Chapter 31

Alrighty, I'm hoping I can fit what I want to in these next two chapters instead of having to do more but here I go. Bring on the teenage love, angst, anxiety and whatever else I can spew into my writing. (Also, I'm sorry if my little authors notes keep getting shorter and shorter. Not much is happening that worth talking about other than work, and no one cares about my job.)

It didn't take me very long to find the young slopper. He had just arrived at the Homestead with the Greenie and he began to help him set up his hammock in an empty spot close to his own hammock, "Hey Chuck, looks like you made a new friend. How's the tour going?" I asked and came up to stand next to Chuck. The green bean was busy tying off his hammock in what seemed like a huge struggle.

"Oh yeah! He's pretty cool, asks a lot of questions and it was making Alby mad but he still seems like a cool guy." The kid and I watched as the Greenie finished setting up his hammock and living space; putting things in their own place , "Oi, Greenie. This here is Jo." He introduces me to the newbie and I'm pretty sure he wasn't even listening.

"Wait until he's done Chuck. His brain is probably still scrambled and he's going to need some time to make sense of things." I tried to get Chuck to remember just how confusing it was when he was the Greenie, all he needed was some time.

"I heard him, I'm just trying to figure out what I did wrong with this stupid thing." The sandy haired boy finally turned around to face us and as soon as I saw his face I knew that I had remembered him from W.I.C.K.E.D., he was one of the kids that watched me during a handful of training sessions to take notes and report back to Dr. Paige. Whether he was being forced to observe her and make her fight her friends or is he did it of his own free will, the fact that he was Dr. Paige's lap dog brought my guard way up and I instantly didn't trust him.

His hazel eyes stared right into mine almost as if he recognized me but when I didn't speak right away he raised an eyebrow at me, "Is there something on my face?" The boy asked as he touched his face.

"No. I just thought for a second that I had met you before." My reply was short and I could tell he wanted to ask me what I meant since the whole, remembering your past is a huge problem among us Gladers. Save for me and Gally, the lucky two who had survived the Changing and regained a good chunk of their memories.

I turned my attention back to Chuck for a moment as he inquired about dinner, "What do you think Frypan will make tonight? I'm starving." The young boy whines and rubs his stomach as if to show just how hungry he was.

I giggled at his actions, "I don't know Chuck, why don't we go find out after the Greenie is finished with his hammock?" Both Chuck and I turned our attention to where the green bean should have been but wasn't, "What the klunk? How does someone just disappear like that?" My frustration was beginning to make itself known.

"Oh klunk, what does he think he's doing?" Chuck panics, turning my gaze towards where he's looking I see the dumb shank walking towards the enterance to the maze.

"Go Chuck, go stop him before Gally does, I'll catch up!" I yell after Chuck as he takes off running towards the new comer. Man, didn't the Greenie have any common sense? I knew for a fact that Alby had told him the rules enough times to make it stick and one of those rules was centered around the Maze.

Before I could catch up to them Chuck had halted the Greenie in his steps just a few feet from where the grass meets cement, "You stupid shuckface! What the hell is wrong with you?" I finally caught up to them and I was blown away by the Greenie's stupidity, "Did you miss the lesson on the rules that Alby gave you after you got here?" I placed myself in front of the newbie so he would be forced to look at me and not down the corridor of the Maze.

"What did you call me?" He looked at me with a scowl of bemusement.

"That's all you got from that?" I ran my fingers through my hair, "These doors behind me lead somewhere that you and all the other Glader's are not allowed to go. It is against the rules. So if you knew what was good for you, you would turn around and march you butt back to your hammock and finish setting up." I was glad that Chuck was the Greenie I had to show around, he wasn't full of stupid curiosity, only fear.

The Greenie looked like he wanted to say something but the sound of heavy footfall on cement interupted them. Turning around I watched Ben and Minho exit the maze, Minho's eyes locked on me the second he rounded the corner then he shifted his gaze to Chuck then the geen bean before looking back at me.

"Hey Chuck, new Greenie huh? How does it feel to be promoted?" Ben asks the Slopper and Chuck smiles at the Runner.

