyes from the blinding light.

"Dude! What the actual fuck?!" Jina cried.

Minho grinned at her, it looked deranged and twisted with the shadows cast all over his face.

"They had power." Thomas said thoughtfully.

He started following the cords off the table and on the floor. Minho ran around the chair and followed the cords too. Jina looked around and saw another thick chain fence locked and chained up tight. Jina slowly stepped over to it. Curious what was behind the fence. She turned her flashlight on and tried to see what was behind. She saw a few pictures tapped to the wall, it was too far away to see the pictures properly. Her thin beam of light fell on a ragged stuffed bear on the ground, on top of an unmade bed. Jina stepped closer, trying to figure out why there would be a child's bear behind a cage. Jina glanced around back at the dead guy in the chair.

As Jina looked back around something slammed into the fence from the inside. Jina screamed and stumbled back, tripping over something on the floor and landing hard on her butt. Thomas sprinted over to her from half way across the room. He knelt down and helped her up.

"You all right?"

"Ya... I-I'm fine."

"What was that...?" Jina asked, looking past Thomas to the cage. The thing that slammed into the cage was gone. But her nerves were shot. The dead guy, the ragged stuffed animal, the cage... something living behind the cage, it was too much.

"I think we need to get out of here." She whispered urgently, gripping his forearms tightly. "Something is definitely wrong with this place." Thomas nodded. 

"Hey! Guys look! This looks promising." Minho called from way across the room in the corner. Jina's flash light shone through the holes in the cage, and landed on shoes. And then as she lifted her light, Thomas twisted to see why she gasped. He gasped as well.

"Minho!" Thomas yelled, throwing a hand out like he could stop him.

"Minho. No! Wait!" Jina cried.

Minho didn't wait and turned a huge switch that was hooked to a generator. The lights all over the place flickered on. It was harsh and bright. Screams of pure rage and pain filled the room. Many, many things crashed into the fence. Bloody arms reached through the holes of the metal links. Teeth gnashed and tried to bite. Jina screamed. Thomas yelled and yanked her away from the creatures. Most of them looked half dead. Hair ripped out, eyes gone- leaving blood holes. Teeth missing, blood and black dripped down their chins.

"Thomas, watch out! Jina!" Minho cried, sprinting towards them.

"Get back, get back!" Thomas cried, pulling Jina into his chest.

"Their eyes!" Jina whispered.

"Oh, shit." Thomas gasped as he took a closer look. They all had black veins wrapped around their arms or legs, necks, faces. They looked like walking dead; too human to be zombies and too monstrous to be human.

"What the hell are they?!"

"Cranks..." Jina whispered. "They're Flared diseased Cranks!" Jina said louder. The guys looked at her in horror. Before she had time to explain, there was more screaming coming down the hall. The ones in the cage were calling for backup.

< • >

Jina moved first. She twisted on her heel and grabbed the guys and dragged them a few steps before they realized what was going on.

"We need to leave!" She screamed.

Thomas seemed to snap out of it faster. "Gotta move! Go! Go!"

He took hold of Jina's hand and sprinted to the door on the other side of the room, just as the door they came through was flung open. A wild group of Cranks came storming through. Thomas shoved Jina through the door. Minho on their heels. Thomas and Jina slammed the door closed.

"Hold it down!" Minho yelled, pushing off the door and leaping over to the huge metal cabinet.

"What?" Thomas cried, looking around in panic.

"Hold it down!" Minho repeated.

The cranks slammed into the door. Jina was definitely not strong enough to hold the doors. Arms started to push through. Jina and Thomas slammed into the doors with their shoulders. Making a few Cranks scream in pain. Jina saw a long piece of rebar just out of reach. As the cranks slammed into the door again, making Jina and Thomas stumble slightly, Jina lunged for the twisted metal. She shoved it between the handles.

"MINHO? WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?" Jina screamed, doing her best trying to hold the door closed. The metal helped reinforce the doors.

"Minho, what are you doing?!" Thomas roared. Jina saw Minho pushing on the cabinet. It started to teeter. And then with another loud yell he tipped it.

"Watch out! Watch out!"

