Author's note~
I hope you enjoy.
He stayed there for a long time, crouched in the greenery, until the shadows started to grow long and the stars began to wink into sight, thinking about Adrian's words, and the cold acceptance on his face when he'd said them.
"I'm already dead."
Adrian all but simmered with irritation as he stalked to the med-hut, his expression thunderous beneath the violently blue bruised skin and spatter of blood on his face. He headed straight for the little office, snarling under his breath as he quickly, efficiently began to put the new area to rights. His mind worked vigorously as he tidied up the mess the early afternoon visit from his 'new friends' had caused, cataloguing and assessing the damage.
None of the pencils are broken, thankfully. That entry in the book will have to be redone, and I had just perfected the sketch, too. It just needed color. Bastards. Thank God I hadn't gotten the concrete top poured on that table, yet. If I had, it would've cracked in the fall for sure. I'dve smeared them like jelly if they'd broken it, ignorant pricks. None of these med packs are damaged, just spread around. Looked worse than it is. How am I supposed to help a bunch of idiot kids if they're convinced I'm the damn enemy?
He was almost finished when his silent fuming was interrupted by Jeff, the boy's cheerful voice filling the room before he made it through the door.
"Hey Adrian! I think I managed to identify some of the plants you've been showing me! I picked a few and brought them with me, so that you can..." The man turned at the voice, and Jeff's cheer turned to shock when he saw the bruises, the blood. He looked around the room, immediately noticing the clean up in progress. "Adrian?! What the shuck?! What happened?"
"Just a bit of a dust-up." Adrian sighed, breathing his anger out in one long, unsatisfying huff. "No damage to the office, the supplies. Just my face." He winced slightly, feeling the pull in his split lip at the motion.
"Slintheads! Who the hell did this? We gotta go talk to Alby!"
"Nah, no need." Adrian waved a dismissive hand in the air, turning back to his clean up mission as he spoke. "I believe the boys and I understand one another now, and I seriously doubt they'll be after trying to cause me more trouble after this. I...explained things rather clearly to them, and there's no reason for them to screw with this place; it's for them too, after all. Might as well let it go."
Forcing himself to do just that, Adrian finished stowing the drawing supplies away with his notebook, assuring himself that he'd get back to working on it tomorrow. After a moment of consideration, Jeff moved up beside him and helped him finish sorting the packages of sealed, sterile medical supplies back into their proper piles. In no time at all the room was all squared away; Jeff finally spoke.
"We should get you cleaned up, take a look at the damage."
"Yeah, you're probably right. We'll take a look at the herbs you brought back, see if anything is usable. Might as well make use of the opportunity." Adrian grumbled a little, pointing at his face. "It's time for you to learn how to treat bruises, cuts, and general pain. Practical herbal medicine, 101. Let's get started."
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When Jeff and Adrian walked into the dining area dinner was in full swing, the usual cheerful racket of a large group of teenage boys, unwinding after a full day of working, all but deafening after the quiet, intensely focused atmosphere of the med hut. The man brought a jar of questionably colored goo and a shiner with him, but at least after working with Jeff the bruising was less painful, and the swelling had reduced to a much more acceptable level. Ignoring the dinner cue for the moment, he scanned the crowd and quickly identified a small group that was notably quieter than the rest of the gang, half a dozen boys who sat sullen (and bruised) at a table at the far end of the eatery. Adrian made his way to them without hesitation, limping slightly but still managing to arrogantly swagger up the the table, slapping the jar down in the center of the group. Six pairs of eyes flicked up at him before, guiltily, cutting away to look at anything but the man. All conversations in the surrounding area cut off abruptly; a breathless silence fell. Adrian's words were heard clearly in the sudden stillness.
"Well boys, what have we learned?"
The group refused to answer, most steadfastly studying the wooden grain of the table. One boy, sporting two black eyes and a grossly swollen nose, raised his eyes in an angry, defiant gaze.
"The next time you think about challenging me to a wrestling match you might want to reconsider, and try picking someone in your own weight class. I did warn you that I don't pull punches, eh? No hard feelings, boys."
All six boys were now staring at him, glancing at each other from the sides of their eyes. He wasn't going to rat them out for jumping him? With Alby's 'Never harm another Glader' rule, they'd all been obsessing over the potential consequences of the episode in the woods. After the man had left the clearing and their situation had become clear to them, each had been gripped by a bowel loosening terror; what if they were exiled for what they'd done? A death sentence hung over their heads, filling their minds with horrific images of trying to survive a night in the maze. Now, after hours of worry he sauntered up to them, not to condemn them, but to let them off the hook? Could it be true?
Smiling a little, Adrian could all but read the thoughts of the group of wannabe thugs; their fear, disbelief and relief were so transparently clear he had to suppress a chuckle, and their dumbfounded looks caused his own mood to improve exponentially. He reached down and tapped the jar of ointment he'd walked Jeff through making.
"No harm, no foul. Smear some of this on your bruises; it'll reduce the swelling, ease the pain. Couple of days, you'll be good as new, ugly as ever."
The battered boys laughed weakly, the rest of the gathering breaking into sniggering laughter as Adrian walked away, turning back to their own meals and conversations now that the show was over. The stunned six boys stared at each other in wonder; the sudden feeling of having dodged a bullet leaving them all but euphoric.
Adrian bellied up to the cook, gratefully accepting a large serving of roast meat, potatoes and beans, and made a beeline for Jeff. The boy had managed to save him a seat and he dropped into it, thankfully, before tearing into his meal. By the time the man had finally slaked his ravenous hunger, most of the boys had drifted away, and Jeff leaned over to speak to Adrian quietly, reasonably sure that they wouldn't be overheard.
