A/N: Hiya Everybody. Sorry it's been a while. I had the chapter ready and everything but completely forgot to upload it! I hope you forgive me :) Anyway, Chapter 4, here we go!
Chapter 4
I lay against Newt's shoulder for a few hours waiting for everyone to fall asleep. He is warm and safe and I'm almost reluctant to move. However in the early hours of the morning, when the sun is just rising, I pull my head away gently and get up. Keeping quiet, I step over Teresa's body and walk up the rubble to see where we are. Listening carefully for the faint noise of any Cranks, I watch for anything that will alert them to my presence. Once I am satisfied that they have gone, I lean on a nearby wall looking out at the scene in front of me.
It's a city.
Well, what's left of a city. My mind flicks back to the video, WICKED showed us. Towns, Cities, entire countries being wiped out by the flare. I guess with no-one around all the building fell into dis-repair. Focusing in on one building in particular, I see that the upper floors have crumbled into each other leaving huge holes and plenty of rubble littering the bottom ones. This would have been a sight, before the flare. Huge towering buildings, reaching far up into the sky. Higher than the maze walls. And no sand. That's probably a side effect of the Scorch. Fires, and deadly sun rays, the video said. How did anyone survive it? Closing my eyes, I search through my sketchy memories to see if I have any from before the Scorch. Trying to push through the fog of the memory wipe, I see a few flashes of green. Grass, I think. I'm happy. Playing. I smile at the happy feeling encompassing me.
'Am I interrupting?' I open my eyes and turn to see Thomas making his way over. I smile.
'No, just trying to remember life before all of this.' I say, gesturing to the ruined city in front of us.
'You can do that?' He questions curiously.
'A little bit.' I shrug. 'It's like, getting stung, gave me an opening into my memories. I've been having flashes ever since.'
'Like with Janson?' He asks, now leaning against the wall next to me. 'You said, you remembered him training you.'
I nod a little. 'Most of that, I remembered back in the Glade after the Griever. But when I saw him, he looked familiar. I knew I has seen him before, but couldn't place his face. I kept trying to find it, and finally I did. I watched as he taught me how to shoot, how to make fires, how to live off the land, that kind of thing. I didn't connect the dots til we saw him with Ava. Then I knew. It was him. He was WICKED.'
'You had suspicions before?'
'Didn't you?' I chuckled looking at him. He nods gently.
'It was all too convenient. How they turned up as soon as we got out.' He says shaking his head.
I sigh. 'I really wanted it to be true. I almost bought it. Seeing all those other kids. I almost…' Shaking my head I say, 'That would be too easy, wouldn't it?'
Thomas laughs dryly. 'Tell me about it. Do you think you could show me? How to remember?'
I smile, nod and sit on the floor cross-legged. Thomas copies me and sits opposite. 'Close your eyes. Think back to what you remembered when you were stung. Try and flesh out those memories first.'
'I'm sat at that control panel. Teresa is opposite me.' He says quietly, his brows furrowing.
'Okay, what happened next?' I push.
'Ava's behind me. She's putting her hand on my shoulder, telling me to come with her.' I nod, not saying anything, trying to keep him in the moment. 'She's congratulating me? Saying that the trials are working better than expected, thanks to me; to my suggestion of training someone, and letting them start things off.' I close my eyes at this. Tommy had said before that he is the reason I was put in first. His eyes open slowly. 'It's my fault. You going in was my fault.' I take a quick breath before replying.
'Tommy, without that training, I wouldn't have survived that first month in the Glade. I would've died. And they probably would have sent Alby up anyway. Then Alby would have been on his own. You probably saved my life without even realising it.' Tommy looks up at me, with unshed tears in his eyes. 'Look at you, protecting us all from within WICKED. A regular double agent.' I tease with a smile, poking his cheek. He laughs and bats my hand away.
'Yeah alright.' He chuckles, standing up.
'Try and get some sleep, okay.' I state, as he walks back to the others.
