Chapter 23
Have you ever just felt in your gut that something wasn't right? Or that something bad was going to happen? That's how I felt as soon as I heard Thomas utter those three words as he ran towards the bonfire.
All drumming, singing and dancing stopped so that the only sounds that could be heard where that of the animals in the barns only a short distance away. Nobody said a word and we all stared at Thomas, judging him, testing him to see if he would show any signs of lying.
As Alby wasn't at the bonfire because of his unstable condition he wasn't there to take control so that was left to Newt who everybody immediately turned to, to see what they should do.
"Five of you go get her. Put out the fire and everyone pack up for the night. We're in for a long bloody day tomorrow." He ordered
Newt followed Thomas and five other boys to the slammer where the girl was being kept while the rest of the gladers started packing things away. Water was thrown onto the fire and the crates and piles of logs that were to be used for firewood where all stored away so that the Glade no longer had a homelike and family feeling to it.
The place felt deserted as nobody talked.
Most boys went to bed straight away while the more curious ones stayed awake to see what would happen, although even I knew that nobody would be told any information until after a gathering tomorrow.
I was a part of the group that went to bed as soon as. Instead of walking to the trees where the hampers where strung up however, I went to the homestead and climbed into Newt's bed where I sat up and waited for him.
Half an hour later, footsteps started heading up the stairs and some past my room but continued walking without so much as I peek inside. Newt was one of the last ones to walk into the homestead but when he did, I knew about it.
His heavy footsteps made it clear he was tired as he walked up the stairs but they didn't stop at his door and instead went into the medical area of the homestead. I waited for him to go back to his room, thinking he was only visiting Alby but when his thunderous shouts started making the walls shake, I jumped out of his bed and ran to the door.
"WHERE THE HELL IS SHE!" He shouted at nobody in particular as he searched the hospital room.
He didn't pay attention to me as I called his name and seemed completely oblivious to the fact that he had most likely woken up every boy in the Glade who had already been asleep. I stepped into the room while Newt searched under the bed for me and shut the door loudly to get his attention but it didn't work.
When he didn't respond to the loud banging of the door I walked further into the room and ignored Newt's calls of my name since he wouldn't hear me anyway and decided to do something different. He stood up from where he had previously been crouched on all fours on the floor and dusted off his pants while I stepped behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist.
He stiffened as my arms went around him and stilled even more as I stood on my tip-toes and placed a whisper of a kiss on the back of his ear. He let out a shaky breath as he turned to look at me and let it out slowly when his eyes found my lips.
I brought him down to my height before putting my lips on his softly and sinking into his body as his hands gripped my cheek and waist. I wrapped my arms around his neck and played with his hair as he pulled me closer to him.
"I'm not going anywhere." I whispered as I broke away from the kiss. He moved his face closer to my own and gently brushed his nose against mine.
"I wouldn't let you anyway." He mumbled.
I let out a breathy laugh and took his hand in mine so I could lead us back to his room. He pulled me into the bed and wrapped his arms around me again as soon as our bodies hit the make-shift mattress.
"What's happening to the girl?" I mumbled as I faced the wall with his chest against my back and his arms around my waist.
"She's still in the slammer but the greenie wanted to stay with her." He said after a slight hesitation
"He's in the slammer as well?" I asked but I felt Newt shake his head against the pillow. "He's sleeping next to her door."
"And how's Gally?" I asked since I hadn't gotten an opportunity to see him since he has been in the slammer.
"He gave the girl a bloody earful when she woke up and wouldn't stop screaming at us to banish her tomorrow night."
"You're not going to though, right?" I asked
"Probably not." That didn't help settle my nerves for the girl at all. Somehow I felt connected to her but I couldn't think of why.
"Goodnight Newt." I mumbled as my eyes started dropping. I felt him place a kiss on the top of my head before he whispered back to me,
"Goodnight love."
The next morning was complete chaos around the entire Glade. Almost every boy was awake at the break of sunrise because every body was curious about the new girl. Thomas was the first one in the kitchen so he could deliver food for the girl who he kept reminding every body that her name was Teresa and Newt was already out of bed before I woke up.
