(two months in)

"Rope?"

"Got it."

"Saw?"

"Got it?"

"Emergency First Aid Kit?"

"Got it."

"Good. That's everything," Vince finished, he briefly nodded at the kid in front of him - Elle - as Bea handed her the equipment.

"Make sure you're back by three and follow any orders that Harriet gives you," Vince instructed to which the young girl nodded eagerly. She then grabbed her equipment, scurrying off towards the group that was huddled around Harriet. The older girl had been given the role of wood chopping. There was a woods nearby and as Harriet was previously a Runner in the Maze - or Mapper as she liked to call it - she was good with directions and making sure she didn't get lost. Vince had allocated her a group of kids to help her - Elle being one of them.

Bea glanced over at them where Harriet was explaining something to the kids. She was good with kids; she spoke animatedly, waving her arms around, causing a faint smile to fall onto Bea's face.

The brunette girl involuntarily let out a yawn causing Vince to laugh beside her.

"How much sleep did you get last night then?" he asked, an answer to his question already forming in his head.

"Three hours max," Bea grumbled, rubbing her eyelids, "And there were two people in the room next to mine who were gettin' at each others' necks the entire night. Wouldn't stop arguing until like 2am."

"Who? I can have a word with them," Vince frowned protectively.

Bea shook her head, dismissing the question, "Nah, I'm sure it will be fine." She turned her attention back to Harriet's group who were beginning to leave through the entrance of the woods.

"How many of them do you think are going to get injured this time?" Bea laughed to Vince.

"Hopefully none of them," he murmured in return, "I wasn't supposed to tell you this but...we're running out of medical supplies. The large stash we had was destroyed in the attack and almost all the spare materials have been used up."

"Wait really? How?"

"Well the people who have been hunting animals for us to eat come to the infirmary daily with injuries. Not to mention the dozens of kids we've had to treat because they have two left feet," Vince scoffed, shaking his head.

Bea chewed on her lip thoughtfully, wondering what to do. Her eyes lit up as an idea sparked in her mind. "When me and Harriet first went into the basement I found some medical supplies. I didn't look through all of it but I could do that today."

"That would be amazing," Vince nodded appreciatively, "Bring back what you can. We can always go back to get stuff."

"Of course."

---

"Bea?"

"Hello?"

"Earth to Bea?"

The brunette girl bolted upwards at the sound of her name. "Huh? Yeah I'm awake. Not sleeping. Who said I was asleep?"

"Hey I didn't say anything," Vince laughed, holding his hands up in the defence. He entered Bea's room, folding his arms across his chest. "Did you get the medical supplies?

Shit.

Bea groaned internally, "Ugh. Sorry no, I forgot." After Harriet's group left in the morning she had slipped away and gone back to her room to sleep. Glancing at her watch, it read the time 1pm.

Have I really been asleep for 3 hours?

"Don't worry," Vince shrugged, "Just do it soon. One of 'em kids might come back with a hand chopped off."

Bea nodded as Vince exited her room. She sighed, stumbling out of her hammock. Making her way over to her mirror, she brushed some brunette strands out of her face. She picked up her comb, beginning to brush out the tangled knots before tieing her hair in a low ponytail.

She left her room, briefly nodding at her beloved next-door neighbours, as she went on a search for electric lanterns.

The last time she was in the basement she almost tripped down the stairs because it was so dark. Jorge had suggested she take one of the lanterns to leave by the door and the girl couldn't believe she never thought of that before.

Reaching the shack, she grabbed one of the lanterns before making her way to the basement. Although, the building they lived in was fairly large, she had the whole place mapped in her head a month into their stay.

Once she reached the door of the placement she placed the lantern on the floor. Rubbing her hands together, she gripped the handle, giving it a strong yank. After a few pulls, the door swung open, revealing the small passageway with the set of stairs.

"Alright. Let's do this," she mumbled to her self. She leaned the glowing electric lantern against the door before walking inside. Almost a instantly, a gust of wind blew the metal door shut causing her to whirl backwards.

Shit.

Digging inside her pocket, she fished out her torch, flicking it on. She placed it in her mouth, pushing harshly on the door but it still wouldn't open. Huffing in annoyance, she decided to leave it and began quickly walking down the stairs. When she reached the bottom, the familiar cool air breezed over her, causing her to shiver.

She sighed, shuffling towards the nearest chest of drawers, knowing that that was where she had found the supplies. Propping the torch on the wooden top, she swung the drawer open revealing as she expected - the medical supplies. She grabbed one of the packets, squinting her eyes to read the writing on the back. Anti-bacterial wipes. Humming to herself, she rummaged around the other drawers to find more items.

