The Lilly in the Glade

Chapter 11

Teresa's P.O.V
     I couldn't believe it. Me and Thomas weren't the only ones with telepathic powers. We were sitting under a tree by the courtyard.

So you have abilities too? I ask her through my mind.

Yeah, but I'm a little different from you and Thomas. She answers.

What do you mean? I ask.

You are only able to communicate with Thomas. I can read anyone's thoughts. She replies.

     I feel like my mind has just blown. It turns out that Lilly is more powerful than Thomas and me.

So were you able to read all our thoughts when you first met us? I ask her.

Yeah, and that's why I didn't try to kill you guys. Once I saw all of you, something went off in my head and I just felt like I could trust you four. She explains.

Can you do anything else with your "powers"? I continue asking questions through my mind.

I think so. I was experimenting one day and I think I controlled Clint into walking out of my room as soon as he entered. And then I felt that I froze Jeff for about five seconds. She explains.

     My eyes widen and I stare at her. So you're incredibly athletic and you have a super-powered mind. If I didn't know you, I'd be running until my feet bled. No offense. I send to her.

No offense taken. I am a monster. She sends to me, her tone very melancholy.

No you're not. How could you be a monster? I answer.

I'm probably slowing them down. She says vaguely.

What do you mean? I ask her, but before she can answer, Thomas runs over to us.

     "C'mon, we gotta go." He says, reaching his hands out to pull us up.
     "What's going on?" I ask him as he helps me up to my feet.
     "The Doors. They aren't closing." Lilly murmurs as she gets up.
     "Yeah, how'd you know?" He asks her.
     "We'll talk about it later, Tom." I say, knowing that he'd probably freak out if he heard Lilly's voice in his head. I remember how he reacted when I first talked to him telepathically.

     The three run to where Newt, Minho, and Alby are standing, right next to the Box. They seemed to be pointing out the doors and making a plan.
     "So you guys made a plan?" Thomas asked them.
     "Yeah, we're patching up the Homestead and trying to barricade the open doors. It's a minor shot to slow down the Grievers." Newt explains. Lilly, Thomas, and Teresa look around at the hard work.
     "So I'm guessing we're all hiding and waiting out the party in the Homestead?" Teresa guesses.
     "Yeah, depending on how much space will depend on if you guys get your own room." Newt replies.
     "I'm more worried about surviving the night than being stuck in a room with a bunch of boys." Teresa retorted.

Teenage boys. Lilly sent her, making Teresa roll her blue eyes at the realization.

     Suddenly, Lilly started twitching, rapidly blinking her eyes. She put a hand on her ear and made a slight grunt, as if she were in pain.
     "You okay, Lil?" Newt asked her, stepping forward and putting a hand on her shoulder. She suddenly stopped. She nodded in response.
     "You sure?" Minho asked the young girl.
     "Yeah." Lilly murmured.
     "Alright, then let's not let all the others do all the work. Let's move." Alby spoke, not paying much attention to Lilly's strange action.

