𝐁𝐄𝐂𝐀𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔 - 𝘔𝘈𝘡𝘌 𝘙𝘜𝘕𝘕𝘌𝘙

18 ~ 𝙛𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢𝙨

Lottie

 It was late that night, and I still wasn't able to fall asleep. The image of a Griever chasing me kept looming from the darkness behind my eyelids. I stared up at the dark outline of the trees above; I had sneaked back to my hammock after Newt left me in the med hut since I didn't want to sleep there.

The soft noises of the boys sleeping around me had become a sort of white noise for me - I probably wouldn't be able to relax without them. Rustling of blankets as boys turned over in their sleep, soft snores, small clicks of their mouths as their lips parted. This might be my favorite part of my day. The silence that wasn't silence.

Then the silence was gone, replaced by a yell that froze the blood in my veins. There was shouting in the middle of the night sometimes, from boys who'd had a nightmare. But I'd never heard one come from the Homestead, which made me think that there was something seriously wrong.

I leapt from my hammock so fast that I fell to the ground. I grumbled, brushing the dirt off of my shirt before taking off. A few of the other boys had been woken up by the yell and called after me in confused voices.

"Lottie, where ya goin'?"

I didn't respond. I was already halfway across the Glade, running with bare feet and nothing but a large white t-shirt that I wore to bed. I charged into the Homestead and raced up the stairs, opening the very first door, which I knew to be Newt's. I froze right in the doorway.

Nothing seemed to be very wrong; the lamp on the bedside table was on. Newt was sitting cross-legged on his bed with his head in his hands, and Alby stood in the middle of the room, looking down at him with his arms crossed. He looked over when I slammed the door.

"What are you doing up?" Alby asked. He didn't seem to be too surprised to see me.

"I heard a scream," I panted. "Was that... who was that?"

Alby raised his eyebrows at me. "Does it look like I was the one screaming? It was him," He nodded to Newt, who had taken his head out of his hands and was looking at me with embarrassment.

"Sorry," He mumbled. "Did I wake everyone up?"

"Pretty much," I said, seeing no use in lying to him. He ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath. I tilted my head in concern; Newt was really pale, but the front of his shirt was soaked with sweat. "Newt, are you feeling okay?"

"Fine," he mumbled, avoiding eye contact with me. I didn't believe him – he wasn't fine. I walked forward and placed a hand on his forehead. I felt a bit like a mom but I didn't really care, because Newt was burning up.

"I think he's sick," I said. Newt looked up finally, and I could see that his eyes were a bit unfocused. "Do you have a fever?"

"Dunno," he said.

Alby sighed from behind me. "Well," he began. "He should be taken to the med hut. I'll wake up the Med-jacks-"

"No, 'm fine..." Newt said, trying to stand but falling back on the bed.

"Shut up, Newt, you're literally shaking like a leaf," I said scoldingly.

Ten minutes later, Newt was covered in blankets in a bed in the med hut. The Med-jacks had reluctantly woken up to give him some ibuprofen for his headache and some medicine to help him sleep.

"You two should probably get out of here," said Clint in a flat voice. "You don't want to get sick."

"What about you?" I asked. "Won't you be sick too?"

"Maybe Alby should have thought about that before he came to wake us up," Jeff snapped, and slammed the door in our faces. I scoffed.

"They are definitely not morning people," I said. Alby nodded.