They Don't Own Me

Chapter 10

Ivy stared at the model before her, her mind trying to process what she was seeing. She and Adam had come back from their run long ago and had mapped out the latest advancements they made during their run. For the last three weeks, they had been mapping the new corridors that they found when they first started running together. It was slow progress; most of the halls they found turned out to be dead ends.

Ivy placed her hands on the table in front of her, trying to ease some of the soreness in her legs, but her eyes never strayed from the model.

"You know, it's not going to look any different the longer you stare at it."

Ivy finally looked away from the table to find Newt standing in the doorway, crutches under his arms.

"I know," the girl sighed. "I was just thinking."

"Yeah, for almost an hour. You need a break, Ivy. And no excuses. You're done working for the day."

"Fine, mom."

Newt rolled his eyes at her as she chuckled. Ivy stood up straight and followed the blond out of the Map Room. They slowly walked back to the Glade, pausing at the edge of the small woods to look at everything.

"Another Greenie came up," Newt commented.

"That's right. I forgot it was Greenie Day."

"How could you bloody forget Greenie Day?"

"I've had a lot on my mind."

"Apparently."

The two stood in silence for several minutes, simply watching the Glade prepare for the night's bonfire.

"How are you feeling?" Ivy asked.

"Much better. Minho's been a lot of help. We did quite a bit of walking around without the crutches."

"And how was that?"

"It felt really good. My leg is getting stronger."

Ivy smiled.

"That's good to hear."

After his accident, Newt stayed in the Glade and Zart had agreed to letting Newt become a Track-Hoe again. It had been a month since Newt broke his leg. Clint said that he had broken his leg in three different places and thanks to some medicine sent up in the Box, he was having a fast recovery.

No one knew how he broke his leg; for all the Gladers knew, he had fallen and broken his leg while running. Ivy and Newt agreed not to tell anyone about what really happened, not even Alby.

Since he was stuck in the Glade, he had been working with Minho to get better. Minho had been made a Med-Jack and spent most of his time with the ex-runner. The two had become close over the last few weeks. Ivy was happy that Newt had someone he was comfortable around in the Glade.

"We should get going," Ivy said after several minutes. "I promised Frypan I would help him cook dinner tonight."

A wide smile appeared on Newt's face.

"Then let's get going. These shanks love your cooking."

~

Just like every month, Gladers were shouting and goofing off around the bonfire. Ivy had to walk around the outside of the large circle just to safely get to Newt and Minho. The girl greeted the two as she sat down. The three ate their food in silence, simply watching the Gladers before them.

"You know what we should do?" Newt said long after they had finished their meals. Minho and Ivy looked to him, waiting for his suggestion. "We should play honest or risk."