I was under strict order to stay in Med hut. I wanted to go out, find out what was happening, if Newt was getting out of the Slammer, what was happening with Lee and I wanted to talk to Jackson. What did Newt mean? Does he know something? I need to talk to Gally… Find out what he saw, if he's telling the truth. I can't just here for the rest of my life. They can't keep me in here.
"I want to see Alby," I stood up.
"You're supposed to stay here," Clint informed me again, he had to do this every time I asked to leave.
"I don't care," I stood up and went to the door, this time not wanting to get into the tango of arguments with Clint.
Clint blocked my path," Greenie... please. Don't make this harder for me. Believe me, I don't want to do this... not at all."
"It makes no sense," I started to pace. "Why am I being punished? I'm basically in the Slammer too the way you all are keeping me here. I deserve to know what's going on," I glared to Clint.
"Alby's trying to sort through it all. Everyone has a different story."
"So you're saying Lee is saying it didn't happen?"
Jeff grunted," It's hard to know who's lying."
"What if it didn't happen? Gally could be lying about the whole thing. You know, I never thought he liked me."
Anything to make this go away. Something to make it not be true.
"Gally wouldn't do that," Clint defended him. "He's a slinthead for sure, but not... he wouldn't lie about this."
"Alby's had time. I'm done waiting," I pushed past Clint, who then grabbed my arm. I pulled away from him and ran away from the med hut into the Homestead. I ran towards the tower, I didn't hear Clint yelling for me to stop, but I was going like I was being chased. Alby wasn't there, it was Joe who told me Alby was at another Gathering.
Stupid Gatherings! They don't do anything!
I stormed up to the small shack nestled in the corner of the Glade and opened the doors, all eyes in the room turned to face me. I felt totally exposed and took a small step back towards the exit.
"Greenie?!," Alby eyes were wide, staring at me from the front of the room. "You shouldn't be here."
"I-I should be here!," I gained me confidence again and walked down the aisle to the front of the room. "This is about me."
"No this is about Newt," Alby gestured to Newt standing in the back of the room. His eyes were sad and his lips were parted as if he wanted to call out to me.
"Well, he's here because of what happened. And I demand answers now Alby."
"I have no answers for you, Greenie. I've told you everything."
"You haven't told me anything," I shouted. "Where's Gally," I turned my eyes to the crowd and spotted his ginger hair in the second row. "I need to talk to you now."
"You can't do that," Tucker interrupted. "We're in the middle of meeting here."
"I don't care!," I snapped and him and he flinched. My anger was at an all-time high, I felt like I could single-handedly rip out all their heart and still have the energy to run laps around the Glade.
"Greenie, take a breath."
"Just stop!," I pulled away from Alby. "I have a right to know..."
Alby sighed. "Go back to the Med Hut. I will come by after."
"No," I told him through gritted teeth. "I'm not waiting on you anymore." My eyes turned and locked with Gally. "I need to talk to you. Now."
Gally looked between Alby and I," Uh.. I think that... uh maybe I could."
"Gally is needed here," Alby told me. "I will come see you when this is over. Now you need to go."
I wanted to scream, no one was listening to me, my voice was being drowned out. I clenched my hands into fists, "Alby, you can't just send me away," I growled. "I need to know what's happening."
"And I will tell you," Alby kept his voice level but his eyes were stern. "Now is not the place."
"Alby, you can't leave her in the dark," Newt's voice carried from the back of the room.
My eyes fell on him and I swelled with appreciation for him, but I turned back to Alby.
"Please," I added softly.
"I'll come when this is over," Alby responded. "Go to the Med hut."
I drew in a deep breath, swallowing everything else I was ready to say, turned and marched out of the Gathering. Wait in the Med Hut? I don't think so. I'll find out by myself! Where is Lee? He's got to know something... He'd be in the Slammer too, right? Where else would they put him?
I tried to look casual and blend in as I walked towards the cages, but I was stopped.
"There you are," Jeff stepped in front of me.
"I'm going," I pushed past him.
"No, you can't go there," Jeff blocked me.
