Strange Atmosphere | Aris Jones [1]

16 || The Ghosts of the Glen

The next morning, we all cleaned up around the Glen, putting everything that wasn't burned down into a pile near the edge of the woods. No one said a word to each other, as we were puzzled as to what to say at this point.

Rachel was still going through the Changing, but it didn't look as painful, unlike Claire and Harriet's experiences. She stayed calm for most of it, not screaming out in pain or seizing abruptly. Gwyneth, now the only Medic in the Glen, was keeping a close eye on her.

While Rachel was still under a close watch, Beth was barking orders at everyone. I could tell that deep down, Beth was frustrated and in pain. If anyone had been through a lot in their time here, it was her. I almost felt bad for her, but then again, she was trying to point the blame on Rachel, which was not cool at all.

My emotions went through the roof all morning, the scenes from last night's massacre replaying in my head. I was able to see the desperate looks from Mary, Amelia, and Esther. I heard their cries as they were snatched away from us by the Grievers. I felt the hole in my heart, the guilt from the trauma eating at my brain.

I got a list of the deceased Glenners from Cora, who managed to get it from one of Beth's friends. Cora, Lillie, and I went to the Wall and crossed out every name of the Glenners that were no longer with us. Once we were done, we stepped back and realized that not many of us were left at this point.

"If Esther was here, she would've told us to move on, probably," Cora spoke up.

I shook my head. "I don't think so."

"Why do you say that?"

I looked at Cora, a single tear sliding down my cheek. "How the hell are we supposed to move on from this?"

Cora sighed, shaking her head. "I don't know."

*******

Just as the afternoon hit, I began to feel even more sad than ever. Before I knew it, I was in the Deadheads with a shovel, wood, straw, and a knife. I took the list of all of the Glenners that we lost last night. The only one that was not up there was Claire. Nevertheless, she deserved a grave like everyone else did. I didn't care for her, and I also didn't know the majority of the Glenners that died last night. Nevertheless, they all deserved to have a grave, to honor their memory.

I began the first grave, which was Mary's. I blocked out everything, wanting to finish all of these graves by today. I didn't stop to take any breaks. I just kept going until I was finished.

By the rate I was going, I only had a few more when I heard the rustling of the leaves. I didn't stop to see who it was, too focused on my projects. "Hey," someone said, recognizing it as Aris.

"Hi," I replied, not looking up at him or stopping what I was doing.

"What are you doing?" he asked, walking in front of me.

"Making graves," I said.

"For all of those that died?"

"Well, that's the whole point of a grave, isn't it?"

He huffed a sigh. "Right. Dumb question."

"Yeah, it was."

"Do you need any help?"

Still working, I looked up at him. "No, I'm good. Thanks, though."

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? Because--"

"I'm fine."

He stepped back, almost startled by my tone of voice. "Okay, sorry."

I huffed a sigh and stopped working. "No, I'm sorry. It's just..." I stood up, brushing the dirt off my shirt. "I've only been here for a month and I feel so close with these girls, even Rachel, who hasn't been up here for that long. Now, the majority of them are dead, and I'm making graves for all of them." I could feel the lump in my throat and the tears forming in my eyes. "I keep seeing them die over and over again. I hear their screams, I see their desperate faces, I live the events of last night in my head. I feel anger, guilt, sadness...I feel all of it." I paused, wiping some tears from my eyes. "Everything's so different now in the Glen. We'll never go back to the way things were around here."

Aris stared at me for a moment before he said anything. "Well, once Rachel gets better, we won't have to stay here much longer."

I nodded my head. "I hope you're right about that."

With that, Aris bid me goodbye and left the Deadheads. I went back to work on the graves. I spent the next hour doing the last few that I had. However, I stopped and took a short break before I got to work on Esther's, which was the last one I had.

Doing Esther's grave was going to be a hard one for me. Out of all the Glenners who deserved to escape with us, was Esther. She worked hard to get where she was at in the Glen, she fought and protected everyone. It killed me inside knowing that she was now gone and was not going to escape the Maze with us.

I took my time with Esther's grave, making sure it was right in the center of everyone else's. I carved her name into the wood and placed it in the center of the grave. "I'm sorry, Esther," I whispered. "I'm so sorry."

Once I was done, I stood up and looked around the Deadheads, staring down at all of the graves we had.

"I'm sorry that you all are no longer with us," I announced to the graves. "I know this isn't what you wanted. For two years, your lives were taken and it's not fair. It's not fair that we'll be able to leave the Glen without you." I paused, sniffling a little. "I promise you all that we will avenge your deaths. None of you will have died in vain. We will make the Creators pay for your lives." I took a deep breath, walking out of the Deadheads. Before I was gone for good, I turned around, facing the graves. "We won't forget any of you." With that, I took one last glance at the Deadheads and then turned back around in the direction of the Glen, not looking back.

A/N: Well, that was sad.

This was more of a filler chapter, really. At this rate, if the story goes the way I want it to, then I only have a few chapters left! Who's excited?

Song above is Ghosts by BANNERS.

Comment, vote, we're really near the end omg.

-A