𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐅 𝐀 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 - 𝘋𝘌𝘈𝘛𝘏 𝘊𝘜𝘙𝘌

2 ~ hide and seek

Newt

I could feel myself getting sicker by the minute. It made me wonder if I would even make it to Denver before I died. I guess it didn't really make a difference; the whole point was to not be around people, in case I hurt them by accident.

I've been walking for hours, with no breaks. At this point I was stumbling along on pure adrenaline. I couldn't feel the pain in my chest and head anymore, although I knew it was there. I had rolled up my sleeves to prevent sweating, and my Crank bite was visible. It was getting worse. The veins in my arm surrounding the wound were getting to be a darker, almost green color.

It should have scared me. It didn't; I was prepared. The veins reminded me of the ones the Gladers would get when they were Stung by Grievers back in the Maze. Hm. Perhaps that was what WICKED was doing. Giving us doses of the Flare virus when we got Stung to see our reactions to it.

I climbed over a fallen tree, and sighed. How long have I been traveling? Five hours? Ten? Twenty, if I was lucky. All I knew was that I was nowhere near Denver. It would take me days to get there. Maybe I should have taken one of the Jeeps... no. I would never be a burden to the Right Arm. Never again.

I wondered what time it was. It was pitch black; so much so that I was surprised that I could see the ground below me. Maybe that was something about becoming a Crank; your senses become heightened. It would make sense since I was practically turning into an animal.

And, like an animal, I was becoming ravenously hungry. I would lose my mind if I didn't eat something soon. So, I did what I thought a normal human would do; I found a long stick and sharpened the end. At this point, I was regretting not bringing any supplies, such as a knife or matches. Oh, well. I began to hunt. As well as I could, anyway. After many hours, I was able to snag a rabbit, but it was only because it was stuck in some brambles and wasn't able to run away. I felt awful about the kill, but I had to eat to keep myself going.

I wanted to make a fire, but I also couldn't afford to stop moving. I looked down at the dead rabbit in disgust. I hated what I was about to do, but on the other hand, I was so hungry, nothing could stop me from sinking my teeth into the raw rabbit. The worst part was that it wasn't even bad. In fact, it was delicious.

Well, I suppose that made things easier, if I didn't even have to cook what I ate. It also saved me time; I could continue traveling without any stops. I didn't plan to rest at all during the journey, because what was the point? I had no reason to stay healthy while my body was deteriorating by the minute.

At least I enjoyed my surroundings while I hiked. All I could see was the color green, which was refreshing given that there was a large stretch of desert just miles away. Occasionally, I would encounter the river as it twisted into my path, and I would have to cross it with logs or rocks. The forest was alive with noise; birds, bugs, and small creatures accompanied me, making me feel as if I wasn't alone.

I imagined myself in this very forest, many decades ago. There would be an intact civilization much closer than Denver. Perhaps I was out on a hike, and when I returned home, I would have a mother who greeted me at the door with a hug and freshly-baked brownies. Then I would go out to our backyard to find my dad mowing the lawn, and once he was finished, we would throw the football around until dinner was ready. My sister would come outside and set the table. We would pray before we ate, grateful for the meal, and grateful that I arrived home safely. Midway through our meal, there would be airplanes flying in a V-shape overhead, and dad would explain that they were preparing for the airplane show tomorrow, and that he had bought us all tickets.

I was so caught up in the fantasy that I didn't even realize that night had fallen again, and that the hum of the airplanes I thought I imagined was actually there in reality. For the first time in hours, I froze. My heightened senses told me that there was in fact an aircraft in the sky nearby, and it was heading for me. I looked up.

Sure enough, I spotted the silhouette of a Berg sailing through the air. There was a light shining from it down on the forest below. They were searching for something.

This Berg could have come from two places; a WICKED facility, or the Right Arm camp. I had no wish to be found by either of those, so I began to run. Leaping over stumps and rocks that I could only sense, I mindlessly tried to escape the light.

This was ridiculous, of course. The Berg was much faster than I was, and the light was on me moments later. I froze again, in hopes that I would be mistaken as a tree or something. For a moment, I thought it had worked, since the light slid right over me. But then the Berg slowed down midair, and the light was back on me. The Berg began circling.

My only option was to run again, and try to find a place to hide until the people in the Berg had no choice but to leave. I was lucky that it didn't have a good place to land. I could hear the Berg get closer and closer to the ground. I had no idea what they would do to capture me, but I knew I couldn't let them.

Today must be my lucky day, because I could hear the river again. There had to be some kind of hiding spot near the river. There had to be. The thing was, the river sounded louder. The rushing and frothing of it filled my ears; it was almost as loud as the Berg's engine.

Finally, I skidded to a stop on the riverbank, and I immediately knew why the river sounded so much louder. I was at the bottom of a waterfall, where there was foam building up and smooth stones demonstrating the power of the river; powerful enough to carve the roughness from the rocks.

There was a space between the waterfall and the rock face behind it. The perfect place to hide. I had managed to lose the Berg about a quarter of a mile back, so that bought me some time. I could still hear it though, and I could see the lights shining in the distance. I began to carefully maneuver my way behind the waterfall, making sure I didn't slip on the rocks and tumble into the water, which would be a fatal mistake.

I was able to catch my breath when I slipped behind the curtain of water, out of sight from the Berg's spotlight. I could see the reflection of the light dancing through the water. It lingered for a second, spinning once around the area before moving on. I released a relieved breath.

Somehow, I knew that Berg hadn't come from WICKED. I knew exactly who was on that aircraft: Lottie, Minho, Frypan... Jorge too, because who else could fly one of those? Which meant that they had found my letter, and deliberately gone against my wishes. I sighed. As if I expected anything different.

This meant that they were probably going to miss the WICKED raid, and their opportunity to fly to the Safe Haven. I prayed that they would give up looking for me soon and go back to the Right Arm. I wanted them to get the freedom and safety they deserved.

I had difficulty imagining Lottie's disappointed face as they lost sight of me, and Minho's anger. He would probably flip a table, if there was one up there. Well, they would have to get used to disappointment, since I wasn't going anywhere with them. I was done putting them in danger. 

A/N

Chapter 2!! Hope you enjoy this book so far! Make sure you vote

- golden habit