I clenched my jaw," I'm getting real tired of people telling me what I can and cant do!"
"But Greenie, you can't. I... I know this must be hard-"
"You don't know! You couldn't know," I stepped around him.
Jeff came back," Look, I'm sorry."
I stopped and closed my eyes.
"I really am, Greenie. And you're r-right. I have no idea."
"I have to go talk to him, Jeff. I need to talk to him."
"Not now," he shook his head. "You need time to heal."
"No, I need answers! Answers only he can give me."
Jeff shook his head," No... Lee will only lie to you. You can't trust him."
"Can I trust you?," I looked him dead in the eyes.
"Greenie," Jeff's mouth gaped like he wasn't expecting me to say that.
"Just move," I pushed past him again and this time he didn't stop me.
"Greenbean," Clint found us. "Jeff, come on."
"Leave me alone. I need to talk to him."
"Maybe later," Clint tried to steer me away.
"Let me go!"
"Let her go," another voice entered. "Shame on you."
Siggy?
"Fry, you know she can-"
"I know, but that don't mean you gotta push her around. Come on," he extended a hand.
"Where are you gonna take me?," I asked.
"To get something to eat."
"But I need to talk to Lee."
"We will, but now I know you haven't ate all day. And I made you something special," he offered me a hand.
I looked to the Slammer... I can sneak out tonight, go talk to him when no one is watching. I took Siggy's hand and let him lead me away from the Slammer and to the kitchen. Siggy took me into the kitchen, there was a chair by the counter and a plate with steaming food on it.
"Here. Sit and eat."
I sat in the chair and smelled the beautiful mix of spices, but no growl came from my stomach. I wasn't hungry not matter how good the food smelled, but when I looked at Siggy, I knew he wasn't going to let me leave without a bite. I picked up the fork and shoveled the beans and rice into my mouth, it tasted wonderful.
"It's good, Siggy. Thanks" I swallowed.
He grunted," Of course it's good, I made it."
"I should be back to work soon, I j-"
"Nope. You're not needed."
"Wait? What?"
Siggy pulled up his own chair," Joe and I can handle this. You don't have to rush back."
"I'll be back, you guys do need me, I know it."
Siggy sighed," Eat up," he told me.
After I finished the plate, he took me to the Med Hut and left me with Jeff and Clint. Jeff kept his back to me, working on something in the corner. I sat on the bed and it felt so wrong to be here. This isn't where I should be... No one belongs here in the Glade. If they never would have sent me here, this wouldn't have happened. I need to get out. I looked around the Med hut at the cots lined against the wall and all the jars of medicine and herbs they had, just waiting to be needed by the right person. It was strange to think this used to be my home, this was where I lived. I've been here three months and it's like nothing has changed... but everything has changed.
"Greenie...," Clint slowly came over to me. "I know this isn't what you want and I hate doing this to you. Jeff and I... you're like family to us and to see this... it's killing us."
My eyes watered," I don't know why I keep crying," I wiped them away. "It feels like my body shouldn't have anymore," I sniffled and put my hands in my lap. Clint came closer and kneeled in front of me. "I know... I know that Jeff and you... I know you guys aren't the ones doing this. But... it's just everything."
"What do you mean?," Clint asked.
"I mean it's everything. This place. This building. The people... it's like it's all working against me."
"No... No, don't think that Greenie. We're here for you."
I pulled on my sleeves, balling them up in my fists. "I know.. I know that but I just feel like they put me here... to punish me."
"We all feel like that at one time or another. It's natural," he reassured me.
"No, I mean like this was all for me. They made the Glade, put you all here... like they set the stage just for me. Why else would they not give me my name? Why else would this happen? It's like they planned it... for me."
"That's not true," Clint sat beside me. "No way."
I buried my face in my hands," But you don't know that... None of us do."
"I know that they, whoever they are, don't care about a single one of us. They don't care enough to put in that kind of work. They're selfish. They're evil. And most days I don't even give them a thought, because if they don't think I'm worth it, I don't think they are either."
