Wicked Atmosphere | Aris Jones [2]

13 || Shelter from the Storm

The next morning, we all packed up our things and went back to heading for the mountains. It was quiet, just like yesterday's journey, after Winston took his own life. I felt bad for the others, knowing that Winston was their friend and that he was gone. The loss of a friend was painful. Maeve, Lillie, Aris, and I all knew that feeling too well. I wished we didn't have to feel it, but this was the world that we lived in where many people die all for something that might never be found: A cure for the Flare.

We walked a lot more today than we did yesterday, dragging our feet into the sand and covering our heads from the sun that was beating down on us. Eventually, we were surrounded by nothing but miles that led to nowhere, having to shelter to hide under when we needed it to. We all had our last bits of water before we chucked our water bottles onto the ground and continued walking.

I could feel almost every inch of my body beginning to burn from the sun as we kept going. My throat was longing for more water, even though I had none left. I did my best to keep it from drying out, trying to swallow as much saliva as I could, but it only made it worse. Sweat was dripping down from my face, hitting my shirt, which was now almost soaking wet, sticking to my skin.

"You okay, Piper?" Lillie asked me.

I nodded my head, coughing. "Yeah, I'm fine, thanks."

"By the time we reach the mountains, WICKED will be up there waiting for us," Maeve spat out.

"We'll get there soon, Maeve," Aris told her. "It's just gonna take us some time."

She huffed a sigh in response. "That's the problem, Aris. We don't have much time."

*******

By that night, still out in the middle of nowhere with no shelter, we crashed on the ground in a circle, using our jackets as blankets and our backpacks as pillows. The ground was uncomfortable, making me shift positions too often through the night. The wind was blowing against our bodies, making it a bit chilly, which felt good compared to the heat we had endured all day.

The sound of Thomas' voice made everyone's eyes flutter open. "Hey! Hey! Guys, get up! I see something!"

We all got up, groaning and stretching our arms. "What is it?" Minho asked.

"You see that? It's lights." He pointed at the shining lights in the distance.

"We made it," Minho stated.

"We sure did," Maeve mumbled.

All of a sudden, thunder crackled loudly behind us, making us jump. Turning around, we saw flashes of lightning in the sky and hitting the ground, along with dark clouds hovering over us.

"Let's go. We gotta go. Come on," Thomas told the rest of us as we quickly gathered our backpacks and ran towards the lights.

The lightning and dark clouds were heading our way as we ran faster, trying to get away from the storm. "It's getting closer!" Teresa shouted.

Sure enough, the lightning was hitting the ground just behind us, followed by the dark clouds drifting more our way. "Keep moving! Come on!" Thomas yelled.

While dodging the lightning, we all split up, trying to make a dash for inside the building. Maeve and I were the first to get inside, followed by Lillie. We looked back to see Minho lying on the ground, not moving at all. Thomas, Newt, and Aris went back to help him, while Frypan and Teresa ran inside the building with us. We all yelled at them to hurry up and get inside. Once we were all inside, Frypan slammed the door shut, leaving us all in the dark.

"Put him down," Thomas said.

"Watch his head," Aris spoke up.

We all took out our flashlights and shined them on Minho. "Minho!" Thomas yelled, shaking him.