Injured Feet & Rickety Hearts {Book 1 Completed}

//Chapter 29//

Alby went off to talk to the Med-jacks who were looking after the new girl while I went down the other hall and went into Malaya's room. I think I would rather see a griever's butt than what I walked in on.

Clint was patting water on the girl's head, but she was breathing rapidly, and her skin was coated in a very thick layer of sweat, so thick I could see it dripping off her skin. Clint had pushed the blankets away and pushed open a window, but even than the room was clammy from her body temperature.

"She's having a bad dream. Or a memory, this is so similar to a Griever sting. What was said before, the theory that her body was actually trying to remember and that's thrown her mind into a backwards spiral... it doesn't seem so crazy anymore."

I nodded as I sat down, what he was saying, it made sense. Seeing the plague on the wall must have triggered something, she's remembering because her body is forcing her too, but whatever WICKED did to her is making her mind stop her from remembering.

I perked up when she mumbled in her sleep, only to slump into a seat sadly as I remembered that Clint said she was talking in her sleep. I missed her. Bark must be off with Minho who I assumed would either be in the maze, the map room or catching up on sleep. I can understand why he didn't stay. I wouldn't want to. I didn't actually.

"No"

Laya mumbled again and Clint scribbled it down roughly with one hand, he was actually keeping track. We did tell him too, I cleared my throat as I pointed too it. I was interested in what was going through her head, what I would do to see and be able to sooth her, but I couldn't, all I could do was sit and watch.

"Clint can I look at that pad?"

I asked and Clint nodded, tossing the pad over quickly, I caught it easily before I set it on my lap. I don't know why I was nervous, I was scared to see what she was saying. To find out that she was in pain or something, I didn't want that.

I could feel my heartbeat in my throat as I flipped through the pages. I was shocked, she had been having complete conversations with herself, other times she said some of the scariest things I could think up.

'Stop it hurts!'

'no more please'

'I'm not the prodigy, I can't do it'

'Just kill me!'

My heart ached with pain with the last one, at that moment I wanted nothing more than to see her awake, I've never missed her smile so much. She was terrified, I couldn't do anything about it. I bit my lip before shutting the book and tossing it back. Maybe it was a bad idea reading it.

Clint sighed and placed it on the bench as I gently intertwined my finger with hers. She was cold, it felt like she had been laying in the freezer before being put here, even though she was sweating like crazy. I ran my free hand through my hair as I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees.

So much had happened, I don't know how much more I can handle before I break. Ben was... dead. Malaya was sick. There was another girl here and she was causing all sorts of upsets. I don't know what to do anymore.

I missed Malaya's comfort.

...

I had stayed in her room for a long time, to the point where I was missing dinner, I didn't want to be anywhere else. It was better if I stayed here, I can try to clear my head. Clint had left so I was on my own.

The room was quiet and I hadn't been disturbed for a long time, so when the door opened I wasn't bothered. I hadn't come to breakfast or lunch or dinner, so seeing someone come looking for me wasn't a surprise. I lifted my eyes slightly to see Alby walking in, a blank expression plaster onto his tired face.

He trailed in and sat in a seat next to me, he clearly wanted to talk. I just raised my eyebrows as I turned to look at him. I've never seen him look so down. I guess I know that Ben was really bothering him, he was the one who had to kill him.

"I need to talk with you about ben. He's alive"

I looked at him shocked as I cocked my head and raised my eyes. I was shocked, he didn't die, how? I opened my mouth to speak but Alby interrupted me, continuing on with what he was saying.

"He's gone crazy. He's attacked the Med-Jacks. I... I can't let him off with it. If he gets away with it, it sets a bad example for the glade. I've had a meeting with the council and they all agree. I don't want to have to do it, but... he needs to be banished. I figured you'd want to stay here instead of attending the meeting, not that your vote would have changed much, just thought you deserved to know"

I knew it was coming but I still managed to choke. I don't know what else to say, I just nodded my head and sighed. Knowing there was no way I could argue with what he was saying, Ben tried to kill Thomas as I heard. The three rules you are never allowed to break, he broke one of them. Ben has to be banished.

"I... I guess you're right. If we don't he becomes a danger and a bad example."

Ably nodded before standing up straight, he looked down at me with glassy eyes, knowing that once again we had to kill another one of our friends.

"the banishing will be prepared for tomorrow afternoon when the door's close. Look after yourself man"

He said before looking at Malaya with guilt present in his eyes. That was it before he left, I let out a sigh before I dropped my head onto the bed. It was hard not to start crying. Everything seemed to get worse, just when I thought there was no way it could. There was going to be a banishing tomorrow, for our best friend. I don't know if I can do it or not.

Now I know why I tried to kill myself. I had to squeeze Malaya's hand to keep myself from wincing at the memory. What has our lives come too?

WICKEDS POV

My hands were sweating as we tried desperately to stop what was happening inside her head, she was fighting us, her body was fighting our control. We had wiped her memory of what she knew about the maze. But seeing that plague on the maze wall triggered her memory, a strong receptor in her mind that made her body freak out. It was forcing her to remember, the only problem was that her body was making her relive the memory.

Her body has shut down, she was seeing something similar to a dream, but she could feel everything and see everything, but also, she remembered nothing from reality. She was reliving her days during the tests, but she was seeing them like they were happening right now, when in fact she was in a bed unable to move.

Reality wasn't apparent to her, in her head she was tied to a bed with the doctor's, when really, she was in a sick bed, Newt holding her hand.

The machines monitoring her were going off the hook as she remembered more and more, we had an idea that was starting to take place, but it was risky. We had to get her to wake up, then in 15 minutes we had to shut her memory down again, she would remember nothing of what she saw in her flashback states. She can't reveal her knowledge of the outside world

She was our prodigy, her job was to develop our tests within her, before she will leak the knowledge we want her too. She was doing that too early.

This state she is in needs to be enforced later, not now, the variables will be ruined if she reveals everything now. But the problem is, if we get her to wake up, she could reveal too much already. We just have to hope that no one believes her before we can shut her memory down.

We can only hope.