I rubbed my eyes," I still don't even know what happened to me... how far... if he...," my voice caught.
Newt told me to talk to Jackson... maybe he saw something.
"Greenie," Clint rested his hand on my back. "We'll get to the bottom of this, I promise you."
"I-I... I need to talk to someone," I shifted my body so I could face him.
"I can't bring Newt back in here. Alby would kill me if he found out."
"No," I shook my head. "Someone else."
Jeff was now intrigued," Who?"
I looked between them, Clint's eyes were full of understanding and compassion while Jeff had a mix of intrigue and disdain. He was still mad at me for what I had said to him earlier. I swallowed the lump in my throat.
"It's going to sound like a crazy request."
"We can't bring Lee in here either," Jeff told me.
"Not Lee. I need to see Jackson."
Clint turned and looked to Jeff, who was struck with confusion.
"Like Jackson Jackson?"
"The Bagger?"
"Yes. I need to talk to him."
Jeff held up his hands," Hold up, wasn't he the one they found with yo-..."
"Stop!," I cut him off. "Please, don't. I know it sounds weird, but I need to see him."
"If we bring Jackson in here, the whole Glade will... I don't even know," Jeff threw his hands up in defeat. "The whole thing sounds like a conspiracy."
I turned to Clint," He might know something please."
"Alby talked to everyone, I mean everyone, in the Glade about that night. Even Jeff and I were questioned. If Jackson knew anything, he should have told Alby... and if he didn't, then he should face the consequences."
Clint looked up and I turned to the door, Alby had entered the room.
"I need to talk to the Greenie. Please, give us the room."
Clint stood up and Jeff and him both exited the Med hut. I felt a pit of nausea inside of me, I didn't want to be alone with Alby, I knew he was going to yell and me and I didn't think I could handle it. I sat on the edge of the cot, my hands gripping the frame as I stared to the floor, not wanting to meet his eyes.
"Greenie?," his voice was surprising gentle. "Are you okay?"
I drew in a ragged breath," What do you think?"
"I think that... I don't know what I'm doing," he admitted with a sigh.
I looked up to him, Alby looked awful, his eyes were circles with dark rims, and he sounded like he'd still hadn't gotten any sleep since I last saw him.
"I don't think anyone does," I told him.
Alby pulled over a small stool to sit on and sat on front of me," The Gathering today... we're at a standstill, no one can reach a clear decision."
"About Newt?"
"About anything," he leaned forward. "It's late, so I sent everyone to rest, we'll pick it up tomorrow."
"So Newt has to stay in the Slammer? AGAIN?!"
"It's not what I want,"Alby told me honestly, when he looked up to me I knew he wasn't lying. "I'm sure you know we had a Gathering about Lee, but it also was a stalemate."
"What does that mean?," I sucked in a breath.
"It means that no one could agree on what-..."
"I know what a stalemate is, Alby. What does that mean for me? for Lee?"
Alby sighed, he sounded so tired. "I want to hear Gally's side again," he told me. "And I think you should hear it too. Do you think you're up for that?"
I nodded," Yes, I want to hear it."
Alby kept his eyes on me for a moment longer then turned to the door," Gally," he called him in.
Gally came in, he immediately looked me in the eyes and then looked away. He seemed embarrassed, like he was almost ashamed to be here. Alby moved the stool so we both were looking at Gally as he stood in the in between us and the wall. There was tension in the air, it was hot and unnerving, and it grew by the second with only the silence the feed it.
"Tell me what happened," I kept my eyes on Gally.
He shuffled his feet," I... I know I made the hooch strong. Real strong. I thought it would last us a few months, but everyone drank like water didn't exist," he cleared his throat. "I knew it was heavy stuff, so I went easy... when I drink too much I throw up and I hate the taste in my mouth."
Why is he talking about this? It doesn't even matter!
"The fire was dying out," he continued. "I was helping Aidan, carrying people back to the Homestead... at least the ones we could or try to get them away from the fire. And then Lee comes up, offers to help us out, I mean he seems like the hooch had got to him, but he was still walking at least. He walked past some people and went over to you," Gally didn't look up, he kept his eyes on the floor.
