The Desolation (The Maze Runner)

7. Battle

They continued their journey when dawn rose and Salsa found the way down the pass in the light blue, nearly gray, morning air. Before midday, they reached the other side of the mountains. The girl stopped the car on a hill and left it with her screen. She scanned the valley in front of them.

"Funny," she muttered.

"What's funny?" Newt came to her.

He seemed fresh after the night's sleep and looked okay, smiling at her brightly.

"Look at this," she pointed at the screen. "WICKED has some sense of humor."

He followed her finger and saw a stick in the middle of the desert with the description 'Safe Haven'.

"These bloody shanks are kidding me," his smile faded.

"I guess they'll pick you up from there for another horrible test," Salsa sighed.

"Do you see the others?" Newt asked.

"Yes, there's the girl's group, and there are our boys, but wait... there are three people speeding down the mountain not far away from us," she examined the screen. "And I think a storm's coming too." Salsa looked up at the cloudy sky. "And some more exciting souvenirs..." she scanned the desert around the stick.

"Are we going?" asked Newt.

"We'll observe the situation for a while," she looked at him.

"You've got a plan?" he raised his eyebrow.

"I always have a plan," she smiled.

Minutes passed and the two groups met each other in the middle of the desert, right next to the sign. They discussed things, then they took place on the sand and waited.

"I need your help," Salsa hid the screen in her backpack.

She lifted the car hood and took a knife out of her left shoe.

"Cables... I can't believe they're so old-school and lazy," she seemed angry and Newt tried to calm her down by resting his hand on hers.

"We don't have time for this, beautiful," she smiled at him, as she continued find and cut cables out of the car. "We just need to spare these ones," she pointed at the battery and its connection.

The wind got stronger and sand dust covered the valley.

"That must be enough, connect it with this in the car while I drive," she gave Newt a roll of duct tape.

They jumped into the used jeep and he started to connect the cables to each other, producing one long one.

"We're gonna survive it, right?" he glanced at her.

"Can't guarantee it, but I'll do what's possible," she started the car and sped it down the hill through the desert.

The old jeep struggled with the wind and the huge masses of sand that were whipping against its windows. There was nearly no vision and the sky became so dark, as if night had already fallen. The first tendrils of lightning appeared between the clouds.

"Find the screen in my backpack, I can't overrun them with the car," said Salsa.

Newt tried not to bang his head against something during the bumpy ride as he grabbed the bag from the backseat. He opened it and found the screen between strange looking things.

"Can you keep working with the cables and look at the screen from time to time? Turn it on, by the right side, there's a little button," she instructed. "If you see anything in front of us, just let me know."