The Hooded Girl

Chapter 5: The Scorch

RHEA'S POV
We hide till morning. Most of the group slept, and Minho and I had to drag them out onto the sand outside, a place well sheltered but not in that building.

"You gonna sleep?" Minho asks.

I shake my head. "I'll watch. You sleep. Thanks, though."

Minho flashes me a charming smile and then stretches out against the wall behind him, falling asleep in seconds.

When morning arrives, Thomas is the one who wakes everyone up.

"Hey! Hey, get lost!" He shouts at this black bird which was pecking at our food supply from in that place we were in where the Cranks had attacked.

Everyone stirs awake and I remain sitting at the rock I was at, staring out at the city.

"City" isn't the word I'd actually use. Buildings are broken and there's no one here. The sand all over the ground shows no trace of footprints and all the buildings are in disrepair with windows that don't have glass on them anymore and metal sticking out from them. Most aren't even fully standing.

I turn around when I hear all of them waking up.

"Morning," Minho says, rubbing at his eyes.

I get off the stone now, and head to Winston. I gently roll up his shirt to reveal the bandage that I had put for him yesterday while he was sleeping.

"You did that?" Winston asks, sitting up and wincing.

I nod. "Yeah. Don't tire yourself out."

"Thanks," Winston mumbles.

I know what happens here. He isn't gonna make it that far with us anymore.

"Where are we?" Harriet asks, looking around.

"Go see for yourselves," I say, nodding towards the stone I was at.

They stand up as I start unwrapping Winston's bandage. When I'm done with that, they've already come back.

"That's... messed up," Minho runs a frustrated hand through his hair.

"I hope the whole world isn't like this," Quill mutters.

I look at Winston's wound and replace the bandaging, while the rest eat. I force Winston to eat and by the time I'm done with him, everyone else has finished eating.

"Let's go," I say.

"You haven't eaten," Thomas states.

"I'll eat along the way," I say, waving off his concern.

"We were Runners," Quill explains. "We know our limits. You boys don't have to worry about us."

"You were Runners?" Newt asks, glancing at me.

"I was the leader of the whole place, Sonya was my second in command. Quill trained the girls in weapons and Rhea was leader of the Runners. She helped Quill when she could, though. Those two are experts," Harriet says as I help Winston up.

"You were leader of the Runners?" Minho asks me. "Cool."

I scowl. It wasn't cool for me. I made sacrifices. I made choices. And those choice didn't exactly bring me sunshine and rainbows.

"Not cool," Sonya points out. "Ever gotten stung by Grievers?"

"Me. Once," Thomas says. "When we tried to leave the Maze. I got stung so I'd get my memories back."

"Have any of you gotten stung more than once?" Harriet asks, and I know where this is going.

I swing my bag over my shoulder and glare at them.

"Nope. Only happens once to anyone who gets it," Newt says. "And after that, everyone turns bloody mad."

"Let's go," I say tersely, bringing the conversation to an end.

Harriet sighs and picks up a bag. "Yeah. Let's go."

~

When night time comes around, we all lay out on the sand and the rest fall asleep almost instantly after eating. I feel the throbbing in my head. My hands are shaking as I pull the pill out from my pocket and chew it down.

Then I lay there in the silence and look at the stars. I hear a shuffling sound and someone standing up. The person walks off and into the distance before he stops. I know it's a 'he' because I've memorised the sounds of the girls' footsteps.

I get up as well, and walk towards the blond. He stands alone, at least ten metres away from where the rest lie.

I approach him quietly. He looks back and notices me, though. His eyes are welcoming, not betraying any signs of distress. Or at least, that's what regular people would see. But I've been through hate, distress, fear, anxiety and most of all, depression, before. And I see all of them in his eyes, far deeper in, covered under the layers of calmness and leadership.

"What are you doing awake?" He asks, an eyebrow raised.

"I don't sleep. My mind has this ability to fear sleep and not need it," I reply, standing next to him.

"And why would you fear sleep?" Newt asks.

I let out a shaky breath. "In the Forest, I was put asleep many times. What comes from it doesn't help. The dreams."

Newt nods. "You fear your dreams. I fear my past." He hesitates for a moment, and then asks, "Do you think we'll be alright? This Right Arm sounds like a long shot, and if anything happened to my boys..."

"You know, Newt, you shouldn't blame everyone's problems on yourself," I glance up at him, brows furrowing when I see the distress in his eyes. "I see it in you, the amount of weight it's putting on you. Soon, you will break. And if you break, others will break too. They need you, Newt," I say, crossing my arms. "And they're also there for you. Just remember that."

Newt is silent, and my eyes meet his.

"How do you know?" He whispers.

I reach up to adjust my hood, a breath escaping my lips. "Because I see it in your eyes, Newt. One cannot hide from someone who's going through the same thing."

Newt runs a hand through his hair. "And what do you see?"

"Hurt, anger, fear, loss, hate and above all, the need to rest," I say easily. "To have just one peaceful night, without having to worry."

Newt keeps silent, staring at me.

"Why do you cover your face?" He asks.

"Because I need to hide myself," I find myself saying truthfully. "If anyone saw my face, I'd be exposed. I prefer staying in the shadows."