Pieces of the Sun

Chapter Fourteen

I started.

Right Arm Inn?

That was what I'd heard Brenda and Jorge whispering about one night. But they were supposed to be a sort of resistance group or something like that. Not an inn.

"Thank you," Minho answered when I didn't.

"No problem. My name's Kilee and I'll show you to your room." She started off through a doorway at the end of the lobby, pushing aside the beads as she went. Minho and I followed her. I was still wrapped up in my thoughts. What if this was the Right Arm? And it was just a cover of some sort. The resistance hiding out in plain sight.

"...When your friends come I'll show them up here as well. No offense but you two look like you've been through hell. We're a lucky enough place to have clean water for our guests. One thing that didn't get destroyed by the sun flares I suppose. Why don't you both rest and I'll make sure your friends get where they need to be." We turned down a narrow hallway. "If they look anything like you two, then I'm sure I'll be able to identify them." She stopped in front the first door on the left. "Well, here we are." She twisted the key into the lock and the door swung open. "Let me know if you need anything." Kilee handed the key to Minho and with that she was gone.

Minho closed the door and then turned to me. "Are you okay? You look... I don't know."

"Minho, this is the Right Arm Inn." I said in a hushed tone. "The Right Arm is the resistance I heard Brenda and Jorge talking about."

His brow furrowed. "Are you positive?"

"Hell yeah. Minho, this could be just what we need. A way out."

He dropped his bag to the ground. "I agree but we definitely need to talk to Newt about this. We're gonna have to wait until they get here to do anything else."

"We told them to meet us at the start of the street," I remembered. "They won't know where to find us."

"I'll go back out and find them, don't worry."

"You can't go alone, I'm coming with you."

"No," Minho shook his head. "You need to rest and-"

"You need to rest too!" I argued. "We both got bit by those shucking Cranks."

"And-" Minho continued, "You're still covered in it's blood which is not exactly the best look for you."

I glared at him, folding my arms across my chest.

He rolled his eyes. "You know I'm right. Look, just stay here and I'll be back in thirty minutes with everyone else."

I heaved a sigh, realizing I was going to get no where with him on this. "Fine."

"Good." He dipped his head just low enough to kiss me before disappearing out the door.

I glanced around at the now empty room. It was small but not unreasonable. The wallpaper was chipped and peeling but looked clean. There was only one large bed with a pile of extra blankets and pillows beside it. If someone wanted make another bed on the floor I guessed. Across from the bed it looked like there had once been a window but now it was completely boarded up and closed off. For safety and weather reasons, I supposed.

I dragged both our bags to the empty space beside the bed and slipped off my shoes. There was another doorway separated by a black curtain. I pushed it aside and realized it was a bathroom. She wasn't lying about being lucky to still have running water, I thought.

The first thing I did was strip away all my clothes. I wrinkled my nose at the smell that rose from them. I turned on the shower head and found the small bar of soap resting on the edge of the basin. I soaked the clothes and then scrubbed them until my arms hurt too much to move. I rinsed them again and left the out to dry. Then I stepped into the shower myself.

I bit back a strangled cry when the water hit the open wound on my shoulder. I clamped down hard on my lip and let the water and soap thoroughly clean out the dirt and sand that had gathered from the last week of traveling. When I could finally see my skin again and not the dirt that had encased it, I turned off the water. I stepped out of the shower finding a reasonably clean looking towel and wrapping myself in it.

My clothes still weren't dry so I wandered out into the main room figuring only Minho would be in here with me. I sat on the bed, pulling my knees up to my chest. Water dripped down my back from my hair despite my best efforts to ring it out. It was growing too long now, half way down my back. But there was nothing I had to cut it with.

My thoughts wandered then to the Right Arm and WCKD. I knew that people knew about WCKD. Everyone seemed to know who they were and what they do, I'd heard from Jorge. The Right Arm was a resistance group, supposedly banded together against WCKD. However despite the many whispers from people about them, it seemed no one had ever really seen the Right Arm.

What if they don't even exist? What if it's just a rumor started by someone just to give the people a little hope in a barren world?

I sighed stretched out my legs in front of me. The door to our room clicked and I immediately stood, tugging the towel tight around me.

"It's just me," Minho said stepping through the door. He closed it behind him and set the key down. He eyes me in the towel then.

"I washed my clothes to get rid of the blood," I said. "They're still drying."

He shrugged. "I'm not going to complain." He replied cheekily.

I rolled my eyes and then wrinkled my nose. I pointed to the doorway. "Shower's in there. Feel free to use it."

"Nice." He rolled his eyes and shrugged off his jacket.

I turned around, heading for our bags by the wall when I heard his sharp intake of breath. I spun around. His face was frozen in a look I'd never seen before. "What?" I moved towards him. "Minho, what?"

"Y-your shoulder," he managed to say.

"What?" I craned my neck to look at the wound. I knew it hurt like hell but I wasn't sure what would make him react like that.

"You can't see it?" He asked, voice low.

"No! See what?"

"Ari," He started, "Your whole shoulder is covered with... with black veins."