The Variable → The Scorch Trials

CHAPTER FIVE

When Amelia awoke, her skin was on fire. It was as though someone had covered her in gasoline, threw a match at her and left her to burn. As soon as she could gather herself, she opened up her backpack, grabbing one of the hoodies and putting it on to cover as much of her bare flesh as possible. 

She looked out at the sky, it was still barely light out but she couldn't sleep anymore, she had to keep walking. She still hadn't seen the boy who had Emmie, let alone even a sign he had been in the Scorch, her best bet would likely be at the safe haven, after all, they would all reach it eventually. Still, she took her time preparing to enter the hell of the scorch.

Amelia took a bite of one of her cereal bars, popped in an antibiotic and followed it all down with barely an iota of lukewarm water. Better, she thought to herself. The cereal bar was stale, but the bite was enough to settle her stomach or a moment.  The distraction of her stomach rumbling  had died down and it seemed cool enough that she wouldn't pass out as soon as she stepped into the scorch. She looked out of the building towards the mountain range, glad she could still see it in the distance. Despite the overall situation being an utter mess, the things she could control were now controlled. 

She jumped up to her feet, looking out at the city, it was still deserted. No cranks. No people. Nothing. Both directions looked the exact same and had it not been for the mountain range in the north, Amelia would have been utterly lost all over again..

With a groan, she hoisted herself out of the broken building and down to the ground, landing awkwardly as her feet hit the uneven sand. Looking up at the mountains, she began her journey towards them, manouvering herself around the falling buildings as she made her way deeper into the city.

She already felt better as she amde her way. Although she had barely eaten any of the cereal bar, the bite of carbohydrate goodness had given her energy. She could feel the sugar dancing through her veins, powering her legs to press forwards even when they didn't want to. Her sip of water too seemed to have an effect, it hurt far less every time she swallowed, her only pain stemming from her slowly healing wound. 

Amelia barely made a dent in her journey before something happened that made her question everything- it rained. Sweet, blissful rain, pouring down on her from the heavens. She laughed as it kissed her skin, glad to have something other than the extreme hot or cold.

"Holy shit!"

Amelia's first thought was water, she reached into her bag, gulping down the remains from her water bottle before holding it up to the sky, smiling as she heard each drop of rain collide with the metal bottom. Quickly, she became drenched, in a mix of sweat and rain, her clothes became heavy, sticking to her body. She raised her arms, squirming awkardly as she lifted her left shoulder, but smiling nonetheless.  

Oh how she had missed the rain. It had come almost every single day inside the Glade, it had been their enemy, a force that stopped the Runners from running, the Gardeners from gardening, a force that stopped the Glade from being able to function. But here, Amelia welcomed it with open arms. It was just what she had neeeded. After her encounter all those hours ago, it felt as though it truly was a new day, one that was already turning out far better than only yesterday.

Somehow Amelia found herself with a spring in her step, almost forgetting about where she was, and letting herself get lost in the rainy heaven. She opened up her mouth, letting the rain crash against her tongue, smiling as she felt her body return to almost normal levels of hydration. Everything already felt clearer, her stomach had some food in it, now she had water, she had managed to meet her most desperate needs all in the space of a few hours.

By the time her water bottle had filled up, the rain got stronger. She closed her bottle, dropping it awkwardly into the side of her backpack, before moving herself closer to a row of buildings; she needed some kind of cover, there was no way she could carry on her journey in this downpour, she would never make it anywhere, let alone in one piece. Her clothes were soaked, weighing down every step she took and clinging to her skin in a way that made her squirm. She barely made it a few steps before the rain begun to hurt, stinging as each heavy droplet collided with her skin.

Droplet after droplet smacked against her, colliding with her bullet wound as she screamed out in pain. Stumbling, Amelia made her way to a building, clambering around the sides until she spotted a gap in the framework, but it was too high, she would never be able to jump that. Shit.

She stumbled forwards, edging closer to the next building, reaching it just as she heard a bang that caused her heart to skip a beat. "Oh god." It was only getting worse. She turned to see lightning, not the kind you could admire from afar, not the kind that was pretty to look at, but the kind that was close enough to strike her down with just one hit. She watched as the jagged white lights slammed into the ground, lifting the scorched air and throwing it like a ragdoll, that could be me, she trembled in her skin. Every strike felt as though it was getting closer, each crushing collision slowly making her ears go numb until the crashes were no longer painful, instead just dull vibrations in her head.

White light pummeled into the scorch in front of her and Amelia let out a squeal she was glad not to hear. Soon, the lightning was followed by wind, howling wind that picked up all of the broken remains from the scorch, and sent them flying through the air until they crashed into a building. With the wind, came the dust. All of the sand from the ground, picked up by the forceful winds was now circulating in the air alongside the floating objects, obscuring Amelia's vision. The building that before, she had been able to see just a few feet away, was now invisble to her, hidden by the thick layer of sandy fog. Two out of five of her senses had been claimed by this storm, she couldn't afford for any more to go. 

As the pain seared across her body, she stumbled across to the next building, then the next, moving faster with every crash of the lightning. Just as she was about to give up and turn back to where she had managed to sleep,  she found a space she could crawl into that led her just underneath a building, barely covered from the storm, but it was as good as it would get for her.

Dropping to the ground with a wince, she threw her backpack into the small hole, crawling on her hands and knees into the cave-like hole. It was barely a metre by a metre, but right now, she knew she wouldn't make it into a building before she collapsed with pain. Sat on the ground, she lifted her hoodie back to her mouth, biting into it as each wave of pain hit her, "why the fuck did I not get painkillers? She laughed at her backpack, squirming. 

Amelia took off her layers, wringing them out into the sand before stretching them out over her backpack to dry as well as they could. She shuffled herself closer to the entrance of the hole, her bow loaded and poised in case of danger, after all, she had nowhere to retreat to now, she had boxed herself in.

She watched the storm for hours and it didn't falter. Just as she thought the lightning might have stopped, she was fiercely corrected by a violent crash into the sand, a crash she couldn't hear, but could see the vicious white light through the heavy fog. Through the fog, she watched each crash of lightning, each one seeming somehow more violent by the last, she watched as the lightning struck against a flying door, jumping as she saw the explosion come off of it.

The rain continued to fall, having no mercy. It was as though the ocean had been sucked up and spit back out, it was never ending. Although Amelia could barely hear it, she could still see it falling in torrents. If the ground had been anything other than sand, Amelia would fear it to flood, but the sand seemed to almost repell every drop of water that collided with it. Still, Amelia found a small sense of comfort in shuffling to the back of the hole until she felt the wall against her bare, soaked skin. 

She sat for hours, looking out at the storm. It was as though she was watching a film on repeat: wind, crash, lightning, rain, over and over again, stopping for nothing and no one. Slowly, she felt some of her hearing begin to return in her left ear. Pausing her breathing, she could feel the vibrations of the rain against her body and then minutes later, she could hear the faint hum. Then came the lightning, each crash sounding like a penny crashing against metal, but still, it was something. She could feel the vibrations of the storm, and with one ear, she would now be able to hear once it stopped, as soon as it did, she would have to make a move, her deadline was fast approaching.

Amelia turned her body to the side, tuning in to the sound of the storm. She heard the rain as it hit the roof of the buildings, the lightning as it struck down on the scorch, and the howl of the wind. And then, as if her own ears were playing tricks on her, Amelia could have sworn she heard a scream, a scream so loud it could have only come from one thing - another human.