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G A M E O F
S U R V I V A L

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𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞
𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐧,
𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞.

𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞
𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐮𝐧,
𝐬𝐨 𝐰𝐞'𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞.

𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞.

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chapter fifteen

.·:*¨༺     ★      ༻¨*:·.

A LIGHT SOURCE from the left side revealed a girl grabbing everyone's attention after her comment. Everybody remained silent as they watched her approach them. She walked through the pathway full of cranks that tried to reach for her. She didn't bother to wince or flinch when any crank got close to her face. The girl walked so phlegmatically.

"Stay back! Stay back!" Minho demanded. Rosie didn't know if he meant to the group or to the girl who stopped walking a few feet away from them.

       Her hair was quite short, like a boy's. The girl presented herself with confidence and assertiveness. Rosie tilted her head trying to see if she remembered the girl in front of her. But nothing came to mind. Rosie watched her eyes linger towards Samadhi who had given the gun to Jess. The girl analyzed everyone in a quick few seconds before giving them a half smile.

       "You guys look like shit." She mentioned before turning back around motioning with her hand, "come on, follow me." The girl turned back around once again realizing the group stayed in the same spot. "Unless you wanna stay here with them."

       The gladers looked at one another waiting for someone to step up. Samadhi took the initiative stepping out and following the girl. "Come on, I'm not staying here any longer." Samadhi stated as everyone followed suit.

       The group did their best to dodge any cranks that tried to jump towards them. Rosie watched everyone follow the girl through the entrance she came through. Rosie turned once more to give a final look at the tied up cranks before catching up to the group.

       "How do you catch them?" Thomas questioned as they turned a corner.

        The girl raised her eyebrow in confusion, "catch them?" She asked thinking it was a rather dumb question. "Do you think we're stupid?" The girl inquired before letting out a quiet scoff.

       Rosie analyzed every part of the girl's body language. Her demeanor was so nonchalant. It slightly intimidated Rosie by how calm the girl acted. She almost looked like she was dragging her feet from either tiredness or not caring. Rosie couldn't pinpoint which one it was.

       "We don't catch them." The girl cleared up Thomas' question as they passed through halls. "We just take precautions when people start to turn."

       The moment Rosie's eyes spotted armed men, her left hand reached for a pocket knife she had stashed in one of her cargo pockets of her pants. Her jaw tensed as one of the men on the couch slammed his playing cards on the table.

       "Wait?" Teresa asked as she increased her pace once a bald man stared her down. "Those things back there are your friends? You just chain them up?"

      Rosie's left eyebrow raised once the man's eyes landed on her. His eyes ran up and down recognizing the girl. Unfortunately for Rosie, she had no recollection of who this man was.

       "Not worse then setting them loose in crank land." The girl replied continuing her walk.

        "What the hell is crank land?" Frypan asked

       The girl turned around walking backwards with a smile on her lips, "you guys aren't from around here, are you?"

       Her hands tightened on the handle before sliding open the large door. Everyone looked around in curiosity as they watched people living inside the building. They looked homeless. They all had their own little campfires set up.

      "Come on, keep up." The girl stated, "Jorge wants to meet you."

        Jessie followed Samadhi and Mara who walked up the stairs before halting their steps once another man appeared blocking her way. Jessie took a step back bumping into Minho's chest on accident. The bald man blocking her way towered over the curly headed girl successfully intimidating her.

      Reaching for his hand, Minho let Jessie intertwine their fingers together. His right hand reached over to her right hip tapping it twice to reassure her that he was right behind her. The man's eyes lingered away from Jess and onto the boy behind her.

       "So now we're taking in strays?" He questioned trying to stare down Minho who challenged him.

       Minho stayed as calm as ever. He didn't show any sign of fear unlike Jess. Minho stared the man down before the girl interrupted them. "Back off, Bart." She demanded walking down the steps, "Jorge saw them first."

       The man named Bart took a step back letting Jessie walk up the stairs. Rosie glanced towards him before walking up the stairs not giving him another thought. She continued to stay quiet remembering the incident from a few hours ago. Rosie was scared of her own self. She didn't know how long she was going to be able to have control of herself. Especially when she had the sudden urge to eat. But she didn't want just any regular food, no, Rosie was craving raw meat.

      "Who's Jorge?" Thomas asked

       "You'll see." The girl answered as they followed her into another path of homeless looking men. "no one's come out of the scorch for a long time. You've just got him curious." She looked over at him, "and me too."

      Rosie took a deep breath as her left hand gripped on her knife she carried. Her other hand scratched the side of her neck. They were all being followed by large and intimidating men. Samadhi shook her head muttering through her teeth, "we need to leave."

      Jess could feel her chest tightening as her group gave her no signs of safety. Her feet reached Minho who glanced back once he felt a tug on his arm. "I don't think we should be here. We need to leave, Minho."

