It didn't take long for Cress and Thorne to fall into a pattern.
As Thorne became more comfortable with the movement of
the sand underneath them and the sensation of the cane in
his hand, he grew more confident, and their pace increased.
Three dunes.
Five.
Ten.
Before long, Cress realized that it took a lot less cutting a slower,
yet less exhausting zigzag route across the desert.
As she walked, the towels around her feet began to loosen
and grains of sand slipped in and got caught between her toes,
despite how light Thorne had tied the ropes of hair.
The soles of her feet began to burn and a cramp was threatening
to overtake her left foot from the constant grab and release of her
on the unstable ground her legs ached.
Cress's body began to rebel as they rambled up yet another dune.
Her thighs would burn as she crested one more hill—but then
her shins would cry out as they descended the other side.
Her silly fitness routines aboard the satellite hadn't her for this.
But she did not complain.
She panted a great deal.
She swiped at the sweat drops on her temples.
She clenched her jaw against the hurt.
But she did not complain.
At least she could see, she reminded herself.
And at least she didn't have to carry the supplies.
She heard Thorne switch shoulders from time to time, but he
didn't complain either.
Sometimes when they struck a flat spot, she closed her eyes
to see how long she could go without opening them.
Vertigo would set in almost immediately.
Panic would blossom at the base of her spine and crawl up it
until she was sure each new step would bring her in contact
with a rock or a small hill and she would stumble face-first
into the sand.
The fourth time she did it, Thorne asked her why they kept
slowing down.
She kept her eyes open after that.
"Do you need to take a break?"
Thorne asked, hours later.
"N-no," she huffed, her thighs burning.
"We're almost to the top of this dune."
"Sure?
No point passing out from exhaustion."
She breathed a sigh of relief upon reaching the top of the dune,
YOU ARE READING
Cress
Teen FictionTheir best hope lies with Cress, a girl trapped on a satellite since childhood who's only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker. Unfortunately, she's being force to work for Queen Levana, and she...