     It turned out that there was enough space for the two girls to have their own room. The windows were bordered up with shabby wood and nails jutted out unevenly due to the rushing work before sundown. The door had a rusted chair under the knob; it wasn't the best barricade.
     Teresa and Lilly sat on the one bed in the room, cuddled up next to each other. Lilly's expression was blank, while Teresa was filled with anticipation and looked back and forth between the door and blocked windows.
     "Are you scared?" Lilly asked the older girl, looking up at her with curious eyes.
     "Who wouldn't be?" Teresa confessed, making eye contact with her.
     Lilly looked away and stared at the wall blankly. "I can feel their fear and desperation." She spoke softly. "It's...overwhelming." She added more quietly. Teresa felt sorry for the child.
     But their was a sudden noise that penetrated the air. Like machinery grinding against machinery and another indecipherable sound that came from outside the window. Teresa and Lilly pressed closer to each other. Teresa held her breath and Lilly stared wearily at the boarded-up window. The sound got louder and louder, as if it were creeping closer. Teresa began to tremble, but Lilly didn't move.
     "It's right outside." Lilly murmured. It sounded as if she was right; the noise stopped getting louder and just stayed at the same volume.
     It was like that for about fifteen seconds.
     And then the Griever broke in. Teresa screamed and Lilly got up to her feet and ran to the door. The gooey cyborg tried to fit itself through the broken window, crushing the wood surrounding it. Teresa ran after Lilly, who was trying to remove the chair from under the knob. But it was stuck. Lilly started kicking it, applying much more force than Teresa thought she could. After several kicks, with the Griever attempting to shove its enormous body through the busted window, Lilly managed to break off a leg of the chair. She picked up the broken leg and ran to the Griever, dodging all the flailing mechanical arms and stabbing needles. She then started fighting it, beating the horrific creature with the rusted chair leg.
     "Lilly!" Teresa screamed for the girl to come with her and run. She had already opened the door and was yelling for the younger girl to follow her. But Lilly didn't stop fighting the Griever. So Teresa rushed forth. She managed to grab Lilly's hand and pulled her away from the Griever, who was screeching and its weight crushing the wood beneath it.
     "Wait!" Lilly suddenly turned and threw the chair leg into the Griever's gooey body and a horrendous shriek erupted from the creature. Teresa pulled her from the room, slammed the door, and they were running down the hallway, the same noise of the Grievers resonating from everywhere.
     "Thomas!" Teresa called for her friend. No reply. She tried telepathically. Still no reply.
     They stopped midway through the hall, not knowing where to go.

What do we do, Teresa?

I don't know! They're everywhere!

     Suddenly one of the doors slammed open, and several gladers barreled out of the room. They moved very quickly, running towards the exit of the building.
     "Wait!" Teresa called after them, starting to run after them. But Lilly wasn't at her side, which Teresa took notice of and ran back to where she had disappeared to. She was greeted by Newt and Lilly. Newt was grasping the side of his temple, blood trickling down the side of his face. Lilly was holding him up, a concerned expression on her face. Her blue eyes were determined, and she was helping the injured boy move forward.

Go on ahead, we'll catch up! She sent to Teresa.

     At first Teresa hesitated, but obeyed. She turn and ran while Lilly helped Newt struggle along to the outside.

     It was the next morning. Thomas had gotten himself stung all over and there has been weird happening with Gally. Newt was getting patched up by Jeff, and Lilly sat on the bed in front of him, staring blankly at the floor. Jeff had went off to fetch something, so it was only the two in the room. Everyone else was already patched up.
     "Hey, Lil?" Newt got the girl's attention, and she shyly raised her attention to him. "Uh, thanks. For getting me out of there." Newt thanked the brave girl.
     Lilly gave a brief nod of respect.
     "Teresa told me you really beat some klunk out of that bloody Griever." Newt tried to start an interesting conversation. Lilly shrugged her shoulders in reply.
     "That's pretty tough. You're only like, thirteen, and you had more guts than most of the shanks here." Newt complimented.
     "Adrenaline most likely." Lilly responded quietly.
     "You're really humble, y'know that?" Newt stated.
     Lilly looked up thoughtfully and pursed her lips as if she was really thinking about it.
     "It's a good quality though. Not many of us have that." Newt added, and Lilly only shrugged her shoulders in reply.
     Newt only smiled and chuckled. "I wish you'd bloody talk more." He said teasing, yet wishfully.
     "There's not much point in talking." Lilly replied, looking at Newt with her turquoise eyes thoughtful.
     "Well how else would you stay sane?" Newt joked, but Lilly didn't respond. Instead, she thought about something.
     "I think I need to show you something." She said suddenly, leaving Newt confused.
     She slid off of the bed and came before him. She breathed out softly and cupped his face with her small hands. She then closed her eyes and sent him something. It was memories, of her sister and Newt. One was of him and Sarina as young kids, another was of them when they looked to be about twelve. Newt was smiling brightly, laughing like a normal kid as he and Sarina threw pillows at each other.
     Lilly let go of his face and reopened her eyes. She could see Newt's dark eyes glossing over, like he was thankful and melancholy. He suddenly hugged her, nice and close. Lilly was surprised by the sudden embrace, but then wrapped her arms around him.
"Thank you, Lilly." He murmured into her ear, then sniffling to try the keep the tears away. He didn't even care that what she just did was superhuman, he could only focus on the memories. Even though he couldn't see, Lilly actually smiled. It was nice to bring him happiness after he lacked it for so long.