Left Behind -Gally-

Chapter 18

Her fingers messed with the ends of her dry hair. It wasn't often she had her hair down. It was easier to keep it up since she worked in the Gardens, but right now, she wanted it down. It felt better on her skull.

The sound of creaking wood caught her attention. Emma opened her eyes and glanced over her shoulder. She noticed Gally climbing up the ladder. "Gally?"

He glanced at her. "Hey," he greeted. "Would you like some company?" Gally seemed, to her, nervous.

"From you? Absolutely." That seemed to reassure him. Gally climbed onto the top level of the hut. Slowly, he walked toward the edge. There was a hesitation in his steps that she noticed. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," he lied. "Yeah." Emma raised an eyebrow, eyeing him cautiously. He sighed as he sat down. "Just never been up here before."

"Really?" That shocked her. Gally had been in the Glade for three years. How had he never been on top of the tree hut?

"I mean, I helped build it, but I've never sat up here." His eyes studied the Glade, never having seen it from this angle before.

"Then why are you up here now?" Emma watched as Gally looked anywhere but her. The answer was obvious, but he wasn't going to admit anything. Using her extended leg, she gently nudged his side with her foot. "I knew you liked me."

Even in the darkness, she could see his flushed cheeks. "Are you sure it's a good idea for you to be up here?" He swiftly changed the topic.

That confused her. "What do you mean?"

"Well," he rubbed the back of his neck. "You know, you're sort of clumsy."

She scoffed. "Why does everyone keep saying that? I'm not clumsy." Her words weren't convincing. "Okay, maybe I've had a few accidents-"

"A few?"

"Shut up." Her words were playful. "Most of them weren't my fault." But some were.

"What are you even doing up here?" Gally had noticed her when he was walking back to the Homestead. It wasn't the first time he saw her sitting on top of the tree hut, but it was the first time he joined her.

"Relaxing. Thinking," she said. "The usual."

Quickly, he asked. "What are you thinking about?"

Emma debated her response. What was she thinking about? The short answer: everything, but Gally wouldn't care. "Nothing that would interest you, I promise."

"Try me."

His response stunned her. She hadn't expected him to be interested in her thoughts. Sure, they were friends, but they never talked about her thoughts.

Emma tended to get lost in her own mind. Often, she would talk to Newt, Minho, or Jack about her worries, questions, and concerns. They always listened to her and offered advice when they deemed fit. It was different with Gally. Emma desperately wanted to be his friend for months. Now that they were friends. She feared scaring him off.

"I think a lot."

Gally nodded before he spoke. "I've noticed."

She playfully glared at him. "I'm a curious person." He knew that as well. There was a lot he had learned about her. "But it spirals a bit, my mind. Lots of what-ifs and unanswerable questions about the Maze, the Glade, who we are, who put us here."

There's a moment of silence as Gally digests her words. It's a lot to take in at once. In his silence, Emma felt her stomach sink. Silence was never a good sign. "Why are you thinking about stuff like that?"

That wasn't the response she was expecting. "What do you mean?"

"The Glade is our home. We're here. What's the point of thinking about things that we'll never know the answers to?" Gally tried to use his words carefully but failed.

A frown appeared on her face. "I don't know." It was the truth. "I guess I like to think that there's more out there. There's something better."

"This is our home," Gally repeated. "That's not going to change."

Her head snapped in his direction. "You don't think the Runners will find an exit?"

"No."

Emma blinked a few times, gaping at him. "Are you serious?"

"Yes." Gally was serious.

She didn't know what to think, but part of her wasn't surprised. Three years trapped somewhere could dampen the hopes of escape. Maybe her optimism stemmed from only being inside the Glade for three months. "What do you think is outside the walls then?"

"I don't know," he responded. "I never think about things like that. What's the point?" Gally was home. He didn't need to conjure up some delusion about what's beyond the Maze. It didn't matter.

Emma moved her legs closer, crossing them. She faced Gally, smiling slightly. "Just imagine it."

He raised an eyebrow. "Imagine it?" Gally wasn't sure he heard her correctly.

"Yes," she confirmed, scooting closer.

Gally entertained her words. "Imagining." But he wasn't doing anything. He was staring at her, a look in his eyes she had never seen before.

She rolled her eyes at his sarcastic words. "Close your eyes." His eyebrows raised higher. He wanted to argue but didn't. Sighing, Gally closed his eyes. If anyone ever asked him about this, he would deny it.

"What am I imagining again?"

"What's outside the Maze," she responded. Emma stared at him, watching as he pursed his lips. She wondered what he was thinking, what he was imagining. The distant lanterns illuminated half his face. A shadow darkened the other.

After a moment of silence, he spoke. "Do you do this a lot?"

"Yes and no," she hummed. Gally reopened his eyes, staring back at her. They were closer now, no longer separated by her extended leg. "Think of something?"

"I thought of Grievers eating me alive for trying to leave."

She couldn't help but laugh at his words. Gally smiled to himself at the sound. "You have no faith." Emma knew there was a way out. "If I became a Runner, I would find a way out just to prove you wrong."

Gally shook his head, unable to imagine the girl as a Runner. He spoke his next words without thinking. "You'd never be a Runner."

"And why not?"

"Because," he struggled to find the right words. Gally had no idea what to say.

Luckily, Emma spoke. "Don't say it's because I'm a Shucking girl."

"I wasn't going to say that-"

"You were definitely thinking it," she countered. Gally shifted in his spot. "Doesn't matter anyway. Minho would never let me become a Runner." Before he could say anything, a yawn escaped her. Emma noticed for the first time how exhausted she was. The Glade was silent because everyone else had gone to bed. "I think I'm going to turn in." Gally nodded. "You should too. I would hate for the Keeper of the Builders to be slacking because he didn't get enough sleep." Amused, he stood up and followed her.