Chapter 30
Ughhhhhh! I'm so upset that I might actually ugly cry. I had stayed up until way past when I should have been to at least start this chapter and by the time I had almost fallen asleep sitting up I had a good chunk of this chapter done. Come to find out this morning that, even though I saved this document multiple times NOTHING GOT SAVED AND NOW I HAVE TO START THIS CHAPTER OVER FROM THE VERY BEGINNING! I am so sad! Sigh, oh well...nothing I can do about it now except start over. So, here I go with round two.
The sound of rustling is what woke me up and when I opened my eyes I noticed that I wasn't back in the Homestead. Instead I was back in the Sick Room, my attention was drawn back to the sound that woke me up in the first place. I rolled onto my left side and watched as Minho buttoned up his shirt then shrugged on his Runners harness. I kept watching as he went through his morning routine, he grabbed the large knife that he kept with him at all times off the side table and quickly sheathed in behind his back then grabbed his water and shoved it into the little pouch at the bottom of his harness.
He didn't seem to notice that I was awake but I didn't want him to leave without saying goodbye. It was still pretty early from what I could tell, the Sick Room was barley lit with the early morning light. The atmosphere was rather chilly and while it gave me the shivers It felt amazing against my ashy skin, "I hope you weren't planning on leaving without saying goodbye." My groggy morning voice broke the peaceful silence and alerted Minho that I was awake. He turned around to face me and his chuckled.
"Don't worry Jo. I wasn't about to leave without telling you first." He says and takes a seat on the edge of my bed, technically it was still early enough that the rest of the glade was still asleep, so if I wanted I could get an extra two hours tops.
"Good that." I had more to say but my head was foggy from exhaustion and it took a lot of energy to speak. Man, being stung by a stupid Griever really took it's toll on my body.
"Why are you awake anyways?" Minho inquired as he started to softly run his fingers through my hair. His touch was quickly lulling me back to sleep but I did my best to fight it, I knew that the longer I stayed awake the longer he would linger back so he could see me. I know that's really selfish of me considering that since I got stung, he has been hellbent on finding a way out.
"I heard you moving around and it woke me up. It's not a big deal, I can always go back to sleep after you leave." I replied around a yawn and I rubbed my face in my pillow before looking back up at him, "I really wish you would let me see you off at the doors and not this way." I huffed in slight annoyance.
"Not gonna happen Red. You're going to stay in here and sleep and if you absolutely have to leave this room then you had better have someone with you. If I hear that you so much as set even one of your cute little toes out of this room without an escort, I will kill any Glader I can get my hands on. If you think these shanks are afraid me now then you have seen nothing yet." He gave me the look I've seen him give to his fellow Runners and to say it was a little intimidating was an understatement.
"Fine. Whatever you say you bossy shuckface." I grumbled and glowered at me. If he thinks he can tell me what to do and that I'll simply obey then he is sorely mistaken, not matter how cute he was or how much I loved him, I was not always the best at being told what to do once I hit puberty.
"Bossy shuckface? Is that really the best you've got? You're going soft on me Red, imagine how much more klunk Gally will give you once he's figured it out." He jokes and I slap his knee and scowl at him.
"Oh shut your trap you dumb shank." I gave him a simple retort and he laughed into his shoulder so he didn't wake the other Gladers, "Don't you have somewhere to be right now? I mean, I'm not telling you you can't stay here with me all day but I'm pretty sure Ben and the others are getting restless." Putting what little energy I had left into the small verbal battle we had wore me out just a little more. At this point I was fighting back sleep with so much effort that my vision was getting blurry.
"Okay, I'm leaving. I won't be out there very long. I just need to make it past a certain point today before I come back. Do not leave without someone here got it?" He emphasized the 'Do not' and I sighed and nodded.
