The Wounded Healer

Chapter 13: Lightning & Frost

Evelyn came too as her body hit the ground. Her head smacked the hard earth. She coughed, trying to take a breath, but her lungs weren't working. A hand grabbed her from behind and lifted her.

"Evy?" Thomas yelled over the wind and explosions of lighting.

Still gasping for air, she nodded. He threw her arm over his neck and pulled her along. She tried to look for Minho.

"Minho?" She managed to gasp.

"Sonny." He yelled back. She nodded in understanding.

All around them, the lightning continued to fall like arrows of white fire. Evelyn could feel the silent impact of the explosions, each one rattling her sore skull, shaking her bones. Flashes of light all around. Past the building toward which they stumbled and struggled, even more fires had sprung up; two or three times she saw lightning make direct contact with the upper reaches of a structure, sending a rain of bricks and glass falling to the streets below.

The darkness began to take on a different tone, more gray than brown, and Evelyn realized that the storm clouds must've really thickened and sunk toward the ground, pushing the dust and fog out of their way. The wind had lessened slightly, but the lightning seemed stronger than ever.

Gladers were to the left and right, all heading in the same direction. They seemed fewer in number, but Evelyn still couldn't see well enough to know for sure. He did spot Jeff, then Frypan. And Aris. And then Chuck. All of them looking as terrified as she felt, running, all eyes riveted to their goal, now just a short distance away.

Evelyn lost her footing and fell, slipped from Thomas's grip. Thomas stopped, turned around, pulled the exhausted half unconscious girl back to her feet, reset Evelyn's arm around his shoulder. Gripping her around the torso with both arms now, he half carried, half pulled her along.

A blinding arc of lightning went right over their heads, pummeling the earth behind them; Thomas didn't look, kept moving. A Glader fell to their left; she couldn't tell who it was, didn't hear the scream she knew must've come. Another boy fell to their right, got back up. A blast of lightning, just ahead and to the right. Another to the left. One straight ahead. Thomas had to pause, both of them having to blink viciously until her sight came back. Thomas started up again, yanking Evelyn along with him.

And then they were there. The first building of the city.

In the gripping darkness of the storm, the structure was all gray. Massive blocks of stone, an arch of smaller bricks, half-broken windows. Aris reached the door first, ducking through the smashed out door swallowed by the interior.

Thomas made it with Evelyn. She felt hands reaching for her, they grabbed her and carefully pulled her through the door. The moment she was inside the building the rain started. The rain fell in torrents, like God had sucked up the ocean and spit it out over their heads in fury.

The hands that had carefully pulled her pulled her roughly into a hug. Her face was pressed against someone's chest. She smelt earthy sunshine, laundry soap and herbs and spices.

"Newt!" She cried softly.

She wrapped her exhausted arms around his neck. Newt held her tightly, burying his face into her neck and was sobbing.

"Evelyn! Oh shuck! I thought I lost you! Shuck!"

"I'm okay, Newt! I'm okay!" She said, her voice was exhausted and strained. She ran a hand into his hair. He kissed her desperately, his hands holding her face and neck, her back, up to her face again. She kissed him right back, that half an hour of panic and chaos made her thankful Newt was still there beside her. He kissed almost every inch of her face. Like he was making sure she was real and she was actually in his arms. He finally pulled back, placing his forehead on hers, holding her face.