"Pretty good Ben." Chuck replies. Minho stops when he is a a foot away from me and he stares me down.

"Jo. Do you like making me angry?" He asks me and I could tell from the look in his eyes that, while was irritated with me he wasn't really that mad.

"Oh relax, I was with Chuck and the Greenie the whole time. I wanted to get out and help show him around." I wasn't really lying since that's the reason why I was out here by the maze doors, I wasn't going to have the conversation about my lack of trust in the green bean until it was just the two of us.

Turning my attention back to Chuck for a moment, "You okay with continuing this tour without me?" Now that Minho was back I wanted to be around him and get some dinner.

"Sure, don't forget though. Alby is planning a bonfire tonight to celebrate a new greenie." I had almost forgot if Chuck didn't just remind me, I was actually pretty excited about it. It's been a while since the entire Glade gathered together for a night of fun.

"Good that. Thanks Chuck, I'll see you later." Minho and I parted ways after those words. I had my heart set on eating some good food right now but I was pulled gently in a different direction. Minho grabbed my wrist and was pulling me in the direction of the Sick Room, "No Minho, I don't want to be stuck inside again. I can walk on my own just fine." I tugged at his grip in protest.

"We're not spending all night in here, relax. Clint probably wants to check your wound and see how it's healing. If you want me off your back about it then this would be the best way to do it." He looked at me then held the door to the Sick Room open for me as I stepped across the treshold with him close behind.

"Clint? Are you here?" I called out and took a seat on the bed I had been occupying recently. The Keeper of the Med-Jacks must have been waiting for me because as soon as I spoke he had appeared out of the back room.

"Where else do you think I would be Jo?" He deadpanned, earning him a kind gesture from me.

"Can you just check me out and see if I still need to be your patient. I'm a little tired of being confined to a bed." I pointedly ignored Minho's scowl. Clint moved closer to me and motioned for me to lift the hem of my shirt up. Doing as he asked I lifted up my shirt just enough to expose my square patch of gauze held to my skin with tape. He softly peeled the tape from around my wound and removed the gauze.

The look he had on his face was of mild shock, he didn't know that I healed faster than normal people, "So?" I inquired and took it upon myself to check it out. Where a bloody puncture wound had been only a few days ago had headed nicely, leaving a scar that looked like a crescent moon had been engraved in my side.

"Holy klunk." My expression came out in a gasp of surprise. Not once had I gotten a single scar since my body had been modified, until now and I couldn't stop staring at it. The scar was the pink color of freshly healed skin, the back curve that made the crecent shape was a little raised and puckered. All in all it really didn't look that bad, all my bruises were gone and my skin was slowly regaining it's color back.

"How are you healing this fast? In all the time I've been here I've never seen any shank heal as fast as you. That sting you had was deep, you should still be in the first stage of healing. Technically it shouldn't even be completely closed up yet." Clint sat back in his chair, his mind still reeling from my unnatural healing.

"Um, I don't really know. I think I've always been a fast healer." From experience with the Changing, Clint knew that in the end the sufferer regained many of their memories, so for all he knew I had always been a fast healer. He didn't need to know that I had been expirimented on and made into a living weapon.

"Well um, alright. From what I've seen I think you're healed enough to be released to return to your job. Minho can no loner keep you here." The Med-Jack added in. Of course, leave it to Clint to know the real reason why I had come to see him.

"See? You heard the man Min. I'm all healed up and free to go! Isn't that great?" Looking up at Minho, I plastered a fat grin across my face. I could tell that Minho was done with my annoying whining as I watched the muscle in his jaw twitch.

"Don't push your luck shuckface." He replied and held out his hand to me. Slipping my small hand into his he pulled me to my feet and we were out the door. He kept a grip on my hand as we walked through the dark glade. The bonfire must have already begun as the smell of fire wafted through the clearing and the gleam of the giant blaze could be seen reflection off trees and the walls.

"Are you mad at me Minho?" Normally I didn't have to ask him how he felt, I could just easily pick up on it. But for this first time, I couldn't read him. When he didn't answer me I stopped dead in my tracks and pulled on his hand giving him no choice but to stop.

