The first thing I saw when my eyes fluttered open was the dark sky peeking out from behind the trees. I sat up and arched my back to stretch my spine. My head throbbed and my limbs ached, but besides that, I didn't feel too bad. I felt better than I thought electrocution would feel.

Tilly was sitting up with her legs crossed and her eyes searching the perimeter with interest. She had to look around the area twice before she noticed me. She smiled.

I rested my hands on the earth, ready to crawl towards her. My foot tapped an object behind me. Startled, I turned to see Aster sleeping on his side, his glasses sliding down his nose. His mouth was slightly open. The corners of my lips tugged. He looked so peaceful when he slept.

I cautiously slid next to Tilly. Once I sat down, she snatched my wrists, facing my palms up. Marks burnt red lines down my palms and to my wrists. Tilly traced each one with her finger. My fingers twitched at her touch.

"How long was I out for?" I whispered. Tilly shrugged. I sighed. I forgot that she didn't have the time like Aster did. It couldn't have been too long. It was hardly dark, meaning that Tilly was probably only taking the first watch.

I took the rest of Tilly's watch that night. She fell asleep immediately.

I observed each of my teammates from head to toe. Ed was resting on his stomach, using his arms as a pillow. His dark hair had grown long in the front, nearly covering his eyes. Even asleep, his facial features were scrunched into a small frown. His suit was nearly torn to shreds and covered with blood and dirt stains. As messy as he looked, he was still the strong, determined man that had been with me for weeks now, and had saved me too many times for me to acknowledge.

Tilly was curled in a little ball, but I could still see her petite face. It hid behind her long hair, which had darkened from dirt and was in tangled in knots. Her lips were sealed, just like how they were most of the time. Her suit was probably in the best shape out of all of ours. Tilly's cuffs were shriveled and burned, and dark stains littered the fabric. A few holes and tears stretched down her knees and back. Besides that, though, it was still intact.

My eyes finally trailed to where Aster was sleeping. He was resting on his side with one of his hands under his head. His shoes were thrown to the side. Aster's curls were growing out on the top, nearly flopping over his forehead when he laid down. It wasn't as long as Ed's hair, but it was close. Because his glasses were off of the bridge of his nose, I could see freckles dancing under his eyes. It was either that or dirt. I couldn't tell.

Aster's other hand was resting on the floor, showing off the bloody, shriveled bandage around his injured fingers. I really hoped that they would be fixed one day. It would have crushed me to know that he had permanently hurt himself to save us.

And me? I was sure that if I looked at my reflection that I wouldn't have been able to recognize myself. My scarlet-dyed hair was wearing away, slowly turning back to its original brown color. It was tangled beyond fix. Every time I slid my fingers through my hair, it would catch on at least three knots. My face was smeared with dirt. I hoped that it covered the circles under my eyes, though, which had been the consequence of many sleepless nights. My lips were cut and split. My hands were bruised. Every part of my body was either cut or covered with blood and dirt.

I looked down at my palms. They were still red from earlier and stung. Now that I was thinking about it, the pain in my body was getting more and more intense. I closed my eyes, the aching in my body almost draining. The effects all swarmed me at once. I rested on my back, clenching my fists.

A hand rested on my arm. I turned my head, coming face to face with a firm face and a head of dark hair.

"It's my turn to take watch," Ed muttered. I nodded and rolled to my side. Instead of sleeping, I listened to Ed shifting his weight behind me and stared at Aster's shoulders, which lifted evenly with his breathing.

I didn't remember falling asleep that night. I only knew that I had when Tilly shook me awake. My body was still sore when I woke up, but it wasn't as unpleasant as it had been that night.

"I'm glad that you're awake," Aster said once we started walking.

"What happened?" I asked. It had been a question that I had wanted to ask but never got to until then. Aster stared at me sadly, making me think he would never answer.

I was about to repeat my question before Aster said, "You hit a really strong wall and passed out. Your heartbeat was really fast, and I mean really fast. I thought that your heart was going to stop.

"After you knocked out, though," he continued, "the wall disappeared. We didn't want to trust it, but we figured out that it was the exit."

Chills crawled up my spine at the memory of being frozen against the wall as my whole body was getting shocked. If no one had pulled me back, I probably would have never been able to move away.

I was about to ask another question when a sudden ringing sound stabbed my ears. I winced. Must be another side effect of the electrocution. Aster seemed to hear it too, though, for his eyes began to twitch in acknowledgment.

The more we walked, the higher and louder the ringing got. It shrieked in my ears and rattled my brain. My head ached, matching the pain in the rest of my body.

The noise reminded me of how much I was hurting—physically and mentally. I had been bruised, burnt, cut, and stabbed so many times that it didn't affect me anymore. All the deaths, distrust, and anxiety bothered me the most. How much more could I handle? Caden must have been sad to watch how I was slowly fading away because of this. It made me sad, too.

My eyebrows furrowed. I wasn't sad; I was angry. Angry that my name was called when I hadn't put it in the drawing. Angry that no matter how much I wanted to, I couldn't trust my allies. Angry that so many people had died in front of my eyes. Angry that I was tired. Angry at myself for being me.

The thoughts only made the ringing louder. A scream caught in the back of my throat. I slapped my palms over my ears, squeezing my eyes shut. Just be quiet...just be quiet...

"Kat, are you okay?" The voice sounded distant, but I knew it all too well.

"Make it stop!" I shrieked over the sound. Tears welled my eyes. I blinked them away. "Make it stop!"

Aster grabbed my wrists, but I refused to remove them from my head. He fought with me for a little longer before giving up, stepping back. Ed and Tilly met up with us. They all stared at me, concerned. None of them seem to be affected by the ringing sound.

I still heard it, though. It was only getting louder. Any time one of my friends tried to talk to me, it was drowned out by the wretched noise. Ed grabbed my wrists and successfully removed them from my ears.

"Kat!" he shouted in my face. The ringing started to decrescendo, turning into a buzz in the background. "What's wrong?"

"The...the ringing," I stammered. "It won't stop."

Aster stared, perplexed. "Kat. It stopped a long time ago."

Hey everyone! Happy chapter 50! I can't believe that this story has made it so far. The record I've had for writing an ongoing story has been 33 chapters, which I am proud to say has been beaten by this book.

Why do you think Kat was the only one who heard the ringing noise? Is she going crazy, or was it actually there? Do you think the electrocution has affected her more than they all expected? Comment what you guys think.

Don't forget to vote, comment, and share this story with your friends. Try to vote for this chapter with an object you like to use during the summer. Stay amazing.

This is Drumming Song by Florence and Machine. How are you liking the songs? Do you think they're all repetitive? Should I mix it up more? Tell me in the comments, and if you have recommendations for songs, I'd love to hear them. :)