Thomas grabbed Jina and tackled her to the ground out of the way of the cabinet as it slammed in front of the doors.

"Go, go, go!" Thomas screamed, scrambling to his feet, pulling Jina up with him. He gave her a shove forward.

They ran. Sprinting for their lives back towards the main group. The screams of Cranks followed. It seemed to be growing in volume. Which meant the group was growing in size. The three of them flew around the corner so fast Jina slammed into the opposite wall. Minho grabbed her arm and shoved her forwards.

"Come on Ji!" Minho yelled over the screams. "I thought you were a runner?"

"Mapper. Until I was mauled by a Griever. Snapped my ankle in 2 different spots! Concussion. Broken ribs. Stitches..." She yelled back.

She saw the shock on both boys faces. Jina clamped her jaw even tighter and ran. Another corner, and they saw the group of guys filtering out of the room at the very far end.

"Hey!" Thomas yelled, waving a hand, trying to get their attention. "Hey! Run! Go!" He was frantically waving his hand trying to get them to start running.

ARIS! WE GOT CRANKS ON OUR ASSES. RUN! NOW!

She felt his buzzing. Oh shit!

"Hey!" Thomas yelled again "Go! Get outta here!"

From around the corner behind them came the wild chaotic Cranks. Jina glanced behind her, and nearly stumbled. As a veteran Mapper she always told the new ones to never look behind, always forwards. But she did and it almost cost her. Thomas threw an arm out and caught her elbow.

Some cranks were running with a weird lopsided run, some were running on all fours like some wild animals. Some were jumping up onto the walls and launching themselves forward- like some weird twisted version of parkour.

"Run!" Minho bellowed.

The group finally realized the danger and started to move. Aris was grabbing guys and dragging them forwards, or shoving someone. Jina and the guys just about crashed into the few guys still hanging back. Jina wanted to smack them all. They weren't runners, clearly, so why stay back for the three who could clearly run?

"Come on!" Thomas cried as he sprinted past Newt and grabbed him. "Let's go, go, go!"

"Thomas, Minho, what the bloody hell are those things?!" Newt yelled, fear and panic written all over his face.

"Cranks!" Jina answered, "Now shut up and  keep going!"

"Move! Move!" Minho called, ushering them all forward. Everyone was now sprinting away from the cranks, but there wasn't anywhere to go. The huge sand hill...but that was it! The sand hill, they needed to go up. Get out from under ground.

"Thomas? Where do we go?" Teresa yelled.

"Up!" Jina screamed, and veered off towards the broken escalators.

"Come on! Follow Jina!"

The guys all followed her up, Thomas had stopped to push and shove them all up. They made the first set of stairs incident free.

Almost.

Teresa was last, and clearly not a runner. A few cranks leapt and landed in between Teresa and Thomas and the group. Thomas yanked Teresa to the broken escalators right beside and shoved her up the stairs. It slowed them down. The group of Cranks was gaining. Teresa was screaming, Thomas was trying to push her up the stairs.

"Tommy!" Jina screamed, sprinting back to the railing.

A crank had broken free and lunged at him bringing him down. Jina grabbed a chunk of broken brick at her feet and threw it. It slammed into the crank. It sent him toppling over the railing and down to the ground floor. Where other cranks jumped on him, ripping him apart. Jina felt her stomach bile rise in her throat.

Teresa made it, Thomas right behind. "Nice throw." He panted grabbing her hand and pulling her away.

The cranks were like horrible spiders, somehow defying gravity and scaling the walls and leaping from small hand holds.

One crank leapt over the railing, and tackled one of the guys. Jina vaguly remembered his name as Leroy. The cranks took a chunk out of his neck. They both fell back and tumbled all the way down the broken steps, leaving a trail of blood.

Jina couldn't hold the bile down. And it came up. All over the ground. Thomas looked at her with wide eyes full of horror and pulled her away from the stairs. They sprinted to catch up. Jina's brain had stopped working. She didn't know what was going on. There was too much noise and too much gore. All the guys were yelling at each other. There was no plan, no leader, no one knew what to do; it was just panic and run.

"Aris, no!"

