The Girl

Chapter Forty Five

  My body is crushed under the weight of the person on top of me. I let out a weak cry, unable to speak due to the pressure restricting my lungs. I finally catch a glimpse of the boy on top of me.

It's Gally.

I frantically grab for my knife at my side and stab at the boys side.

"You ruined it! You ruined it all! You're going to ruin everything!" He shouts at me in a rave. I'm able to scramble away when I jab my knife into his arm and he swears loudly. I push myself up to my feet and run out of the deadheads.

I search my mind for the directions out. Left, left, right, straight- or was it left, left, left, right? He's right on my tail...

I hear the continual crunching of leaves under both mine and Gally's feet as he chases me out of the deadheads. Right as I catch a view of the Glade, he tackles me and pushes me right into plain sight where the other gladers are.

"Gally! What are you doing!" I scream at him as his hands reach for my throat. His elbows pin my arms down while the rest of his larger body covers my small one.

He grips my throat.

"I can't let you ruin it! I can't let you! You can't stay!" He shouts at me. I look into his eyes and see the last thing I was expecting.

Fear. This isn't Gally. He's being controlled somehow. My face wipes blank and I clear my throat.

"Gally... this isn't you. Listen to me. It's okay, it's just me. I won't ruin anything- ah!" I groan in pain as his grip on my throat tightens. He keeps repeating his words over and over again, and I can feel my face going blue. I let out a final shriek before giving up the fight. I close my eyes.

Crack. My eyes shoot open two second later, to find Gally's weight moved off my body. I dust myself off as two arms pull me up from behind. I don't even pay attention to them though, my attention is on Gally.

Minho and Alby are pinning him down when I turn to them. I rush over and kneel down. Gally is squirming, thrashing, almost foaming at the mouth.

"Shh, it's okay Gally. Can you hear me? It's okay. Calm down," I whisper in a motherly tone.

"It's you! You can't stay! You need to go!" He cries. He's practically sobbing now.

"It's okay. I'm not going to ruin anything. Calm down," I swallow before giving my next command. "Lift his shirt."

Minho reaches down and pulls on the hem of Gally's shirt to reveal the most gruesome sight I've seen.

There was a pink wound in the center, looking disgustingly similar to raw meat. Sprouting from it were sickly green veins ranging in different shades hanging around the wound, strangely comparative to vines or spider legs. The entire wound covered more than half his stomach.

Minho backs up, dropping Gally's shoulders, repulsed at the sight. The crowd of boys around us gasps, some of them turning away to try and hold down their vomit, others looking intrigued at the poor boy's misfortune.

"Was he... is that... a griever sting?" I choke out to Alby. As soon as I finish, Gally's top half spasms into action.

"Pin him down!" Alby screams as he tries to control the boy's bottom half. I tumble over and try to pin down his arms. After struggling and realizing I'm nowhere near strong enough, I eventually resort to throwing my leg over his chest and shoulder. His breathing resorts back to short and breathy and he stops thrashing. "Yes, he's been stung. We have to banish him-"

"No!" I say a bit too quickly. Alby raises his eyebrow.

"You can't be serious, Beth? Look at him!" Alby shouts and gestures to the squirming boy underneath us.

"You've lost so many people to this horrible disease! Maybe if I can check him out-"

"We can't let him stay!" Alby screams.

"Just let me look at him! Maybe I can find a cure! Maybe we can stop fearing these demons!" I shriek in response, trying to keep Gally down. The boy thrashes beneath us.

"Beth, you're insane! He'll kill you!"

"That's a risk I'm willing to take! I don't want to lose anyone else to these stings! I might be able to heal him! Please, Alby!"

"No! This is crazy... you couldn't possibly..."

"Yes I could! I've been able to do things no one else has before! Trust me with this!" I plead. He stares into my eyes to reach the desperateness and sadness locked behind them. I need to help someone again.

"Take him to the medjack tent, pin him down, and have someone watch him around the clock!" Alby demands. Four boys rush forward and pick up Gally to carry him to the tent. I brush myself off after the brutal attack.

"Thank y-"

"You better be careful," Alby warns before turning and wandering off. I feel the suspicion someone's watching me and turn my back.

There he is. Newt, staring at me. I feel tears, unsure if from anger or hatred, form at the corners of my eyes. He's a good distance away, but I can see the hurt in his eyes.

He looks awful, like he hasn't slept in weeks. His hair is messy, his eyes weary and sunken. He seems to be limping more, though I didn't even think that was possible. He has little cuts and bruises all over, from who knows what. But as soon as his eyes meet my own I feel it.

He still loves me.

I feel overcome with emotion and sink to my knees. My hair falls over my shoulders as I hug my stomach and let the tears rain down my cheeks.

Newt comes over and kneels down next to me, pulling my small frail body into his own. I feel his muscles instantly relax at my touch, and feel drops of water on my shoulder. I look up only to find out he's also crying.

"I don't want to lose you over this..." He whispers, causing me to sob more. I grab his shirt and pull him closer. After we've both wept for a while, I pull back and look at him.

"You either lose me holding me back or risk losing me in there. Those are your options," I remind him sternly. His expression grows angry.

"I'd rather keep you safe than keep you to myself," He argues.

"Why don't you want to go home?" I plead.

"Home's not worth it without you," He shouts. I'm taken aback but quickly recover.

"You shouldn't hold everyone back because you're worried about me. That's selfish. I thought you were better than that," I cry, pushing myself up and beginning to walk away.

"Beth," Newt says.

"What?" I say sharply and turn just enough to see him.

"I still love you. I'll never stop."