'Yes Mum.' He jokes before lying down and closing his eyes. I probably should try as well. Getting up, I take one last look at the deserted city before walking back to the other. Before I can lay down however, Winston's whimpers alert me to his pain. Going to sit beside him I brush his hair from his sweaty forehead.
'Deep breaths, Winston.' I whisper quietly. He takes my advice and his breathing slows back to a normal pace. Leaning back against a rock, I keep stroking his head. I guess sleep, is a foreign concept right now. Resting my head, I close my eyes and focus on the group's soft breaths, and the sound of the wind rushing through the buildings below.
'Hey! Get out of here!' A loud voice, pulls me from my sleep. I blink awake, to see Thomas shooing a crow away from his pack. My hand is still on Winston's forehead, which has got increasingly clammy and hot. I look over at Newt who is smiling slightly at the sight. I smile back before getting up and stretching.
'Are they gone?' Newt asks me. I look around and listen carefully.
'Yeah, I think we're safe for now.' I say quietly, not wanting to attract more attention. I smirk slightly at Newt's tousled hair. 'It's cute,' a small voice in the back of my head says. It's not lying. Newt notices me staring and tries to flatten it down. This make me giggle even more. Thomas has gotten up now and is slinging his pack on.
'Okay, we should get moving. Let's pack it up. Aris, come on. Fry, Winston. Let's go.' I help Teresa up from the corner she was sleeping in.
'You okay?' I ask gently. She nods and begins stuffing the jumper she was leaning on back into her bag. A groan from Winston, draws my eyes to him and Fry.
'Hey, man. You okay?' Fry says before giving him a hand up. In the night, I wrapped his stomach in cloth to try and stop the bleeding. I have no idea how the Flare virus works, but I do know that stopping the bleeding, always good. After getting together we make our way back up the rubble to the spot Tommy and I were sat earlier this morning.
Reaching the wall, Newt offers his hand to help me over. I smirk at the gesture, and his cheeks redden slightly. Taking the hand before he pulls it away, I step over and mess up his hair again. He laughs and attempts to push it down. Smiling slightly, I move past him to look at the city again. With more light, I can now see that the roads are filled with broken down cars and buses as far as the eye can see. The constant barrage of sand has worn down the paintwork so some are rusty and covered in sand whilst others have broken down almost to the metal exterior.
'How long ago did this happen, do you think?' I ask Newt.
'I dunno, it must have taken years for it all to break up like this.' Walking forward I kick something metal. Picking up a shell casing, I show it to Newt.
'I bet this helped.' I can't imagine what life must have been like when people started getting infected. Widespread panic probably. Moving off the bridge we make our way down onto the road. I peer through the windows of some of the cars we pass. Entire lives packed into these small vehicles. Seeing something shining in one of them, I open the door and reach inside. Grasping hold of the object I pull it out. It's a small digital camera. Pressing the small power button on the top, I'm surprised to see the screen flash on. Pressing the small triangle button on the side, I flick through the pictures on it. A family of 5 encompass a lot of these pictures. A mother and father and 3 children, I presume. One picture in particular makes me smile. The mother and father are sitting on chairs in front of the children smiling, whilst the kids make funny faces at their parent's backs. I laugh even harder at the next picture which shows the parents turning round and laughing at their children mid face pulling. Newt comes up beside me as I show him the pictures. Flicking on, I get a sense of what this family's life was like. Happy and full of laughter. Pictures detailing barbeques and parties, all with happy smiling faces. Flicking to the next one, I notice this is a video. Instantly pressing the play button, I watch in shock.
The scene is dark and dim. Small patches of light shine through a window in the corner. As the camera pans round a dark shape moves near the wall. The camera focuses on the shape and it becomes clear. A woman is chained to the far wall. The woman from the photographs. Someone in the background is crying. A little girl.
'Mommy?' She asks quietly. The woman just twitches. 'Mommy?' She's asks again.
'Don't get to close, sweetie.' A deep man's voice says from behind the camera. You can hear he's been crying. His voice is rough and raw. The mother has her face turned away from the camera. Away from the light. The person holding the camera now speaks.
