monachopsis - maze runner

chapter 12

Chapter 12
The Calm Before

Florence's eyes flickered open, squinting in protest at the sliver of light that slipped through her doorway. She rolled over and pressed her face to the soft cotton of her pillow, tucking her arms beneath it.

Hang on. Florence flipped over, scrambling to release herself from the tangle of blankets wrapped around her. The scuffle landed her on the floor, wincing as the ground slammed into her knees. "Shit."

Hazy and half-asleep, she realized she was still wearing her clothes and shoes from the night before. But somehow, she'd managed to get back to her room with no recollection of how this happened. Her key had also appeared on the mattress next to her.

Florence's next clear thought was simple: Alby. She dragged herself off the ground, ignoring the pulsing pain in her kneecaps. Leaving the door wide open behind her, she sprinted through the misty morning air towards the Med Hut.

Only a few early risers noticed her mad dash, and none of them dared bother her. The tempting scent of coffee drifted from the Kitchens, blending with the clanking sounds of pots and pans. The sun was only just breaching the walls, and Florence couldn't imagine she'd been asleep very long.

She barreled through the doorway, shoulders heaving as she braced herself against the wall. A solitary figure sat on the bench at Alby's bedside, twirling a strand of long black hair around her finger.

Teresa turned at the sound of Florence's heavy breathing, smiling and offering a gentle "Good morning."

"Hi, uh," Florence panted out, "What am I missing here?"

Teresa's brow furrowed until she seemed to realize Florence was awaiting an explanation. "Oh, right," she nodded, crossing her legs beneath her. "You had a long day yesterday, a lot of which was my fault. I felt bad that you had to stay up watching Alby," she said the name slowly, like she was having trouble remembering, "and I couldn't sleep anyway so I came to ask if you wanted me to take over." This answer was spotty at best, so Florence sighed and sat on the bench opposite Teresa, meeting her eyes over Alby's body. He looked far better than he had the night before, all things considered.

"Yeah, that I kinda put together. And thank you by the way," she hastily tagged on the last bit so as not to sound ungrateful. Teresa shouldn't have felt obligated to do such a thing for a person she'd just met, and Florence didn't want that to go unnoticed. "But how the hell did we switch places? I don't remember walking back." Her fingers pinched the bridge of her nose as she spoke, massaging the headache building up between her eyes.

"You were already asleep when I came in, but you didn't look too comfortable curled up on the bench so I went to find someone to help me." She paused, looking down at her hands with her face scrunched up. Florence immediately recognized the look of someone trying to remember. "Oh, what's his name...I hit him with a rock when I woke up, and I don't think he likes me very much."

Florence laughed lightly at that, shaking her head and muttering "You're gonna have to narrow that down."

Teresa smiled sheepishly and whispered an apology, before smacking her thigh and letting out the sort of 'oh!' that means 'I got it!' "He was the one that came to take Thomas away last night."

"Gally?" The disbelief was painted so clearly on her face that Teresa almost laughed. It's not as if Gally was above acts of kindness, the gesture just seemed out of place. For one thing, he hated being woken up. For another, he hated Teresa, and Florence couldn't imagine him doing anything she asked out of spite.

"Yeah, him! I mean he wasn't happy that I woke him up-" Florence snorted a laugh "-but when I told him it was for you he got up right away. He carried you back to your room, and now here we are."