𝗚𝗥𝗢𝗪𝗧𝗛, gally (tmr)

Chapter Seven

A few days later, Ada tiptoed along the outskirts of the forest, trying her best to not ruin the only pair of shoes she had in the place. She had coated them in mud a few times before, and it took her hours to scrub away at them with a small bucket of water and a sponge to finally get them clean again.

She wasn't going to make the mistake of getting them dirty again.

Frypan had sent her out to the forest to find some sticks for a fire to toast marshmallows. Minho had pushed Newt to put in a request to the Creators for a packet of marshmallows, and they actually obliged.

Leaning down carefully, she began to bundle logs up in her arms, moving slowly due to her fear of the muddy ground. She didn't notice the sky above her visibly darkening, or the chill in the air, despite the fact she only wore a t-shirt.

And then Ada felt something drop onto her head. For a moment, she thought something small - like a blueberry - had been thrown at her. She scolded herself in her head for thinking so stupidly, because whatever touched her just vanished - almost like it melted.

And then it clicked in her brain: It was rain.

Another droplet hit her head, and she glanced up at the sky, letting one hit her forehead. She involuntarily laughed at the feeling, the water trickling down her temple and then her jaw, as many more began to pour down on her face.

The sky had grown a dark grey, storm clouds looming over the Glade threateningly as the rain continued. She thought nothing of it, of course. It was the first time it had rained since she was there, but it's rain. From what she could recall in her memory deprived brain, it was normal.

And from what she could vaguely figure out, she knew it was her favourite weather.

When she looked back down, clothes already drenched from the heavy droplets, she could see Newt's face. He was as pale as a sheet. Immediately her grin vanished, and she found herself reluctant to approach the distraught boy as he frowned up at the sky.

Glancing around, she caught sight of all of the boys around, all with similar expressions but none as intense as the blonde boy's. Her brain was screaming for her to ask one of them, but her heart was telling her there was something very, very wrong with the whole thing.

Apprehensively, she jogged over to the entrance of the Homestead, where Frypan was stood leaning against the wooden structure and warily watching the gloomy scene of the Glade. The mood had seemed to have dropped when the rain started and the whole thing seemed so unexplainable to her.

She noticed that the ones looking downcast and noticeably sending glances towards Newt, were the ones that she knew had been here longer. Chuck, herself, the other boys who had arrived more recently, were all looking around with their mouths firmly shut in anxious confusion.

Approaching Frypan, she stopped with her arms folded across her chest. Frypan, like Newt and the other more senior Gladers, looked deeply upset. She was nervous to ask, but knew that the curiosity gnawing away at her stomach was far too great to leave it alone.

"Fry," He startled, his head snapping towards her like a deer caught in headlights. "What's going on? With Newt? A-and everyone?"

He turned away again, his gaze softening on the blonde boy still working in the rain that was only getting heavier by the second. Letting out a heavy sigh, the cook straightened up and tilted his head inside the Homestead to signal her to follow. He led her towards the end of the dining hall, where they always sat to have chats about other boys in the Glade that they didn't want anyone to hear.

That should've been the first sign to tell Ada that this was not good.

"So?" She asked, more impatient than she intended. "I thought it was just rain, right?"