Winston

I don't know how long we've been walking in the blazing heat. The sun scorching our skin as we push through the heavy exhaustion we feel weighing us down. We have to walk up various steep hills, giving as much support for Winston, who is only getting worse, during our journey towards the mountains. 

The strong gusts of hot wind, blowing sand in our faces and blurring our vision as we walk. We use the worn jackets and torn up scarves we collected to cover our faces, hoping to prevent more sand from getting into our eyes. 

The sand attacking our faces gets too painful for us to continue on our journey.

"We got to find shelter" Thomas says, as many of us groan in pain, trying to rub the sand from our eyes. No one protests, all of us looking around for somewhere to rest until the wind calm down.

Soon enough we find shelter, gently placing Winston on the ground and collapsing from exhaustion. We use this time to drink from our limited supply of water, to help regain some energy.

I sit next to Teresa, and both of us glance at Winston who is breathing heavily. His pain seems to be even worse than before, which only makes me feel more concerned for him.

Teresa abruptly stands, sending me a small smile before heading to Thomas, who's standing away from us.

"Here, Winston. Have some water" i say, handing over my bottle for him to finish the rest of the water left inside.

"Thanks" he groans as he takes the bottle, struggling but managing to drink what's left.

I give him some space and move to sit next to Fry. 

"How you holding up?" Fry asks me.

"Better than him" i reply, glancing at Winston again.

"He'll be alright" Newt says, trying to reassure me. It's not working, and it's clear he's not very sure about it himself.

"Do you think we'll even make it to the mountains before running out of supplies?" Aris asks us from his spot on a large stone.

"Do you want me to be honest?" i reply, the feeling of hope i once felt completely gone.

"We have to try" Minho says, putting his water bottle back into his backpack.

"Hopefully we'll find more supplies on the way" Fry adds, trying to lift everyone's spirits.

"What if there isn't anyone in the mountains?" Minho asks, looking at Newt.

"Then we'll have to come up with another plan. We will cross that bridge when it comes to it" Newt replies, looking at Thomas and Teresa.

"That's a weird saying" i comment with a small grin.

"Yeah. I've never heard you say that before" Minho adds with a smile.

Newt just shakes his head in amusement. "Well, now you have".

Fry chuckles, along with Aris. I notice Winston forms a small smile on his face, before grimacing in pain.

Newt stands up, calling out to Thomas. "How's it looking?".

"Just a little further" Thomas replies, although, he doesn't sound very sure of himself.

"Well, that was convincing" Newt replies sarcastically.

"Look at Newt being all sarcastic" Minho says with a grin.

"But when i do it, it's 'not the time' for it" i add snarkily.

"Shut up you two" Newt grumbles. Minho and i high five each other, whilst Fry smiles, amused.

I hear Winston groaning, so i look over to check on him. I stare in horror at the sight of him positioning the gun to his head. 

"Winston!" i shout, grabbing everyone's attention. I stand up and rush over, knocking the gun out of his hand as he pulls the trigger. Luckily enough, i knock it away from his head just in time for him to narrowly miss the bullet.

"Hey!" Fry shouts, running over to us.

"Guys, get down here!" i hear Aris shout for Teresa and Thomas, causing them to run back to us.

I pick up the gun, keeping it firmly in my hand as everyone surrounds Winston.

"Winston. What are you doing man?" Fry asks, startled.

"What's going on?" Newt asks us.

"What happened?" Teresa asks, running to my side.

"I don't know. He just grabbed the gun" Fry replies in shock.

"He tried to shoot himself" i add shakily.

"Give it back, please!" Winston begs, the pain he's in written all over his face.

"Winston, are you ok?" Thomas asks in concern.

Winston throws up black liquid, causing me to pale slightly at the sight. He lays back down on the sand, gasping for air.

"It's growing..." he says in between breaths. We watch as he lifts his shirt, revealing black veins and a chunk of flesh missing from where he was scratched. "Inside of me".

We all stare in concern, shock, and worry. I've never felt so helpless, and all i wish to do is to be able to fix him. To help him get better.

