Stay With Me (Minho fan fic)

CHAPTER 23

The rest of the day was spent retrieving whatever was left. Clothes, work tools, food, medical supplies, anything really. Anything and everything counts now. Minho told me to stay in his sight, so I was retrieving the supplies from the broken up kitchen with Frypan. It wasn’t too ruined, just a few things buried under the fallen roof. Minho was off, trying to find things in the Mapping hut and the Weapons hut. Newt yelling at people to get working and find anything that is useful. It was quite a rush here in the Glade.

“Floral!”.

I turned around while holding up a pan that I had found, and saw Teresa running over to me. Her raven black hair flowing behind her, before she stopped and panted for a minute.

“Minho... told... me.... to... call....for... you”, she said between pants.

“Why? Has something happened? Besides the obvious?”, I asked, putting down the pan with the pile of retrieved stuff.

“It’s Alby.... he wanted certain people to get to a Gathering he’s holding”, she stated, making me slightly confused.

“And he asked for me?”, I said while pointing to myself. Teresa nodded with a small hum, waiting for me to reply.

“Okay, I’ll be there in a sec”, I answered, making her nod again before jogging back to the Homestead.

I wiped my hands on my pants, before starting to make my way across the Glade and over to the Homestead. I saw that Newt, Minho and Thomas had disappeared as well, meaning they must of been called in as well from Alby. I wonder what he needed to tell us. I hadn’t heard much from him ever since he was stung. Then he went and injured his head on a table while in the Mapping hut.

“What’s going on?”, I asked quietly while walking into the Gathering room and saw that the people I thought were gathered in side. They weren’t sitting, just standing in a small circle, with Alby sitting down on a chair with his head on his hands. A bandage was around his head, causing blood to lightly seep through it.

“Come over here Floral”, Newt said with his arms crossed.

I met eyes with Minho, who looked just as confused as the rest of the people here. Newt, Thomas, Alby, Teresa, Minho and now me. I didn’t why he chose us specifically, but I’ll guess we’re about to find out. I walked over and took my place beside Minho, feeling short between him and Thomas. I looked down at Alby, and we all waited for him to speak.

“I did it”, he stated, making me blink.

“Did what?”, Newt questioned. Alby took his head out of his hands, his eyes looking highly troubled.

“I burnt the maps.... I started the fire in the Mapping room”, Alby said, before looking down at the floor shamefully. “I tried to make myself to look unsuspicious by hittin’ my shuck head on the table”.

We were quiet for a second, all glancing at each other. I met eyes with Teresa about five times, before looking back down at Alby who was silent as well. No one knew what to say. How could we? We were partly confused, shocked, scared and many other emotions indescribable. Alby seemed to change after the Changing (hence the name), and I know for a fact that none of us like it. No one wants to see their leader/role model crumble and fall into a pit of depression and lunacy.

“We can’t go back”, Alby started again. “We can’t go back to the real world. It’s worse out there, than it is here”.

“I don’t believe that for a shuck second”, Minho said. “Have you been out there Alby? Everything’s destroyed-“.

“IT’S STILL BETTER THAN OUT THERE!”, Alby snapped, jumping up from his seat and glaring at Minho with furious eyes. “IT’S BETTER TO DIE HERE THAN GO ON LIVIN’ OUT THERE!”.

Silence filled the room again as Alby sunk back into his chair. Minho was standing there in shock, his eyes wide and his lips slightly parted. No one expected that outburst. I had even taken a step back, feeling my heart beat against my rip cage.

“I had to burn them”, Alby murmured in a whimpering tone. “We can’t leave....”.

“Okay Alby”, Newt began, putting a hand on his shoulder. Alby looked up at his best friend, making the rest of us look at Newt with confused looks. “Don’t worry ‘bout. It’s not like we’re bloody gettin’ out here anyway. Go rest. We’ll sort it out”.

Alby didn’t argue and nodded, before standing up and walking out the Gathering room with a hanging head. Once the door closed, we all turned to look at Newt, knowing there was more to the thing that Newt just said.

“The maps aren’t burnt”, Newt stated, shocking us all.

“What do you mean?”, Thomas questioned.

“Before the Grievers attacked last night, I took the maps into the Homestead”, Newt said, making us all gape at him.

“Why didn’t you shuckin’ tell us?!”, Minho said with a relieved/angry tone.

“I wouldn’t tell you of all people Minho”, Newt said with a roll of the eyes. “With your blabber mouth,  Alby would of found out and tore ‘em all up before I could look for ‘em again”.

“Well where are they now?”, I asked.

“I put them under the floorboards in the Livin’ room. They’re safe there”, Newt replied.

“Well we should get them out”, Teresa said. “The least we could do is study them”.

“You crazy girl?”, Minho asked in a mocking tone. “I’ve studied those shuck papers for two years now. If I haven’t found anythin’, you won’t either”.

“Okay calm down”, I said, looking at Minho with narrowing eyes. “She was just trying to help”.

“It’s worth a shot”, Thomas spoke up,  making us turn to him. “With Minho’s shuck brain, he’s bound to of missed somethin’.”

“Watch it slinthead”, Minho grumbled, glaring at his friend.

“I’ll go get ‘em”, Newt stated, before walking to the door and yanking it open and heading into the hallway. “Meet me in the Mapping room”.

Newt left and the rest of us started heading to the Mapping room. I walked beside Minho, before slowly sliding my small hand his and entwining my fingers with his. He didn’t hesitate and lock it, squeezing my hand in his huge one. Minho turned his head for a minute, flashing me a smile on his tanned face. I smiled back before we made it to the Map room, waiting patiently for the arrival of Newt.

“You think that what Gally said was true?”, I asked Minho, making him turn his head in my direction. “The thing about one every night?”.

“Not sure to be honest”, Minho said with a shrug. “Gally was lunatic. Half the things he said was just from his shuck imagination. But it was weird how the Grievers just took him, then left without anythin’ else”.

“I think he was right”, I said. “The Grievers may be frightening, but they do know how to make it worse. Maybe if they take one of us every night, it’ll make us more paranoid”.

“Don’t talk like that”, he said while standing in front of me and taking both my hands in his. “The Grievers got nothin’ over us. I won’t let them touch you, you got that?”.

I couldn’t help but snigger slightly, before smiling at him. Minho always knew how to be sweet and mushy in the most tense moments.

“Okay, I got it”, I replied, making Minho do a half smile.

“Good that”.