Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Elisabeth was sent to work with the Cooks the next day. By the time lunch rolled around, she was sure that there was no way she was going to be a Cook.
She was just passing the gardens when she spotted Thomas sitting by a tree. For some reason he looked terrified.
"What's up with you, mate?" She asked but he didn't seem to have heard her as he stared at the Homestead in complete horror. Whatever he had seen in there had traumatised him.
"You going to tell me what's wrong?" She asked, touching his shoulder gently and he broke out of his reverie.
"It's that Ben kid," Thomas confided in her. "He looks like a monster. Gally tricked me into seeing him."
Elisabeth frowned. Why were the Gladers being so harsh on Thomas? It was only making the situation worse. Yes, Thomas was a little curious and asked a lot of questions one after another but he was a nice bloke.
"Let's hope Gally steps on water with socks on." She said. It was an attempt to take his mind off Ben.
And it worked as Thomas laughed.
"Well I-"
Though, before he had the chance to finish his speech, the familiar wailing sound came from all everywhere at once, echoing off the stone walls.
Elisabeth knew that sound.
A sound that wasn't supposed to be heard for another month.
It was the Greenie alarm.
But Greenies only came up once a month. Her brown eyes darted across the Glade, lips parted in the slightest.
Was the alarm malfunctioning?
"What's wrong?" Thomas asked but she didn't seem to hear him.
Elisabeth slowly made her way to the Box as the siren clanged through the air. She could see that dozens of boys were running around the courtyard.
The Gladers looked like lost chickens thrown off the coop but Elisabeth didn't feel nearly as panicked or frightened as her instincts told her she ought to be.
It was just another Greenie.
What could possibly go wrong?
A small crowd was gathered around the Box, awaiting the arrival of the newest Newbie.
"Newt, what's going on?" Thomas yelled over the noise, confusion flickering over his features with a hint of fear.
Newt glanced over at him, strangely calm in the middle of the chaos. He nodded toward the Box. "Means another Newbie's comin' up in the Box. Right now. "
"So?" Thomas asked, sounding more and more confused with each passing second.
"So?" Newt repeated, his jaw dropping slightly. "Greenie, we've never had three Greenies show up in the same month."