Bandages, syringes, tablets that had probably gone off, liquid medicine, anaesthesia.

After another half an hour of searching she had also managed to find arm and leg splints and a few pairs of crutches.

Vince is going to be happy with this.

All of a sudden her torch turned off. The brunette girl flicked the switch off and on again but no beams shone from it. She frowned, flicking the switch again but it didn't work. Groaning in annoyance, she realised the batteries must have died.

Today is not my day.

Pulling her jacket tightly over her body, she tried to remember where the main light source was.

"Left to the end and its on the back wall on the right," she mumbled to herself, trying to figure it out, "Wait no it's on the right end on the back of the left wall."

Rubbing her temple she stumbled to the left side of the room, her hands in front of her warily to try and stop herself bumping into things.

"Ouch," she winced as the sharp corner of a table jabbed her side. Staggering to the end of the room, she firmly placed her hand on the wall. She moved them up and down and left to right. No mains switch.

"Goddamn it."

She tried again. Maneuvering her way to the other side of the room. Still nothing. Letting out a low exhale she decide to try and get the door open because at least she would get the door open. Quickly walking up the stairs, she made it to the top in the pitch black.

She stumbled forward, finally finding the handle. Using all her strength, she tried pushing it open but it still wouldn't budge. Letting out a grunt, she forced her body weight against the metal door but it didn't seem to move a millimetre.

"Hello?" she called out. "Anyone out there?" She pounded her fist against the door, hoping somebody was nearby and would hear her.

She waited a minute. Five minutes. Fifteen Minutes.

"Hello!" she shouted again out. "Can somebody help me?"

Accepting defeat she slid her back against the wall, pulling her knees close to her chest.

A shiver ran down her spine at the cool air as she began picking at her nails, a new habit she had accustomed that she would do whenever she was bored.

Okay. This is definitely not my day.

---

It had been two hours. Nobody had come. It was now freezing and Bea was involuntarily shivering. She was desperately trying to keep herself awake but it was seeming very difficult.

For the first half an hour she tried to keep herself entertained. She would throw her dead torch into the air, seeing how many times she could clap before catching it. Let's just say she got bored of that very quickly.

She had also tried banging on the door again for help but as she expected nobody had heard her.

Her eyelids fluttered open and shut every few seconds as she desperately tried to keep herself awake.

---

"Hey Thomas have you seen Bea?"

The brunette boy turned to face the door of his room to see Harriet with a worried exspression on her face.

"Oh hey, I didn't know you were back yet," Thomas greeted, walking over to her.

"Yeah I got back a couple hours ago," she responded nonchalantly.

"But no, I haven't seen her since the morning," Thomas said, "Now that I think about it, it is a bit strange."

"Wanna help me look for her?"

"Sure," he nodded, grabbing his jacket that was loosely hanging on the back of his chair. The two made their way to the kitchen, thinking that was the first place Bea would be.

---

Three hours.

Bea had hugged her knees even tighter to her chest, rocking back and forth in an attempt to keep her body warm. Even through her layers of clothes she could still feel goosebumps on her arm. She just hoped somebody would come and find her soon.

---

"In the planning room?" Harriet asked hopefully.

"Nope," Thomas shook his head, "In the gardens?"

"Nope," Harriet mumbled in response. She was now becoming incredibly concerned. She had asked around if anybody had seen her and they all had said no. The last time she had seen her was when she was preparing the younger kids to look for firewood. But that was at 10am. She had arrived back at The Port at 2pm and it was now 5pm.

"Maybe Vince knows where she is?" Thomas suggested, also becoming incredibly worried for his sister.

Harriet shook her head, "He's not here. Evan told me he went off with the hunting group because they were down a man."

Thomas bit the inside of his cheek, his eyes trained on the ground in thought. "I don't know where else she could be. We've checked this whole area."

Harriet's eyes sparked with an idea, "Maybe she's helping with the building on the ship?"

Thomas nodded thoughtfully, "Hmm I doubt it but it's worth a shot." The two made their way to the ship which was being repaired in search for Bea.

---

Five hours.

Bea had shuffled to the corner of the landing, hoping the closure between the two walls would give her any warmth. Cradling her body in her arms, she leaned her head against the wall.

She had fallen asleep a few times - not for long as her neck would often jerk to the side, waking her up. Her throat was dry and hoarse from the lack of water and she didn't even know what time it was anymore. It could be 4pm or 8pm - she wouldn't know.

