Gunner Skale by James Dashner Read Free Book Online Page A

this a prison?” Thomas asked; he dug in the darkness of his thoughts, trying to find a crack to his past.
    “Done asked four questions, haven’t ya?” Newt replied. “No good answers for ya, not yet, anyway. Best be quiet now, accept the change—morn comes tomorrow.”
    Thomas said nothing, his head sunk, his eyes staring at the cracked, rocky ground. A line of small-leafed weeds ran along the edge of one of the stone blocks, tiny yellow flowers peeping through as if searching for the sun, long disappeared behind the enormous walls of the Glade.
    “Chuck’ll be a good fit for ya,” Newt said. “Wee little fat shank, but nice sap when all’s said and done. Stay here, I’ll be back.”
    Newt had barely finished his sentence when a sudden, piercing scream ripped through the air. High and shrill, the barely human shriekechoed across the stone courtyard; every kid in sight turned to look toward the source. Thomas felt his blood turn to icy slush as he realized that the horrible sound came from the wooden building.
    Even Newt had jumped as if startled, his forehead creasing in concern.
    “Shuck it,” he said. “Can’t the bloody Med-jacks handle that boy for ten minutes without needin’ my help?” He shook his head and lightly kicked Thomas on the foot. “Find Chuckie, tell him he’s in charge of your sleepin’ arrangements.” And then he turned and headed in the direction of the building, running.
    Thomas slid down the rough face of the tree until he sat on the ground again; he shrank back against the bark and closed his eyes, wishing he could wake up from this terrible, terrible dream.





JAMES DASHNER is the author of the
New York Times
bestselling Maze Runner series, as well as the Mortality Doctrine series, the 13th Reality series, and two books in the Infinity Ring series:
A Mutiny in Time
and
The Iron Empire
. He was born and raised in Georgia but now lives and writes in the Rocky Mountains. You can learn more about James and his books at jamesdashner.com or follow @jamesdashner on Twitter.