War-born child

II

Night had fallen over the Glade, meaning the Keepers, second in command and leader were going to light the bonfire. I was sitting next to Chuck, holding a jar of Gally's amber-coloured drinks. Everyone was enjoying themselves, some drunk already. "Come on, Alex, we're toasting!" Gally screamed at me. I got up, walking towards them. I clinked my jar against theirs. After that, I took a huge gulp, the liquid burning down my throat.

"Holy shuck, Gally." I coughed, leaning on Newt's shoulder. "Lightweight." Minho slurred. I raised an eyebrow, before chugging down the entire jar at once. After I caught my breath again, I handed my jar to Winston. "Another one." I breathed out. The guys cheered as Winston filled my jar with the liquid. "Alex, Fry, this food is the shit!" Ben shouted from somewhere in the crowd. I laughed and raised my jar at him, already feeling the booze go to my head.

Some guys were playing hand-made instruments as Gally walked towards the Arena. "Who wants to try their luck?" he challenged. I sat down next to Chuck, who was eating some pork. "Ya like it?" I wondered. He nodded eagerly as I handed him another portion, taking a sip of my drink. "Sorry about earlier. Had to toast with the big guys." I remarked, pointing at the guys. I just couldn't find a certain Brit. "Where's Newt?" I asked. "Greenie." Chuck answered, his mouth simply stuffed with meat. "Moron." I snorted, looking at our youngest Glader.

Gally was now wrestling poor Dave, who didn't stand a chance. I got up, helping Chuck up too. We walked to the side of the Arena, staring at the match. Gally threw out Dave, who bumped into Greenie. "This is gonna be interesting." I muttered, taking a gulp from my jar. God, that shit burns...

"What do you say, Greenie? Wanna see what you're made of?" Gally challenged. Soon enough, the entire camp was chanting 'Greenie'. Including me.

Gally gestured for him to enter the Arena as the Greenie entered. We began to cheer and clap. "Alright..." Gally said, shutting everyone up. "The rules are simple, Greenie. I try to push you out of the circle, try to last one to five seconds." he finished. We all laughed quietly, knowing Greenie wouldn't last a second.

I walked towards Newt, who was staring at the two fighters. "Relax, Gally has never done any permanent damage." I said, nudging him. "I know, but he's new." the blonde replied.

By now, Greenie had already been pushed out of the Arena, but he was launched back in. Gally threw him into the sand, making us all groan. "Come on, Greenie. We're not done yet." the tall boy stated. Greenie got up, brushing off some sand. "Stop calling me Greenie." he told us. "Stop calling you that? What do you wanna be called? Shank?" Gally wondered. I bursted out laughing, as did the rest. "What do you think, boys? Does he look like a shank?" he continued.

Greenie launched himself at Gally, trying to push him down. Instead, Gally threw him down. Minho glanced at me. I shook my head. "You know what? I think I'll settle on shank." Gally stated. Greenie launched himself at his opponent again. Gally pushed him to the side of the Arena easily, but Greenie pulled away just in time, making Gally fall into the sand. We all made sounds of surprise, some cheering on Greenie. "Not bad for a Greenie, huh?" he remarked. Gally swept his feet underneath Greenie's, making him fall to the floor. "That must've hurt." Newt said. I nodded.

"Thomas." Greenie all of the sudden said. "Hey! Thomas! I remember my name! I'm Thomas!" he yelled. "Thomas!" Alby screamed, all of joining. Everyone walked up to him, shaking his hand, offering him drinks. He took a sip, spitting it out immediately. Gally walked up to him, shaking his hand. "Good job...Thomas." he added.

I made my way through the crowd, handing my jar to Winston. Gally spotted me, running towards me. I dived out of the way, tackling him at the same time. I blew my hair out of my face as the boys made way for me. "Who are you?" Thomas wondered, staring at my body.

"Name's Alexa. Call me Alex or Lexie. Stare at my ass or my tits too long and you're dead." I spoke, holding out my hand. He stared at it, slightly scared. "Relax, I'm not gonna kill you." I laughed breathily. "Yeah, but you just tackled Gally." he muttered. "Because I have three advantages over him." I replied. He gave me a quizzical look.

"One, I'm smaller, thus more mobile. Two, I weigh less than him, which means I have less mass to move around. And three, I taught him how to fight. Every single move." I explained. "Lexie here is the only girl to have ever come up with the box." Alby stated, slinging an arm around my shoulder.

"So, what do you do around here?" Thomas wondered. "She does everything!" Chuck shouted from the side with a broad smile. "Not everything." I answered. "Nearly everything, though. You're a Builder, Med-jack, Track-hoe, Slicer..." Minho summed up. "And our teacher." Winston added with a ridiculous curtesy. "And whenever necessary, a Runner." Ben smirked. "That's a lot." Thomas said with a flirtatious smile.

I glanced at Alby, who nodded. I quickly crouched, swiping my leg beneath Thomas's feet, making him fall to the ground. "I'm also not interested in any of your...whatever it is." I stated, sipping my drink. "She's taken." Frypan whispered. Thomas nodded, scrambling back to his feet. Gally was going to say something, but he was interrupted by the screeching noise from a Griever. "What the hell was that?" Thomas asked as everyone went silent. Gally sighed. "That, my friend, was a Griever." he replied. I noticed that Thomas wasn't comfortable yet. I nudged Gally, who looked at the new guy too. "Don't worry. You're safe here with us. Nothing goes through those walls." he added.

"Alright guys, let's tuck it in for the night. Come on, it was a good night." Alby said. And just like that, the party was over. I walked to Thomas, shaking his hand. "Class starts at seven in the morning. On the dot. I don't like late-comers." I told him. "Where?" the guy asked, still dazed by the Grievers' noises. "Council." I simply replied, before walking to my hut. "Good night, Lexie!" Chuck gurgled, hugging me tightly. I smiled. "Night, kid." I said, ruffling his hair. He let go of me and ran towards his hammock.

My hut was in between Alby's and Newt's. I never liked the idea of my own place, but being the only girl here made it a requirement. Especially after my first week here. This one guy, whose name I forced myself to forget, tried to assault me. I managed to get him off of me, but that experience always stuck with me. After I told Alby, the guy was banished to the Maze and I was given my own place, right between the leader and second in command.

"Are you alright?" a familiar accent asked. I looked up, mentally swatting away the memories. "Just thinking." I replied. "Well, try and get some rest. Tomorrow's class is probably gonna be exhausting. Especially with the new guy." Newt assured me. I nodded, opening the door to my hut. "Goodnight, Newt." I smiled. "Goodnight, love." he answered, smirking at his nickname for me.