Part 3: The Scorch

Chapter 7

I woke up to Thomas yelling at a crow. The crow was in someone's bag. Thomas yelled at it and it flew away. Thomas' yelling woke everyone up. I could feel Newt's warm breath on my ear.

"Good morning love." He softly whispered. I gave him a soft smile and I stretched my back out. I definitely wasn't comfortable last night. I slept with my back against the concrete so my back is pretty sore. I glanced around at everyone else. My eyes landed on Peeta. I really wanted to talk to him. I wanted to talk about how much I missed District 12. I wanted to talk about fun memories before the Hunger Games. But I couldn't. Peeta doesn't remember. I need to find someone who can restore his memories. I watched as Thomas got up and looked around.

"Are they gone?" Newt asked. I knew he was asking about the Cranks.

"Yeah I think we're safe for now. We should get moving." Thomas said. Everyone stood up except Winston. He groaned in pain as he tried to move. Frypan helped him up. We all put on our backpacks and climbed out of the building. When we got outside I held back a gasp. Tall buildings were all like this one. Destroyed. It was obvious that this place used to be a city. I wonder if Panem looks like this. Surely President Snow figured out something to keep it safe. I only hope their wasn't anymore Hunger Games.

***

We walked through the broken city. There was rubble everywhere.

"What happened to this place?" Frypan asked.

"I don't know but it doesn't look like anyone's been here in a long time." Newt said. I think it's what Ava said in that video. The sun scorched the Earth. I know it was starting to happen before I was taken to WICKED but it looks like a lot has happened in almost 2 years.

"I hope the whole world is not like this." Peeta said. I heard a faint whirring in the distance. Thomas must've heard it too because he stopped.

"Guys stop." Thomas said. Everyone stopped and looked at him. The whirring was growing louder

"I hear it too." I said. Everyone perked up their ears to listen.

"Everyone hide!" Thomas yelled. We all hid under a concrete bench. I squatted down next to Newt and he grabbed my hand. The whirring went over the top of us. It was WICKED helicopters. They were looking for us. They finally kept flying away and when they were out of sight we came out from our hiding place.

"They're never gonna stop looking for us are they?" Minho said. I held on to Newts hand tighter.

***

We kept on walking and climbing over rubble. We were now a little ways outside the abandoned city. We climbed up a big sandy hill and stopped. There were mountains on the horizon.

"Those mountains, that's gotta be it. That's where we're going." Thomas said pointing to them.

"That's a long way off." Newt said.

"Then we better get moving." I said. We all took a step forward but Winston dropped to the ground. We all yelled. He was gasping for breath.

"He's hurt pretty bad." I said.

"What do we do?" Teresa asked. Thomas quickly made a bed out of scraps and put Winston on it. Minho and Frypan grabbed the ends and started pulling.

***

The scrap bed broke and the boys carried Winston. The wind got worse and we all had to cover our faces. The sand kept whipping into my face.

"We gotta find shelter!" I yelled. Near by there was a concrete overhang. We all got under it. Soon the sand storm was over. Thomas got up and walked to the top of the hill. Teresa got up and followed him. I laid down in Newts lap. I felt him stroke my hair.

"How's it looking?" Newt shouted out to Thomas.

"Just a little further." Thomas shouted back. Newt sighed and continued to play with my hair.

"That's not very convincing." Newt sighed.

"We'll make it. Together." I said. Newt smiled and took my hand in his and placed a light kiss on it. Suddenly Frypan was on top of Winston struggling to get something out of his hand. Newt got up and went over to them. I didn't think anything of it. I just sat there and assumed they were wrestling or something. The a gunshot sounded. Time froze and fear gripped my heart. I stumbled over to them. Frypan was holding a gun. Winston was on the ground groaning in pain. Newt was up and ok. I relaxed. I feared the worst about Newt.

"Guys get down here!" Newt yelled to Thomas. Thomas and Teresa sprinted over.

"What happened?" Thomas asked.

"He just woke up and grabbed the gun and then he tried to..." Frypan explained. Winston turned over and threw up. But it wasn't regular puke. It was an icky black liquid. Winston laid back down on the sand. He pulled up his shirt.

"It's growing inside me." Winston panted. I gasped. Black veins stretched all over his stomach. Is he turning into a Crank?

"I'm not gonna make it." Winston croaked. He pointed to the gun Frypan was holding.

"Please. Don't let me turn into one of those things." Winston said. Newt slowly got the gun Frypan was holding.

"Wait Newt." I said. But he didn't stop. He slowly bent down in front of Winston and put the gun in his hands.

"Thank you." Winston said.

"Now get outta here." Winston croaked.

"Goodbye Winston." Newt said softly. He got up and put his backpack on. Without looking back Newt waited on top of the sandy hill with Aris. Minho took one more look at Winston then headed up the hill. Teresa did the same. Frypan kneeled down in front of Winston. That was Fry's best friend. Frypan didn't say anything. He finally got up and made his way up the hill.

"I'm sorry." Thomas said. Then he left. Now it was just me. I kneeled down next to Winston.

"I'm so sorry I broke my promise." I cried.

"It's okay. You guys are my home." Winston said.

"Now go. Get them home." Winston said. I slowly nodded and got up. I grabbed my backpack and headed up the hill. We all walked in a straight line. Everyone wanted to grieve alone. I walked in the back. Suddenly a gunshot sounded. We all stopped. He's gone. Tears streamed down my face. I've finally come to the realization that I can't protect everyone.