Dynasty // The Scorch Trials [Book 2]

TEN

A trip through the desert while I was pregnant was exactly what I was looking forward to.

The coarse sand bit at my ankles as the wind caused it to circle around in tiny tornadoes. It had gotten inside my mouth several times and I had spat it right back out again. 

My hand was firmly in Thomas's and that was the only thing that wasn't bothering me, except that maybe it was bothering me because sweat was starting to form between our palms and I had to retract my hand every few minutes to wipe it off. 

Winston had not responded to any of us. He had been badly injured by the people back in the building and the wounds on his abdomen were only getting worse. 

The bite marks on my shoulder had stopped bleeding. If it would get infected like Winston's injuries, maybe the others would have to carry me around as well. That didn't sound too bad.

We slumped through the scorching desert, shielding our faces from the sandstorm that had started to come up. I used an old scarf Thomas had given me to keep the vicious sand away from my face, but it didn't help much. My eyes were burning and I barely saw anything. 

"We have to find shelter!" I shouted over the howling of the wind. Everyone agreed and soon enough, we reached a place to rest. We gently placed Winston on the ground and as soon as we lay down, everyone fell asleep.

I was the first to wake up and after being hit with a wave of nausea, I fled our shelter to throw up. I soon realised that the wind had ceased. I woke everyone up again so we could keep moving, but after checking on Winston, we discovered was growing paler and paler with the hour.

As everyone got ready to get moving again, I sipped from my water bottle and let the liquid soothe my aching throat. I sat beside Frypan, who unleashed the insides of his boot. About a pound of sand fell out and left a small pile on the ground. I laughed lightly before my gaze shifted to Winston, whose breathing pattern had started to become hitched. 

Thomas had left the group a few minutes after he had woken up and now he was standing on the hill we were stationed at the foot of. His hand shielded his eyes from the sun as he peered into the distance. 

I kicked off my boots and rubbed my aching feet. "What's that?" I heard Newt say. I looked up in question and saw him staring at the bite mark on my shoulder. My shirt had shifted in my sleep, causing the wound to be fully visible.

"Nothing. It's just a scratch." Before I could say anything else, Newt had clambered over to me and carefully removed the shredded fabric pieces. 

"You've been bitten." His eyes held a concerned look. I gently pushed his hands away and covered the mark with my shirt.  

"It's nothing, Newt. I'm fine," I assured him. 

"It's not nothing. One of those people bit you. Look what scratching did to Winston, image what could happen with biting." A dark haze that I recognized as fear flashed through his eyes. 

I looked down. "Really, Newt, I'm fine." 

He was given no choice to protest because Teresa rose from her place in the sand and climbed up the hill to reach Thomas. I felt Minho looking at me weirdly. 

"What?" I asked him. 

"I would go after her if I were you," Minho casually stated before taking a gulp from his bottle. 

"It's fine. I trust Thomas," I said and folded my arms across my chest, trying to fight the unsettling feeling in my gut that had been there ever since we left the WCKD facility. I closely observed the dark-haired girl standing next to Thomas on top of the hill.