'Mom caught the flare 4 days ago.' He's young. Teenager maybe? 'We've kept her down here, in the hope she will get better. She's just been getting worse. The news has been saying that people that get infected, don't get better. That they start seeing things, turn angry; almost rabid. Maybe she'll be the first. We've heard rumours of someone starting to look for a cure. Maybe it'll be done before we catch it. But Dad says it's too late for Mom. Every report we've heard of says that in a week, they are lost. That they won't know who we are. That they will try and kill us.' A loud howling comes from the woman. The little girl starts crying again.
'Carl, take Amy upstairs.' The Dad says solemnly. 'You don't need to see this.' Shuffling feet signal that the younger two children have left.
'She makes these noises every night. We haven't slept since it got her. Mrs Bayfield next door said that Mr. B started trying to rip his limbs off. Biting and clawing at them, to break free. We can't let that happen to Mom. We can't.' The camera turns away from the woman, and shows the face of the boy holding the camera. He looks about 16. Far too young to be seeing this. Tear tracks cake his dirty face. 'We're recording this to show you why we did it, and to remind ourselves the same thing. We're leaving in the morning. We've heard talk about some sort of haven in the mountains, away from the Scorch, away from the Flare. Somewhere safe. We don't know how true these rumours are. But for Carl and Amy's sake, we have to try.' The camera now turns towards the ground, only giving us a view of the dirty basement floor.
BANG
I stare at the image on the screen. Tears flowing freely down my cheeks. Throughout the video, the others have surrounded us to watch. Pressing the next button, another video sign pops up. I look at Newt.
'Play it.' He whispers, not taking his eyes off the screen.
We're in a car now. The view in front of us is a stream of red brake lights.
'It seems like everybody else had the same idea.' The boys voice states. 'We packed up and left 3 days ago and have only made it as far as the city. The roads have been like this the whole way. Everybody is trying to get to the mountains.' A sudden CRASH and sounds of gunfire suddenly fill the air. Screams from in front of them penetrate our ears.
'Daddy, what is that?' Amy cries from the back of the car. We see people getting out their cars and running past us, trying to escape…something.
'Everybody out!' The dad shouts. The camera is shut off, but not before we see hordes of Cranks running towards the family.
Shaking, I flick to the next image. It's back to the start. That's the last entry. I try to take a deep breath but it comes out shaky and soft.
'So that's what we're facing.' Thomas says after a minute of standing in silence. He walks off followed by the others leaving Newt, Teresa and I still standing. Teresa gave me a look full of meaning and left.
'I always thought not being able to remember was a curse. Maybe it's for the best.' Newt whispers beside me. I nod numbly, before putting the camera in my bag and trailing after the others. A hand works its way into mine as we walk. I'm grateful. He's almost holding me up, just by that small touch.
Doubt flickers through me as we walk. Did we do the right thing? How many other families are suffering like that one? I quickly shake these thought from my head. Nothing is worth draining an entire generation of their blood for a cure. As harsh as it sounds, I refuse to become that cure. I am a human being, who has been put through hell, trying to live. And I am sure as hell going to do that. I refuse to become part of the machine. I won't.
Making our way past a fallen bridge, I speed up to walk next to Aris. He acknowledges me with a timid smile.
'That's twice you've saved my life now, you know.' I say quietly so only he and Newt can hear me. He looks at me confused. 'Back in the centre. The Crank in front of the escalator. You stood in front of me, and then took that thing down. Thank you.' He smiles more broadly this time.
'Any of the others would have done it.'
'The others have known me a lot longer than you have.' I reason.
'You and Thomas got me out. I owe you.' He says quietly looking at the floor.
'Not any more you don't.' I smile wrapping my free arm round his shoulder and squeezing. 'Welcome to the family.' He chuckles at this, but grins nonetheless. He then turns to look at me again.
'You said twice?' His brows furrow. I smile gently.
'Back in the facility, if you hadn't gone to open that door, Janson would have got us. All of us. And if you hadn't noticed something weird going on, before we even got there, it would have taken Thomas and I too long to figure it out. We all would be in that room. Just like the others. We wouldn't have stood a chance. Getting you out was the least we could do.' Squeezing his shoulder again, we continue to walk.
