The First Gladers

Chapter 27: Bad News

 You stumble forward slightly as Newt swiftly leaves the room. An emptiness creeps up inside of you the longer he's away. You can't almost still feel his closeness, yet it's just out of reach. You wish that you didn't want him to come back. You wish that you were still boiling with anger towards him, but you aren't. You just want him to come back. You want to be close to him again, you want to feel the heat of his breath on your face.

A scream jolts you from your thoughts. You stumble quickly from the room, momentarily forgetting about your argument with Newt.

There, in the middle of your beautiful Glade stands a Griever. The creators just couldn't let you forget about them, could they? You watch as a sliver of metal comes down in a flash into the skin of a poor boy trapped under its gruesome arms. The boy screams in pain and you immediately jump into action.

You run into the runner's court grabbing a large bladed knife and make a dash toward the foul beast.

You throw the blade with all your strength, watching as the silver metal pierces the Griever's flesh. It howls and screeches in pain, taking off back into the Maze.

That was easy. Too easy. They wanted this boy to survive. You look down to see a writhing whimpering Gally.

"Medjacks!" You call, "someone get Clint and Jeff!"

Within seconds Clint and Jeff are by your side, scooping Gally off the ground. You get a glimpse of the two medjack's faces. They're pale from fear. They've never seen this thing before, this Griever. No one really has except you and Alby. But now the secret is out. The whole Glade knows there are monsters hiding in the Maze.

Newt walks up behind you, and as he shoves last you he growls in your ear,

"They need to know."

You roll your eyes with a sigh. He might be right. You look to Alby who watched the whole thing from a distance. He slowly makes his way over to you, as if he can sense your distress.

"What was that all about?" He asks simply.

"Which part? Gally, or Newt?" You add, sarcasm dripping from your voice.

"Well first the most recently injured one who just got attacked by a Griever."

"Well, I don't got much for ya there. All I know is that the Griever left too quick. They wanted Gally to survive."

Alby nods, "that makes sense." He says, "we'll have to keep a close eye on him to see if there's anything to be learned from all this."

"You were always the wise one." You sigh

Alby shrugs, "now what's up with Newt?"

You explain everything to him. How you've practically mapped the whole Maze and how you think there's no way out. You tell him about your argument, leaving out of course the tiny detail of him getting in your face.

Alby nods slowly, pondering everything that you've said.

"I think you're right." He says.

 "You think I'm right?" You question, widening your eyes in shock toward Alby.

He nods, "Yeah, as much as I hate to say it, you're right. If they know there's no way out they'd stop working and we wouldn't be able to survive." He pauses and you can sense to pain behind his wise eyes. His heart is aching to accept this. That you'll never go home. He sighs, "Who knows, maybe we can make a good life here."

You let out a breath, allowing your head to drop. "Yeah. Our life is here now."

Alby gently brings you close to him, wrapping his arms around you. You know as long as Alby is around you'll be ok. He's your rock, supporting you and your leadership.

"Thanks, Alby." You say turning to face to med-hut.

Ably gives a sweet half-smile, the most he can muster under the weight of your bad news. The two of you walk together to the med-hut. Your heart is in your throat as you anticipate Gally's condition.

Before you even enter the building you hear the screams. You swallow your fear and step through the threshold. Before you lay Gally, writhing and screaming as if fighting a monster that's inside of him. It's like there's a beast trying to claw its way out from under his skin. That's not even the worst part. The bare skin of his chest reveals sickly green veins crawling across his flesh. On the edge of his ribs is a cluster of dark green veins along with dried blood.

Clint and Jeff's eyes find yours as you walk into the room. Both boy's eyes are wide with fear and their brows are curved in confusion. They have no idea what's going on.

You're about to give some far fetched advice that has zero bases in the medical field when the door bursts open behind you. Startled, you whip around to see Newt. Instantly your stomach starts to churn with distaste.

"Newt." You say curtly.

"Y/n." He responds the same.

The air grows thick as your sudden anger towards Newt seems to feel the room. You hear shuffles of boys shifting awkwardly behind you.

"Newt, did you have something to say?" Alby asks cautiously.

Newt breaks his glare away from yours, turning to face Alby.

"Yes. I found this in the Homestead." He says holding up a blueish vial. "I wasn't sure what it was when I was helping unpack the box last time so I stored it away, but I get the feeling it's meant for this." He explains.

You snatch the vial from Newt's hand, ignoring Alby's frustrated sigh. One word is printed across the glass. Antidote. You laugh.

"Thanks, Newt." You say blandly over your shoulder.

Without a second thought, you uncap the vial and stick the pristine needle into Gally's skin. The boy lets out one last scream before going silent.

"You killed him!" Alby shouts rushing to Gally's side.

"Wait," Jeff commands.

He places two fingers on the side of Gally's neck. After a horribly long minute, he says,

"He's alive. I think she saved him."