black veil ◦ scorch trials || thomas

20.

TWENTY ; MASKS OFF

     "The last time we spoke, you gave me the coordinates of every single WICKED compound, trial and lab."

     She couldn't get the words out of her head even if she tried. They echoed through her mind, rattled her to the core. But along with the ever-present phrase, came guilt. Because Thomas had helped the Right Arm in attempting to take down WICKED, while she had only been working against them.

     Evan swallowed thickly. All the shame from before was starting to resurface again. The guilt and the regret. She thought she had finally gotten rid of it, gotten over it all – but it seemed as though it had all been merely temporary.

     Thomas had helped WICKED. He himself forgot what he had done, but he was a damn good guy with a heart of gold and Evanna mentally scolded herself. Because he was the type of boy she had dreamt of spending her time with, and now that she was, all she did was judge him for every little mistake he made... while she was no better.

     The girl followed the woman, whose name she found out was Mary, and Thomas into a large tent. Together with Jorge, Evan carried Brenda to a small bed and gently laid her down. Brenda's heavy and raspy breathing was unsettling, but Mary only offered Evan a smile before telling Thomas to take a seat on the bed across.

     They needed his blood. Thomas' blood held the cure and Evan let out a deep breath as she sat down beside Brenda, her hand on her bandaged wrist, because she was going to be okay. Brenda and her were going to be fine and Evanna felt as though she could properly breathe again for the first time in days.

     Mary turned to face them, holding up a small syringe. She smiled at both Evan and Thomas and kindly asked, "So, who will be the donor?"

     The relief was short-lived. Evan frowned, unintentionally shared a puzzled glance with Thomas, and shook her head at Mary. "W-What do you mean?"

     "There's an enzyme, once separated from the blood stream, it can serve as a powerful antidote," Mary explained briefly as she gently shook a small vial. "So, who's volunteering, you or Thomas?"

     Thomas cut in before Evanna could. "I am. She can't be... a crank bit into her wrist. It hasn't healed since."

     Mary's eyebrows drew together, creating creases on her forehead. She turned to Evan with a tilted head, her hands held out. "Show me your wrist."

     Evan carefully unwrapped the dirty cloth and placed her arm in Mary's hands. She watched carefully as the woman removed the last part of the bandage. From the corner of her eye, she could see Jorge and Thomas both lean in closer. Evanna held her breath as Mary softly gasped.

     "No wonder it hurt," she murmured, reaching behind her and grabbing a small bottle with a brown liquid inside. She looked up at Evan. "It's infected – badly."

     Evan felt her stomach coil, because Mary said nothing after that. She didn't tell Thomas to hold out his arm so she could extract blood, didn't ask how long the bite had been there. All the woman commented on was the infection. And Evanna felt light-headed for a reason she couldn't explain.

     "W-What, but – ?"

     "Wait, that's all?" Thomas interjected as he scooted closer. "Just infected?"

     "With the Flare?" Evan questioned, needing to hear what she already suspected.

     Mary shot the girl a confused look. She shook her head. "Evanna... you don't have the Flare. Your wound just never healed right because it wasn't cleaned."