Because Of You Chapter 25
Wake up
7:35 a.m.
The Glade had managed to fall into a state of restless sleep as the boys and Lacee tried to sleep off the memories of the night before.
Nobody slept alone that night.
Every Glader had someone to keep them company in fear of things getting much worse.
And they did.
Gally yawned and stretched as he woke up to the morning sun.
Placing a sweet kiss on Lacee's forehead he roused Thomas by shaking his shoulders.
"Tom. Wake up. It's morning. I think we should go clean up before baby girl wakes up, yeah?"
He whispered as Thomas opened his eyes and nodded groggily.
"Sounds good. Let's go."
Thomas croaked as Gally helped him off the bed and out into the Glade.
The two boys entered the bathroom and proceeded to take a long shower as they washed off the remnants of the night before.
Suddenly there was a loud commotion happening outside and both boys hurried to put their clothes on.
Racing out into the Glade their mouths dropped open as they watched every boy in the Glade run back and forth with buckets of water as dark clouds of smoke billowed from the Homestead.
"FIRE! SOMEONE HELP! FIRE!" They heard a boy scream as Thomas and Gally raced over to the entrance of the Homestead with a look of horror on their faces.
"Lacee's still in there! Goddamnit I'm going in."
Thomas said as he choked back a cough from the smoke that surrounded them.
Gally dropped the bucket of water that he was holding and ran in after him as the Glader's screams got louder around them.
As they raced through the door and up the stairs, the horrific screams of Glader's that were stuck inside reached their ears.
Thomas cursed under his breath knowing there wasn't anything they could do for the others stuck inside but they could save Lacee.
She was their priority.
Thomas kicked down the door to their room that was crumbling into pieces around them as the Homestead began to shake and sway from side to side.
Gally quickly made his way over to where Lacee still lay asleep and scooped her up into his arms as they turned and ran out of the room and down the stairs right before the Homestead crashed to the ground.
The screams of the Glader's that were stuck inside ceased as an eerie silence filled the Glade.
Gally collapsed next to Thomas on the ground as Clint and Jeff started treating Lacee for smoke inhalation.
Lacee coughed heavily before she sat up shakily and looked around her with her eyes filled with panic.
"Gally…Thomas…" She cried as she threw herself into their waiting arms and let out a sob of relief.
"What happened?" She asked as she turned and saw that what was left of the Homestead had burned to a pile of ashes and clouded debris.
Gally shook his head as he let out a sob and pulled her tightly against his body as if she was his lifeline.
Thomas started to breathe heavily as a panic attack began to take over his body.
"They're dead. They're all dead. There were fucking Glader's in there!"
He cried as the surviving Gladers surrounded the group of three and collapsed to their knees in a tight knit circle.
So many of them were gone.
Minho took charge as he directed the Baggers to find the missing bodies and give him a body count while the others just looked on with paled faces as the smoke continued to rise into the sky making the Glade dark and grim.
"Fuck we're alive…" Gally croaked as he tightened his grip on Lacee who cried into his chest.
When her sobs finally turned to quiet whimpers, Lacee lifted her head and looked around at the devastation that now was their home.
Boys of all ages gathered around them as some cried and others watched with stoic expressions.
She reached out and touched every Glader within arm's length as she tried to reassure them all.
The Keeper of the Baggers rushed over to Minho and whispered quietly making Minho's face go pale and his eyes water with unshed tears.
"16. That's how many were lost today."
He gritted out as he ran over and punched a tree so hard that it dented its bark.
No one said a word as they silently mourned the loss of their brothers who had perished in the fire.
Suddenly the silence was broken when a Builder by the name of Eric came running over and screaming to get everyone's attention.
"Guys, you need to come and see this right now!"
He said as Gally, Thomas, Lacee and Minho followed by the other Keepers raced over to the treeline of the Deadheads.
There laying on the ground was Newt who was unconscious and had ashes and soot all over him.
A box of matches lay clutched in his palm.
Lacee let out a scream and Gally and Thomas gasped as Newt began to stir.
Minho dropped to the ground and shook the blonde hard by the shoulders with a deadly expression.
"Newt what the FUCK did you DO?!" He screamed as the blonde blinked his eyes open and did the one thing that none of them expected.
He smiled.
A manic laugh spilled from his lips as he pushed Minho away and stalked over to the pile of ashes that held the burned bodies of their brothers.
"My job is done."
He said ominously before his eyes rolled back in his head and he fell to the ground.
Lacee started to shake as she collapsed in Gally's arms.
All of them had shocked expressions and were stunned into silence at the former second in command's words.
"No, no, no, no, no, no…" Lacee chanted before she let out an earth shattering scream.
Minho shook his head as Gally and the rest of the Builders came forward to collect Newt's unconscious form.
"Put him in the Slammer. He just sealed his own fate."
Minho said shakily as the sound of Lacee's cries echoed through the trees.
It had to be done.
He would be banished.