Sticks and Stones

Chapter 6: Brave Comrade

Newt nodded as he murmured: "We can take turns pulling him. Minho and I can go first-"

"I'll volunteer first." Frypan cut in. Newt appraised him, noting the stubborn set of the cook's jaw. He nodded at last, and Minho gestured that he would take the other side of the stretcher.

Newt relinquished it to him, and they took off once more, Thomas leading once again as he wrapped a scarf around his head. Newt and Rachel followed behind, sharing their scarf while Teresa shared with Minho and Aris shared with Frypan.

They had pulled out a spare shirt to cover Winston as best as they could without blocking his breathing. As they travelled, they saw the remains of an enormous bridge, broken in the middle.

Rachel gasped in awe- it was magnificent in a terrible way. Their path took them under the bridge, all of them struggling as they fought against the heat and their thirst. It was worse for the boys as they often had to carry Winston out of the stretcher on the downhill slopes- it was the best solution to avoid tumbling down as they had the first time they'd tried to drag the boy down the dunes.

Teresa and Rachel offered to help, but Winston was usually too heavy for them and so the girls took bag duty, where they at least tried to alleviate the weights on the boys by taking their packs from them as they carried the injured boy. It only became worse as they moved further towards the mountains and away from the city ruins. The wind picked up, blowing sand into their faces and whipping their clothes, biting whatever skin it could touch.

They were forced to switch strategies, and they donned hooded jackets to cover their faces, when the wind rendered sharing the scarfs useless. Newt wrapped the scarf over Rachel's heads for cover and Teresa copied the action, while the boys pulled up their hoods and shirts to cover their mouths and noses to prevent breathing in the sand. It was proving difficult though, and they all began to cough as they walked while the wind began to make dragging Winston almost impossible.

The boys eventually picked the stretcher up, each taking a corner and alternating positions so that at least one of them was taking a break at any given time.

"This isn't going to work!" Newt shouted at last over the howling wind as he struggled next to Minho.

Rachel was walking beside Aris as he carried Winston, in front of Minho, and she shouted back: "We know! We can't even see where we're going any more."

Frypan yelled from his place at the rear: "Then why didn't you say something earlier?"

"Slim it!" Minho shouted before Rachel could retort and Thomas yelled: "We've got to find shelter!"

Teresa shouted back: "But where?"

Aris suddenly nudged Rachel, nodding to the side. She glanced over to see the outlines of some form of ruin that made a dome where they could rest. Since Aris couldn't point it out she pointed at it as she shouted: "There!"

The boys and Teresa glanced over and Newt shouted: "Let's go!"

They trudged their way over, Teresa and Rachel going ahead to scout out. Deeming it good enough, they quickly dropped their packs before going back to help the boys in. They lowered Winston carefully, all of them helping to steady the stretcher, before each of them collapsed onto the ground exhausted.

Rachel sat beside Newt as the blond sat down with a grunt and she dug in her pack for a water bottle. Opening it, she offered it to the British boy who took it gladly. He took one swing before giving it back to her so she could have some as well. The others had also dug out some water, and Newt warned: "Careful you lot, we need to save it."

Minho made a face while Frypan sighed, but they all knew it just made Newt feel better to say it out loud. They sat, trying to sip sparingly on the water and catching their breaths, rubbing sore limbs and stretching their arms and legs. Aris leant his head back tiredly, and Rachel leant against him as she closed her eyes.