The Brave and the Broken

Dreams

Aisling: Irish word for dream or vision

     "Y'know what," Gally abruptly said, breaking the silence and startling me slightly; I hadn't realized he was still awake. The rest of the boys had put out the fire and went to bed probably about an hour ago. I didn't know the exact time, of course, but it had felt like a while and I thought I was the only one awake. "We still gotta help you find a job before too long," he continued.

     "Oh, my Gosh, Gally. Why are you still awake?" I whispered back harshly, smiling despite my tone.

     "Same reason as you are, I assume," he answered. "Can't sleep."

     "Yeah, neither can I," I sighed. "Wait, but how did you know I was still awake?"

     "You're breathin' was too shallow. You breathe much deeper when you're actually sleeping. Or, I guess, if you were tryna fake it. But you weren't breathin' as deeply as you normally do when ya sleep. Besides, you're lying on your back and I've only ever seen ya sleep on your side"

     "Oh," I responded, "Okay..."

     We sat in silence for a couple of moments. Thoughts were swirling through my head. I could remember that it had always been hard for me to sleep. It would always take me hours on end before I could finally start to drift off. And, by the time I fell asleep, I rarely had dreams that I remembered. Sometimes I did, but most of those were nightmares or kind of weird dreams. I don't remember any of those nightmares or weird dreams now but I wasn't all that surprised, considering the fact that there was a lot I didn't remember from before I woke up in the Box. I was sure it would be the same now anyway. So far, the only "dreams" I had were the ones about Newt. And those would definitely qualify as "weird" dreams. I still wasn't entirely sure what that was about.

     I rolled over onto my side to see Gally staring at me. "What?" I asked.

     He propped his head up on his arm. "Whatcha thinking 'bout?"

     I hesitated slightly before answering. "Dreams," I stated.

     He looked slightly intrigued. "What about dreams?" He asked.

     "Well," I started, unsure whether or not I should tell him. Then I sighed, giving in. I was starting to feel more and more like I could trust him. "Well, remember when I fainted the day I showed up at the Glade? And then again the next day?"

     I could tell he was really interested now. He sat up, sitting cross-legged. I pulled my legs out of my sleeping bag to do the same and put my blanket on my lap.

     "And, you know how I was with Newt both times?" He nodded and I continued. "Well, both of those times, I had a... a dream. Except, it wasn't a dream."

     Understandably, he looked confused. "What do you mean?"

     "Well, the first one did seem like a dream at first—a really realistic dream, mind you—but the second one most definitely did not." I picked at my nails, avoiding eye contact.

     "What do you mean?" He asked again.

     I was starting to think that maybe telling him wasn't such a good idea. I looked around. I didn't want anyone waking up and hearing me talk about something like this; they would probably think I was crazy. Heck, Gally probably thinks I'm crazy. And Newt, too. I sighed. "You know what, maybe we should go somewhere we're less likely to be disturbed to talk about this," I said.

     "Oh—uh, okay." He looked around then stood up. I stood, too, and looked around, wondering where we should go. My eyes fell on a large group of trees and I grabbed his arm and started walking quickly towards it, Gally in tow.

     I stopped when we reached the tree-line and let go of his arm. "A forest," I announced.

     "The Deadheads," he corrected.

     "Well, whatever it is, that's where we're going. No Gladers around. Come on!" I glanced back at the Glade before grabbing Gally's arm again and lugging him into the forest, this time letting go of it as soon as he started walking. After passing a few trees, Gally walked up to one, reaching up and grabbing the nearest sturdy-looking branch.

     I gawked up at him. "What are you doing?"

     "What does it look like I'm doin', Em? I'm climbing this tree. Comin'?"

      "No, I'm not coming!"

     "Em, it's fun. Live a little."

     I crossed my arms. "Gally, there is absolutely no way in Hell I am climbing that tree."

     "Oh, c'mon, Em. Don't you trust me?" He asked, reaching out his hand.
I glared at him, unmoving, and he raised his eyebrows at me. I could tell that he was going to do it no matter what. "Okay, fine," I sighed. "Just this once."

     A smile broke out on his face as I walked over to the tree and grabbed his hand, the biggest smile I had seen so far. It made me happy to see him smile like that and I decided I wanted to make it happen more often. Then I grabbed the nearest branch with my free arm and placed my foot firmly against the tree while pulling up on the branch and Gally's hand. I got up and we continued to climb a bit higher before stopping. Gally maneuvered to a somewhat sturdy-looking branch and sat on it. It creaked under his weight.

     "Are you sure about this?" I speculated.

     "Sure as I'll ever be. Just come on!"

     "Okay," I said hesitantly, slowly bringing myself to the branch to sit next to Gally. It creaked slightly again as I sat on it.

     "See, no Gladers, perfect place for ya to talk 'bout your little dream. Besides, look," he said, pointing up to the sky then looking at me, "It sure is pretty up here, ain't it." I looked out at the sky; the Moon and the stars. He did have a point. It was beautiful; one of the most beautiful things I think I had ever seen, actually. But that didn't stop me from feeling like the branch beneath us could break at any moment.

     "So," Gally started, "about your dreams."

      "Right, so the first time, I was talking with Newt and everything was normal, right? We were having a conversation about his limp and how he got it. Or, at least, how he said he got it, but that's besides the point. Next thing I knew, I wasn't with Newt in the Glade anymore. No, I was up on the side of one of those walls, clinging to the vines. I had all these feelings imposed on me that I hadn't been feeling so strongly before. Like, as if they weren't my feelings. Long story short, I jumped off the wall, and everything went black. And then I woke up alone in that room," I concluded my story.

     I finally let myself look at Gally and he was looking at me, eyes wide. "And, the second time?"

      I sighed. "The second time I was with Newt again, telling him about the dream, when it happened again. Except, it was different that time; Newt was there with me, and I wasn't the one jumping this time. It was Newt. A different Newt. Two of them—one next to me and the one jumping from the wall. Then Alby came to get him and he didn't even see or hear me, it was weird. Confusing. But, even weirder was the fact that it wasn't just me dreaming about there being two Newts and one jumping off the wall, because Newt actually remembered it when I woke up and went to go talk to him. And after that is when you found me crying." I looked over at him again. "But you probably think I'm crazy now, right?"

      He smirked. "Oh, yeah. No. I definitely think you're crazy, just not because of that."

      "Hey!" I laughed and playfully bumped my shoulder into his, slightly harder than I had meant to, causing him to lose his balance slightly before catching himself. The branch creaked beneath us again. I thought nothing of it at first but then the creaking didn't stop. The branch started to crack.

      Gally grabbed me and pushed me to another branch. I found my footing and grabbed Gally's hand, intending to pull him over to where I was. The branch beneath him snapped, sending him hurtling down, starting to pull me down with him. My face slammed into the trunk of the tree, making my feet slip and forcing me to let go of Gally's hand. I attempted to grab a branch as I fell, only managing to scrape my hands. I fell hard on my back and groaned as my head slammed against the forest floor.