Good Grief (TMR fic)

Chapter 4

"You need sleeping bags?" Newt asks as I walk up behind him, Thomas at my heels. His eyes are on the darkening eastern sky, the sunset behind us.

"Yeah. Fry said you'd tell us where to sleep." I stand next to him, and we stare at the walls ahead of us. They're so huge...

"About that." Newt turns to me in a businesslike manner. "We have to figure out what to do with you. What with you being a girl and all."

"I swear if you make me stay by myself I will scream all night long," I say, glaring at him. The Box had been bad enough, and I had been with Thomas. I am not about to be stuck in a room alone.

"You and Ben both," Newt mutters. "Fine. Well, most of us sleep outside. It doesn't ever rain here, and the weather is good enough. But I don't think you should. If someone tries to hurt you..."

"Give me a knife and I'll be fine."

He laughs. "Do you really think Alby will let you have a knife? But if you aren't bothered, maybe we can put you towards the Homestead with the majority of us Keepers."

"Keepers?" Thomas, as usual, is in a questioning mood.

"Everyone has a job, and each job has a leader. We call them Keepers, and they're how we run this place." Then Newt frowns thoughtfully. "Say, Thomas, why don't you go ask Chuckie to get you and Ash sleeping bags? I want to talk to her for a bit."

Thomas meets my eyes. "You good, Ash?"

I nod. I would be very surprised if Newt tried to hurt me. It doesn't seem like him, even if I don't know him well. Thomas smiles at me and then trots off to meet with Chuck, who seems to have finished washing up after our snack.

"So," I say as Newt and I turn back to staring at the walls.

"They're big, aren't they?"

"Yeah." It's like I can't even see the top. When I try to focus on it my brain rebels, giving me a dizzying sensation. Instead, I stare at the emerging stars in the murky twilight sky.

"How are you doing with it all?" he asks, and I wonder what this conversation is about.

"Fine, all things considered."

He gives me an incredulous look. "That's all? Just 'oh, I think I'm fine, even if I'm dropped into a death trap with a bunch of strangers and no memories I'm sure everything will work out.'"

I smile a little, keeping my attention on the land outside of the giant openings in the walls. "Well, there's not much point in panicking, is there?"

"Ash, look at me."

I calmly turn to Newt and raise an eyebrow. "What?"

"Do you have any of your memories? Anything at all?"

"No. Just my name."

"Does Thomas seem familiar? Do you think you knew him? Is there anything you know about this place that you haven't been told?"

"No, Newt, there isn't."

"Are you sure?"

I feel my jaw tighten and try to force myself to relax. "I'm not lying, and I don't appreciate you assuming I am. Just because I'm not crying in a corner doesn't mean I have anything you guys didn't. Haven't you had calm Greenies before?"

"Yeah, to an extent. But something is different with you and Thomas, and what if you do know something?"

"If I am a traitor you can't prove it," I say through gritted teeth. "So why can't you trust me? I'm not going to beg for you to believe me. Trust me or don't, it doesn't much matter what I do or say."

He sighs, running his hands through his long hair. "Okay. But Ash... if you remember anything... please tell us?" His voice is soft.

I nod stiffly and leave to meet up with Thomas without saying another word to Newt. I'm halfway furious that he was pressing me so hard for answers. Is it really so hard to believe that I can't remember anything?

"Are you okay?" Thomas asks, frowning a bit at me. Chuck jolts a little when I look at him and gives me a nervous smile. Apparently, I'm still mad. Grudgingly I admit that Newt hadn't, at least, been intimidated by me. If nothing else, he isn't afraid of my anger.

"I guess changing the typical order of things is a crime here," I mutter, catching the sleeping bag Thomas throws to me.

We've just set up the area we'll be sleeping in when a rumble sounds throughout the Glade. It's deep and loud, and I jump at the sudden noise.

"What's happening?" Thomas yells over a grinding noise that follows.

"The Doors are closing," Chuck yells back. "Come and see!"

We follow him to the nearest gap in the walls surrounding us. Doors? What-

The walls themselves are moving.

I take a step backwards against my will. We're being shut in by monoliths of stone that shouldn't be able to move. It looks like a mountain decided to get up and go for a jog. They can't be moving. And yet... a row of stone pins on one side of the walls are clearly going to meet up with matching holes on the other side.

The walls are moving, and we're getting locked in.

I start sprinting towards the narrowing gap out of pure terror. I can't be trapped. I hate the sensation. Even in a place as big as the Glade, the feeling of being stuck is my worst nightmare.

Someone grabs my wrist, yanking me backwards. My injuries from Gally protest, but I ignore the pain. I flail, trying to reach the escape even as it's cut off.

"Keep struggling and I'll let you go die," a voice growls, and I look up to see Alby holding me back. The walls meet with a slam, and I let myself go limp, collapsing to the ground.

"No," I whisper, staring at the cage we're now stuck in.

"You want me to take over?" Newt says. Apparently, he had run after me as well, and he's favoring his bad leg.

"Sure," Alby says. "If I have to look at her for two more seconds, I might just throw her in the Slammer." Then he storms away, and I'm left with Newt. Thomas and Chuck are staring at me from a slight distance away, both of their mouths slightly open with surprise that I had bolted.

I stare into Newt's green eyes, but he doesn't flinch at my blatant frustration.

"Ash?"

"What."

"Why did you run?"

I sigh, letting my shoulders relax slightly. "I hate being trapped."

He gives me a smile twisted with sympathy. "I understand. But there are some rules you need to know, Ash. Don't ever go out of those Doors. That's a Runner's job, and if someone else tries... well, they'd get Banished into the Maze faster than a Griever stings. Don't leave the Glade, don't hurt other Gladers, and do your part."

"Gally hurt me," I blurt without thinking.

"And he's paying for it with a night in the Slammer. If he tries anything again he'll get Banished and he knows it."

"So, what's the Maze?" I ask, trying to sound casual.

Newt glares at me. "Don't you dare tell Alby I let something slip about the Maze. He'd be right pissed if he knew. You'll learn well and soon enough, but not yet, Ash."

I sigh. "Okay."

"Can we go get dinner now?" Chuck asks from the background, and I bite back a smile.