Pieces of the Sun

Chapter Twenty

It was white.

Well at least I'm not in hell. I don't think hell is white.

I realized I was gazing a the roof of a tent, the fabric slightly swaying in the wind. I moved to sit up and then groaned as my abdomen burned.

"Whoa, whoa, there. Take it easy there." A woman with brown hair appeared and slowly pushed me back down. "You've been through a lot."

"Wh-where am I?"

"You're safe." The woman's voice was gentle. It reminded me of a slowly flowing stream. "In the mountains. Here-drink this." She handed me a cup of sweet smelling liquid. I took a sip, wincing as it moved through my stomach. "Careful, you're going to be recovering for a while. The wound was deep."

I took another sip. "Where is everyone? Are they here?"

She smiled. "Of course. But you can only see the for a little while," she warned. "You need rest."

"Okay," I nodded.

"I'll be right back." She disappear through the fluttering tent flaps. I gazed at the ceiling, trying to remember the last thing that had happened...

"Ari!" Chuck burst through the tent. "Holy shuck! You're awake!"

"Shhh!" Newt ducked through behind the kid. "Not so loud, Chuck. Try not to wake the buggin' dead."

"Sorry," Chuck said sheepishly. "I'm just glad you're awake."

I mustered a smile. "Thanks, Chuck." I glanced to Newt. "The others are coming," he told me. His voice was pained. I wondered why.

Frypan stepped through and then Thomas. Not Teresa- Teresa. The memory went arcing through me of her betrayal. Anger flooded my veins. Thomas looked hollow, his skin pale and eyes haunted. He sent me a half smile. "Good to see you're up."

"Yeah," Frypan took a seat on the bed adjacent to mine. "Honestly thought you never would."

"Why?" I glanced between the four of them. "How long was I asleep?"

"You weren't asleep, Ari." Newt said. "You were unconscious for about a week and a half."

"A week and a half?" I echoed. "How the hell..."

"You lost a lot of blood. Trying to get you here was a nightmare." Frypan shook his head. "Almost didn't make it."

"It was scary," Chuck chimed in.

I frowned. "I don't remember."

"Mary said you wouldn't remember a lot. You were too out of it." Newt folded his arms.

"Mary?"

"The woman," he jerked his head to the tent opening. "She's the closest thing they got to a doctor."

"They?"

"The Right Arm," Frypan said. "We're in their safe camp in the mountains."

My head spun. So much had happened. I'd missed so much. "Where are the others?" I finally voiced the question. "Minho? Clint and Winston?"

Silence hung across the tent, thick and heavy.

Frypan cleared his throat. "Clint and Winston didn't make it."

"Didn't make it?" My heart was hammering in my chest.

Thomas shook his head. "In the gunfight. We lost them."

My palms were sweating. "Where's Minho?"

No one answered.

"Where's Minho?" My voice shook.

"Ari-" Newt's tone was quiet.

"Where is he?"

"WCKD has him."

The world stopped. Then started and stopped again. It was an effort to breath. My hands were slick with sweat. I felt sick, the room spun around me. "WCKD has him?"

"He made a deal," Newt bowed his head, voice pained. "You were dying in the back of that truck. Bleeding out. WCKD was on our asses. Minho knew by then that he was immune to the Flare, both of you were. He gambled WCKD wouldn't want to lose such valuable assets."

I swallowed around a dry throat, my head pounding.

"So he contacted WCKD and made a deal. He'd go with them cooperatively as long as they sent down a doctor and helped you. Made sure you survived."

"They agreed?" I whispered. I could feel my heart breaking.

"Yeah. They shucking agreed. Sent down their miracle workers, got you patched up. Then they took Minho and left. We had no choice but to keep going to the mountains. We knew they'd probably come after us."

I couldn't breath. Minho, had sacrificed himself for me. His life for mine. A bargain with the devil. And now he was in their hands. Who knew what they would do to him. I sensed my friends slowly leaving the tent, Newt pausing to cast one last glance at me. Then they were all gone.

After everything we'd gone through, everything we'd done WCKD had won. Once again. The tears came at long last. Slowly at first and then a flood I couldn't hold back. I sobbed, my abdomen on fire with pain but I didn't care. It was nothing compared to the pain I felt inside. Where the pieces of my heart were broken.

Minho had done it for me. To make sure I survived.

I swallowed, my face wet. He was gone.