The Desolation (The Maze Runner)

5. Glow

"Tell them to hurry!" Salsa shouted at Aris while firing at the first Crank.

She tossed another smaller grenade on the ground, covering the street in a cloud of fog, before running back to Newt.

"Are you ready?" she asked, looking into the car.

"Hope so," he was sweating profusely.

She checked the cables and the connections to the battery.

"Are you running with them?" she asked, seeing that the group was already leaving the club in a hurry.

"I'm staying with you," he looked at her.

"Then jump in!" she dashed to the driver's seat.

She cut another two cables under the steering wheel and rubbed them against each other. The engine made a revving sound and she turned the wheel.

"It's gonna be a bumpy ride," she said, stepping on the accelerator.

"We'll be fine," she felt Newt's hand on hers.

The girl smiled but focused her concentration on the road.

She drove the car right into the group of Cranks. They started to yell and chase after it, completely ignoring the people that were escaping the club.

Salsa turned onto another street and the Cranks followed.

"Can't you drive faster?" asked Newt, glancing around.

"I can. I just want them to follow us, not them," she led the Cranks through the city and sped up, leaving them behind when she was sure they were unable to find the rest of their group.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

The sun was high on the horizon when they sped through the sand towards a small complex of buildings in the middle of the desert, close to the mountains.

Salsa looked at the sky and saw a berg disappearing between the clouds. WICKED. They had some business that made them come here.

"Where are we going?" asked Newt. "The mountains are there."

"Your friends will reach them tomorrow evening, they're on foot. And I don't think it's safe to wait there for them so we'll join them tomorrow. Right now, I need some rest," she drove the jeep behind the open gate of a craftwork.

"What's this?" asked Newt.

"It supplied the city with fresh water in better times. Now these are just ruins. No food, nothing interesting for them to come here for. And it's too far away from the city; they wouldn't risk crossing the desert. Besides, they have no reason to. No hope," she stopped the car next to a huge building.

"These were the employee's flats. Some of them worked overnight and lived here," she left the car and Newt followed her into the building.

"Do you think they rescued Tommy?" he asked, stopping inside the huge hall.

The corridor led to several open elevators.

"Sure they did. Come on," Salsa led him to the stairs.

They climbed up and stopped on the thirteenth floor. There, she opened a door on the right and entered an empty flat. Everything was covered in the desert dust. A burnt out fireplace, a dirty carpet, a desk, couch, shelves with books.

"What no one knows is that there's still some water in these buildings. We can take a shower here. A cold one, but still," Salsa put her backpack down on the couch.