The Scorching Heat

7

You had always been a good runner. You needed to be to survive out here. Outrunning the cranks was a necessary aspect to survival in the scorch, you were just lucky you were experienced.

As you ran, you found yourself chatting to Thomas who lead the bunch, and you found out that he was the one who'd been through the most.

"So tell me about this girl, Teresa was it?" You asked, curious.

"We were pretty close I think, even before our memories were wiped." Thomas explained, "We'd always had this connection, it's hard to explain."

"And you haven't seen her since you came here?" You continued prying.

"No, I met her in a warehouse. She told us to leave her... and then she...." Thomas paused.

"Go on."

"We kissed."

"Oooo." You joked, and Thomas hit you, "Ouch."

"That's a secret." He scolded, still smiling.

"Okay! Okay!" You laughed, continuing with the jog.

You'd been running for about two hours now, your joints were starting to get weary and your head was starting to ache. Running in this heat was almost unbearable, but you'd manage. You had to.

As you ran, your found your eyes lingering on Newt and how when he ran, you noticed he had the slightest limp.

"What's up with Newt?" You asked Thomas, pointing to his leg.

Thomas just shrugged, "It's always been like that I think."

"Mm." You responded, creating many theories in your head as you ran.

Your bones felt like they were about to rip from their sockets at this point. This meant you were extremely relieved when Minho shouted

"15 minute break!" He announced, slowing to a halt as he pulled his flask from the bag of his bag.

The boys collapsed in a heap on the floor. You and Minho were the only two left standing up.

Secretly, you were proud of yourself. That meant you and Minho were the strongest runners out of the lot.

"Want some?" Minho offered you his flask, and you graciously accepted, guzzling the water down you.

"Thanks," You sighed, "I needed that."

You walked away and moved to sit down beside Newt. He gave you a weak smile then looked away.

"You okay?" You asked him, wondering why his expression was so afflicted.

"Yeah." He nodded, not making eye contact for a little.

Maybe he was just tired.

You rested your arm on his shoulder, sighing.

"I'm wiped." You said, "We should've slept last night."

He nodded, giving you another weak grin.

"I don't know how you run with that limp," You continued, "Is it painful?"

"It's not as bad as it was." He grunted.

"How'd you do it?" You asked.

Newt looked away again, maybe something serious was up.

"I fell." He replied, "It's alright now, it's not that painful, it's just annoying."

"I get it." You replied, leaning back so that you were lying on the floor.

You took deep breaths in, feeling the hot air hit the back of your throat. It was almost suffocating.

You shut your eyes, only for a minute, but when you opened them, it was time to start moving again.

You slowly pulled yourself to your feet, everything within you ached. Your eyes felt sore, your head hurt and your muscles felt weak. One thing that was for sure was that this was your best work out in weeks. Or maybe ever.

As you continued jogging again, you decided to talk to Newt. He slowly warmed back into conversation but you couldn't help worry about what he was hiding.

The real reason he got that limp wouldn't have been just falling. He would've been more open about it. Or maybe he was just in a bad mood because of all the running. You didn't know.

Truth was, you didn't really know any of these boys. But you were going to get to know them.

They were your family now, you couldn't let them go.