A/N: Sorry, but I forgot to mention this in the information: There will be romance in this book, but way less than in the first one. Jane will also reunite with Minho and Newt in this book, but it will take a while, so I hope that doesn't bother you too much! But in the meanwhile, something else will happen though... :)

And I feel like a lot of people think Newt is annoying/boring in this story, so I'm very sorry for asking this, but is there anything I could do to make him a better and more likable character? 😭

~

"Stop doing that!" I groaned and bent down to my stomach where Crassus had hit me for like the third time. "This is not how I- ow!"

"Defend yourself." He calmly ordered.

"You're not giving me a chance to do so!" I argued, taking a few steps back from the man.

"You think those Cranks are gonna give you a chance?" Crassus raised his eyebrows. "Defend."

Another punch in my stomach.
"I just healed from a bullet!"

"Fight back!" Crassus commanded before he threw out another punch.

"How is this supposed to help me with fighting?" I managed to get out.

Crassus sighed and wiped some sweat off his forehead. "Obviously you won't cooperate."

"And you notice that now?" I scoffed. "Just let me out of here and find the others!"

Crassus ignored my request.
"We gotta find you a trigger."

"A what?"

"A trigger." Crassus ran a hand through his hair. "Something that'll make you fight.. gets you angry. Whatever. What gets you angry?"

"I don't know!" I threw my hands in the air.

"Did you ever fight in the maze? With who and why?" Crassus sternly asked, crossing his arms, though it looked less hot than with Minho.

I couldn't help to chuckle. "I wouldn't call it fighting."

"Just explain."

I sighed. "One time I slapped someone and the other time I rolled over the ground with the same person.. so it's not really fighting. But I did fight with Grievers!"

"Why did you slap them?" Crassus didn't seem very impressed.

"He spread rumors about me." I shrugged. After all this time I forgave Minho for his actions.

"Why did you roll over the ground?"

"He called me a Mean Hoe and a Newt Shucker." I leaned against the wall, holding my aching stomach.

"And what's a Newt Shucker?" Crassus seemed thoughtful.

"Someone who shucks Newt," I explained. "But I didn't, trust me! I didn't shuck anyone!"

"Is Newtshucker even a word?"

"Actually it's two words," I confirmed. "But does it matter?"

"You don't seem to get angry when I call you Newt Shucker," Crassus commented. "Something else that gets you angry?"

I thought about it for a second. "No. I don't think so."

Crassus frowned and mumbled something I couldn't understand.
"I know it."

"Know what?"

Crassus glanced at me. "What triggers you."

"Which is?"

"Gally."

Oh, god no.

"He obviously did something that upset you, with the heart monitor stuff and you denying you're friends with him." Crassus cleared his throat. "I'll go get him."

"What? No!" But I was too late. Crassus already left, though he had a point. Gally indeed made me angry. Very angry. I could already feel it forming in my body by only thinking about what he did to Chuck. My little brother.

Soon Crassus came back and wanted me before he let Gally in. "Try not to kill him."

I looked down, not daring to look an awful person like Gally in the eyes. I heard someone walk in and the door close but kept my head toward the ground.

"A spy, huh?" The familiar voice said. It was enough for me to jump forward, on top of Gally. He grunted and tried to push me off him, but I already got too angry enough and punched him right in the face.

Gally's hands clenched around my shirt, hoping not to get hit again, but failed. It hurt my fist, but at least I got him good.

The anger rose in my chest, pumping through my veins as I felt the lonely and empty spot in me grow.

"Okay. That's enough already." Crassus grabbed my fist before I got the chance to hit Gally again, and pulled me up.

"You killed Chuck!" I yelled, the anger taking over.

Gally took a step back. "I know what I did, alright? But I was stung!"

"That's no goddamn excuse! Then you should've stayed in the Glade like you wanted to!" I turned to Crassus, who seemed very attentive in our arguing. "Why didn't you take Chuck here?"

"The kid?" Crassus rubbed his chin.

"Yes, the kid!" I screamed. "Why did you leave him? Why didn't you take him?"

"Because he was already dead, Young Lady," Crassus explained calmly.

"I was dead too! Why didn't you leave me there?" I raised my voice even worse, the pain from the past days coming out.

"We-."

"You should've left me there!" I interrupted Crassus. "I wished you left me there!"

Then I stomped out of the room, slamming the door closed behind me. My breaths were heavy and my fists balled, making me realize I got pretty hard on the two.

I didn't have anywhere to go but went down some stairs anyway. It was dark and dusty in the sort of basement like no one came there often. Just one single door was in front of me, and I opened it without hesitation, gasping loudly when I looked around.

Weapons ten times bigger as in the Glade hung all over the walls, drawers with stuff in it stood there too, and fake targets that looked like humans.

I spun around, knowing exactly what I was looking for. Daggers or knives. Once I found some beautiful black ones that looked pretty cool, I started throwing them against the fake targets.

The anger made it easier for me, so Crassus was right. It did trigger me.

The knives hit the target's chests and heads over and over again until after a few minutes, I got interrupted.

"I see you found your thing, Young Lady."

The by-now-familiar nickname made me realize it was Crassus.

"This was my thing before I even got here." I snapped before hitting a target right in the head again.

"The kid was already dead for minutes, and you weren't. You're useful." Crassus finally explained, followed with a sigh.

It hurt to talk or think about Chuck and I wondered if it would ever be normal for me to do so. "I don't want to be here."

Crassus scoffed. "You could easily fight off some WICKED guards."

"I just escaped them, why would I get back?" I questioned, though I didn't really want an answer. I just wanted to find Minho and Newt.. the others and see if they were okay. I didn't even know if they were alive.

Crassus got closer to me, lowering his voice.
"Wouldn't you like some revenge?"

Again, he had a point, but I didn't agree.
"The only thing I want is for you to let me out of here. I want to look for my friends."

Crassus laughed like I said something dumb. "Your friends are either dead.. or WICKED has them."

"They'll survive," I assured. "I know them."

"They're teenagers."

"And so am I! I'm not supposed to fight anyone either. Just let me go!" I threw my last knife and turned around.

"Not before you have a plan, the weapons, the acknowledge of everything, knowing how to fight the Cranks, and survive the sun flares," Crassus responded. "Now get dinner before those beasts eat everything before you get the chance."