Chapter 10
I really hope this chapter turns out well, I basically have been up all night thinking about how to go about writing this one. Blah, lets do this and hope its as good as I want it to be.
Bright..bright lights, thats all I could make out was bright lights, unfocused. It took me a second to realize that I heard strange muffled voices, I tried my best to make them clearer but I only managed to make them sound like they were talking to me with ear plugs in my ear. I could make out some of the words and others I could not. I brought myself to a sitting position and looked around. I was in some kind of training room,
"Peyton, get up." I heard and I turned my head to look at the source of the voice. In front of me was a curly dark haired boy, he held his hand out to me and all I could do was study his face, Its so familiar, his black curls and his brown eyes. He frowned at me and instead of waiting for me he roughly pulled me to my feet. I look around and in the corner of the room sits two people about my age, one was a boy with short brown hair and next to him was a pretty girl, thin with pale skin, jet black hair and the brightest blue eyes, they stared at us with some sort of device in their hands that they keep looking down at,
"Go again." The brown-haired boy says and I turn to face the only other boy in this room as he gets into a fighting stance and blocks his face with ready fists. In an instant hes coming at me, I freeze, not sure what to do, I prepare myself for the impact of kunckles on skin but It doesnt come, my body moves on its own accord and I reach out with my left hand, grab his arm and step forward with my right foot. I plant my right shoulder against the inside of his right and with my right hand I reach under his punching arm to grab his wrist so its locked between my small hands and using his momentum I easily flip him over my shoulder. Without stoping I follow him to the ground and I get him in a top mount before I start wailing on his face. Blow after blow, I cant stop myself from drawing blood from this boys skin, Im scared.
"Alright thats enough, thank you Peyton." The girl speaks and my body instantly stops. The boy under me reacts quickly and he throws me off, he jumps up to kick me but I can tell by the look on his face that his body has stoped not by his choice. The girl walks over to him and she has a frown on her face,
"Thats enough Devin, you fought well. Dont over work yourself, you need to get your wounds checked." She pushes a button on her little device and it seems to give the boy, Devin, his body back and he reluctantly pulls away from us and storms out of the room.
I stand up and follow the girl and the other boy out of the room and into what looks like an exam room. Im strapped into a cold leather chair and I see needles and instruments around me, my heart speeds up rapidly, the feeling of fear rushes back to me. I panic and try to break out of my binds
"I did what you told me to! Let me go!" I scream and I am left alone, I try to fight as they place a mask over my mouth and my nose, I scream and scream. A sweet scent fills my nose and It makes everything blurry, I can feel myself slipping away from reality
"No..please...dont." I squeak out. The last thing I see before all goes dark is the faces of multiple people wearing white lab coats hovering over me.
'Dont hurt me..please.'
My eyes fly open and it takes a moment to realize im back in the Glade. I sit up and my shirt is sticking to me, my hair is stuck to my face and I can feel the sweat dripping down my back. I haphazardly brush my hair off my face before shoving my feet in my boots and grabbing my clean pair of clothes.
"I need a shower." I whisper to myself and quietly leave the Homestead and slip into the showers.
The warmth from the steam coming off the scalding water makes my mind relax a bit but it doesnt do much for my mind.
'Who were those people? They seem so shucking familiar!' The more I thought about it the more it made me irritated. I decided it would be best to forget about it for now and focus on the day ahead. Today Clint was going to test me on all the herbs and the medicines and how theyre used. After pulling on my clean clothes and tying my hair into a top knot on my head I headed to the sick room.
I climbed the stairs two at a time, walking in Clint and Jeff were already there preparing things for the day,
"Morning shanks." I try to be a cheerful as I can but it comes out forced. Jeff smiles kindly at me while Clint gives me this look before aiming his shy half smile at me.
