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"We better get in there," Brenda said "What if Newt’s turned dangerous?"

Thoht Without responding, he ran after Minho, entering the dark and stifling Berg All the syste, no lights, nothing

Jorge followed right at Thomas’s heels "Letbut a pile of bones and skin" He moved off in the direction of the cockpit

Brenda stood next to Tholoo fro Newt’s name somewhere deep in the ship, but the infected boy wasn’t responding A cavity see the hope out of hi toward the se and search up there This isn’t good--he would’ve been here to welcohts and air would be on" She gave Thorim look, then headed off

Thomas went down the hallway to theat a piece of paper, his face as stony as Thorew even more, and his last ounce of hope faded

"Hey," he said "What is it?"

Minho didn’t answer He just kept staring at the paper

"What’s wrong?"

Minho glanced up at him "Come see for yourself" He held up the paper in one hand while he slouched back on the couch, seeone"

Thomas walked over and took the paper from him, then flipped it over Scribbled in blackme to live with the other Cranks

It’s for the best Thanks for being my friends

Goodbye

"Newt," Tho in the air like a pronounceether The goal was to talk over what should coroup of four just stared at the floor and said nothing For sooing back really be a way to save Newt? Every part of hi to WICKED, but if he did go back, and was able to co …

Minho broke the sullen silence

"I want you three to listen to me" He took a moment to look at each one of them, then continued "Ever since we broke out of WICKED, I’ve basically gone along hatever you slintheads ended up saying we should do And I haven’t coht here, right now, I’ to do what I say And if anyone pushes back, to hell with you"

Tholad for it

"I knoe have bigger goals in ht Arure out what to do about WICKED--all that save-the-world klunk But first we’re going to find Newt This isn’t open for discussion The four of us--all of us--are flying to wherever we need to go, and we’re getting Newt out of there"

"They call it the Crank Palace," Brenda said Tho off into space "It has to be what he was talking about So, found Newt and saw that he was infected Let him leave us a note I don’t have any doubt that’s what happened"

"Sounds fancy," Minho said "You’ve been there?"

"No Every major city has a Crank Palace--a place where they send the infected and try to make it bearable for them until they reach the Gone I don’t knohat they do to them then, but it’s not a pretty place to be, no s there, and get paid a lot for it because a non-Io, we should think long and hard about it first We’re completely out of ammunition, so we’ll be unarli done You knohere the closest one is?"

"Yeah," Jorge answered "We passed over it on the way here It’s just on the far side of this valley, right up against the mountains to the west"

Minho clapped his hands once "Then that’s where we’re going Jorge, get this piece of klunk up in the sky"

Thoulad for a little adventure,up "We’ll be there in twentyHe landed the Berg in a clearing along the beginnings of a forest that stretched up the surprisingly green mountainside About half of the trees were dead, but the other half looked as if they’d just begun to recover from years of massive heat spells It made Thomas sad to think that the world would probably recover from the sun flares just fine someday, only to find itself uninhabited