"I got it Min, now go before they come in here looking for you. You Runners have this tendency to be really loud and heavy footed." I yawned once more, shutting me eyes. I managed to stay awake long enough for him to plant a soft, lingering kiss on my forehead and to whisper in my ear that he loved me. Sleep had claimed me before he would even leave the room.
A few hours had past since Minho left and I had gotten a decent amount of sleep. The weather today had a really nice breeze that blew through the Sick Rooms open windows, making it harder for me to want to wake up. I had almost fallen back asleep when the loud blaring alarm that signaled a new greenie had started up.
"What the hell?!" The alarm sacred the klunk out of me so much that I bolted up into a sitting position, eyes wide and on alert before my tired brain registered what was happened.
Oh right, we have a newbie.
Thinking to myself I became conscious to the fact that since we were getting a new Greenie that meant I had been stuck in this place for two months. When I say that it doesn't actually seem like a long time but I swear it felt like I had been here for years. Knowing that Minho had told me not to leave the room without an escort really did nothing to stop me as I scooted to the edge of bed and slipped me feet into my sneakers.
Before I made an attempt to walk on my own I gave my muscles a good stretch. I could still feel the fatigue that had it's grip on my body but I could finally manage to hold my own weight and walk. My steps were no longer shaky and I didn't need to hold onto things anymore. Once outside I took a deep breath in and the crisp air filled my lungs and it felt good, even though we were stuck in here I was grateful to even be alive. From the doorway to the Sick Room I could see the boys gathering around the box as it made it's ascent into the center of the Glade.
Taking my time, I walked over to the box and made it to the group just as Gally lifted the top up and jumped into the box to retrieve the new comer. I made it a point to linger in the back of the group where I figured I wouldn't been seen.
"Aren't you supposed to be in bed?" A accented voice spoke up from behind me and I couldn't stop the groan from escaping my lips. Great, I've been caught and now I'll have to play the part of a mediator when Minho gets back.
"Yes I am but I was woken up to the alarm and I couldn't just stay inside when there's a new Greenie to harass and show around." I grinned at the second- in- command and he pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head.
"You do realize that when Minho finds out, and he will, he's going to terrorize not only the Greenie but the entire shucking glade." His tone was clipped as he looked at the rowdy boys that had gathered around the newbie that Gally basically threw out of the box. I chose not to respond to Newt, I knew ways to calm Minho's wrath and because of that I wasn't worried.
"Let the shank breathe for crying out loud!" I protested loudly as they hauled the boy to his feet. The crowd around the new comer had become to compact that I hadn't even gotten a glimpse of his face. All I got were his boot clad legs and the mop of sandy brown hair atop his head. The Gladers continued to poke fun at the kid until he broke out in a sprint.
"He's fast." I spoke more so to myself than anyone else but I heard Newt hum in agreement. Apparently we weren't the only ones impressed by his speed as Zart cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "We got a Runner!" My awe was short lived when he tripped on something we couldn't see and fell to his face in the grass causing everyone to laugh out loud.
"Well this was fun. I'm going to find Chuck, he's got to show the Greenie around and I could use the physical activity." I wasn't going to build up my strength being confined to my bed, I needed to get out and walk around.
"Don't over do it Jo. Minho may be forgiving towards you but if anything happens because you're a stubborn slinthead then we're all shucked. Good that?" Newt's eyes met mine and I nodded in agreement.
"Don't worry Newt, I won't be alone. I'll be with Chuck and the Greenie and if Chuck can't hold me up then at least we have the newbie. I'll see ya later." We parted ways and I threw my hand in the air and waved goodbye to him over my head. Now, to find my favorite little Slopper.
I'm dissapointed in this chapter. It's just a stupid filler and it's missing a lot of what I came up with last night. Unfortunatly I was so sleep deprived that I can't even rememeber what the hell I wrote. Whatever...I'm just gonna try to make my next chapter longer and better. This is probably my worst chapter yet. If you don't post a review for this chapter I understand. It sucked. But I still really appreciate every single one of you for even reading my fic. Thank you! xoxo