Until The Sun Dies

Pt 18:

"People, in the mountains. Mountain people. That's your plan?" Newt says skepticism lacing his voice. "That's the best we've got. It's our chance to live vaguely normal lives. Don't you want that?" Aris says, almost pleading Newt to agree with him. "I think Aris is right. This sounds like our best option, either walk around in this blazing dessert until we die or get picked up by WICKED. Or we head to the right arm. Which even if they aren't rescuing kids and there is no safe haven, they're most certainly against WICKED."  Thomas says, receiving nods of agreement from around the room. After a few seconds of silence, Newt finally says, "Alright, to the mountains it is." You see Aris smile, finally having people to believe in him and trust him. You move over to the side so that Newt can get up. "Are you going to be ok walking?" He asks starting to help you up. You hold up your index finger signaling for him to give you a second. You reach out your hand so he could steady you. You carefully try to take a few steps. At first, your leg is extremely sore, but not intolerable. You take a few more steps around the room. You have a pretty noticeable limp and you wince every time your leg hits the ground, but soon you get used to it. You nod to Newt, letting him know you'll be ok. "You know it's odd, you not being able to talk, I miss your voice." He says giving you a sweet smile. You blush slightly and smile back at him. After a solid 20 minutes of everyone shuffling around. You are all finally ready to get on your way. You follow the rest of the group, your arm linked with Newt's for support, as you begin your journey into the desert wasteland of the world. After a few hours of walking through this barren wasteland, your leg really starts to hurt. Your limp has gotten worse to the point where you were pretty much just hopping on one leg. Since you can't speak you've been left to hours and hours trapped in your own thoughts. To your relief, Thomas finally says that it's time for a break. You sit down letting relief flow through your tired legs. That's when you realize that you're still in baggy medical clothes. You had noticed much earlier that you weren't wearing shoes when your feet hit the burning hot sand, but the clothes completely slipped your mind. You make a mental note that in the next building you found, you would go find some new clothes. Newt sits down next to you and hands you one of the few bottles of water that everyone shared. You took a couple sips, making your throat feel much better. You hope that you'll be able to talk again soon, the silence is killing you. "How's your leg love?" Newt asks once you're done with the water. You give a shrug, not really sure how to tell him how it felt without talking. "Oh, right. Yes or no questions for you." He said with a teasing smile. "Does it hurt." You nod. "A lot?" You shake your head. "That's good. Are you hungry?" You nod furiously making Newt laugh. "I'll go see what I can find for you." You nod again, while it silently kills you that you can't say thank you. When Newt walks away Aris decides to check on your wounds. "The bruising on your throat has gone down, but you still can't talk can you?" You shake your head. "Don't worry, it will be better soon. If we had more water it could be better even sooner, but we happen to be in the desert." You both laugh at this. "Well, I'll let you rest. We'll change the wrappings on your leg tonight." You nod and smile, still wishing you could thank him. What is it with you and your constant desire to say thank you? It must be something from your life before the Maze. Newt finally comes back with some food and the two of you sit silently eating your food and laugh at some of the other boys as they play around.