black veil ◦ scorch trials || thomas

14.

FOURTEEN ; IGNORANCE IS BLISS

     The plastic dug into her skin as she shifted.

     Her wrist was swollen and her back was aching, but Evan made no move to stand up from the damp cold ground. It was dark and she could hear echoes of shouts and laughter come from above her. It only made her feel more alone.

     Her back was pressed against the wall. She sighed in relief when she noticed chains and shackles nailed into the stone they could have locked her up with. Instead, they only bound her wrists with a zip tie.

     A deep breath slipped past her lips as she let her head fall back. It almost seemed like she was in the deepest part of a tower that went straight up. The top was gone, leaving the night sky for her to see with metal grates covering it. There was no sign of the lightning storm from before.

     Evanna stared, taking back all the things she said about the Scorch and wishing to be out there instead of stuck down wherever she was.

     And it dawned on her then, that she was stuck. No one knew where she was and they most likely wouldn't care because she had been nothing but a liability so far. Nothing but another person who Thomas felt like he could rescue.

     Evan would be in the cell long after the others left. She would be behind bent metal bars, but not bent enough for her to slip through. She will be forgotten by them in time, too. Biting the inside of her cheek, the girl mentally scolded herself. There was no point in throwing a pity-party.

     But she had no energy left to come up with a plan to get out, to find the others and escape. Everything in her felt defeated, and she wanted to hit herself for giving up so easily. Perhaps it had been a long time coming. Maybe this cell would be the best place for her to stay. The best option the future held for her.

     She felt pathetic. She didn't do anything about it. Evanna let the shouts and laughter serve as a reminder that she was stuck and separated from the others. She let it wash over her like a tidal wave, as if she wanted to feel disappointed and lost.

     After everything she's done to those kids back at WICKED, after being ignorant and oblivious, Evan felt like this was the only way to redeem herself. She had led innocents to an eternal sleep. She had taken their freedom from them.

     A familiar face popped up in her mind. It felt like a punch in the gut. His dark hair was matted against his forehead, his dark eyes widened and glazed over. Short breaths left his chapped lips and his tattered clothes no longer protected his skin from the scorching sun.

     She could still hear his pleading, his defeated voice and his parting words. But all of that was nothing compared to the echoing gunshot that still haunted her in her dreams.

     The all too familiar dropping feeling returned, and Evan felt her stomach twisting and turning but she kept looking up. To the sky above her and to the faint pale blue lights. Her wrist was throbbing and her back was numb from the cold but she forced herself to look.

     Above her, someone had dropped something. There was a clank and laughter followed. Evan kept her gaze on the sky until her eyelids began to feel heavy. The exhaustion was finally beginning to settle in. She felt her body begin to shut down, her tense shoulders slumping against the wall.

     There was a ringing in her ear still, from the lightning storm. It lulled her to sleep in an strangely comforting way.

     ⊡⊡⊡⊡

     Clumsy footsteps woke her. They slapped against the wet ground and echoed around her. Evan did not move. She remained on the floor and averted her gaze from the sky to the wall opposite her. The footsteps stopped, replaced by faint whispers. They were broken, almost inaudible. Evan strained to hear the bits she could.