Sapphire Stones

I don't even know what to title this...

Gally's POV~

With a dog held tightly to my chest and a piece of paper clutched in my palm, I watch the woman I love run out of my life towards what she believes to be her freedom. I don't cry. I don't run after them. I don't call out for her to stop. I just let her go. Because I know that's what she wants; that it's all she's wanted for three years.

So I watch her go.

The silence that fills the Glade as their footsteps grow fainter surrounds me and the few Gladers standing behind me. It's ghostly, eerie, and unnerving, making a tingle run down my spine despite the warm breeze. 

"Gally?" I hear someone ask from behind me, snapping me out of a daze. I turn around to face the boy, being careful due to the dog still being held in my arms. "What do we do now?" He questions, and as I look around, I see every Glader who stayed in the Glade staring at me. They're all waiting for orders. I'm the leader now. 

I search for something to say, but my mind seems blank and my tongue won't move. My throat is dry from lack of water and I can't seem to string two words together. And then finally, after what seems like hours, I'm able to say,

"First things first, we need to clean this place up. Start gathering up anything we might be able to salvage for new buildings and clear away everything else." 

The boys all nod and make their separate ways to the areas that need the most attention, leaving me alone and standing in front of the doors. I stare into the Maze intently, wondering where everything went wrong.

When I first came up in the Box three years ago, I was scared. I had nothing. No memories, no name, no identity. I was lanky back then. I could barely string two words together. But if this was going to be my life, I would have to grow up quick. It didn't matter that I was thirteen or fourteen. 

So I acted tough. I wanted to be the strongest of them all. I wanted to be the one they all looked up to, yet still feared too much to step over the line. I wanted to be the one who never backed down and kept everyone else in line. I knew that all I wanted was to be a leader. I wanted them to see me as someone they were too afraid to mess with. 

I might have been young, but I was already taller than most of the others. And as I began Building, I became stronger than them as well. I became the image of the person I wanted to be, but I lost my ability to show certain emotions at the right times. I became bitter and angry, not only with the other Gladers, but also with the world. I hated the Creators. I hated my parents when I remembered them. The only emotions I knew how to show were frustration and anger. 

I created the image of the boy I so strongly felt the need to be in order to protect myself, my home, and my new family. I lost my innocence and childhood. I lost the boy I was before all of this. But what did it matter? I couldn't remember anything about myself anyways. 

And then I got stung. My curiosity got the better of me. I wanted to know more about where I was and what was inside the labyrinth that surrounded us. I was never the same after that.

And then she arrived. I didn't trust Venus at first, but as time went on, I found myself completely infatuated with her. I couldn't stop looking at her. She was just so different from the other Gladers. She seemed so much freer than the rest of them. 

I found myself smiling when I saw her. I felt happy for the first time in forever. But with that happiness came more anger. I was mad at myself for letting down the walls I so carefully constructed around my heart. I directed my anger at Venus, becoming short-tempered and picking fights with her at any chance I got. Yet I still couldn't help myself from feeling drawn to her. There was just something about her...