The Girl

Chapter Sixteen

  That afternoon, when I was sitting up on top of a tree by myself waiting for Newt, I noticed a couple things about my appearance that I hadn't before. Small details, but they added to who I am.

Looking up at the sky and the clouds, lying on my back in the soft grass, was one of the most relaxing afternoons I've had since I got here. I reach down into my boot and pull out my knife. I hold it out above my face to see my reflection. I don't see anything new, until something catches my eye. I pull the knife closer and look at my eyes. I notice that half of my eyes are green and half are hazel. I squint into the knife to get a better look at my eyes. While moving the knife back away from my face, I see some pale pink chipped nail polish on my nails that I'd never noticed before.

"Weird..." I mutter under my breath. "Why would they send me here with painted nails?" I think aloud. Stupid question, I say to myself immediately after, Why would they even send me here at all? I continue staring at my reflection when a glimmer of light catches my eye. I tilt the knife down a bit to see a tiny gold heart on a gold chain. "How did I not notice that? It must've been under my tank top." The small point is under the neckline of my tank top. I reach up to pull it out and the second my hand grazes the golden chain I'm reconnected with bits and pieces of memories that don't make sense.

"I won't let them hurt you," A boy about three years older than me, my brother, says to me. We embrace and I get a hazy glimpse of his face. He's about four inches taller than me, he's got dark brown hair, and his eyes match mine exactly. The skin across his nose is littered with freckles.

"Please don't do it..." I plead as scientists begin to surround me in a lab. I breathe heavily in a panic as the get closer, one holding a syringe.

"It's for the best, Beth," The doctor holding the syringe says before I'm injected and the memory fades out.

I see myself screaming helplessly in a tube of water with no way out, the water slowly suffocating me until my vision goes dark.

I gasp and release my grip on the necklace. I jolt up and start panting as I sit. My breath slows as I begin to calm down. It was just a bad memory... that's all...

Someone notices my strange behavior and I hear footsteps rush over to my side.

"Hey... you alright?" I glance up to find that Clint had run over to my side. I smile up at him, relief flooding my mind as I look at him.

"Yeah, I'm fine..." Do I tell him about my memories? Or do I keep my mouth shut? I'm torn between my options. He's like a brother to me, but I don't want to scare him with my memories of drowning and injections. I decide to keep my mouth shut.

"You sure? You seemed a bit shaken up," He asks, a look of concern growing on his face.

"Yes, Clint. I'm really okay." I laugh slightly.

"Alright..." He replies, unconvinced. I decide it's best if I don't tell anyone. Who knows what the memories could mean. Or if they even were memories. I quickly change the subject.

"So, how is everyone?" I ask. I hadn't really helped anyone medically the entire day, except Minho. I was itching to go back, not that I'd tell anyone.

"They're all fine. I just had a couple scratches but nothing that couldn't be handled," He says, sitting down next to me.

"You know if there's an emergency you can just call me, right?" I ask, leaning against his side.

"We told you to take the day off. I can handle it-"

"If there's a real emergency and you don't tell me I'll cut you," I assert.