THE SCORCH TRIALS

leg. And he doubted the guy was bluffing.

'First question,' Blondie said. 'Who are you and why is your name on signs all over this piece of crap city?'

'My name is Thomas.' As soon as it came out, Blondie scrunched up his face in anger. Thomas realized his stupid mistake and hurried along. 'You already knew that. Well, how I got here is a really weird story and I doubt you'll believe it. But I swear I'm telling the truth.'

'Didn't you come on a Berg like the rest of us?' Ponytail asked.

'Berg?' Thomas didn't know what that meant, but he just shook his head and went on. 'No. We came out of some underground tunnel about thirty miles or so to the south. Before that we went through something called a Flat Trans. Before that—'

'Hold it hold it hold it,' Blondie said, holding up a hand. 'A Flat Trans? I'd shoot you right now, but there's no way you just made that up.'

Thomas wrinkled his brow in confusion 'Why?'

'You'd be stupid to try getting away with an obvious lie like that. You came through a Flat Trans?' The man's surprise was obvious.

Thomas glanced at the other Cranks, both of whom had similar looks of shock on their faces. 'Yeah. Why's that so hard to believe?'

'Do you have any idea how expensive Flat Transportation is? Before the flares, it had just been revealed to the public. Only governments and billionaires can afford to use it.'

Thomas shrugged. 'Well, I know they have a lot of money, and that's what the guy called it. A Flat Trans. Kind of a gray wall that tingles like ice when you walk through it.'

'What guy?' Ponytail asked.

Thomas had barely started and already his mind was jumbled. How could you tell a story like this? 'I think he was from WICKED. They're running us through some kind of experiment or test. I don't really know everything. We . . . had our memories wiped out. Some of mine came back, but not a whole lot.'

Blondie didn't react for a second, just sat there staring at him. Almost through him, at the wall behind. Finally, he said, 'I was a lawyer. Back before the flares and this disease ruined everything. I know when someone's lying. I was very, very good at my job.'

Oddly, Thomas relaxed. 'Then you know I'm not—'

'Yeah, I know. I wanna hear the whole thing. Start talking.'

Thomas did. He couldn't say why, but it seemed okay. His instincts told him these Cranks were just like everybody else—sent here to live out their last horrible years succumbing to the Flare. They were just trying to find an advantage, find a way out, like anybody would. And meeting a guy who had special signs about him all over the city was an excellent first step. If Thomas had been in their shoes, he'd probably have been doing the same thing. Without the gun and bindings, hopefully.

He'd told most of the story to Brenda just the day before, and related it much the same way now. The Maze, the escape, the dorms. Being given the mission to cross the Scorch. He took special care to make it sound very important, stressing the part about the cure waiting at the end. Since they'd lost the chance to have Jorge's help getting through the city, maybe he could start over with these people. He also expressed his concern over the other Gladers, but when he asked if they'd seen them—or a big group of girls—the answer was no.

Once again, he didn't talk much about Teresa. He just didn't want to take any chances of endangering her somehow, though he had no idea how talking about her might do that. He also lied a bit about Brenda. Well, he never really lied directly. He just kind of made it sound like she'd been with him from the beginning.

When he finished, ending at the part where they'd met the three people in front of him in the alley, he took a deep breath and adjusted himself in the chair. 'Can you please take this tape off me now?

A flick of Tall and Ugly's hand caught his attention and he looked to see that a very sharp, shiny knife had appeared there. 'What do you think?' he asked Blondie.

'Sure, why not.' He'd held a stoic face throughout the tale, giving no hint yet as to whether he believed the story.

Tall and Ugly shrugged and got to his feet, walked over to Thomas. He was just leaning over, knife outstretched, when a commotion broke out above. Hard thumps on the ceiling, followed by a couple of screams. Then it sounded like a hundred people running. Frantic footsteps, jumping, more thumps. More screams.

'Another group must've found us,' Blondie said, his face suddenly pale. He stood, motioned for the other two to follow him. A few seconds later they were gone, vanishing up a set of stairs into the shadows. A door opened and closed. The chaos above continued.

All of this combined to scare Thomas nearly out of his wits. He looked over at Brenda, who sat perfectly still, listening. Her eyes finally met his gaze. Still gagged, she could only raise her eyebrows.

He didn't like their odds being left like this, taped to chairs. There was no way any of the Cranks he'd met that night had a chance against ones like Mr. Nose. 'What if a bunch of full-gone Cranks are up there?' he asked.

Brenda mumbled something through the tape.

Thomas strained every muscle and started jumping his chair in tiny steps toward where she sat. He'd made it about three feet when the sounds of fighting and rumbling suddenly stopped. He froze, looked up at the ceiling.

Nothing for several seconds. Then a set of footsteps, maybe two, shuffling across the floor above. A loud thump. Another loud thump. Then another. Thomas imagined bodies being thrown on the ground.

The door at the top of the stairs opened.

Then footsteps, hard and heavy, running down. It was all in shadow,and a cold panic flooded Thomas's body as he waited to see who came down.

Finally, someone stepped into the light.

Minho. Dirty and bloody, burn marks on his face. Knives in both hands. Minho.

'You guys look comfy,' he said.

CHAPTER 39

Despite everything he'd been through, Thomas couldn't remember the last time he'd been at such a loss for words. 'What. . . how . . .' He stammered, trying to get something out.

Minho smiled, a very welcome sight. Especially considering how horrible the guy looked. 'We'd just found you. Did you think we were gonna let these bunch of shuck-faces do anything to you? You owe me. Big-time.' He walked over and started cutting the tape.

'What do you mean you'd just found us?'Thomas was so happy he wanted to giggle like an idiot. Not only were they rescued, his friends were alive. They were alive!

Minho kept cutting. 'Jorge's been leading us through the city— avoiding Cranks, finding food.' He finished up with Thomas and went to free Brenda, still talking over his shoulder. 'Yesterday morning, we kind of spread out, spying here and there. Frypan was peeking around the corner into that alley up there just as those three shanks pulled a gun on you. He came back, we got mad, started planning our ambush. Most of those shucks were wasted or asleep.'

Brenda pushed her way out of the chair and past Minho as soon as her tape was cut. She started toward Thomas, but hesitated—he couldn't tell if she was mad or just worried. Then she came the rest of the way, ripping the tape off her mouth as she reached his side.

Thomas stood up, and immediately his head pounded again, the room swaying, making him sick. He plopped back into the chair. 'Oh, man. Anybody got some aspirin?'

Minho only laughed. Brenda had made her way to the bottom of the stairs, where she stood with arms