Emotionless »« Newt

SEVEN

The thunder that accompanies the lightning rings loudly in their ears, accusatory, threatening. Everyone scrambles to their feet, eyes glued to it, and that's when they realise they're in danger. "Let's go, we gotta go," Thomas is hurriedly saying, grabbing his bag with everyone following suit, already dashing towards where the lights seem to be coming from.

With every step they take, Leandra swears it seems to be getting further and further away, aggravating to no end while everyone's panic hangs in the air, heavy. The lightning seems to outrun them, looming dangerously over their heads as they dash as fast as they can, each hit to the ground jarring Leandra's legs. Over the years, since she was taken and had no reason to run, she's gotten slower. Gone are the days she could win races against the others, the days only she remembers.

And suddenly, it's right in front of them. The building is just meters away, the group passing cars and small shelters, but a yell to her right and a sudden bout of pain immediately makes Leah freeze. She whirls around just in time to see a body flying in the air, crashing onto the dirt, and immediately she's rushing over. "THOMAS, HELP!"

She grabs at Minho's arms while Thomas staggers to his feet from the harsh impact, and Aris comes rushing over and she lets them handle it, being stronger. The pair between themselves managing to drag him through the door Frypan slams open, but just before she goes in, Leandra's legs skid to a horrified stop.

Newt notices the fade of her footsteps, whirling around and sticking his head out of the door to watch her in alarm. "Leandra, come on!"

"No–" But he's already tugged her inside, the door shutting echoing around, and suddenly they're incased in darkness. The darkness seems to hold so much, and immediately Leandra holds her head in her hands in pain, falling to a crouch close to the ground. So close, they're so close...

Voices echo darkly in her head, thick as blood, as if she's underwater and unable to make out the words. She knows Minho's alive – if he was dead, she'd know – but there's something else here, not quite alive but not quite dead. Horrifying, and something she's been around all too much to find unfamiliar.

As the others start to drag Minho up, she's quick to jump forward and shove Teresa as the girl takes a step back, startling everyone. Immediately Aris jumps forward to grab Leandra's arms and pull her away, Thomas restraining the angry Teresa from shoving her right back, a clamour of voices questioning what the hell it was before Leah silences them all with a loud "SHUT UP! ALL OF YOU!"

Teresa manages to shrug Thomas off her, the boys watching with wide eyes as Andi's eyes cloud over and blood starts to drip out of her nose, but as Teresa goes to take another step back Leandra pounces before pulling her closer to the group. "WOAH, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Thomas shouts in alarm, jumping between the two.

"DON'T MOVE!" she yells, pulling herself out of Aris's arms. "ANY OF YOU! STOP MOVING, PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT'S AROUND YOU!"

The thunder continues to roar outside, lightning flashing through the dirty scattered windows of what seems to be a warehouse, but Newt recognises the look in her eyes. Immediately his mind goes back to their conversation, and he's quick to step towards her. "What is it?" he murmurs.

Instead she roughly grabs the torch from his hands, unable to stop her fury from rushing out, but the moment the light beam falls on what's beside them everyone shouts in panic as the Crank comes rushing forward, trying to grab Teresa again before being pulled back by its restraining chain. "THEY'RE EVERYWHERE, DON'T MOVE!" she shouts again as everyone huddles closer, realising from the wild waving of their torches in every direction that they're in the one small safe spot in the entire room.

Leandra's head pokes up tiredly to the other side of the room just before a voice rings out. "I see you've met our guard dogs."

A light turns on in the far corner and finally the boys realise they're not alone, and a figure with short, cropped hair starts making its way through the Cranks with ease, a small path safe from the ones either side leading to the group. At closer inspection, it's a girl, and Leandra's eyes go wide. She seems familiar. "You guys look like shit," she smirks. "Come on. Follow me. Unless you want to stay here with them."