That caught her attention. She turned to the scream. Aris had run forward, a metal baseball bag in his hands and he swung it at a crank who tried to leap over the railing. The hit sent the Crank flying back over the railing.

"We gotta go up! We need to get out of here." Jina tried yelling, but her voice wasn't working. Her limbs felt like led and her brain was working in slow motion.

Thomas hadn't let go of her hand. He must have heard her because he started towards the next set of escalators.

"Come on! Up! Let's go. Move it!" Minho bellowed, shoving Frypan. He grabbed Newt and pushed him up the steps. Teresa was behind them, and for some reason, calling Thomas's name. Aris was right behind her. Minho ran. Clint and another two guys, Bobby and Joey,  were cut off and had to go to the next set right beside them.

Everyone made it to the top. The cranks nipping at their heels. They came from everywhere. Screaming and howling like wild animals. Some snarled and snapped their teeth like it. Some ran on all fours like some creepy monstrosity.

Jina was being dragged along by Thomas. Her ankle was starting to really hurt. She didn't have time for a sore ankle. She focused on one foot in front of the other, eyes peeled for any kind of exit sign. In a mall, there must be emergency exits!

She heard screaming- different from Crank screams. She started to look, but Thomas yanked her.

"No! Don't look." He demanded. His eyes were dilated so big, all there was was black pupils. Despite sweating and being flushed from running, he looked pale and ready to throw up. Jina took his advice. But the screams of one of the boys filled her with such dread and horror, her imagination went wild. And it was probably worse.

Aris?!

Ji. I'm here.

That's all she needed. She could see Minho from the corner of her eye and Aris had answered her. Thomas held her hand. She felt like a horrible person...but she had the three important people to her. She hated herself for even thinking that. She flinched. The screaming stopped. And it was just the wild cries of the cranks.

"Where the hell are we gonna go?" Frypan yelled from behind them. "We gotta find a way out of here!"

Jina wanted to answer something sarcastic, like nah, I'd rather stay for tea. But she was worried if she opened her mouth, more stomach bile would make an appearance.

"Go!"
"Faster, faster!"
"Behind you!"

A crank screamed. There was a loud crashing sound. And then Thomas had scrambled to a stop and turned. "No! Newt! Newt!" He let go of Jina's hand and ran back the other way.

Jina twisted, Frypan slammed into her. He caught her before she fell. She saw a crank had tackled Newt and was now trying to rip his face off. Newt was doing his best to keep the crank away.

"Guys, help!"

Aris, again, leapt forwards and swung the bat hitting the crank in the ribs. Just a split second before Thomas tackled the thing off Newt. The Crank tumbled over the side. Thomas got to his feet and helped Newt up.

"Newt, you good?"

"Yeah." He was breathing hard, "Thanks, Tommy."

"Come on, Newt!" Minho was back pulling Newt away from the edge and after the group.

What was left of their group had shoved through a door. A crank was waiting for them in the broken rafters. Jina saw it just as it leapt down at them.

Jina only had time to scream and duck. The thing landed right behind her with a sickening thud. How it still lived, she had no idea. But the Crank got to its feet, a shard of glass held tight in their fist. The female crank held it so tight her hand was covered in blood. The crank shrieked. Jina only now remembered she had a knife. She pulled it from her belt.

She had never fought hand to hand with a knife before. She fought off Grievers, but never a person. No time to practice. The crank lunged at her, swinging the glass wildly. As she ducked under another wild swing, Jina felt white hot pain on her forehead. Warm fresh blood poured down her face and into her eye. She tried to wipe it, so she could see- it made little difference. The crank lunged at her again with a snarl. Jina fell backwards with the crank on top of her. The scream was cut off as it turned to a gargle. Black goo dripped from her mouth.

What freaked Jina out was the cranks eyes. The woman crank's eyes went clear. Jina saw for a split second the woman she used to be before the Flare took her mind. Then they went dull and lifeless. Jina felt something warm and wet on the front of her shirt. Jina froze. Breathing hard and fast, trying to keep the world from spinning into darkness, and from throwing up. The crank was shoved off. Jina screamed and flailed. Someone caught her wrist.

