Mended [Book Two] COMPLETED

|16|

Stars shimmered above the gladers as they laid down for the night. They were all sleeping, the remaining sheets tight around their freezing cold bodies, the fire burning low, embers now beginning to only glow.

A headache was all that Charlotte could feel. She scrunched up her face and brought a hand up, instantly feeling dried up blood. She squinted her eyes open, only to see darkness. A deep fear took over her, and she opened her eyes fully to see the dark night sky. She sighed gently in relief.

Attempting to not anger her headache, she slowly moved her head around. Gladers were asleep all around her, tangled in their sheets. The fire was just about out.

She stared back up at the sky. The stars were twinkling away, the moon barely a crescent. A small smile tugged at her lips. The starry sky, it wasn't artificial anymore. Back in the Glade, it was fake as ever. Now, the stars were bright.

Charlotte tried to sit up. With a grand amount of effort, she finally succeeded, huffing as she went. She looked around. Newt and Minho were asleep a couple of yards away, backs against logs, facing the fire. She blinked and rubbed her eyes.

Her head was killing her, along with her wrist. She remembered back to when Teresa had grabbed her and how she knocked her out. Her eyes quickly scanned the group to find the boy she said that she was going to take. Thomas was nowhere to be found.

She tried to get to her feet. It was shaky, but she managed. She limped over to Newt and Minho, her headache making her stumble. She kicked their heels gently.

Newt sprung awake, eyes wide open, hands going to his machete. Minho was much more laid back, just moving his hand to find his knife. He made a fist around it, but kept his eyes closed.

"Char. . ." Newt breathed, perplexed. Minho then opened his eyes, going to tell Newt that it was just another dream. But stood before him was her. Her hair was messy, eyes had bags under them, clothes were tattered. But what mattered was that she was there, alive.

Both boys scrambled up, kicking up dust, and ran over to her. Newt was the first to get to her, wrapping her up in a bear hug. Minho went to the side and hugged the two. She was enveloped in love, and giggled.

"How long was I out?" She asked once they all disbanded. "A few hours," Newt said. "We thought that you weren't gonna wake up. Teresa said that she'd hit you so hard that you wouldn't wake up and now I don't underestimate her."

She nodded, and a stripping pain went up her skull. She screwed her eyes shut. "I wish she did, this headache is killing the shucking hell out of me."

"Minho, go grab some painkillers." Newt ordered, draping an arm lazily around Charlotte's neck and shoulders. "I feel like a peasant." Minho mumbled while walking away.

Charlotte let out a sigh and leaned against her boyfriend, taking in his scent. Surprisingly, he smelt the exact same way as when they were in the Glade, dirt and pine. Somehow, the smell was soothing, and she melted into him.

"Ah, ah, ah, no sleeping, love." Newt said, taking her body away from his. She began to pout just as Minho returned, pills in his hand. She downed them fast and yawned.

"Where did they take Thomas?" She asked. "We don't know." Minho said. "But we're gonna follow them."

"Do you have a death wish?" She hissed. "Did you see how they dealt with me? They wanted to kill me! What makes you think that they won't do the same to you guys?"

"Because," Newt said. "We have a secret weapon."

"Which is?"

"You."