He pulls his shirt back down, looking at us all with a broken expression. "I'm not gonna make it. Please. Please. Don't let me turn into one of those things" he begs, holding his hand out for the gun i took from him moments ago.

Newt takes from gun from me, staring at Winston. He slowly kneels down and hands him the gun, his eyes pained, but filled with understanding. 

"Wait, Newt" Thomas moves to stop him, but i cut him off. 

"Don't Thomas" i whisper, my eyes tearing up as i keep them trained on Newt and Winston.

"Thank you. Now, get outta here" Winston whispers to Newt. 

"Goodbye Winston" Newt replies, standing up and walking to us. I notice his eyes are watery. He glances at Fry, but looks away just ask quickly, and walks away from us with his backpack.

Aris is the next to move, grabbing his back and following Newt, casting one last glance at Winston in sadness.

Fry, Minho and i kneel next to Winston to say one last goodbye. 

"Go" Winston says to us.

Minho turns away, his face full of pain and swiftly stands. I can tell he doesn't want to cry in front of us, so i let him have his moment alone to grieve. Frypan lets a few tears escape, before getting up and following Minho. I notice Teresa join them to Newt and Aris. 

"I'm sorry we couldn't help you" I say, unable to hold back my tears any longer. 

"It's not your fault" he replies in pain.

"Goodbye Winston" i whisper with a small, teary smile before getting up and leaving Thomas to say goodbye. 

I wanted him to at least see one more smile from someone before he's gone forever. I know i would.

I pick up my supplies and walk over to the others. Fry gives me a small hug, which i reciprocate. I then look at Minho, who seems to be struggling to not break in front of everyone, so i grab his hand and walk a little bit away from the others.

"What are you doing?" he asks lowly. 

"Giving you a chance to be vulnerable. Come here" i say, holding my arms out and bringing him into a hug.

He tenses slightly, but finally lets himself break. He hugs me back tightly, and i can feel his shoulders shake as he cries into my shoulder. I stay with him like this until i see Thomas walk over to the others. They all turn to us, ready to leave. 

"Come on. Let's go" i say, slowly releasing him from my arms. He quickly wipes away the stray tears on his face and silently heads back to the others. 

We all begin to walk away in silence. Everyone's too upset to speak, and would rather grieve alone. We all stop when we hear a gunshot, taking a moment of respect for our friend. Then we keep moving.

We walk until it starts to get dark, finding a new shelter for the night. We set up a fire and sit around it to keep warm. 

"I thought we were supposed to be immune" Minho says, staring into the fire.

"Not all of us, i guess" Teresa replies quietly, causing me to glance at her.

"If Winston can get infected, we should assume the rest of us can" Newt says.

"I never thought i would say it... but i miss the glade" Fry says, as a tear slips down his face.

"So do i" i reply quietly, thinking about Chuck, Alby... and Gally. I start to cry silently.

We all sit in silence after that, mourning our friend until we succumb to our exhaustion. We don't sleep much though.

We get up just before sunrise, pack up and carry on towards the mountains. The absence of Winston is something no one can ignore as we walk through the endless desert. Minho throws an empty bottle away in frustration. We've basically run out of all the water we brought with us now. It's only a matter of time before we die.

I can't help but think of Chuck. How he would have spent his energy trying to make me laugh, trying to lift our spirits. My thoughts are then clouded by Gally. The boy i fell in love with, no longer with me to bring a smile to my face. I have to force the thoughts away before i start crying again.

I feel like i've done nothing but cry recently.

It starts to get dark, and our luck runs out when we find no shelter nearby. We're too exhausted to go any further, so we group together on the ground out in the open, trying to get some rest, and pray nothing comes to attack us.

I wake up at the sound of Thomas calling for us. It immediately brings me to my feet.

"Newt, get up. Frypan, come on. Aris. I see something" He says, urging everyone to get up.

"Whoa, what is it?" Minho asks groggily.

"You see that? It's lights" He says, relieved.

"We made it" Minho says, but gets cut off by a large crack.

We turn around, to see a large storm and bolts of lightning heading towards us fast.

"Oh, shit" i say.

