Left Behind -Gally-

Chapter 16

3 1/2 Weeks Later

Things had been going well for Emma. Her ankle was healed. There were times when it hurt, but those days were becoming rarer. She was back to working in the Gardens but had yet to do any heavy lifting. That was all right with her. She focused on the vegetables and keeping the area clean.

Time had gone by quickly. The days were better now that she was friends with Gally. The two were often found spending their free time together.

They became very good friends. Once Gally got over his concerns about her, they bonded. He was still hard-headed, pretentious, and prideful, but she liked that about him. Gally was many things, and she was thankful to have him as her friend.

Friend. An odd word because she felt friendship with many other Gladers, but none of them made her feel the way Gally did. They were feelings she didn't understand. At first, she thought her desire to befriend him stemmed from the need to be liked by everyone. That was not the case. There was something about the Keeper of the Builders that intrigued her. It had been that way from the start.

"Hey," Newt said from his spot on the ground. "Emma, you with me?"

She blinked a few times, exiting her thoughts. "Yeah, sorry. What did you say?" Before he could say anything, the alarm went off. It was a signal that the new Greenie was coming.

Jack tossed down his shovel. "Great."

"Another confused Greenie is coming up." Greenies could be hard to deal with sometimes. They were confused and scared, not understanding what was going on. It was repetitive.

Emma chuckled at their reaction. "Maybe we'll get a girl."

"Hoping for another Glader girl?" Newt already knew the answer.

"Of course," she said.

Zart scoffed as they began walking towards the box. "I doubt that will happen."

Her shoulders dropped. "Really?" Emma tried to remain hopeful. Having another girl would make her feel like less of an outsider.

"Yeah," he muttered. There was never going to be another girl sent up in the box.

They stopped at the doors. A large crowd had already gathered to inspect the new Greenie. Emma had managed in the last few weeks to drop the Greenie nickname. Eventually, everyone started calling her Emma or Glader Girl.

As the box came to a stop, Gally stepped forward. He threw open the doors with the help of Henry and Marvin. Newt pushed his way to the front. It was his job to help greet newcomers. Emma stood beside Zart, observing what was taking place around them.

Once the doors were open, Gally jumped inside. There were a few whispers about the person inside, but she couldn't see anything.

The person inside became visible a minute later. Gally pulled himself out first. The Greenie struggled but managed to do it. The Greenie was a boy, as expected. The moment he got out, he stayed on the ground, body curling into itself. He was young, younger than most, twelve, possibly thirteen, with curly brown hair.

Emma felt sorry for the boy. He was too scared to stand up. It wasn't easy to wake up in a cage with no memory. Gally yanked him from the ground. "All right," Newt said. "Come on, Greenbean. Let's get you out of here. Alby," the blond searched for the man. "Tour?"

"Pit first," Alby instructed. "I'll be there in a minute. Everyone, go back to work." Emma watched for a moment longer. Newt placed a hand on the kid's back, silently guiding him towards the Pit.

Rather than saying anything, she followed Brandon and Zart back toward the Gardens to finish their work before the bonfire.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~