𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐅 𝐀 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 - 𝘋𝘌𝘈𝘛𝘏 𝘊𝘜𝘙𝘌

8 ~ my old life is behind me

Newt

Clark had informed me that there would be more mountains the closer we got to Denver. Currently, there were so many surrounding us that I doubted there could be many more. We must be getting very close. 

These mountains were much more beautiful than the ones back in the Scorch. These ones would have trees growing on them to a certain point, until the mountain was so high that it was covered by snow. There hadn't been snow back in the Glade, and yet, I had a faint memory of it. For some reason, the sight of it made me uneasy. Perhaps the memory I had of it wasn't a pleasant one.

Soon, after driving down a stretch of road between two mountains, the city finally came into view. I had never seen anything like it. It was nothing like the cities we'd encountered in the Scorch, where the buildings were dirty, crumbling, and mostly under the sand. Here, the buildings were shiny, and looked to be made mostly of glass, except for the suburbs surrounding the downtown portion. There, the houses and stores still looked very intact and useable.

"The Crank Palace is a few miles outside of town, higher in the mountains," Barney explained from the driver's seat. "We have to take the backroads to get there, so prepare for some turbulence." Clark had already grabbed the handle above his seat for support. I looked around the back seat for something to hold on to, but there was nothing. Not even a seat belt. I settled for gripping the edge of the tattered seat.

As soon as we made the turn onto the unpaved road, the truck began bouncing violently. I had to squeeze the seat until my knuckles were white to keep from flying up and smacking my head on the ceiling. "Um, guys?" I called. "A bit slower, please?"

Barney glanced back at me in the mirror and started cackling. "You alright back there?"

"No," I said. "I'm going to die from you crashing this thing before I die from the Flare."

"Barney doesn't crash," said Clark admiringly. I hmphed doubtfully in response.

We were engulfed in trees for the rest of the journey. The woods were so thick that only slivers of light were able to slip through the branches. It was very fitting, honestly, that my surroundings would get darker the closer I got to the Crank Palace.

Finally, the trees got thinner, and soon they revealed a large clearing with a large stone building in the center. The building was surrounded by tall walls on each side. I shivered as I was reminded of the Maze, but shook it off quickly. The Maze experience was behind me, and so was my life. I would spend the rest of it behind those walls.

The road we were on, if it could even be called that, led straight to the walls where the gate entrance was. There, waiting for us, were two guards who looked bored out of their minds and slightly dead inside. Barney rolled down his window.

"We've got another one," he called to them. Without hesitation, the two guards strutted to the side doors and yanked them open, reaching inside and snatching me harshly by the arms and yanking me out of the vehicle. Before I could even make a sound, my hands were cuffed behind my back. Those two definitely showed signs of two guards who have been doing their job for way too long.

"Hey," I snapped, unsurmountable rage boiling inside me. "Get me out of these," I hissed. "Let me go! Don't touch me!" The anger was becoming too much. After the long drive of pushing down the lethal urges, I was ready to explode. I felt feral, and even more so when the two guards shoved my head down so I was facing the ground and began to march me towards the entrance.

"Be gentle with the kid!" Clark protested out of his window.

"Why?" One of the guards grunted. "He special or something?"

"He's not an animal to be forced around."

The guard looked at me coldly for a moment, then said, "Not yet." I scowled at him, then turned to say my farewells to Barney and Clark.

"Bye, guys," I called. "Thank you for everything."

They looked at me through the windshield with pity in their eyes. I hated it. "Bye, kid," said Barney. "Maybe we'll come back in time to see you again."

I smiled sympathetically. I knew that they were going back out again to look for more Cranks. They'd be gone for days, traveling through much of this half of the country. I knew that the chance of me seeing them again were very slim. I didn't want to get emotional, so all I did was nod back, since I could not wave with my hands cuffed. "Maybe someday."

The two guards holding me sensed that Barney, Clark and I were finished speaking, so they began marching again. This time I didn't fight them, but they were still rough with me. I would have bruises on my arms later from their grip, but that was the least of my worries.

The second we entered through the gate, I could sense that we were in a dark place. I could practically smell the despair and illness and death that was contained behind these walls. The building I thought I saw wasn't really a building at all; it was more like multiple buildings with courtyards. Like a prison.

"Housing is over here," said one of the guards. I still couldn't tell what they looked like since they refused to take their masks off. We strode through a section of buildings with cracked doors lining the walls. Some of them had been torn off the hinges entirely but hadn't been replaced. "Which ones are open?" The guard asked the other, who shrugged. They began opening doors at random and closing them when they saw there were people inside. Or more accurately, Cranks.

Occasionally there would be a screech from inside the room. The guard would swiftly close it, and then we would hear a thump from the other side explaining that the Crank had thrown itself at the door. I guess I'd discovered why some of the doors were off their hinges.

Finally, the guards found a vacant room for me. They pushed me inside after unlocking my cuffs, and shut the door after some brief instructions: Meals come at 7:00 and 5:00. I was allowed to do anything I wanted as long as it wasn't escaping. After the guards left, I turned in a circle in the center of the room to observe it.

The only window was cracked, but not shattered, which was a relief because Barney and Clark told me that nights in Denver could become very chilly. Not to mention that the tattered cot in the corner had the thinnest blanket I'd ever set eyes on. Other than the bed, the only other thing in the room was a table that was missing one of its legs and the remnants of the chair piled next to it.

I sighed. Guess I'd be eating my meals on the floor. Besides, I'd have plenty of kindling to make a fire if I got too cold; I could just light the useless table and the chair legs.

That's when I noticed the walls. They were covered with peeling outdated wallpaper which was stained dark red. Blood. There was something else, too; something pitch black, like tar. I could infer that the stains had come from the Cranks who lived here before me.

I just hoped that I wouldn't leave quite as many stains on the walls after my stay here.

A/N

Hey, I know these chapters have been pretty short, and I'm sorry, but it's better than nothing right? Vote if you liked it!

- golden habit