black veil ◦ scorch trials || thomas

09.

NINE ; ENDLESS SLEEP

     It was a weird contraption. She had never anticipated for it to work, let alone hold a weight like Winston's, but it did. And Evan felt more than relieved when the stretcher-like thing allowed the wounded boy to lie down and rest as the others – herself included – took turns to pull him forward, across the seemingly never-ending sandbox.

     With her hood pulled over her hair and a stray scarf covering her mouth and nose, Evan adjusted her grip on one of the wooden sticks and squinted her eyes, trying to see past the blizzard they had managed to get themselves into. And for the second time, she found herself focusing on the barely visible figure of Thomas.

     Occasionally, Evanna looked over her shoulder to spare Winston a glance, making sure he was okay and still with them. Sometimes she would get a lazy smile in return, other times the boy didn't notice her glances.

     She was getting weary. Her good arm was aching, begging for a break, but Evan ignored it. Or more so, she tried to ignore it. The burning in her wrist had somewhat lessened, though sometimes the pain would occur like the hot flashes she got under her dark clothing; there one second, gone the next.

     Her eyes were fully shut as the force of the blizzard worsened, picking up sand and bringing it to new places. One of those places being her eyes. She felt the grain hit her face, get stuck in her hair and she felt it securing itself in the creases of her clothing. Evan kept her mouth shut no matter how much she wanted to share her suggestion of getting out the small sand-storm.

     And she was thankful Thomas had the same idea, as she heard his voice from not too far away. It was barely audible due to the strong wind, and it seemed as though it was being carried away, but she could still hear it. By the grunt behind her, Evan knew Winston had, too.

     "We have to find shelter!"

     There was a tap on her shoulder. Evan peeked through one eye and glanced at the culprit, seeing Aris gesture for her to step aside. She shot him a thankful smile, in spite of knowing he couldn't see it because of the scarf. So she nodded, waited until Aris had ahold of the stick and stepped aside, though she never strayed far from Winston's side.

     Evanna kept an eye on him, worry sinking into her stomach whenever she saw him gasp, and relief making itself known whenever he would breathe evenly and his eyes were closed but moving. The girl had draped a thin sweater over him, a shirt wrapped around his neck and pulled up to cover both his nose and mouth.

     Although the boy was lying out the wind, Evan still felt obliged to make sure no sand could get in uncomfortable places, or get into his airways. She wanted to make sure that with what he was going through, dying from fixation would not be the end for him.

     It was like she was struck with solace upon seeing the vague outlines of ruins of a building that once must have stood proudly, though now was nothing but a few blocks. Evan let out a breath as she saw Thomas change his course towards the broken building. Unconsciously, she spared a glance in Winston's direction, seeing his eyes flicker and his hands clench into fists had her all the more worried.

     It didn't take long for the group to find good spots within the ruins to hide from the sand. They had placed Winston behind a steep hill, and used the stone around them to shelter themselves.

     Dropping to her knees, Evan knelt down beside Winston and rummaged through her knapsack, taking out the container of water and new rags of sorts. She removed the fabrics around his neck and the one covering his mouth and nose, smiling softly as Winston gasped audibly, his own lips twitching at the fresh air.