Instead of going to breakfast I decided to get a shower and changed into a fresh set of new clothes the box had provided for me, they were labelled with my name so I knew the difference between mine and Teresa's clothes now.
After drying myself off I put on some new undergarments and pulled on a purple tank top, denim shorts and black combat boots. I tied my hair up into a messy pony tail and wrote a note for the box, asking for some new hair dye since my blue streaks had all washed out and I felt like they were a part of my character.
Straight after throwing my note into the box, I ran back to the homestead an into the gathering room which I had expected to be full of keepers but was in fact deserted. I searched the entire homestead for the boys but couldn't find them anywhere but the girl was still in her cell in the slammer.
I decided to talk to her and see if she remembered why she injected me and Alby with that serum even though I knew Newt wouldn't approve.
I sat down in front of the caged door where she was already sitting against the back wall and staring at the broken chair in the corner.
"Hi, its Teresa right?" I asked to get her attention on me. She nodded her head but didn't say anything.
"The gladers are having a meeting about you today. Oh and my names -" I didn't get to finish because she finished for me
"Skylar."
I was taken back by her knowledge of my name but assumed Thomas had told her about me because I was the only other girl here.
"Yeah, well I'm sorry your stuck in this place. I don't think what you did to me and Alby was for anything bad." I said
"I don't remember much of that day. I just know that I felt two tubes of something in my pocket and then I stabbed them into you and that other boy and then ... nothing. That's the earliest memory I have. I can't remember anything else." She said
"Aside from the whole 'being in a coma and then stabbing two gladers thing with a medicine that cure us' thing, it sounds like your like every other glader here." I said
"You seem very nice. I don't know why somebody would want to put you in here." She said
"How'd you know about being put in here?" I asked "Thomas told me." Was her quick reply
"He seems very fond of you." I mused and she shook her head slightly
"He thinks I have more answers than I let on but I don't. I know nothing and if I did I would tell you all." She said and she sounded truthful so I believed her.
"I'll put in a good word for you with Newt if you like, try and get you out of here quicker." I offered and her face lit up.
"He was the blond with the limp and the accent, wasn't he? He interrogated me with some other boys this morning." she said
"Yeah that's him." I said
"He's really hot, do you think you could put in a good word for me in another aspect?" She asked with a hopeful expression as she wiggled her eyebrows
"Hate to pop your bubble greenie but I'm already taken." A voice said from behind me as a hand rested on my shoulder.
I turned around to look up at Newt who was standing behind me and glaring down at Teresa. I stood up immediately and let him wrap his arm over my shoulder. Teresa glanced between the two of us before nodding her head and sighing deeply.
"You're needed in the gathering." Newt said
I nodded my head and he led me towards the kitchen where a lot of noise was coming from and I quickly realised why. This was a glader gathering so not only where all of the keepers going to be there, but every glader in the Glade would be there. This was a big deal.
I sighed as Newt took me over to a table in the centre of the eating area and made us both stand on it while the keepers sat around it and every other boy was standing around the area.
"All right slintheads slim it!" Newt yelled over the noise and immediately everybody settled down. Alby was sitting at the keepers table next to us and glaring at any boy who dared to talk after Newt had called for silence.
"We all know why we're here, we need to decide what to do with the girl." Newt said, his voice loud and clear so everybody could hear what was being said.
"Banish her!"
"Keep her in the slammer!"
"Starve her!"
"Kill her!"
"Let her go!"
The last opinion made everybody go silent and we all turned our attention towards Thomas who was staring straight at me.
"Why would we do that?" Winston asked Thomas as he stood on the table with me and Newt so he could get a better view.
"She's done nothing wrong and she shouldn't be punished." He spoke confidently but the fear in his eyes gave him away. He knew he was stepping on dangerous territory.
"Who agrees with Thomas?" I asked and waited for the outburst of people disagreeing but everybody was silent as they looked around at everybody else.
"How about slammer for a week and then she can be released?" Minho offered and a few people murmured in agreement.
