The Glader: Newt x OC

Can You Love Me Again?:

~Zoe~

I waited outside the slammer with Ben, Daniel, Zart, Winston, and Alby. Newt was being released.

"Hope you learned your lesson," Alby said as he opened the door.

"I did," Newt said as he climbed out. He looked away from me. I stared at my feet.

          I found myself wandering towards the barn. I was trying to distract myself. Even though I had been here nearly a month I hadn't actually investigated what animals we had. I opened the wooden door on the barn and walked in. The barn was sectioned off into four parts. One held chickens in black, white, and brown. Another had goats. The billy goat popped his head over the door when I walked by.

"Why hello there," I smiled and gently patted his head. He sniffed my hand and bleated shrilly. The goat hopped on its hooves.

"You're adorable," I cooed. I noticed the door in their pen opened to an outer area. The billy goat trotted over to the door and stopped. It looked back at me as if begging me to follow. I stepped over the gate into the enclosure and followed the Goat outside. He ran over to another goat that was lying on its side.

"Oh poor thing," I said when I noticed the female goat's distress.

The male goat went back to eating the shrubbery that had been tossed on the ground. I knelt beside the female goat. Her back end was surrounded by a puddle of pale red liquid. Oh boy. Raspy pants came from her open mouth.

"It's going to be alright," I whispered as I rolled up my sleeves. I had never experienced childbirth of any kind before. I looked around. The boys were carrying on work as usual.

I gasped when I saw something slide out of the goats end. I quickly caught the wet thing and held it in my arms. I grabbed one of my small knives from my strap and cut the cord connecting the two goats.

Why didn't the little goat cry? It wasn't breathing on its own.

                 I quickly stood and ran with the baby goat to the med-hut.

"Make way!" I yelled as I threw the door open and shoved Clint out of the way.

"Zoe what the shuck?" Jeff asked as I slid stuff off the table.

Clint put a towel down for me. I quickly placed the baby goat on the towel and began to vigorously rub it's body with a soft rag. "It's not breathing!" I said with tears threatening to fall. "Why isn't it breathing!?"

I tried to blow air into the baby's nostrils.

I sobbed as I tried again and again to revive the little creature. It's dark fur was a wet, tangled mess from my rubbing it repeatedly. The small eyes remained closed.

Clint grabbed my arm, "Zoe, It's gone."

"It just needs a little," I blew one more breath of air into the animal's nose.

"Zoe, it's okay. We lose one every so often," Clint snatched the cloth from me.

I stared at the dead baby goat. The tears streamed down my face in warm streams.

"What no," I sobbed. "I killed it!"

"No, no. You didn't kill it," Clint tried to comfort me. "It was born too early."

"See, You messed it up now. That goat is dead and now everyone is going to hate you. Alby might as well just toss you in the maze!" I heard the voice in my mind. I am a murderer.

Jeff called after me a I tore across the glade. I needed out of these walls. I need out. I need to get out of here! I Joe and at the last moment before exiting the open door I veered to the right and into the woods. My feet pounded the damp earth as I ran through the trees. I could hear my heavy breathing. I ran past the map-house, past the graveyard, and past the footbridge. There, in that sunny clearing, I found my tree. Before you could say frypan's flapjacks I leapt onto the low branch. My side scraped the bark as I hauled myself higher into the tree. Like a drum, my heart slammed in my chest. I could barely make out my surroundings. I hoisted myself up into my usual spot and pulled my knees up to my chest. The sky clouded over and began to leak a cool mist. How fitting. To try and keep some warmth in my body I wrapped my arms around my legs and rested my chin on my knees.