Wishful Thinking | Newt [DISCONTINUED]

13 | confusion

For the next four days, Newt complained about his bedridden state while asking Clint over and over again when he would be allowed to step out of the Homestead for reasons other than to go to the bathroom. Anne could understand his frustration and boredom over his current situation. Even she wouldn't want to be coupled up inside a stuffy room all day long while everyone else got to eat and walk around outside.

So, when Clint finally announced that Newt's leg was healed and rested enough for him to no longer have to stay in bed all day, you can imagine how happy he was. Newt was very clearly trying not to show his impatience while Jeff snapped his brace in place around his leg. Once it was done, he swung his legs of the bed, then stood a little unsteadily with the help of Jeff and walked a few rounds around the room to test his leg out.

Anne tried not to laugh as she watched him stretch and walk awkwardly, wobbling around the room much like a penguin. He would always have the limp but at least he could walk. Lincoln and Jeff were clearly as entertained as she was by watching Newt. They both hovered close to him in case he fell, which did - almost - happen more than once.

When Newt was finally able to walk without looking like he would fall on his face, Clint lead him out of the room and down the stairs. That was a whole different story. The brace didn't make it extremely difficult to walk for him. It just happened to be a bit heavy. It took them two whole minutes to get downstairs, but it was worth it when Anne saw the bright smile on Newt's face once he was outside.

Newt waved to Alby who was already running towards them from the field where she could see Zart and a couple of others watching. Newt was clearly the center of attention today.

"What's he doin' out?" Alby asked.

"He's fine, Alby," Clint laughed. "As long as he doesn't start running around here, he'll be okay."

"But he clearly needs rest," Alby pointed a finger at Newt as he took a couple of unsteady steps towards Anne. The soft ground wasn't as easy for him to walk on as the wooden floors inside. "Just look at that."

"Stop bloody talkin' about me like I'm not even here," Newt said irritably as he grabbed her shoulder to steady himself.

Anne stumbled slightly, reaching up to grab the hand he had placed on her shoulder to make sure both of them didn't go tumbling to the ground. Alby did have a point, but Newt would get better once he got to walk for a while.

"Okay, let's go," she said, leading Newt away from his overly worried friend. Alby looked like he was about to protest but Clint gave him a look and the boy snapped his mouth shut immediately.

It only took a couple of rounds around the Glade before Newt got the hang of it. He was a bit slow and his limp didn't help much, but it was a bit fun and refreshing. The other boys had gone back to work, but Anne did notice some of them peeking around trees and wooden planks to get a look at what was going on. She couldn't blame them. She'd be curious too.

Alby, who had been hovering a couple of feet away form the two of them, was more than happy to take Anne's place when she asked him. Smiling, she headed back to the Homestead after telling Newt to take it easy. She was only a little bit away from the Homestead when she spotted someone standing near the door, a plank of wood forgotten by his feet.

Gally was squinting his eyes, his gaze focused on the West door. Anne frowned as she tried to see what he was looking at. No one was near the door. All the boys were busy at work. The only few people scattered around were Nick, Alby and Newt and they were nowhere near the West door.

"Gally?" Anne asked as she approached him. "Are you okay?"

Gally turned to look at her slowly like he was in a daze. There was a frown on his face and he looked as though he was extremely confused about something. "Yeah..." He mumbled. "Yeah, I'm fine."

He was anything but fine. He turned again, his eyes focused on the West door. What could he be thinking that would make him look in that direction so much. What was going on? Did something happen and she just hadn't realized it?

"Are you sure you're okay?" Anne asked, feeling concerned about the odd way he was acting.

Gally nodded absentmindedly, then frowned, squinting his eyes again to see from the distance. And then he jumped, his eyes growing wide in surprise as he stumbled back.

"Gally, what's going on?" Anne was feeling a bit scared now. Gally didn't normally act like this. No one did. Something was seriously wrong and Anne wanted to know what. Not knowing what was going on was scaring her.

"Didn't you see that?" Gally asked. "It was... It was a Griever. I swear, I'm not seeing things. It really was there and then it wasn't. Anne, I promise, I'm not lying."

"I didn't--"

"Look!" Gally grabbed her wrist roughly and pulled her towards him. His nails dug into Anne's skin causing her to cry out in pain and pull her arm away from him. She stumbled back a couple of steps before turning towards Gally.

"I'm sorry," Gally said, his voice breaking slightly. "I didn't mean to do that. I'm sorry."

And then be took off running, right towards the West door. For some reason, Anne's voice wouldn't come out when she tried to call out after him. Will, one of Gally's Builder's spotted their Keeper running towards the door and shouted after him, but Gally wouldn't stop. He kept running until he entered the Maze and didn't turn back.

Anne stated after him in shock, her hand clasped around the wrist Gally had grabbed. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't understand what was happening. All she knew was that it was something bad. Something really bad.

×××

This chapter is unedited and a rather poor excuse for a chapter, really. I'll definetely edit this tomorrow. I am so sorry for not updating on Saturday. Unfortunately, I'm super busy since classes started for me last week and don't have much time to write anymore. Actually, that's a lie. I do have time to write but when I get free time, inspiration to write isn't there. I just don't feel like it.

I don't think I'll be able to update twice a week like I used to so I'm going to be changing he update schedule. From now on, this book will be updated on Tuesdays. Chances are that the chapters will also be a bit shorter (like this one) but I'll try to update without missing a week.

And questions!

Do you hate this chapter as much as I do?

What's going on with Gally?

Do you want more flashbacks/memories?

Who do you want me to include in the memories?

Okay, that's it for now. Thanks for reading!