---

Thomas and Harriet sat at the dinner table, stirring the soup in front of them, not eating. Newt and Fry were opposite them and despite not liking Bea that much, the blonde boy was beginning to feel worried himself.

"Something's not right," Thomas spoke.

"No shit," Harriet mumbled under her breath.

"No I mean something's strange. We've searched this placed top to bottom and we still haven't found her," Thomas implored.

Harriet gasped, her eyes snapping from her soup to Thomas, "No we haven't."

"What are you on about? Yes we have," Thomas uttered, raising and eyebrow at Harriet

"No. We haven't searched the bottom," she chided.

"I don't understand...." Thomas trailed off before his own eyes widened in  realisation. "The basement!"

The two nodded at each other, standing up from their table before quickly exiting the dining hall. Turning round a second corner, the come to halt, almost bumping into Vince.

"Where are you two in a rush to?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, a smile on his face.

"Looking for Bea," Harriet rushed out.

"What are you on about?" he frowned.

"Can't talk. We'll tell you later?" she blurted, grabbing Thomas' arm to start walking again. Now jogging, they made their way through the building, occasionally bumping into a few people.

Reaching the basement, there eyes fall on a flickering orange, electric lantern that was tilted against the door. Thomas walked over, his brow furrowed as he picked it up, moving it to the side. "Do you actually think she would be in here?"

"Well it's the only place we haven't checked," Harriet pointing out. She sighed, gripping the bottom of the handle on the door, Thomas gripping the top as they simultaneously yanked on it.

"How the hell did you two manage to get this door open last time?" Thomas mumbled.

After a few more harsh pulls, they manage to get it open. Harriet pushed the door open wide, putting a couple bricks as a door stop to prevent it from closing.

She then picked up the lantern, gripping it in her hand as she and Thomas stepped out onto the landing of the basement. The flickering glow lit up a small figure, curled up in a ball in in a corner.

Harriet froze, "That-That's her."

Thomas' eyes widened, instantly reaching down towards his sister. "Hey. Hey, Bea?" he called out softly. The brunette girl didn't reply, she stayed in the same position, shivering. He placed the back of his hand to her forehead, gasping at her cool skin.

Looping her arm around his neck, he picked her, holding her body close to his chest. "We need to get her to the infirmary now." Harriet nodded, still in shock, as she followed after Thomas.

"We need a bed, now," Thomas ordered as they entered the room. Inside were already many patients from the wood trip and the hunting trip that had just gotten back with Vince.

One of the female doctors nodded quickly, directing them to the bed closet to them. Thomas laid Bea down, making sure she was in a comfortable position.

"What happened to her?" the doctor asked. She placed the back of her hand on Bea's forehead like Thomas' had, instantly gasping. "She's freezing and incredibly dehydrated. Hang on."

A few seconds later, she returned with a cup of water and hot rag, dabbing it against the skin on her face. "One of you do this. I need to check her vitals." Thomas nodded, sitting on the edge of the bed, placing her head in is lap and repeating the doctors actions. "So what happened?"

"We don't know. We've been looking for her all day and we found her in the basement-" Harriet rambled on before a different voice cut off.

"Is that Bea?"

Harriet's head snapped to Vince who was previously having a conversation with one of the other hunting men. "Yeah. We found her in the basement?"

"Wait, the basement?" he repeated, walking over to them, a concerned look in his face. "She went down there at like 1 in the afternoon."

Thomas' face paled, looking up at Vince, "What? It's 7 now...she must have been there for six hours then?"

"Congrats Tom. You passed Level 1 Math."

Everyone's attention turned to a croaky Bea, droplets of hot water trickling down her face due to the rag.

"Oh my- thank god you're okay," Harriet murmured, sitting down on the other end of the bed, "What's the last thing you remember?

Bea opened her mouth to speak but found herself being unable to as her throat was too dry. Thomas passed her the cup of water which she gratefully took and downed it in seconds. "Just being in the basement lookin for the medical supplies and then - oh no. I forget them down there!"

"Don't worry about it kid. We can get it tomorrow," Vince reassured, "We're more worried about you here."

Bea smiled back at him, "Okay. I just-just remember being down there for a long, long time."

"That's an understatement," Harriet breathed out, playing with the ends' of Bea's untied shoelaces.

"I have a new rule," Vince announced. "From now on we keep the basement door open fully so we don't get ourselves into any more incidents like this."

The group nodded, Bea especially agreeing that she didn't want to experience that ever again.