Pieces of the Sun

Chapter Fifteen

"What?"

I craned my neck to look but all I could see was the faint red tint at the edge of my vision. "I don't understand- I don't feel sick or dizzy-" I turned to Minho. "How is this happening?"

Minho yanked his sleeve up to reveal the bite on his forearm. It was dirty and swollen and red but other than that there were no hints any of the other symptoms. I met his eyes. "Am I not immune?" I whispered.

"I don't understand," he muttered. "It should take at least two weeks to show up, right? It's only been a day and a half."

I closed my eyes and ran my fingers through my hair. Then I opened them and looked at Minho. "I feel fine. I don't have any other symptoms of anything. We don't tell anyone about this. If something changes in two weeks then we can talk about it but for now, there is nothing wrong with me."

Minho just gazed at me for moment and then smiled softly. "This is why I love you." He pulled me close to his chest, and I laid my cheek against it. He gently kissed my forehead and then he disappeared through the curtain to the shower.

I stood there in the towel, still feeling his touch against me and replaying his words over in my head.

This is why I love you

He loved me. Something stirred in my chest and the smallest of smiles grazed it's way onto my face. I heard the water begin to run and I tugged at the towel around my body. I cast a glance back at the door which was closed. I dropped the towel to the ground and pulled open the shower curtain. Minho turned around in surprise.

"Care if I join you?" His eyes slipped down my body before back to my face. With a sly grin he answered, "I think we both know that answer to that question."

I shook my head with a small smile and stepped inside the small space as he made room. The warm water splashed over me and ran down my back before I turned to face Minho. He clasped both his hands in mine and bent down, his lips grazing mine. Goosebumps rose on my arms despite the heat and I felt the cool tile wall pressing against me. His lips tickled my cheek and down my jaw to my neck. I wrapped my arms around him, pulling his face close to mine. His dark eyes connected with mine. I pushed my mouth next to his ear. "I love you."

His breathing hitched before answering, "I love you too."

Later that night we were both curled up on the bed. Minho's arm threaded around me, protectively holding me close. I could tell he wasn't asleep.

"Where do we go from here?" My question lingered in the dark.

Minho let out a breath. "I don't know... we may have decided not to follow WCKD's rules anymore but I still feel as if they're watching us."

"Yeah, I know." I resisted the urge to shudder. "Maybe we should ask the girl... about the Right Arm?"

"It's worth a try I suppose... if it even exists- whatever it is."

I didn't say anything else as we lapsed into silence. My thoughts wander as I tried to avoid thinking about all the what-ifs. I could be sick. I could be transforming into a Crank as we spoke. Or Minho could be sick as well, just slower to present symptoms. WCKD could be hunting us or laughing at us from wherever it was they reclined, laughing as we thought we escaped when really there was no escape.

I sighed quietly, trying to get comfortable in the small but relatively clean bed. No matter that the sheets smelled like bleach and chemicals- that probably meant they were the most sterile things here. I quieted my thoughts and forced my eyes closed. I needed rest.

Something grabbed my arm and with a gasp I sat up. Cold and wet black blood slid down my skin, staining the musk colored sheets. I jerked back, searching for the source of the blood, but found none. I remembered Minho then, and spun to face him- but the side of the bed was empty.

More blood sank into the bed, coating my legs. I jumped up and onto the floor, backing away. Blood still flowed freely down my arm hitting the ground in an uneven rhythm, reminding me too much of my night spent with the Grievers in the maze.

A burning sensation began at the back of my neck, spreading down my body and through my arms. I groaned and sank to my knees, the burning intensifying until it was pinpointed to my shoulder.

The shoulder the Crank had bitten.

I tore away my shirt to see the wound. It was red and swollen, oozing black blood. I glimpsed my hands and started back. Black veins covered my wrist- both wrists- up my arms. My breath came in pants, the air seemed hard to breath. I choked, coughing up blood and fell to the floor. No, no, no, no, no-

I opened my mouth to yell, scream for help, for anyone, anyone at all but I couldn't make a sound. I trapped and I couldn't breath, I couldn't move, couldn't speak-

"Ari!"

My eyes flung open with a start and I twisted violently to the side. My wrists were pinned down and bucked trying to get free.

"Ari, Ari, calm down, calm down- it's me." Minho's features were just visible in the dark. I gasped in a breath, my chest heaving.

"Shhh, listen it's okay. You're okay, it was just a dream." His grip on my wrists loosened and I sat up. My forehead was slick with sweat as Minho pulled me into his arms. I squeezed him tightly.

"Just a bad dream," he told me softly. "Everything is okay, it was just a bad dream."

I closed my eyes. It might have been a bad dream now, but very soon it could become reality.

For both of us.