"Are you ready? It took Jeff atleast three tries to get them all right." I sat down on one of the beds as Jeff brought one of each thing. I watched quietly, not that I feeling much like my talkative self today but, I can make the effort,
Clint sat himself in front of me and held up one of the herbs, I take the time to look at it before answering,
"Ginger Root and its mainly used for nausea and if someone catches the flu." He holds up another,
"Thats lavender, used for headaches, sleep deprivation, and depression." I keep going down the list,
"Aloe Vera, used for burns, Castor oil for pain relief, Chamomile, for anxiety and cramps, Coconut Oil, for cuts and sprains, Echinacea, for colds, Mint, for pain relief." I finish with a satisfied smile that matches the boys
"Good job Peyton, you can now deal with your own wounded shank." Jeff smiles and he places his arm around my shoulder
"This calls for a celebration, our newest Greenie has finally found her place. We'll have to tell Alby." He grins and I shake my head at his enthusiasim
"Sounds good to me, im just glad I passed the first time." I joke and jab him in the ribs with my elbow. Clint stands and he looks down at the two of us
"Im going to go tell Alby now, stay here incase anyone comes." He leaves and I push jeff and he falls off the bed and were both in hysterics. At this moment Im glad to have friends who I can laugh and joke with and forget about the klunky situation we all live in. Jeff and I joke around for a little longer when the door to the sick room is thrown open and It slams into the wall, I jump up, startled to see Ben helping in a limping Minho, I rush over with a frown and take is other arm over my shoulder
"What the shuck happened?!" I asked in a clipped tone as we set the Runner down, they both looked at me as I placed my hands on my hips, Jeff got to work carefully pulling off Minhos boot on his right leg, he has a tear in his pants and its already soaked with blood, I grab bandages and the antiseptic. All the while Minho is cursing at Jeff to take it easy. I put my hand on Jeffs shoulder as he keeps quiet with a deep scowl
"Let me handle this pain in the ass." I nudge him and he walks to the back room cursing under his breath, I crouch down in front of the Runner and I look up at him with a fairly nasty look,
"You need to watch the way you talk to the shanks taking care of you shuckface." He shoots me a glare,
"Oh really now? Now isnt this the pot callin the kettle black." He looks angry and im sure hes covering up his pain with that glare aimed right at me but I let it go, thats just the way he is. I roll up the leg of his pants and right under the knee is a large gash, I bite my lip and shake my head
"Im going to ask you again Minho...what happened?" I grab some cotton swabs and begin to clean the wound, I watch as Minho gribs the edge of the bed so hard his knuckles turn white and his veins start to buldge. I almost feel bad but since he was being such a klunkhead to Jeff I wait until its completely clean before lightly rubbing some Castor Oil directly on the wound. I stand up and grab the things needed to stitch him up
"I tripped, It happens. You focused on running and mapping the shucking maze, not where youre putting your feet. So I tripped." He sets his almond shaped brown eyes on my face and I sigh.
"Youre going to need stitches so try and relax." I can practically hear his teeth grinding as he keeps his mouth shut. Normally ive heard from Jeff and Clint, out of the Gladers, Minho is the hardest to stitch up, the boy just cannot handle needles. It almost makes me giggle at how small the needle is and how hes afraid of it but he'll run the shucking maze everyday. I sit myself back in front of the Runner and thread the needle before looking up at him,
"It might help if you don't watch." I suggest and he exhales sharply through his nose and his eyes leave mine to look out the small window. I pierce the needle through his skin and he tenses a little. I bite my lip out of concentration, I try to be gentle as I make quick work. I bandage him up and roll his pants back down before standing up and poking his shoulder.
"Youre done now. Im telling you to stay out of the Maze for atleast a couple days. If you reopen that cut your life is going to suck because ill need to redo the stitches. Got it?" He shrugs and pulls on his boot before standing up, he lightly puts his weight on his foot. Hes going to be stubborn and walk on it but as long as I tell Clint and he backs me up, Minho wont be running.
"You can hate me all you want, its whats best for you." I put everything away and he frowns
"Sitting around isnt whats best for anyone. Running that forsaken maze and finding a shucking way out is whats best for me." His tone was barley that of contained rage as I just let him go. I sit back on the chair and let the back of my head hit the wall with a soft thud. Jeff comes out from the back and he looks at me
"You handled that really well. Who knew that Slinthead would listen to anyone like he listened to you.." I chuckled and looked up at my fellow Med-jack
"Thats because I have no problem telling him where to shove it. He doesnt scare me." I stand up and look down at my blood stained fingers,
"Im going to wash my hands then lets go figure out how to celebrate." I smile at him and he gives me a nod and we walk outside to the water pump, he pumps while I quickly wash the blood off my hands, it stays stuck under my nails but now thats normal, just like the dirt.
Okay sweet, this chapter was slightly difficult to write. I took the time to look up herbs with healing properties and I really hope I nailed that part. Haha. But I want to thank everyone for their lovely reviews(: Thanks youu and please keep those reviews comin'