Making it past the huge traffic jam we pass over a bridge. I step up to the side at look over to see more traffic below. Looking further up, I can see another bridge, in which a train has derailed and gone off the side. I look at Newt, 'How many people died, just trying to get out of the city?' He squeezes my hand. This isn't an answer but it'll do.
About midday, we reach another built up area. This is even more derelict than the first. Entire buildings have crumbled to the ground leaving nothing but dust, sand and rubble. A walkway goes right through the middle of this section. Cars and rubble are pushed up towards the side making a clear path for us to walk on. Something at the back of my brain is telling me to get off the road, but ignore this and carry on moving.
'What the hell happened to this place?' Frypan asks from up front.
'I don't know. It doesn't look like anyone's been here in a long time.' Newt answers, looking over to me. I nod in agreement and keep looking around. My senses are on high alert, but I don't want to let on to the others. No point in worrying them for no reason.
'I hope the whole world's not like this.' Aris says dejectedly. I can see where he is coming from. Everywhere we have seen so far, has been desert or broken, derelict city. A low rumbling catches my attention and I stop sharp.
'What is it?' Newt asks quickly.
'Do you hear that?' I whisper. It sounds almost like a machine. A car or a plane or a helicopter! My eyes dart to the skies.
'Hang on, stop.' Thomas says, trying to focus in on the sound.
'You hear it too?' I whisper. He nods ever so slightly. The sound gets louder and louder.
'Get down! Everybody, hide! Hide! Hide!' I say pushing Newt towards a covered area to our left. Pushing him in, I check to see if everybody else is in before I crouch in myself. Just as I duck down a huge aircraft flies overhead. It is followed by two smaller helicopters. I think it is obvious who they belong to.
'Oh, shit.' Newt whispers from beside me.
'They're never gonna stop looking for us, are they?' Minho says to me. I shake my head slowly. I doubt it. I don't get it though. Why us? Why are we so important? There were hundreds of kids going through that facility according to Aris. Why follow us? Because we escaped? They aren't looking for the ones the Right Arm took? Using my arm to push myself back up again I feel the stitches in my arm break.
'Shit,' I whisper as blood starts to soak into my sleeve. Placing my bag on the floor, I reach in and rip a piece of cloth from an extra shirt I found in the shopping centre. Newt kneels down next to me and takes it from me. Wrapping it tightly round my arm, he doesn't say a word.
'You okay?' I ask him quietly. He nods, before standing up and offering his hand. I take it and stand up as well. I give him a small smile which he returns. Zipping up my bag, I throw it back on and catch up with the others.
Moving slightly quicker than we were before, in open spaces, the niggling in my head recedes back. We climb up several huge rockslides to progress on through the city. I try to keep an eye on Winston as his face gets greyer and his breathing gets heavy. Putting my hand on his shoulder, I say 'If you need a break…' He shakes his head before I can finish.
'We need to keep moving.' He whispers, between each heavy breath. Nodding my head, I throw a worried glance at Newt. Standing at the bottom of one particularly big hill, I push ahead and whisper to Newt, 'Can you stay behind Winston? Just in case.' He smiles at the familiar phrase before nodding.
'Everyone good?' Tommy calls from behind me. Reaching the top of the hill, I am faced with the sheer challenge of what we are aiming for. In front of me, is a large expanse of desert, And in the distance is a faint glimmer of the mountains. I won't say anything until we are closer. Hopefully seeing them will give a tad of a moral boost. Carefully climbing down the other side I walk underneath a huge bridge before we are faced with yet another hill, except this one is made entirely of sand. I give Minho a slight grin before pelting up the side of the hill. He laughs and follows me quickly. One step in front of the other. Move, move, move. I can hear Minho's breathing getting closer. I can see the top of the hill now.
'A little further, guys.' Thomas calls behind him. I don't look back, still focusing on the summit. I reach the top first, obviously, and look out at the horizon. The mountains are clearer now.
