Chapter 5 - A surprise and a bath

AN: So, my readers and gladers! Here I am again. This chapter took a little longer because I still haven't recovered 100% of the sleep I haven't gotten the last few weeks. But from now on I have developed a method that makes me work more constantly, so the chapters will certainly come faster.

Newt and Alby are working to transform the glade into a comfortable place to live. They have already built the foundation of the homestead and a fence for animals. What will they be doing next?

This fic is from Ritara, I'm just a proud translator now.

Enjoy this chapter!

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"Hey, Newt."

I flinched, startled. I had leaned against a wall of the hut until just now, completely lost in thought, my hands buried in my pockets and staring out at the glade. We had given ourselves a day of rest today after having spent the last two days finishing the hut, starting the fence for the cattle and assembling the first bed. But now Alby was standing in front of me in... underwear? I blinked irritatedly. Alby had to laugh.

"You're looking at me like a scared puppy. I just wanted to wash the dust off my clothes and wanted to know if I should wash yours too."

Inwardly I rolled my eyes at myself. We had been slaving away like idiots for three days, sweating and getting dusted. I had already had three sneezing fits myself today. So it was only logical that Alby wanted to get rid of the dirt. I nodded.

"Yes, that would be great, thanks Alby."

"But then you have to get out of your clothes, or should I wash you at the same time?" the other asked me, amused.

The very idea made me blush, which of course didn't go unnoticed by Alby. He burst into laughter and slapped his knees. Now I had to laugh too. It was so easy to like Alby. With his easy-going manner, he always managed to lighten the mood.

I quickly slipped off my shirt and pulled the orange top over my head. I also took off my pants and gave them to Alby. He grinned broadly.

"You should maybe wash yourself", he advised me, then disappeared.

I looked down at myself, perplexed. At first I didn't see anything. My body looked the same as always. The relatively muscular chest, the flat stomach and the boxer shorts. Nothing unusual so far. But Alby must have meant something. So I made my way to the hut where I had seen my reflection on my first day. I swiftly grabbed the mirror and looked inside. Now I knew what Alby meant.

A line was clearly visible on my chest. This line separated the clean from the dirty skin. You could see exactly where the top had been sitting. From there upwards I looked like a coal miner. My hands and legs didn't look any better either. Not to mention my hair and face. Within a quarter of a second, I decided to take a bath, just like Alby had advised me.

I strolled leisurely along the narrow path that led to a hidden spot by the stream. I wanted to be alone for a bit and not splash around in the water like a three-year-old child in front of Alby. I calmly stepped into the water which was pleasantly warm. Since the stream was not very deep and the water just went up to the middle of my thighs while standing, I had no choice but to sit down. For a second I toyed with the idea of taking off my boxer shorts, but immediately dismissed the idea. I was a boy, but I was more of a prude when it came to things like that. It was still ok to go shirtless, but stripping completely was not necessary.

So I sank into the stream with my boxer shorts and enjoyed the water that rushed around my skin and washed off the dirt. Without thinking for long, I leaned back and gave myself completely to the stream. I laid on my back, closed my eyes and let myself float in the water. The water soaked my hair and kept spilling over my face, but that was fine. I loved water. For whatever reason. Here I felt comfortable.

After a few minutes of relaxation, I started washing myself. The dirt could be removed without any problems and the dust also came out of my hair well. Afterwards, I shook my head like a dog shakes its wet fur, so that the drops flew all around. Then I carefully got out of the water and made my way back to the meadow.

Once there, I laid on my back in the sun. The grass below me was warm, just like the sun, which shone with all its might in my face and warmed my skin. Since I was still only wearing the boxer shorts, the drops on my body dried quickly and after just under two minutes I was dry again. Except for my hair and the piece of cloth around my middle. I crossed my arms behind my head with pleasure and put my legs up. I crossed one, so that all in all I had a quite casual and relaxed posture. Again I closed my eyes.

My thoughts wandered back and forth. I tried to imagine the world out there. What would it look like outside the labyrinth? What about my parents? Did I even have any? Did I have siblings? Friends? Why was I here? These questions wafted through my brain coils, but I could not think for long because only a few minutes later I had fallen asleep.

I was awakened by a flying object, which was a little unknown to me at first, that flew at my face and chest. With a frightened gasp, I drove up and looked around frantically. It wasn't until Alby's deep laughter reached my ear that I remembered where I was and what had happened. By now I had identified the projectile as a bundle of clothing. I could make out a red shimmer in the midst of a lot of white.

"Thank you Alby."

"No problem. You also look clean again. I guess you took a bath too, huh?"

I nodded.

"Well, me too. Felt quite good to get rid of the dust and everything."

Again I nodded. One could only agree with him. I quickly shook my head to get my thoughts going again and wake up. The sun had already moved quite a bit, so that my legs were in the shade by now. After untangling the ball, I got up and slipped into my pants. It was really a nice feeling to have clean things on. Only seconds later, the top and shirt were also sitting in their place. Searchingly, I ran my fingers through my hair. They were already dry again. So I combed them roughly with my fingers once and shook my head again so that the hair looked somewhat disorganised once more. Done.

"Now that you're done, I have a little surprise for you."

I looked at Alby wonderingly. A surprise? Hmm, that could be a lot here. Or not, as the case may be. I followed him excitedly across the meadow, towards the stables. I trotted along, pondering. I was about to open my mouth to ask what was going on when Alby turned around and put his finger on his lips.

"Sshh. Quiet. Come with me," he whispered.

Quietly he opened a small shed, which I had not even noticed until just now. With one hand he beckoned me to come to him. So I did as I was told to, settled down next to Alby – and had to suppress a delighted squeak.

"Oh my God, Alby. That's so cute," I gushed.

In front of me in the straw stood a mother sheep and around her scurried a little lamb. It was still a little wobbly on its feet, but the white fluffy wool stood out in all directions, so that it looked like a little cloud. Now it had noticed us and came towards us with shaky steps. It stopped in front of us and looked at us with big, blue eyes. I felt my heart grow warm. Such a small creature. And so cute. I would love to take it in my arms, bury my face in the wool and never let it go.

"Of course, I can't do that for everyone. The good thing is, it's a female. We keep the females for breeding. The more the better. We have to slaughter the rams if there are too many, but we keep the females. And this young lady is now yours. In the broadest sense."

My jaw dropped.

"What?" I barely managed to say.

"If you want, you can take care of the lamb and give it a name."

You'd better believe I wanted! After all, I had long since taken this little cloud into my heart. I scoured my brain for a beautiful name. Creativity had never been my strength, at least not in picking names. After a long back and forth, I chose Blue. Alby also found the name very appropriate.

Later in the evening we laic in our hammocks and reviewed the last few days. It had only been three days since I got into the maze, but it seemed much longer to me. We had achieved so much and Alby had become a very good friend to me. Despite the fact that we were trapped here for the moment, I had the feeling that it was possible to live and even feel comfortable here.

END OF CHAPTER 5

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EN: This ends chapter 5. Hopefully Chapter 6 will come out on Tuesday.

Until then, kisses and cake,

Yuna McHill, certified translator