“Come on,” he said. “We have to get Newt and Minho. Then everybody else.”
They sprinted through a couple of twists and turns in the hallways, Brenda leading. It reminded Thomas of the time she’d led him through the underground tunnels in the Scorch. He urged her to hurry-he knew that more guards could show up at any second.
They reached a door, and Brenda swiped the key card to open it; a brief hiss sounded, and then the slab of metal swung open. Thomas burst through with Brenda close on his heels.
The Rat Man was sitting in a chair but sprang to his feet, his expression quickly twisting to a look of horror. “What in God’s name are you doing?”
Brenda had already fired two grenades at the guards. A man and a woman dropped to the ground, convulsing in a cloud of smoke and tiny lightning bolts. Newt and Minho tackled the third guard; Minho grabbed his weapon.
Thomas trained his Launcher on Janson and put his finger on the trigger. “Give me your key card, then get on the ground, hands on your head.” His voice was steady but his heart was racing.
“This is complete lunacy,” Janson said. He handed his card to Thomas. He spoke quietly, seeming amazingly calm under the circumstances. “You have zero chance of getting out of this complex. More guards are already on their way.”
Thomas knew their odds were bad, but it was all they had. “After what we’ve been through, this is nothing.” He smiled as he realized it was true. “Thanks for the training. Now, another word and you’ll get to experience-how did you put it? ‘The worst five minutes of your life’?”
“How can-”
Thomas pulled the trigger. The high-pitched sound filled the room, followed by the launch of a grenade. It hit the man’s chest and exploded in a brilliant display of electricity. He screamed as he fell to the ground, convulsing, smoke streaming off his hair and clothing. The room filled with an awful smell-a stench that reminded Thomas of the Scorch, when Minho was struck by lightning.
“That can’t feel good,” Thomas said to his friends. He sounded so calm to his own ears that it disturbed him. As he watched their nemesis twitch, he was almost ashamed for feeling no guilt. Almost.
“It supposedly won’t kill him,” Brenda said.
“That’s a shame,” Minho replied. He stood after tying up the uninjured guard with his belt. “The world would’ve been better off.”
Thomas turned his attention from the twitching man at his feet. “We’re leaving. Now.”
“I’ll bloody drink to that,” Newt said.
“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Minho added.
They all turned to look at Brenda. She lifted her Launcher in her arms and nodded. She looked ready for a fight.
“I hate these people just as much as you,” she said. “I’m in.”
For the second time in the last few days, Thomas was filled with that foreign feeling of happiness. Brenda was back. He glanced at Janson. The crackling static was beginning to die. The man’s eyes were closed and he’d finally stopped moving, but he was still breathing.
“I don’t know how long a blast from one of these lasts,” Brenda said, “and he’s definitely going to wake up angry. We better get out of here.”
“What’s the plan?” Newt asked.
Thomas didn’t have a clue. “We’ll make it up as we go.”
“Jorge’s a pilot,” Brenda offered. “If we can somehow make it to the hangar, to his Berg…”
Before anyone could respond, shouts and footsteps sounded in the hall.
“They’re coming,” Thomas said. The reality of their situation hit him again-no one was going to let them just waltz out of the building. Who knew how many guards they’d have to get past.
Minho ran to the door and took a stance right next to it. “They’ll all have to come through right here.”
The sounds from the hallway were getting louder-the guards were close.
“Newt,” Thomas said. “You get on the other side of the doorway. Brenda and I’ll shoot the first couple who come through. You guys catch the rest from the sides, then get out into the hallway. We’ll be right behind you.”
They took their positions.
CHAPTER 13
Brenda’s expression was a strange mixture of anger and excitement. Thomas readied himself next to her, gripping the Launcher tightly in his hands. He knew it was a gamble to trust Brenda. He’d been tricked by nearly everyone in this organization; he couldn’t underestimate WICKED. But she was the only reason they’d gotten this far. And if he was going to bring her along, he couldn’t doubt her anymore.
The first guard arrived, a man dressed in the same black gear as all the others, but with a different type of weapon-smaller and sleeker-held tightly in front of him. Thomas fired, watched the grenade connect with the man’s chest; it sent him reeling backward, twitching and convulsing in a web of lightning.
Two more people-a man and a woman-were right behind him with Launchers raised.
Minho acted before Thomas could. He grabbed the woman by the shirt and yanked her toward him, then swung her across his body and slammed her into the wall. She got off a shot, but the silvery grenade shattered harmlessly on the ground and sent a short burst of crackling energy along the tiled floor.
Brenda fired at the man, hitting him in the legs; tiny jagged bolts of electricity shot up his body and he screamed, falling back into the hallway. His weapon fell to the floor.
Minho had disarmed the woman and forced her to kneel. He now held a Launcher aimed at her head.
A fourth man came through the door, but Newt knocked his weapon away and punched him in the face. He collapsed to his knees, holding a hand up to his bloodied mouth. The guard looked up as if to say something, but Newt stepped back and shot him in the chest. At such close range the ball made a terrible popping sound as it exploded against the man. A wretched squeal escaped his throat as he fell to the floor, writhing in a web of pure electricity.
“That beetle blade’s watchin’ every bloody thing we do,” Newt said. He nodded toward something at the back of the room. “We’ve got to get out of here-they’re just going to keep coming.”
Thomas turned to see the little robotic lizard crouched in place, red light beaming. Then he looked back at the doorway, which was empty. He faced the woman. The muzzle end of Minho’s weapon hovered just inches from her head.
“How many of you are there?” Thomas asked her. “Are there more coming?”
She didn’t respond at first, but Minho leaned forward until his gun was actually touching her cheek.
“There’re at least fifty on duty,” she said quickly.
“Then where are they?” Minho asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t lie to me!” Minho shouted.
“We… Something else is going on. I don’t know what. I swear.”
Thomas looked at her closely and saw more than just fear in her expression. Was it frustration? She seemed to be telling the truth. “Something else? Like what?”
She shook her head. “I just know that a group of us were called to a different section, that’s all.”
“And you have no idea why?” Thomas threw as much doubt into his voice as possible. “I have a hard time believing that.”
“I swear it.”
Minho grabbed her by the back of the shirt and pulled her to her feet. “We’ll just take the nice lady here as a hostage, then. Let’s go.”
Thomas stepped in front of him. “Brenda needs to lead-she knows the way around this place. Then me, then you and your new friend, then Newt in the rear.”
Brenda hurried to stand beside Thomas. “I still don’t hear anybody, but we can’t have long. Come on.” She peeked into the hallway, then slipped out of the room.
Thomas took a second to wipe his sweaty hands on his pants, then gripped the Launcher and followed her. She turned right. He heard the others fall in behind him; a quick glance showed that Minho’s captor was running along, too, looking none too happy with the threat of an electric bath just inches away.