'You cheated.' Minho breathes heavily. I chuckle and say, 'Kira – 1, Boys – Nil.' He gives me a cheeky grin, before throwing his arm round my shoulder. I laugh before throwing it off in mock disgust.
'You're all sweaty!' He laughs as the others join us. Newt takes my hand gently as Minho says, 'Oh I see how it is. You don't throw him off you!' I roll my eyes with a smirk and focus in the horizon.
'Those mountains, that's gotta be it. That's where we're going.' I look below the mountains at the huge amount of distance we will have to travel to make it. Buildings are poking out of the sand. Whole neighbourhoods completely covered by it.
'That's a long way off.' Newt says echoing my exact thoughts.
Thomas nods. 'Then we better get moving.' Hearing Winston's breathing get heavier and heavier, I stick out an arm to stop him from toppling back down the hill. He goes to take a step forward and falls forward towards the sand. Rushing forward to grab him, I catch my arm and am thrown to the ground beside him. Pulling my arm out from underneath him, I grab his face and turn it to prevent him from breathing in any sand. Winston gasps, like he is trying to catch his breath in an oxygen free room.
'Winston! Hey, Winston!' I call, trying to get his attention. The others all rush to his side.
'Winston!' Jak shouts.
'He's hurt pretty bad.' Thomas states. No shit! I hold back from rolling my eyes at that obvious statement.
'What do we do?' Teresa says, panic creeping in to her voice.
'Shit.' Thomas stands and looks at the mountains.
'Winston. Can you hear me? It's okay.' Newt says as I stroke Winston's face trying to calm him down.
'Winston, you need to slow your breathing. Deep breathes, okay.' Standing up I say, 'I need your packs, now.' Everyone gives me their packs and I sift through trying to find anything useful. I take the rope from Newt's pack and, with Jak's help, bind together the spears we had managed to pick up on route. Using blankets and spare clothing we make a crude stretcher, than we can drag Winston along on. 'Here, move him onto this.' I say trying to stay calm. Thomas grabs his legs whilst Fry and Jak put a shoulder under each arm to lift him over. Once he is on, I say, 'Can you lift him?' Minho and Fry both take a side at the front and drag Winston along. Everyone else packs up their stuff and follows.
Making our way over the desert, I walk up in front with Thomas and Newt.
'Hang in there, Winston.' Minho whispers from behind us. We keep walking until it gets dark. We use the stretcher up the hills and the boys carry Winston down them, whilst Teresa and I carry the stretcher. We stop every couple of hours so I can check on how Winston is doing and to have a quick rest. On one of these breaks, I am beside Winston dabbing his flaming head with a wet cloth. Giving the cloth to Teresa I walk over to Thomas and Newt, who are talking by the side.
'How is he?' Thomas asks hopefully. I shake my head.
'Worse.' Newt wraps his arms around my shoulders and pulls me in for a hug. Joining my hands round his back, I breathe in his smell. 'I can't help him.' I whisper into Newt's chest.
'What?' he asks.
'I can't help him. He's going to die and there is nothing I can do about it.' I say lifting my head from his chest. I sigh and try to pull away. Newt grips on tight.
'Your right. There's nothing you can do. Don't be so hard on yourself.' I look up at him before nodding. I turn round to get my pack and notice a haze over the desert from the west.
'What is that?' I point towards it.
'I dunno,' Thomas says, 'But it's moved closer in the last 5 minutes, we need to move.' Grabbing our stuff, we head off again towards the mountains.
Turns out that haze, was a sandstorm. Wrapping my hood tightly around my face, I try to block my mouth, nose and eyes from the sand. As the boys are looking after Winston, it's up to me and Teresa to find shelter. I notice a fallen concrete post with almost a dugout underneath.