      Newt turned his head to make sure Rosie was alright. Her silence worried him. She would have definitely already complained or insulted one of these men if she was truly okay. "Who else is starting to get a bad feeling about this place?" Newt inquired.

       "Let's just hear him out and see what he has to say." Thomas replied being in the front.

       Rosie felt a push on her back as she was towards the back with Frypan and Newt. The girl glanced behind her spotting Bart. "Watch it." Rosie warned, her voice raspy and deep.

       Mara turned her head the same time Samadhi did as they heard Rosie. Jess glanced after turning back around once Newt pulled Rosie forward to walk in front of him. "Get in front of me."

      The girl lead the way up the stairs announcing, "Jorge, they're here."

      "Shhh!" The girl rolled her eyes as she plummeted down onto the couch. The man tried to connect to a radio signal as the group filled inside the room quickly. The weak signal he had tried to make stronger disappeared, "God damn it!"

The large men started to shuffle inside causing the group of friends to move closer to each other. Each of them had at least one person watching their every move. "Do you ever get the feeling the whole world is against you?"

Rosie stayed quiet glancing to her friends who did the same. Her eyes wondered around the dark lit room before focusing on the small table in front of them. A black device Rosie recognized was sitting there ready to be used. Rosie's left hand rolled her small knife in her fingers making sure she didn't cut herself.

"Three questions. Where did you come from? Where are you going? How can I profit?" Jorge, Rosie assumed, asked curiously analyzing the group of escapees.

The group remained silent not knowing if to say something or not. No one trusted these people so the group kept quiet. They all simply glanced at one another.

"Don't all answer at once." Jorge added before filling up a cup with liquor.

Thomas cleared his throat speaking, his voice sounding slightly scared, "we're headed to the mountains. We're looking for the Right Arm."

Sudden laughter erupted between the men creating curiosity in the gladers. The girl sat on the couch furrowed her eyebrows glancing up at Jorge who also glanced towards her before looking back at the group.

"You're looking for ghosts you mean." He stated before taking a sip of his liquor and taking steps closer. "Question number two! Where did you come from?"

Jess scooted closer to Minho once she felt one of the large men move in closer towards her. Mara glared at the man as Minho responded to Jorge, "that's our business."

Samadhi tightened her grip on the knife she carried glancing over at the girl on the sofa. The girl had whispered something to one of the men who walked over and stood behind Samadhi. Rosie watched Jorge's shrug and two men grab a hold of Minho and Thomas. Before she could realize what she was doing, Rosie threw her knife towards the small table.

The girl from the couch tried to reach for the scanner before flinching from the sudden knife that almost cut her hand. Rosie tried to pull out another knife but was stopped by one of the men who grabbed a hold of her.

Samadhi was grabbed by the neck as she realized the girl told him about the gun she had. Samadhi carved her nails into the man's skin before hitting his face with the back of her head causing him to stumble back.

"Get the hell off me man!" Thomas yelled

As the girl retrieved the scanner and reached Thomas, she stopped when she looked up to see Samadhi chocking the man with her legs and her knife placed nicely on his throat. "Let the kid go or I'll gut his insides like a fucking chicken." Samadhi threatened as the guard man did his best to try and get her legs off him.

The girl tilted her head before threatening Samadhi, "you kill one of our men, I'll kill one of yours." The girl looked around pointing at the curly headed girl causing one of the guard men to push the girl to the ground. Minho tried to get out of their hold to help her but he couldn't. "Starting with her."

Jessie's eyes widen as she could feel the gun almost slipping out of her jacket when she fell to her knees. Samadhi clenched her jaw recognizing that these people would do it. The girl tightened her grip on the man's neck before jumping off the unconscious man who fell to the floor.

One of the men grabbed a hold of Jess and pointed a gun to her head. Mara rolled her eyes yelling at the man, "put the gun down dumbass. He's not dead."

Jorge grinned realizing Samadhi could be a great asset to him. Rosie was also another great asset as her throwing skills didn't go over Jorge's head. He thought the two girls were valuable for his team.

Thomas pushed away as the girl used her scanner. "Shut up you big baby."

"What is that!?" Thomas asked struggling.

"You were right." The girl stated to Jorge before handing him the scanner.

"What? What is she talking about?" Thomas questioned in fright.

Jessie answered his question as she started to feel more and more scared as she was pulled up to her feet by Mara, "it's a scanner. They just identified you, Thomas."

"I'm sorry, hermano. Looks like you're tagged." Jorge stated before explaining, "you came from WICKED. Which means, you are very valuable."