"Its settled then. Get on with your jobs." Alby instructed and people immediately started fleeing the area.
I stayed behind and waited until everybody else had left so that I could get some breakfast from Frypan who was already busy making lunch for the boys. While he made sandwiches I went into the kitchen and got some left over eggs and bacon from a plate on the side which he then told me he had already saved for me.
While I ate I was joined by Minho who wasn't able to do his running job because of the late start to the day so he was made to help in the gardens with the other runners so that they weren't just sitting around doing nothing.
"I heard you were talking to the green-bean girlie this morning, did she have anything to say to you?"? Minho asked me but I just shook my head while I continued eating away.
"Not really, she just mentioned she had an interest in Newt." I said as I tried to hide the obvious irritation in my voice. Minho however, clearly noticed and let out a soft chuckle which he tried to hide with a cough.
"Its not funny." I grumbled but it just made Minho laugh more.
"Have fun eating on your own then slinthead." I muttered under my breath as I picked up my plate and dropped off my plate in the kitchen.
I could hear Minho calling after me and telling me I was jealous but I chose to ignore him and instead, I went to the homestead so I could do my own job. As soon as I got there I was greeted by a relieved looking Jeff who told me he needed help unwrapping bandages from a kid who had been flattened by a wall.
I went in immediately and walked over to the boy who had huge bandages all over his chest which I could guarantee were for keeping his ribs together and stop them from puncturing a lung. I gave the young looking boy a gentle smile as I walked over to his side as took in his appearance.
He had longish brown hair that covered his forehead and fell into his green eyes, he looked like he was around the age of fifteen but the hope in his eyes seemed almost too happy so I guessed he was one of the newest greenies over the past couple months.
"How you feeling kid?" I asked as I looked over the bandages around his chest
"I could be better, is this going to hurt?" he asked and by the way his voice cracked at the end I could tell he was scared but trying not to show it.
"It might, but I'm going to be as gentle as possible so you don't have to worry." I tried soothing him
Jeff came into the room again with a large bowl of water and some scissors which he handed to me. I took them carefully and began cutting through the fabric of the bandages. I felt the boy wince as I made the first cut and I immediately felt bad but he gave me a small smile which urged me to continue so it would be over and done with quicker.
After ten minutes of cutting through the fabric and unwrapping the bandages from his body, I was finally able to put the scissors down so that the boy and me could relax some more. The next thing I needed to do was wash the boys chest in case of infection in any of the cuts that were there so I used the bowl of water Jeff had brought up and a wash cloth to dab at his chest.
Once I had completely finished I had stayed with the boy, I learnt his name was Leo, and made sure he was feeling alright before moving around the homestead and helping different people. During the course of the day I stitched up one boys arm from a cut, fed Alby, disinfected another boys graze on his leg and then sat with Jeff until our work was done.
Thankfully barely anybody was injured which meant I barely had any work to do so after I had spent time with Jeff and went back to visit Leo again, I was dismissed until I would be needed again.
As soon as I was dismissed I went straight to the gardens where Newt was busy working and started helping him pull up potatoes from the ground. He only briefly looked at me before continuing his job.
"Shouldn't you be with the Med-jacks?" He asked from besides me while I pulled out a potato
"Nope, I got let off early." I said
"It hasn't even been lunch yet." Newt said
"Do you not want me to be here or something?" I asked and tried to hide the hurt in my voice
"No! Its just that I'm stressed about that new girl." he said immediately
"So am I, she had a strong interest in you this morning." I grumbled and he chuckled
"Are you jealous love?" He asked but I shook my head immediately
"Course not." I muttered darkly under my breath although I knew that it was a lie. While I had been the only girl I didn't need to worry about someone else wanting to take Newt from me since none of the boys had decided to express feeling towards each other I was only to presume that everybody was straight.
Now that there was another girl, one that apparently thought Newt was as hot as I did, I felt like I was going to lose him all over again and knowing I had lost him to the creators in the past didn't help.
"You're the only girl for me Sky. Don't worry I'm not going anywhere." Newt mumbled as he slipped an arm over my shoulder and pulled me closer to him.
