Chapter 38 Chapter Thirty-Eight Cruel Satisfaction

The bowling alley has no doors at all, and judging from the thick rust on the exposed hinges, they should have been taken and disposed of long ago.A large wooden sign hangs high over the entrance, but the writing on the sign is gone, the color has long faded, and it is full of scratches. "He's inside," said the bearded guard. "Pay now." Minho walked over to the empty door, craned his neck, turned sideways at the door to look inside, then turned to look at Thomas. "I can see him in the back," Minho said with a sad face, "It's dark inside, but it's definitely him."

Thomas had been desperate to find old friends, but found he didn't know what to say to him, why did he want them to go away? "We want the money," the guard repeated. Jorge seemed unhurried. "I'll pay you twice as much if you can make sure we get us back to the Berg safely." The two guards discussed it, and then it was the short man's turn to speak: "Three times, and we will get half of it now, to show that you are not lying." "Deal, brother." Jorge touched the guards' cards with his card and started transferring money to them, and Thomas felt a cruel sense of satisfaction that they had stolen money from WICKED.

"We'll wait for you here." The guard said after transferring the money. "Come on." Minho said, and he went inside without waiting for anyone's answer. Thomas looked at Brenda, seeing her frowning. "What's the matter?" he asked, as if there was something else. "I don't know," she replied, "I just have a bad feeling." "Yes, I feel the same way." She looked at him with a half-smile and took his hand, which he was willing to do now, and they walked into the bowling alley, Jorge following. Like a lot of things since his memory was wiped, he had some impression of a bowling alley, what it was supposed to be like, how it worked, but he just couldn't remember if he had ever bowled.When they entered the house, it was a thousand miles away from what he had imagined.

The bowling lanes are now completely battered with most of the boards either ripped off or battered.It was full of sleeping bags and blankets. Some people were dozing off, and some were lying there staring at the ceiling.Brenda had told Thomas that only rich people could afford heavenly potions, so he wondered how people would have the nerve to tell people they were using heavenly potions in places like this.It won't be long, he thought, before someone will do whatever it takes to get the drug from them. There were several fires in the alcove where the bowling pins were kept, so it couldn't be safe, but at least one person was watching by the fire.The air was filled with the smell of burning wood, and the smoke in the darkness was even more suffocating.

Minho pointed to the end of the aisle on the left, about a hundred feet away.There weren't many people there, most of them gathered in the middle aisle, and Thomas recognized Newt right away, though there was little light.His long blond hair glistened in the firelight, and he could be seen in the familiar way of leaning over, his back to them. "I can't control that much anymore, try it." Thomas whispered to Brenda. They walked cautiously toward Newt, picking their way, around the maze of dozing people on the carpet, to the end of the aisle, nobody bothered them.Thomas walked, watching the road carefully.The last thing he wanted was to step on some lunatic and have him bite the thigh.

They were about ten feet away from Newt when he suddenly spoke loudly, echoing through the darkened bowling alley. "I told you bastards to go away!" Minho stopped, almost knocking Thomas down.Brenda gripped Thomas' hand tightly, then let go, and that's when he realized he was sweating profusely.Hearing what Newt said, he knew it was over.Their friend will never be the same again - only dark days ahead. "We need to talk to you," Minho said as he moved a few steps closer to Newt, stepping over a skinny woman lying on her side. "Don't come any closer," Newt replied, his voice soft but menacing, "those bastards brought me here for a reason, they thought I was a Smelly immune. Think how surprised they were to find out that the Flare virus was eating my brains. Saying they were doing their civic duty by throwing me in this rat's den."

While Minho was silent, Thomas spoke, trying not to take what Newt said seriously. "Newt, do you know why we're here? I'm sorry we kept you there and you got caught. Sorry they brought you here. But we can take you out... whoever is here Come or go, no one seems to care.” Newt turned slowly, looking at them.Seeing the boy clutching the transmitter tightly, Thomas' heart sank.He looked ragged, as if he had been running and fighting and falling off a cliff for three days.But aside from the rage in his eyes, he wasn't much of a madman. "Oh, okay," Minho said, taking a step back, he almost stepped on the woman behind him, "Calm down, don't get excited. We point the transmitter at me when we talk, it's unnecessary, right? Where the hell did you get that thing?"

"I stole it," Newt replied, "from a guard who pissed me off...." Newt's hands vibrate slightly, making Thomas tense, and the boy's finger is on the trigger. "I'm... not doing well," Newt said. "Honestly, I appreciate you guys coming to me. I mean it, but that's it. You just turn around here and walk out the door Come on, go to the Berg ship, fly away, you know what I mean?" "No, Newt, I don't understand." Minho said, his tone getting more and more frustrated, "We risked our lives to come here, you are our friend, we want to take you home. If you go crazy It's okay to whine and cry, but you have to do it with us, not with these demented people."

Newt stood up suddenly, so fast that Thomas was caught off guard, almost stumbled backwards, Newt raised the transmitter and said to Minho: "I'm a lunatic, Minho! I'm a lunatic! Why hasn't your stupid brain reacted yet? If you were infected with the Flare and knew you were going to suffer, would you let your friends stand by and watch you? Huh? Would you do that?" He almost It was the one who shouted and finished speaking, trembling more every time he uttered a word. Minho didn't say anything, Thomas knew why he was like that.He's trying to find something to say to himself, but his mind goes blank, and Newt's Flare is transferred to him.

"And you, Tommy," the boy said in a low voice, "you came here and asked me to go away with you, you have a guts, you have a guts, and it makes me sick to see you." Thomas was stunned speechless. No one could say anything more heartbreaking, really nothing.