'There!' I shout pointing at it, before running towards it. We lay Winston down in the centre of the dugout, trying to protect him from the sand with our bodies. We stand there for hours waiting for the storm to die down. Eventually it does and we all sit and try and get some rest. Newt stands by the edge of the dugout, keeping watch. I doubt he can see much, but it reassures me to know he's there. Thomas and Minho are sat by the fire in silence whilst Teresa sits by herself, gripping her arms and trying not to cry. Jak and Frypan are leant up against one of the walls, fast asleep; the last few days finally catching up with them. I walk round the fire towards the sleeping pair. Bending down I tuck the blanket more tightly round them. Smiling as Jak shifts in his sleep, I finally settle beside Winston. His breathing is even faster now. I dab his head, trying to make him more comfortable. He turns his head towards me.
'I'm gonna die, aren't I.' He whispers.
'We don't know that.' I say, ignoring what my brain is telling me. He nods down to his chest.
'I do.' He says. Frowning, I lift up his shirt. His stomach had completely shed its skin. All the muscles are a sickly grey colour with blue veins sticking out of them. So much of his chest is gone I can see his heart beating. I gasp at the sight. 'Told you.' He whispers again. I stand up, needing to talk to Newt.
'I'll be right back, okay?' I walk past Newt motioning for him to follow me.
'What is it?' He asks grabbing my shaking hands.
'He's turning into one of them.' I say quickly.
'What?' He says, his face showing a mixture of confusion and horror.
'He's turning into a Crank. Is that what happens, you get bitten and you turn into one!' I run my hands through my hair. It is sticky and greasy from the heat.
'What do mean he is turning into one?' Newt says grabbing my arms and looking me dead in the eye. Before I can elaborate, a gunshot sounds from the dugout. I dart towards the noise.
'Hey!' Frypan yells.
'Guys, get down here!' Aris yells to Teresa and Thomas who are talking on top of the mountain. Running into the dugout, Frypan has a gun in his hand and Winston is crawling on the floor. I run over to Winston.
'What's going on?' Newt questions as he reaches us.
'What happened?' Teresa and Thomas have reached us now. I try to get him to calm down but he keeps moving out of my grasp.
'Winston…' I try.
'I don't know. He just woke up and grabbed the gun and then he tried to...' Frypan splutters trying to explain the previous events to the others.
'Give it back, please.' Winston groans, trying to reach for it.
'Winston, are you okay?' Thomas comes to crouch beside us. Winston suddenly jerks out of the way and retches black goo all over the sand. I recoil back from the sight before moving toward him and helping him to lie down.
'It's growing...inside me.' Winston whines as he lifts his shirt to show the others what I saw earlier. They gasp and move backwards trying to understand what is happening. I look over at Newt, before flicking my eyes to the gun in Frypan's hand. 'I'm not gonna make it.' He says finally looking at us all individually. 'Please. Please. Don't let me turn into one of those things. I can't turn into the woman from the video. I can't.' He reaches towards the gun again now. I look up at Newt feeling the tears begin to prick in my eyes. Looking towards Winston now, I lock eyes with him. 'Please Kira.' I nod my head ever so gently before holding my shaking hand out for the gun.
'Wait, Newt...'Thomas says, as Newt takes the gun from Frypan and kneels down next to us. Handing the gun to me, he puts the other hand on Winston's shoulder.
'Thank you.' Winston says softly. 'Now, get outta here.'
Squeezing my hand, Newt says, 'Good-bye, Winston.' I can feel the tears spilling onto my cheeks now. I inch backwards so Minho and Frypan can say goodbye.
Minho kneels next to Winston, not saying a word. Everything that he needs to say, he says using his eyes. 'Go.' Winston says gently.
I look up at Teresa who is giving Thomas and I identical looks. I'm guessing she told him she wants to go back to WICKED. Jak is stood behind her, not sure what to do. I nod at him, and he comes forward. He kneels down next to Winston and squeezes his shoulder.
'Keep strong, Jak.' Winston whispers. Jak smiles, turns and leaves. Thomas' eyes lock with Winston's. 'It's okay.' He tells him.
'I'm sorry.' Thomas whispers holding back tears. He turns to look at me. I shake my head.
'I'll join you in a minute.' Thomas nods his head and leaves. It's just Winston and I now. I shuffle back towards him and stroke his hair from his eyes.
'We made it out.' He whispers. The tears are cascading down my cheeks now.
