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❝ Hello old friend. ❞
vii. ZONE A
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THE NEXT MORNING FELT AS if it came in an alarming rate. One minute Cally's sitting around the fire listening to her friends talk about the Maze and the Glade. The next minute she's being nudged awake by Frypan. Jorge didn't exaggerate when he said they would be leaving at sunrise. In fact, the sun isn't even peaking over the horizon yet.
Trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes, Cally pulls herself onto her elbows. Instead of having her cloak over her shoulders, its laying on her like a blanket. Which is pretty ironic when you're in the Scorch with scorching heat most of the time. But she has to admit, the nights really do get cold.
"Good morning." Frypan chimes from beside her. He's digging through the main compartment of his bag. "Jorge told me to wake you up, but I went against those orders and let you sleep in. You did hit your head pretty hard after all."
"Thanks for reminding me." She mutters as she puts her head in her hands, using the base of her palm to rub her eyes harder. Silence fell upon the two when Cally finally noticed what she said, making herself feel disgusted at her own being. "I mean— Thank you. Thanks for letting me sleep in. Uh... good morning to you too, Fry."
"Don't sweat it." Frypan pulls out a water bottle from his bag and takes a short swig of it. The sound of the water splashing around reminds her how dry the inside of her mouth is. "I'm grumpy when I wake up, no biggie. But the worst person to wake up is Minho."
"You're kidding."
"I'm absolutely, positive."
She forces out a breathy snicker, her small hands shaking out the sand from her cloak. Besides her and Frypan. Teresa, Athena, and Fee are still gathered in the ruin made shelter. Athena is sitting on a large piece of rock with Fee on her lap, the little girl's light blonde eyebrows are drawn together and her bottom lip is poking out. Athena has her forehead pressed against Fee's back with her arms around the little girl's waist.
Meanwhile, Teresa is picking at their fingernails with her gaze locked on the cave's opening. Cally has always thought of herself to be mysterious, but since she's met Teresa, she doesn't quite believe it anymore. Teresa never really smiles and she's always off into her mind. But, when Cally thinks about it, she's the same way.
"Want some?" Frypan asks, he is now sitting beside her. The silver water container in his left hand held out to her.
Pursing her dry lips together, she nods slightly and takes the bottle. It's not as heavy as she thought it would be, but it's surprisingly cold. Taking a smaller sip than what Frypan took, she instantly feels refreshed and a wave of energy courses throughout her body. She smiles a thank you to Frypan when she hands it back to him.