"Let's go. We gotta go, come on" Thomas says, his hands on Newts shoulders as he nudges him to run.

We hastily pick up our supplies, and start sprinting towards the lights in the distance.

"Hurry!".

"Go!" Thomas and Teresa shout as we try to outrun a storm that has almost reached us.

We keep running, the storm now above us as bolts of lightning strike way to close for comfort on the ground around us. Thomas keeps shouting for us to keep moving, and i refrain from shouting back.

What the fuck does he think we're doing?

"We're getting closer!" Minho shouts.

"Keep going!" Thomas adds.

We almost make it to the building when i hear Minho say "Oh Shit". I watch as he is struck by lightning right in front of me. He yells in pain before falling to the ground, unconscious.

"Minho!" i shout, stopping and kneeling beside him, trying to pick him up to get him to the building.

"Minho!" Thomas shouts. 

"Help me get him up!" i shout desperately.

Thomas runs over to help me lift him. I hear Newt run over with the others. 

"Come on. Get him up" Newt orders us as we lift him. 

We get him up and carry him into the building, narrowly dodging bolts of lightning as we make it inside.

Frypan shuts the door behind us, leaving us in darkness. 

"Put him down" Thomas says as we put Minho on the ground.

"Watch his head" Aris says, helping us to carefully lay him on the ground.

"Who's got a light?" Thomas asks. 

Aris switches on his light and points it at Minho. 

"Minho. Come on. Come on, Minho!" Thomas shouts. 

"Please don't be dead, please" i say, shaking him to try and wake him.

"Come on Minho" Fry says, kneeling beside me.

"Come on, man" Newt says. 

For a second, we fear that he won't wake up, but to our joy he does. He groans painfully as he wakes. We all sigh in relief.

"There he is" Aris says with a smile.

"Hey, are you ok?" Thomas asks him.

"What happened?" Minho asks, confused.

"I think you got struck by lightening" Thomas replies.

"He did get struck by lightening" I add with a smile.

"Oh" he says, making us chuckle. 

I lightly hit him in the chest. "Don't 'oh' us. We thought you was dead!" i exclaim, struggling to hide my amusement at his reaction.

"But i'm not. Did you miss me? Was you going to give me the kiss of life to bring me back?" he asks, raising a brow with a smirk on his face.

"You're such a bastard" i reply with a chuckle, making him and the others laugh.

We slowly help him to his feet, and start studying our surroundings.

"Oh, my god. Thanks guys" Minho says, still disorientated.

"Hey, what's that smell?" Teresa asks, causing us to look her way.

My soul leaves my body when an infected human jumps at Teresa. I pull her back as my heart races at the sight of it.

"Behind you!" Teresa shouts to me, causing me to turn around to see more infected people trying to grab me. 

"Shit!" I scream, looking around to see a massive group of them surrounding us, stuck in chains.

We're all screaming, keeping together in a tight huddle as we watch as the infected try to attack us. I've never been more thankful to see them chained up.

We turn when we hear a female voice. "I see you've met our guard dogs".

"Who's that?" Fry asks. 

"If i knew, i would tell you" i reply, trying to calm my racing heart.

I watch in awe as she walks towards us, without a care in the world as the infected try to grab her. That's the level of unbothered i aspire to be.

"Stay back. Stay back" Minho says to her as she stops in front of us.

"You guys look like shit" she says, her face filled with amusement.

"Thank you for that" i reply with sarcasm, causing her to smirk at me.

"You're welcome" she replies. I let out a small smile. 

I like her already. She seems cool, and honest.

"Come on. Follow me. Unless you wanna stay here with them?" She asks, noticing our hesitation.

"Definitely not" i reply, quick to follow her.

"Nah, we're good" Fry adds, immediately following me.

Thomas and the others are quick to follow us, leaving behind the terrifying inhumans.

Author's Note:

Sorry that this chapter was late i totally forgot about updating.

I cried when i wrote Winston's death and now i'm grieving.

I absolutely adore Brenda and Jorge so i'm excited to write the relationship between them and Madeline build.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and look after yourselves.

Xxxx