"Scout..." came a faint call.
"Scout!" another sharper voice broke through the haze.
"Did she wet the bed?" someone asked while another one snickered.
"Shut up." The sharper voice called back again. Scout felt a large calloused hand wiping away at the hair and sweat that had stuck together on the sides of her face.
"Chuck…chuck," Scout murmured in a panic, remembering the fate of her best friend. Tilting her head side-to-side and beginning to fall into hysterics. Bringing up her fists to rub at her face in a fit she felt her arms being grabbed by strong hands, bringing them away from her face. "No! No!," she screamed trying to squirm away from her capture, but only felt herself being pulled closer in.
"ShhhssSSshhh" Newt whispered in a voice that sounded both sympathetic and demanding at the same time. Scout opened her eyes for the first time, looking at Newt and the others around him, including a very worried looking Alby.
"I…I dint me…mean to…" Scout confessed as the sobbing continued, Alby's brows furrowed.
"Didn't mean to do what baby?" he asked quietly, stepping closer to the bed. Scout looked over at him, confused, 'did he not know? Was that why he was being so kind to me?'
"We went into the maze…"
"You went into the maze?!" Alby was now shouting. "God damn it! You and who," he asked, "You and Chuck?" hearing the name again made Scout want to scream but somehow she managed to whisper out a small 'yes'. Before Scout had time to explain however she heard a loud grunt of protest.
"Did not!" came a shout, causing all eyes in the room to be redirected to the open door of the tent. There stood a defiant looking Chuck, arms crossed over his chest and lip wobbling slightly. Scout did not know whether to cry out of confusion, fear or relief, but it seemed to be all three as she finally looked at her best friend.
"You shuck head! I didn't go into the maze! You were up in that stupid tree all yesterday, how would we have been able to go into the maze with you and your stupid shuck fac…" Chuck would have undoubtedly continued but Alby stopped him mid sentence.
"That's enough Chuck" Alby admonished. Giving Chuck a stern look while Chuck only maintained his angry glare.
"She's only just try'na get me in trouble cause she got her butt smacked yesterday and she thinks it's my fault." Newt raised an eyebrow at this and made Chuck avoid his gaze, "I wasn't ease dropping so much…only just listening" he responded to his accidental incrimination of himself.
"Get out of her you little shank" Newt said calmly, as he watched Chuck scramble away.
Scout looked down trying to get her thoughts in order. Holding onto the fear that Chuck was really gone and attempting to figure out how he could really be here.
"Alby," she said looking up into the older mans eyes, "I had a dream…I had a really weird dream…" Alby sighed rubbing at his face a little.
"I know sweetheart," he comforted moving closer so that he know sat on the edge of her bed. "It might have been from you staying up in the tree all day yesterday, exhaustion or dehydration I don't know…" he trailed off. His eyes snapped back up to look at her, as if he had just remembered his train of thought, "But you're ok now sweetheart, you're safe," he explained, picking Scout up and moving her off the bed. He began to collect her soiled blankets and Scouts face began to flush a bright shade of red.
Alby then director her to the creek so that she could wash up, which she happily obliged. Though a sense of relief flowed through Scout, for the first time sense her arrival Scout got an odd feeling, something was not right.