Chapter 18

"What?" you say, "Why would Ben want to kill Thomas?"
"I don't know," Newt replies, "He said he saw Thomas during the Changing, said he was bad."
"That doesn't make sense," Thomas had never seemed even the slightest bit threatening to you, "What's the Changing?"
"You don't know?" Newt looked genuinely shocked.
"No, I tried asking Clint, but he had to tell Alby about Ben. And then Jeff,"
You gasp and start panicking, "Jeff! Clint! Oh, where's Clint."
Newt looks at you wide-eyed, your panic unexpected,
"Y/N, hey, hey. Calm down. What's wrong?"
"I need to get Clint. Ben attacked him and Jeff. Jeff might have a concussion; I need to get Clint help him."
"Alright, just be calm. I know where he is. Follow me."

Newt takes your hand and leads you to where Clint is leaning against a tree, looking at the line of trees where Alby had disappeared only moments ago with a big bow in the hopes of stopping Ben from killing Thomas. He smiles when he sees you and Newt approaching,
"Hey, Newt, Y/N. How's Jeff?"
By now, you have calmed down considerably, and simply say, "He might have a concussion, I didn't know how to check so I think you should look at him. I left him with someone named Claude."
Clint jumps to his feet, his face one of shock, and asks, "Where are they?"
"In Ben's room."
"Thanks," he says as he runs past you and towards the Homestead.

You turn to Newt and, breathing a sigh of relief, say, "I'm glad that's over. I hope Jeff is okay."
You then look towards the Deadheads nervously, "And Thomas. I can't imagine him doing anything worth killing him for."
"Don't worry, I'm sure it's nothing. The Shank's just buggin' from the Changing."
"I still don't know what that is."
He laughs, "Sorry. The Changing is what happens after someone gets stung by a Griever and gets the grief serum."
"Thank you, finally."
"There's more to it, you know. Some people, after the Changing, get some memories back. But after they wake up, they're different, it's why we call it the Changing. Most people don't like to talk about it. It's like they see what the world's really like and they're scared."
"Oh," the mood is suddenly solemn and uncomfortable, "Has anyone ever gone crazy like Ben?" you ask.
"Some have, not as bad as old Ben. I am lucky enough to never have been stung."
You are reminded the night you spent in the maze when you first got there, how the Griever almost stung you, how it just dropped you and left.

"Newt!" Some calls, you both turn to see Alby coming out of the Deadheads, waving for Newt's attention.
He reached you two and Newt asks, "What happened?"
"Ben attacked Thomas, said he was bad and wanted to get us out of here."
"Why is that bad?" You ask.
"Must be something he remembered," Newt replied.
Alby continued, "Anyway, gave him to the count of three, he jumped at Thomas, I put an arrow in his cheek."
You gasp, "You killed him? And you just left him there?"
Alby shrugged it off though he did look as if he felt remorse for having to kill the kid, "The Baggers'll take care of him tomorrow."
Alby then turns to Newt and says, "We need to finish our Gathering," He looks back at you and says, "You, stay here and try to stay out of trouble."
"Wait!"
He gives you a this-better-be-worth-it look and waits for you to continue.
"I remembered something... about the girl."
You then go on to tell them about your memory.

"Interesting," Alby says, "we'll talk more about it later. Stay away from the girl for now."
He turns and just leaves without a word; Newt looks at you and says, "Alright, Love. I've got to go. See ya."
He also leaves and then you're left standing there alone. Suddenly, someone behind you taps your shoulder. You jump and whirl around to see Claude standing there.
"Hey," he says, smiling.
"Hi, Claude. How's Jeff?"
"Good, I guess. Clint kicked me out."
You nod along and then the two of you are left in a sort of awkward silence. Claude breaks it by saying,
"You know, I don't know your name."
"Oh, my name is Y/N."
"Nice to meet you, Y/N. Wanna hang out?"
"Sure," you say. I've got nothing better to do.

Claude turns around and the two of you walk towards a nearby bench and sit down. Claude looks at you, smiling,
"So, Y/N, tell me about yourself. I want to know everything."

A/N: Hey guys. Thanks for sticking with me. I will definitely try not to be late again. Please review, I'd love to know what you guys think!