way.”
The thought of such a world terrified Thomas. “That’s just… sick.”
“I gotta get me some of that stuff,” Minho muttered.
“You’re missing the point,” Brenda said. “Think of the hell Newt has been through-all the decisions he’s had to make. No wonder the Flare is moving so fast in him. He’s been stimulated too much-way more than the average person living their life day to day.”
Thomas sighed, that sadness he’d felt earlier gripping his heart again. “Well, there’s nothing we can do about it until we get somewhere safer.”
“Do about what?”
Thomas turned to see Newt in the doorway again, then closed his eyes for a moment, pulled himself together. “Nothing, never mind-where’d you go?”
“I need to talk to you, Tommy. Just you. It’ll only take a second.”
What now? Thomas wondered.
“What’s this crap?” Minho asked.
“Just cut me some slack. I need to give something to Tommy here. Tommy and no one else.”
“Whatever, go for it.” Minho adjusted the straps of the Launchers on his shoulders. “But we need to hurry.”
Thomas stepped into the hall with Newt, scared to death of what his friend might say and how crazy it might sound. The seconds were ticking away.
They walked a few feet from the door before Newt stopped and faced him, then held out a small sealed envelope. “Stuff this in your pocket.”
“What is it?” Thomas took it and turned it over; it was blank on the outside.
“Just put the bloody thing in your pocket.”
Thomas did as he was told, confused but curious.
“Now look me in the eyes.” Newt snapped his fingers.
Thomas’s stomach sank at the anguish he saw there. “What is it?”
“You don’t need to know right now. You can’t know. But you have to make me a promise-and I’m not messing around here.”
“What?”
“You swear to me that you won’t read what’s inside that bloody envelope until the time is right.”
Thomas couldn’t imagine waiting to read it-he started to pull the envelope out of his pocket, but Newt grabbed his arm to stop him.
“When the time is right?” Thomas asked. “How will I-”
“You’ll bloody know!” Newt answered before Thomas could ask. “Now swear to me. Swear it!” The boy’s whole body seemed to tremble with every word.
“Fine!” Thomas was beyond worried about his friend now. “I swear I won’t read it until the time is right. I swear. But why-”
“Okay, then,” Newt interrupted. “Break your promise and I’ll never forgive you.”
Thomas wanted to reach out and shake his friend-to pound the wall in frustration. But he didn’t. He stood unmoving as Newt turned away from him and walked back toward the weapons room.
CHAPTER 16
Thomas had to trust Newt. He had to do this for his friend, but curiosity burned inside him like a brushfire. He knew, though, that he had no time to waste. They had to get everyone out of the WICKED complex. He could talk to Newt more in the Berg-if they could get to the hangar and convince Jorge to help them.
Newt came back out of the weapons room hefting the box of ammo by himself, followed by Minho, then Brenda, carrying another couple of Launchers with pistols stuffed in her pockets.
“Let’s go find our friends,” Thomas said. Then he headed back the way they’d come, and the others fell in line behind him.
They searched for an hour, but their friends seemed to have disappeared. Rat Man and the guards they’d left behind were gone, and the cafeteria and all the dorms, bathrooms and meeting rooms were empty. Not a person or a Crank in sight. Thomas was terrified that something horrible had happened and they had yet to come across the aftermath.
Finally, after seemingly having searched every nook and cranny of the building, something occurred to him. “Were you guys allowed to move around while they had me locked in the white room?” he asked. “Are you sure we haven’t missed anywhere?”
“Not that I know of,” Minho responded. “But I’d be shocked if there weren’t some hidden rooms.”
Thomas agreed but didn’t think they could afford to spend any more time searching. Their only choice was to move on.
Thomas nodded. “Okay. Let’s zigzag our way to the hangar, keep looking for them as we go.”
They’d been walking for quite some time when Minho abruptly froze. He pointed to his ear. It was hard to see because the hallway was only dimly lit by red emergency lights.
Thomas stopped along with the others, tried to slow his breathing and listen. He heard it immediately. A low moaning sound, something that made Thomas shiver. It was coming from a few yards ahead of them, through a rare window in the hallway that looked into a large room. From where Thomas stood, the room seemed completely dark. The glass from the window had been shattered from the inside-shards littered the tiled floor below it.
The moan sounded again.
Minho held a finger to his lips, then slowly and carefully set down his two extra Launchers. Thomas and Brenda followed suit while Newt placed his box of ammo on the ground. The four of them gripped their weapons, and Minho took the lead as they crept slowly toward the noise. It sounded like a man trying to wake up from a horrible nightmare. Thomas’s apprehension grew with every step. He was scared of what he was about to discover.
Minho stopped, his back against the wall, right at the edge of the window frame. The door to the room was on the other side of the window, closed.
“Ready,” Minho whispered. “Now.”
He pivoted and aimed his Launcher into the dark room just as Thomas moved to his left side and Brenda to his right, weapons held ready. Newt kept watch at their backs.
Thomas’s finger hovered above the trigger, ready to squeeze it at an instant’s notice, but there was no movement. He puzzled over what he was seeing inside the room. The red glow from the emergency lights didn’t reveal much, but the whole floor appeared to be covered in dark mounds. Something that was slowly moving. Gradually his eyes adjusted and he began to make out the shapes of bodies and black clothing. And he caught sight of ropes.
“They’re guards!” Brenda said, her voice cutting through the silence.
Muffled gasps escaped from the room, and finally Thomas could see faces, several of them. Mouths gagged and eyes open wide in panic. The guards were tied up and laid out on the floor from head to toe, side by side, filling up the entire room. Some of them were still, but most were struggling in their restraints. Thomas found himself staring, his mind searching for an explanation.
“So this is where they all are,” Minho breathed.
Newt leaned in to get a look. “At least they’re not all hangin’ from the bloody ceiling with their tongues sticking out like last time.”
Thomas couldn’t agree more-he remembered that scene all too vividly, whether it had been real or not.
“We need to question them and find out what happened,” Brenda said, already moving for the door.
Thomas grabbed her before he had time to think. “No.”
“What do you mean no? Why not-they can tell us everything!” She wrenched her arm out of his grip but waited to see what he had to say.
“It might be a trap, or whoever did this could come back soon. We just need to get out of this place.”