"You're really just going to let them off the hook? Just like that?"
Adrian shrugged, apparently unconcerned.
"They talk tough, but they're no different than the rest of you, really. They're edgy, uncertain about me, afraid of my intent. They're just scared, idiot kids who snapped and did something stupid and reckless. They must've been in knots all day, terrified of what would happen to them if I talked to Alby. That, and the nice little ass-kicking I gave them, is more than sufficient punishment for their crimes. They'll learn from this and, maybe, be a bit better off for it. Bumps and bruises are nothing, it's a small price for me to pay to get my point across, and an important lesson for everyone, I think."
"What lesson?"
Spontaneously, a snippet of song lyrics played in Adrian's head.
So instead of thinking I just act before I have a chance
To contemplate the consequence of
Actions
And I will turn off
And I will shut down
Burying the voices of my conscience hitting ground
And I will turn off
And I will shut down
The chemicals are restless in my head
He contemplated the message of the song, and chose his words carefully.
"Make the stupid choice, fail to think things through? Lash out at each other, try to hurt each other? You won't make it to tomorrow. Survival is king. You guys are trying to find a way out of here, Jeff, but you've gotta live long enough to see it happen, or everything you've been through here just doesn't fucking matter. To do that, you've gotta work together. Cohesion and order. Word of what happened today will spread like wildfire, soon most everyone will have heard the story. Six lives could have ended tonight, if I've got the gist of the punishment right, for nothing more than hot heads and stupid choices. Every life lost to stupidity is a tragedy, and a loss you can't afford if you're going to survive this place. "
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Long after the others had left, Newt stayed crouched behind the cover of the undergrowth; trapped, lost in his own convoluted thoughts. Two words chanted in his head like a tribal drum beat. Already dead, already dead, already dead. Hours he spent locked away behind the dark wanderings of his mind, until finally, something as simple and basic as the cool damp chill brought on by the approaching evening finally brought him back to reality. Getting to his feet after so log in one position took no small amount of effort, but eventually, with much groaning and muttered curses, he managed. Stretching out his stiff muscles, he tried to walk out the kinks, wandering aimlessly in the woods as his muscles slowly loosened up.
Without really thinking about it, his feet took him in the direction of the small clearing that Adrian had fled to after the incident with the message in the supplies. Figuring it to be as pleasant a spot as any to enjoy a little solitude as he attempted to wrap his head around the latest developments, he quickened his pace, pushing through the low hanging branches and tall, swaying ferns.
Maybe I'll sit under the same tree we shared that night, he mused to himself. It was plenty comfortable, just the right angle for leaning on, surrounded by nice soft moss. Really, quite a decent place to...
What the bloody Hell?
The clearing was right where he remembered it being, but something new had been added; something that had certainly not been there a few nights ago. A small, sturdy looking building took up almost half of the free space in the clearing, built with solid dirt covered walls, a lightly slanted roof, even openings for windows on the sides. The roof was clearly coated in some kind of slick muddy material, and the opening for the door boasted a full door frame, with a quite substantial looking door mounted on one side, though the door was currently ajar.
All other thoughts spiraled out of mind as Newt was overwhelmed with curiosity; he just couldn't stop himself from scooting over to the building and sidling over to the open door, trying to peer inside. Maybe the builders were trying out new techniques? The walls and roof were totally unlike any other building or hut he;d ever seen in the glade; what other new ideas, new tools would be inside? Inching over, he stuck his head around the door jamb, eager to see, to know. He didn't even fully consider the fact that the place might be occupied.
Greedily scanning the dwelling, he took in multiple things simultaneously. The ground had been dug down a couple of feet, the earth floor paved with smooth palm sized stones that must have come from the creek, and caulked with some lighter dry mud to form a fairly level, smooth surface. In the back corner stood a sizeable wooden frame, roughly lashed together and holding a thick pad made from coarse brown fabric of some kind. A large pile of the same fabric was heaped at the foot of the bed, along with two puffy burlap bags that he recognized as grain bags from their weekly deliveries. Against the wall adjacent to the bed was a long, kind of low wooden table, supporting a large gray basin of some kind and a single candle in a glass jar, casting a flickering light in the dim space. The light danced in the reddish brown hair of the figure standing there, with his back to the door.
Of course it was Adrian.
Drinking in the details of the sparse room, Newt hardly noticed when Adrian leaned over the stone bowl, though he did think that he heard the splashing sound of water. The man pulled his shirt off over his head in one quick gesture, rubbing it vigorously over his face as he straightened from the table. His voice rang clearly in the small space, gaining Newt's undivided attention instantly.
"Y'know, Sally, your little habit of peeping on people is getting to be a tad bit disturbing."
Flushing guiltily, Newt stepped around the door frame and into full view, almost stumbling as he came down the two wide earthen steps.
"I wasn't peeping, Mary, least of all at you. What is this place? Where did this bloody house come from?"
Adrian turned to face the boy properly, chuckling darkly. A spark of mischief twinkled in his eyes, and a slow, wicked smirk stole across his face.
"Well kid, I guess you can say I taught your little builder friends something very valuable the other day."
"What's that?" Newt asked, eagerly. Adrian's grin was sharp as a blade, and he answered with a cackle.
"Never bet against the house."
Author's note~ The song lyrics featured in this chapter are from Flawed Design, by Stabilo
See you next chapter!
~Ruby