'I'm so sorry.' I whisper. 'You made it out. It wasn't supposed to end like this. You saved me. If you had gone first through that door, it'd be me lying there right now.'
'Guess I did something right then.' Winston whispers, a small smirk making it onto his face. I give him a watery smile. 'You look after them, okay.'
I nod, not being able to get any more words out.
'You better give that to me.' He whispers nodding to the gun. I shake my head.
'I'm not letting you die alone.' I whisper.
'Kira…' He starts. I shake my head and stroke back his hair again.
'Close your eyes. Think back to the Glade. To the grass. And the trees. And the laughter.' A smile works its way onto his face. A genuine smile, not one tinged with pain. 'Think about the parties, the bonfires, the alcohol.' I finish with a laugh. Winston is full on beaming now. I lean the gun against his head. His eyes stay closed, and the smile stays in place. 'Goodbye,' I whisper.
BANG
Letting my hand drop to his neck, I feel for any signs of a pulse. When I feel none. I stand up, collect my things and leave the dugout. I walk past Thomas, and Frypan. Past Teresa and Aris. Past Minho and Jak. Past Newt. I keep walking, without looking at any of them in the eye.
That night we sit around a campfire, not saying a word. Aris comes in from collecting wood, and sits down beside me.
'I thought we were supposed to be immune.' Minho says finally.
'Not all of us, I guess.' Teresa states.
'If Winston can get infected... we should assume so can the rest of us.' Newt tries to catch my eye, but I can't look at him. I can't look at any of them.
'I never thought I'd say it...' Frypan starts. 'I miss the Glade.' At this, I get up and walk away from the fire. I hate to admit it, but I do too.
Leaning against a log, I sit back and close my eyes. I would say it's because I'm tired, but it's really to stop myself crying again. I open my eyes when a familiar presence comes and sits next to me.
'You get why I did it, right?' I say quietly.
'Same reason you did it for Hank.' He states, curling an arm round my shoulders. I nod.
'I couldn't let him die alone.' My voice cracks and I almost lose my composure but I reel it in. 'Not out here.'
Newt squeezes my shoulder pulling my head into the crease of his neck. 'Frypan didn't mean it you know. He was just letting off steam.' I nod gently.
Focusing on the pattern on his scarf, I whisper, 'Did we make a mistake, escaping the maze?' Newt reels back his head to look at me.
'Are you kidding?' He says sharply. 'We were dead in there.'
'We're dead out here.' I say dejectedly.
'Stop it.' He snaps. 'Don't be stupid. In there, we were gonna die, no matter what. Out here, we at least have a chance. Out here, were free.' I mull over what he says. He's right, obviously. Kira - 1, Boys - 1, I think begrudgingly.
'Yeah I know.' I say. 'I wish we had an option in which no-one dies.' He chuckles.
'That would be too easy.' He says. Sighing, I pull myself in close to Newts chest. His arms tighten around me and for the first time, since we entered the Scorch, I feel completely safe.
'When was the last time you slept properly?' Newt whispers.
I think back to the last time I got more than an hours sleep. 'Probably the Glade.' I say, shocked it has been so long. Newt pulls away and stands up. Grabbing my hands he pulls me up as well. He takes off the red scarf from around his neck and wraps it snugly round mine.
'Better?' He asks with a grin. I giggle at his expression.
'Better.' Taking my hand we walk back to the campfire, hopefully to get some sleep.
Chapter 4, done! Hope you all enjoyed.
I had several guest reviews for the last chapters.I don't know if it's the same guest or what but they seem to like it, so thank you guest 'that writes only in capitals'.
Hanna: I'm glad your enjoying. I'm loving writing it!
MisfitMadhatter: The answer to your question is my command! XD
Spoonie: Sorry it took so long. I'm also very impatient so I know what that's like! Also where did you get your name from? I'd love to know.
IoOhio: Well i'm glad that you can read it again and again, without it getting boring! Hopefully this new chapter will do it justice!
I'll upload another chapter very soon as an apology for being late! Look out for that later this month!
Have a great week.
Zoe xx