Newt reached over for Rosie's hand securing them together. Glancing down to their hands, Rosie let go of the boy confused of her feelings towards him and of herself. Newt brushed away the feeling of neglect as he came to the conclusion that she hadn't forgiven him yet. She might never do so.

      Rosie didn't feel hurt. She didn't really feel much at all. It was more numbness she was feeling. There was not much happiness nor sadness in her body. Rosie felt empty of any emotion. So when it came to Newt trying to show affection, she didn't feel anything. At all.

Rosie licked her lips as Jorge and the girl whispered to one another. "Focus on the girls. 'Specially those two." Jorge murmured glancing towards Samadhi and Rosie. "Take 'em downstairs." Jorge instructed to his obedient men.

"What the hell are you doing?" Frypan questioned as he struggled to get out of the grip of one of the men. "Don't touch me, man!"

Minho pushed off the man trying to hold him down. The boy turned around once he heard Jessie's voice. "Hey! That hurts! Get off me!"

"Get off her!" Minho demanded pushing the man away from Jessie.

"Woah there!" Newt protested as someone grabbed his arms trying to pull him out of the room. "Take it easy!"

Newt stopped walking midway once the man holding him stopped as well. The boy glanced towards his left to notice Rosie threatening the man with her knife. "Hands off." The girl spoke with authority as Newt was wondering what happened to the man who was trying to hold her.

The boy scanned the room spotting another man on the floor this one conscious and holding onto his bleeding nose. The man eventually let go of Newt and taking steps back. Rosie pulled the boy towards her. "Stay behind me." She stated as Newt let himself follow her orders.

"Let go!" Teresa struggled as this girl was being lifted up the floor. The man was trying to carry her over her shoulder. "Thomas!"

Rosie threw the knife in her hand towards Teresa. The blue eyed girl let out a short scream as the knife curved itself inside the man's hand. Another scream came from that direction but this time it being the man who tried to handle Teresa.

"Guys! Stop!" Thomas yelled as he had talked to Jorge. Everyone stopped mid actions confused as to why Thomas asked them to stop. "We're outnumbered!"

Rosie tilted her head knowing that if everyone put effort, they could escape this place. Yes, everyone was scared but the gladers understood that effort needed to be put. The group looked at one another as Thomas continued to speak. "Let's just do what he says, okay?"

"Are you mad?" Newt questioned his friend.

"You gotta be kidding," Frypan murmured.

Teresa scratched the back of her head responding, "maybe he's right guys. If we do what they tell us to do than maybe we can actually stay alive."

Samadhi and Mara looked at each other before glancing their way towards Rosie. The girl let out a puff of air before stashing her last knife away. The two girls following her actions as they put away their weapons.

"Let me guess, you're their voice of reason?" Jorge questioned to Thomas who didn't say anything. "They'll do what you say?"

"I think I speak for all us—"

Newt interrupted rather quickly, "no he doesn't. He knows to ask us first instead of deciding on his own."

"Newt." Thomas grunted as Newt was undermining his authority.

"Tommy." Newt replied being the actual voice of reason trying to keep the group together.

Thomas and Newt held a long gaze speaking in silence to each other. Rosie studied the two boys in front of her. Her relationship with Newt was never going to be the same like it once was in the maze. They weren't compatible in the real world. Not when his attention had started to glance over to Thomas instead. Newt had started looking for Thomas instead of Rosie.

Rosie noticed it so easily especially when she compared her relationship and the one that was blossoming between Minho and Jess. Minho stood in front of Jessie feeling the need to keep her safe at all times. His demeanor was protective and made sure no one could come near her even though he knew she could handle herself. His feelings had consumed him so quickly, it made him wonder what things he'd be capable to do to keep her safe and close to him.

A smile curved on the short haired girl's lips as she ordered the group pointing at a beaded man, "follow him."

     ROSIE'S eyes wonder around as they follow the unknown men down the dirty hallways. Her arm started to ache again installing fear again as she wondered if the infection was going to take over her like it once did. Everyone had ignored her incident and no one had bothered to explain it to her. Well, no one had time to explain.

       There's no words to explain how she really was feeling. Rosie was fearing the possibility of losing her actual feelings. What she once felt in the maze felt like a façade. It was damaging her. She felt like she had no identity anymore.

Two men behind Rosie chuckled to one another making side comments about her. "What if I just—" one of the men grin using his hand to squeeze Rosie's butt.

"Hey!" Frypan yells throwing himself towards the man as he was the only glader who saw, "get the hell away from her!"

Rosie had immediately pushed the man away from her as Frypan had tried to pull him away but was held back by another guard. Without giving it much thought, Rosie grabbed a hold of the side of the man's face giving him a glimpse of a small smile before smashing him into the side of the wall.

The men's eyes went wide pulling out their weapons as Rosie grabbed the gun out of Jessie's jacket. The gun