"Where was I?"
"Sleep. Laying on the ground near a stump. Newt and Jeff were right near you, but Lee picked you up... he almost stumbled but caught himself," Gally finally looked up, but not to me, he was now looking to the ceiling, the back corner of the room. "I... I didn't think anything of it," he admitted. "Figured he chose you because he knew he could lift you up, you're so small..."
I gripped the cot tighter, the idea of being in Lee's arms made the nausea in my stomach rise.
"Tell me if it's too much," Alby whispered.
"No...," I took a deep breath and looked to Alby," Keep going."
"We dropped someone else off in their cot, Aidan made some joke about Lee falling in the woods over a branch and passing out there... it made me wonder. He had been a little unsteady, so I chose to go off and make sure he got you home," Gally paused and his eyes closed. "That was when I saw it."
My heart picked up, Saw what?!
"He was in your room, you were in the middle cot...Lee...Lee had his pants off and," Gally squeezed his eyes tight." He had his hand... it was up your shirt."
I let out a small gasp and Alby turned to me again but I shook my head and squeezed my eyes shut, I needed to hear it.
"I... I made the chose this time to stop it. I felt like it was on me...last time I went to get help, but you were awake... now... he was practically naked and...," Gally stopped himself.
"So you went in the room?," Alby guided him.
"Yes," he said quickly, I opened my eyes and saw how hard it was for Gally to say this. It was like the words were physical torture for him to speak. "I stepped in the room, told him to get off you... he turned and shoved me out the door. He said... He said it wasn't my turn. I got up and ran... I ran as fast as I could, got to Aidan and told him. He went to get the other Bagger and I got Alby...," he drew in a shaky breath. "When we got back to your room... Aidan and Jackson were already there, they had Lee and you... you were safe."
"Did... Did he...," I still couldn't bring yourself to say it out loud. Rape. Did he rape me.
"No," Alby told me. "No, he didn't. When Aidan got there, you still had pants on."
"Oh god...," I couldn't hold it in, the tears came quickly and my throat burned.
"Greenie, I'm so sorry," Gally apologized. "It's my fault."
I tried to control my breathing, but my breaths were quick and uneven.
"Greenie, take a deep breath. If you don't you'll pass out," Alby commanded. He guided me through it, taking a deep breath in with me and then pushing it out.
"S-s-so he did it. L-Lee... he r-really d-d-did it."
Alby couldn't hide the truth in his eyes, he believed it, He knew Lee was guilty, but his words were different. "That's not what Lee says happened."
"You know he's lying, the slinthead'll say anything to save himself," Gally now sounded angry.
"What does he say happened?," I kept my eyes on Alby.
"He says you invited him back to your room," Alby told me softly.
"No! I would never," I defended.
"I know he's lying," Alby tried to calm me. "Aiden and Gally both have said he carried you away while you were asleep."
"So why don't they believe me? Why haven't they charged him!? And why is Newt still in trouble!?"
Alby sighed and rubbed his hands across his face," The only punishment for what he's done is banishment."
"Banishment?"
"It's when we force someone into the maze before he doors shut at night," Gally told me. "Leaving them in the maze, they're griever bait."
Kill them with the maze... let the grievers do the dirty work.
"So why hasn't he been banished yet?"
"Tomorrow we'll have the second Gathering for him," Alby told me. "His fate will be decided."
"He... He t-tried to r-rape me Alby...," I barely made the words come from my mouth. "Why haven't you done something?!," I looked between Alby and Gally. Gally looked to Alby to supply the answer.
"I can't, Greenbean," he kept his voice level. "We all have to decide. I will push for him to be banished, it's what I think needs to be done."
I wiped my raw face,"And what about Newt?"
"He won't be banished," Alby soothed me. "I'm hoping he gets off with nothing, but we all have to agree."
Lee is going to be killed for what he did to me. It almost doesn't seem like a punishment... to be free of this place, not live inside the cage of these walls. It feels like he's getting a gift.