"I'm not mad Jo. I'm confused. Why did you lie to Clint about how fast you heal? You can tell me but when it matters the most you couldn't say anything?" His words struck a chord in me and I was terrified. Just the thought of telling Minho how and why I am the way I am was enough to put a lock on the truth.

"Because Min, you wouldn't understand. No one would understand." Adverting my gaze away from his face I focused on a spot over his shoulder, as much as I wanted to tell him I knew that if I did he would see me differently. The worst part about the truth was that none of it was by choice, they had forcibly changed me, made me do horrible things. I didn't dare disobey, I had seen what happened when one of us said no and it always ended with a bullet in the brain.

"You can trust me Jo. Who you we're before being put in here isn't going to change my opinons and feelings about you, you need to get past this lying klunk. Shuck it, if you're not ready to tell anyone else then at least tell me. I've been told I was a great listener." He smiled and joked around to lighten the mood.

"Fine, I'll tell you. But not tonight, I want to have fun. I want to drink as much of Gally's drink I can before I throw up, I just want to forget what it feels like to be scared all the time." My voice cracked with exhaustion, "I just want to have one night where we can all act our age. I want to feel what it's like to be a teenager."

Minho stood there for a moment; silent, his eyes glued to mine, I wasn't sure what to say or even do for that matter. He pulled me close to him, tucking me under his arm as he held me close. I stuck my face in his chest to hide the happy giggles that began to pour out of me.

"Are you laughing at me?" He accused me, his voice laced with mirth.

I took an extra second to tattoo his smell into my brain before looking up at him, I was overcome with giddiness. When I looked at him I felt this amazing feeling, my body felt warm and light, no matter how hard I tried to keep this goofy smile off my face I just couldn't seem to do it. He was the only good thing in this hellish place and I will fight with my life to protect it, "No I'm sorry. I wasn't laughing at you I swear. I got really happy that they kinda just came out. Don't make fun of my you shank." I nudged him.

He led me over to the bonfire, for some reason it was shaped like a giant person or a doll, I wasn't really sure. The second we stepped into everyone view almost all eye were on us at one point in time but I could care less, it was amusing catching him glaring daggers at a few Gladers he caught staring. Looking around I located Winston, he was usually the first person who had some of whatever Gally had just made. I needed to speak with him, "Min, stop staring down the poor shank for a second and look at me." my tone was light as I chuckled at his scary face. He turned his attention to me almost instantly.

"What's up?" He asked and I snuggled up to him some more, wrapping my arms around his waist I looked at him.

"I'll be right back. I'm going to talk to Winston real quick." I stated and pulled away from him. I could tell he wanted to go with me but I made it very clear last time he tried to assert his dominance, I was a big girl and I could do it myself. The entire time I was walking to the other side of the fire I could literally feel his eyes on me, I stared at him from across the fire, challenging him. Finally he looked away, he really needed to learn to relax. He's been so uptight since I got stung!

"Did you come over here to talk to your dear pal Winston? Or did you come over here to have a weird staring contest with Minho?" Winston teased. I gave him my best eye roll but that still didn't stop the blush that appeared after getting caught staring.

"Nice to see you too Winston. Still a smart ass I see." I smirked and he laughed, handing me two jars full of Gally's special drink.

"Here you go. This is what you came over here for isn't it?" He was on a roll with his sarcasam.

I let out a overly dramatic gasp of offense before placing one of the jars over my heart, feigning a wounded heart, "Why Winston! I'm offended, is that really all you thought I wanted to see you about? I thought we were closer then that." I winked and turned around, leaving him behind as I heard Zart and another Track Hoe, who's name I forgot, giving Winston a hard time over that last one. Weaving in an out of the hyper boys, I made my way back to Minho. I was ready to finally have some fun, stop thinking about our current situation and just hang out.

Holy crap! I almost forgot that this was one chapter. I kind of just kept writing and writing! I need to start a new chapter before this becomes stupid long :P I really like this chapter actually, for being half decent it was still fun to write. Hopefully you guys liked it too (: If so, please review. It makes me happy to read them. Thank you! xoxo