All That We Were | NEWT (tmr)

Eight | ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES

Day Fifty Seven

The first thing Ada noticed upon their re-entry to the glade was the smell.

The maze, with its claustrophobic walls and its ever-present darkness, had smelt of stale air and blood, along with the distinct tone of rotten flesh tainting the corridors that those creatures roamed. The glade, however, smelt fresh. Like dewy grass and last night's cooking, like wet wood and sweet flowers.

It had tears springing to her eyes.

The second their feet landed on the grass, George collapsed into the dirt, panting. Ada could make out the shape of figures sprinting towards them, of Alby gesturing frantically at Nick and James, of Avin scrambling back to the homestead and up the stairs to the medical room.

Her vision grew fuzzy slightly, exhaustion starting to take its toll, and she only opened her eyes when she felt a light pressure against her foot. A small beetle blade was sat on her shoe, staring up at her, body humming almost frantically. The corner of her lips tipped up into a half smile. "Hey there, Michael." Her voice cracked, and she noticed a spot of red on her shoe next to the metal.

What a horror she must have looked, she realised bleakly. Pale skin, hair matted, clothes drenched with George's blood.

"Ada, Ada." Large hands clamped down on her shoulders and she winced, flinching away from them. When she looked up, she locked eyes with Alby, who was staring down at her with an expression so intense it transformed his entire face into one of stone. "Look at me, damnit. You alright? You hurt?"

Ada shrugged his hands off, fingers fluttering to fiddle with the golden chain hanging round her neck. "No. No, I - I don't think so. I'm... I'm alright."

Alby's eyes misted over slightly, and his lips pursed into a tight line. His left hand, which she only now noticed was shaking, lifted as if to cup her cheek but then returned to his side as he decided against it. "You sure?" At her nod, the tense set of his shoulders loosened slightly. "Good that. Thought you were dead. You scared the hell out of me. Don't do that again."

Ada let out a humourless chuckle and swiped at her eyes, blinking away the tears. Now that she could feel the safety of the glade wrapping around her like a blanket the gravity of what they had gone through hit her like a freight train and had her knees shaking. Alby's eyes narrowed and he reached for one of the two blankets Avin had clamped in his grip.

"She's in shock." He wrapped the blanket tightly around her shoulders, and the warmth sank into her skin and began to thaw the ice running through her veins. "Get her inside, sit her down before she collapses. Charles, make her something to eat. Nothing too heavy, or she'll throw it all back up." Charles nodded and clapped Alby's shoulder before turning around and rushing to the kitchen.

"Nick, Connor, James, help me get George to the medical room." Ada frowned and turned to where she had last seen George, only to notice that his skin was paler than she had ever seen it before and was drenched in sweat. His hands, clenching and unclenching in the soil, were bone white at the knuckle.

But that wasn't what had Ada's heart dropping down into her stomach. The true worry was when Alby and Nick leant down to clasp George under the shoulders and he all but growled at them, eyes flashing with something dark. "Get the hell off me."

"Woah – calm down, George." Nick said soothingly, hands up in the surrender position, but his tone only seemed to further aggravate George. Teeth bared, he tried to struggle to his feet, but his legs buckled and his muscles clenched with pain.

"I said don't touch me!"

"George, what the hell?"

"Cmon man, easy-"