Builders. It felt like I'd been trying out forever. Newt had assured me it was almost over, but this one couldn't be over faster. Practically everyone Gally was friends with shared his disgusting personality. One of them, one I didn't recognize yet, had pretended to trip and practically slammed himself into me, using it as an excuse to put his hands places he shouldn't. "For support", my ass. Literally, I might add.

Gally groaned and marched over to where I was sawing. He grabbed my arm and stopped me. I scowled at him.

"That's not how you do it, give it to me." He scowled back, jerking the saw away from me.

"Like this." His movements were slow and deliberate and obviously condescending, but he did it perfectly. He shoved it back into my hands. I repositioned myself to finish the board but he took it away again.

"Okay." Gally said gruffly. "You're obviously not gonna work here, so I'll make this easier for both of us. Go get more wood and I'll fix this by myself. Do you understand?" That was something else I didn't like. He assumed that because I couldn't talk I was an idiot, that I didn't hear them talking about me.

"Do you?" He repeated. I tried to make my thumbs up as sarcastic as possible, then stormed off into the Deadheads. God, I wish we had pencils. Or pens. Or something. At least then I could curse him out on paper. Which we also didn't fucking have. Either that or nobody bothered to tell me we had it, which would be a dick move.

I stopped when I came to a clearing, taking a minute to calm down. When I figure out how to talk, I'm going to curse those fuckers out so bad...I just need to calm down. Trees. The trees were peaceful. There we go...calm...relax. It was quiet here. I started looking around for decent branches. I'll show him, I'll bring back the best fucking wood he's ever seen. I'll bring back a whole damn tree if I have to.

"You shouldn't be out here by yourself."

Surprised, I turned. Alex was grinning wolfishly at me. Alex who had yelled at me on the first day. Alex who had been harassing me all week. Alex who had slammed into me and practically assaulted me.

"It's dangerous." He walked closer. Yeah, now that you're here. And I didn't like his tone. I edged back slightly, back towards the Builders. Gally was a dick, but he was better than Alex.

"Oh come on, what are you moving away for?" He asked. "I'm just trying to be nice."

I watched him carefully, looking for any sign of...well, to be honest I didn't like him and being alone with him was making me nervous. In fact, nobody likes him. I'm surprised he isn't dead yet, it's truly an enigma. Alex kept moving forward.

"But you don't like me, do you?" He asked, his eyes dark. I started backing up but he moved with me, moved faster. He was close enough to touch me. Alex grabbed my arm. "Well, I think we can change that."

"Being nice is overrated, anyways." Alex decided. I struggled to get him off me, something I'd been working towards as soon as he touched me, but he was stronger than I was. Much stronger. He gripped my other arm and stepped forward, making me walk backwards as I tried not to trip over his shoes.

"You know what, I'll make a little deal." Alex pushed me against a tree. I winced at the impact. His face was dangerously close to mine. I looked away, and he scowled. His legs and his other arm still pressing me to the tree, Alex moved his hand and roughly turned my face back towards his.

"Are you listening?" He asked, keeping my head in place. Not seeing any other choice, I nodded. Or at least, I tried to.

"Good girl. I'll tell you what. You tell me to stop, and I'll back off." He reasoned. I fought the urge to spit in his face.

Get the fuck off of me. Imouthed.

"Oh see, that's not what I meant." Alex chuckled. "But I like to think I'm reasonable. Just...say the word. And I'll leave you alone."

Fuck. He couldn't possibly expect me to-I couldn't! I have been trying! I literally can't! But I was laughing the other day. If I can do that, maybe I can scream.

"What was that?" He asked. "Did you say something? No?" His hand still gripping my jaw, he shook my head for me. I tried unsuccessfully to wrench myself out of his grip but it only tightened.

"Not even one little word? Oh, that's too bad." Alex smirked. Then he lurched forward and shoved his tongue down my throat. His hands moved to press my wrists against the tree, holding both of them above me with one hand. Alex clamped his other hand on my hip, and as he pushed the hem of my shirt up I felt his nails dig into my skin. Scream!

Come on, do it. He'll have to breathe eventually, scream! Yell! Do something! Alex pulled back for a brief second, still practically two inches away from my face. Do it now!

"I've got to say, I didn't think you'd be this-"

Then I screamed. Alex stumbled back in surprise. I shoved him off and ran towards the edge of the trees. Without warning, I was slammed to the ground. I screamed again, hoping this time it would be louder.

"Shut up, you bitch!" Alex grabbed my hands. I struggled but Alex weighed a lot more than I did. He sneered, grabbing my wrists and pressing me into the ground.. Suddenly, there a loud clang. Suddenly he was off me. I shut my eyes. I heard another clang. Alex had been hit with something. Twice. I tried to calm my breathing. Then, slowly, I opened my eyes.

Newt pov

"So anyways, we're trying to make a sort of divider." Gally explained. "It wouldn't be this difficult, but we don't have any hinges. The wood's not exactly the best quality either."

"What did you have the Greenie doing?" Nick asked. I looked at Gally.

"Where is she?" I asked, glancing around the area. Gally looked irritated.

"Greenie's not meant to be a Builder, shank. I gave up on her. I had her go get more wood but she was taking forever so I sent over-"

A scream pierced air. A very high pitched scream. We froze.

"Alex." Gally finished. Horrified, we looked towards the Deadheads.

"You don't think that was..." I started.

"Go." Nick said. Instantly, the three of us ran into the woods.

"Which direction did it come from?" I yelled. Gally glared.

"Like that's the first thing you-"

Another scream rang out, seeming to echo through all the trees.

"This way!" Nick called out. We burst into a clearing to find Alex on top of Sam, pinning her to the ground. I grabbed Gally's shovel and swung it at Alex. Then hit him again for good measure. Poor girl looked like she was practically having a panic attack. Within reason, I would say.

Her eyes were closed, her breathing quick and uneven. Slowly, Sam opened her eyes. I handed Gally his shovel back. Realizing it was us, Sam tried to stand up and almost fell over in the process. I moved forward, but she steadied herself.

"Are you...did he manage to..." I struggled to find the words. I was incredibly angry at Alex, but I didn't want to scare Sam by directing my anger at her. Sam shook her head, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Nick stepped forward to address her. She watched him cautiously.

"Are you okay?" He asked carefully. She didn't respond. Nick frowned.

"We're going to the MedJacks. Newt, Gally, take Alex." I nodded. Nick reached forward to grab her arm. She automatically stepped back, obviously scared of someone touching her, but nearly tripped. Nick caught her before she fell over.

"Sorry." He muttered. He led her out of the woods. Gally and I followed, dragging Alex with us. He woke up when we let his head hit a rock. Startled, Alex lashed out and we grabbed his arms. Then we pulled him along towards the Medtent, ignoring his resistance. I don't know where he thought he could run off too, it's not as though there were many options.