As Newt brushed away the last branch on their path, Clara was in awe of the work bustling around the so called "Glade". Clara's senses were bombarded with the smells of dirt and wood shavings as well as the sound of pots and pans. The openings of the walls loomed around them, Clara wondered what was inside. A small "wow" escaped her lips and Newt looked over at her.
"We've come a long way. You should have seen it when we first got here." Before Clara could say anything else, she was interrupted by somone calling out to them. It was Alby.
"Newt! You takin' the Greenie on the Tour?" he yelled from a slanted building.
"Yeah. She seems more comfortable with me." Newt replied.
"Alright. Just start with the Bloodhouse." Alby then disappeared behind the doorway where he was standing. Bloodhouse, Clara thought, sounds lovely. Newt led her towards a dark building with animal pens beside it. Inside, cows, pigs, sheep, and chickens roamed around and ate.
"This is the Bloodhouse." Newt explained "They raise and breed animals here, keep 'em fed until they're killed. For food, obviously."
Clara scrunched up her nose "So, they pretty much just hack animals into pieces everyday. Not my kind of job."
"Yeah, I can't blame you. Follow me."
Clara kept up with Newt as they made their way across the courtyard. A couple seconds later a group of boys ran towards them.
"Hey Newt.You comin' today?" a tall Asian boy asked.
"Not today, I'm taking this one on the Tour." he replied, jabbing his thumb at Clara.
"Oh. Tomorrow then?"
"Definitely." The boys started to jog again, separating into groups and running into the openings in the stone walls. Clara was overcome with curiosity on what they were doing, and what was in the corridors.
"What's in there? Clara asked.
"I'll tell you later." Newt said, dismissing the question. They arrived at the slanted building where Alby was and entered inside. As soon as they arrived, Clara was hit with the smell of cooking food, making her mouth water. "This is the Homestead. The kitchen is on the first floor, and the Medjacks are upstairs. This is also kind of a living area."
"What are Medjacks?" Clara asked
"They patch people up if they get hurt or sick. You can work with them or you can work as a cook with Frypan. He's the Keeper."
"Oh. I'm still not sure yet, I'll see when we're finished." The two exited the Homestead and walked over to the other side of the Glade that held various crops.
"These are the Gardens, the Keeper is Zart over there." Newt explained, pointing to a boy with black messy hair. His back was turned to them so Clara couldn't see him well." Here they take care of the produce for food. If you work here, you're gonna get your hands dirty." Clara considered it; it was probably the best thing so far.
"I think I'll do this one."
"Okay, I'll tell Alby when I see him." Clara nodded, maybe working would take her mind off where she was, give her a sense of normalcy.
After showing Clara the rest of the Glade, Newt led her towards a large grove of trees. The ones at the front were close to dying, but as they went deeper into the woods, the trees became more lush. It got darker as they walked, almost to where Clara could barely see. So much so that her foot caught on a hard object and she fell face first. Clara sharply cried out in pain and clutched her ankle, which was beginning to throb. She opened her eyes and found herself looking at a pile of bones. Human bones.
Clara scrambled back on her hands and feet but slipped, her ankle in searing pain. Her heart was racing, her head filled with a million thoughts. Newt was instantly by her side.
"Oh my gosh are you alright?" he asked, his face etched with concern.
"There are bones! Why are there bones?!" Clara shrieked.
"Your ankle is more important right now." Newt gently removed Clara's tense hands from her ankle, and his expression darkened. "It's bloody swollen..." he murmured. Clara's breathing quickened. She couldn't understand why human bones would be in a place full of teenagers.
"Calm down, shank. You're bloody hyperventilating." Newt said, snapping Clara out of her daze. She looked up at him, different emotions churning inside her. She wanted grab Newt's shirt, screaming for answers, she wanted to curl up into a ball and disappear, she wanted to cry. "Here, I'll help you up." Newt grabbed Clara's hand and pulled her off the ground. When she landed on her foot, immediately excruciating pain shot through her ankle. Clara paled and was close to passing out.
"Woah! Easy there." Newt said as Clara fell into him.
"I'm sorry, it hurts." she apologized, her eyes beginning to droop closed.
"It's fine." Newt said, putting Clara's arm around his shoulder, his arm holding her waist.
"I hate this place..."Clara mumbled, her vision clouding.
"Me too." was all she heard before she drifted out of consciousness.