"Hey. Jina! Jina, Honey, it's me! It's just me."

"Tommy!" Jina cried.

"Ya. Ya it's me. Come on." He pulled her to her feet. She glanced down, the crank had Jina's knife lodged in her chest, up to the hilt. Aris showed up beside her, looking very pale. He took her arm and flung it over his shoulder.

"Go. Lead us! I got her." Aris said. Thomas hesitated. "Go!" Aris yelled, "their coming."

Aris pulled Jina. Half her face was now drenched in her blood. She felt it make its way down her neck. Aris was taking most of her weight now. Jina was having a hard time keeping her head up.

"It's...always my- my head."

"You probably have permanent brain damage." Aris agreed.

"Through here, through here!" Thomas took a sharp turn to the right. The rest of the group followed. It was a narrow hall, reminding Jina of the WICKED halls, but not as shiny and new.

"Guys, where are we going?" Teresa yelled, her voice was hysterical right now. She was trying desperately to cling to Thomas, who was not paying her any attention.

"Come on, they're coming!" Frypan shouted from the back of the group.

"It's a dead end!" Clint yelled, sliding to a stop and looking around.

"Get us out of here, Thomas!" Teresa yelled.

"Come on! Thomas! What do we do?"

Why was everyone begging Thomas to get them out? Was no one else capable to come up with ideas to help?

"Try...try the doors." Jina said, her words were slurring, but she pointed her blood soaked hand to the door, which had a broken burnt out exit sign above it.

Thomas slammed into it. It was stuck. Thomas slammed again, desperately trying to open it.

"I'll hold them back!" Winston cried, pulled a gun out of his waist band. Where he got ahold of a gun Jina had no idea. But the cranks were getting louder as they funneled down the hall towards them. The one gun wasn't going to do much if the door didn't open soon.

"Harder!" Someone yelled.

"Get that door open!" Winston screamed, pulling the trigger.

With every echoing bang of the gun and solid thud of the body against the door, Jina flinched. Her vision was fuzzy. She couldn't see out of one eye with the amount of blood. Aris was holding her up.

"Move!" Frypan yelled.

"Come on, Frypan! Let's go!" Frypan took a running start and slammed into it. The door budged. Minho took a turn and then the door swung wide.

"Come on! It's open!" Thomas yelled. He started to push people through. Winston backed up. Thomas ushered people through. Aris turned sideways and dragged Jina through.

"Come on! Come on! Winston!"

Jina looked over her shoulder as Aris pulled her up the sand dune. Winston hadn't made it through the door all the way before the cranks got a hold of him. Grabbing his backpack they pulled him back as Thomas and Minho held the door, trying to pull Winston through and slam the door at the same time.

"Help me!" He cried. He screamed as claws scratched and dug into him. "Help! Please!"

Minho let go of the door grabbed Winston and yanked him free. Thomas slammed the door, using his entire body weight to hold it.

"Go, go, go!" Thomas waved a hand frantically, waving Minho on, and then he caught sight of Jina struggling to come back, "No! Jina! Go! Go! I'm right behind you!"

"Get up, Winston!" Minho cried hefting the bleeding boy to his feet. "Hurry!"

Minho also hesitated, looking back at Thomas, struggling to hold the door against the horde of Cranks.

"Minho, go! I'm right behind you!"

"Come on Ji. Up the hill." Aris encouraged.

Minho and Winston were right behind them, struggling up the sand. Jina could make out a blurry outline of something big and solid. A body appeared in front of them. It was Frypan.

"Come on, over here." Frypan hissed, "we found cover. Be quiet!"

"Let's go! Let's go!" Thomas was now sprinting towards them. The wild sounds of Cranks behind them. Frypan led them up onto a broken piece of concrete and then up onto a ledge and then into a sort of cave that was made from the huge fallen cement slabs of wall and roof.

They all huddled together inside. Minho and Thomas laid Winston down who was moaning in pain. Aris sat Jina down. She leaned back against the cement, and finally closed her eyes. The blood was still trickling down her face. But her body pulled her into either unconscious or sleep.

Either way, she didn't respond when someone asked her a question.

< • >