Ava had missed the feeling of water on her skin. However, her heart beat picked up when she heard a voice calling her name.
"Hey, Ava. Is that you in there? I need to talk to you." A voice, she knew as Minho, asked.
"Yeah, but now isn't a good time, I'm kinda naked." She replied.
"It won't take a minute."
"Go on then."
"Uhh, tomorrow we're having a council meeting about whether Chuck will get banished." He says. "We think it'd be best if-"
"What, what, why are you, what?" She muttered. "Why are you banishing him?"
"He almost got you killed, greenie."
"I forgive him. Please don't banish him." She argued. It was difficult to talk to someone when you had the sound of running water in your ears, and can't see their face.
"Just, come to the meeting tomorrow, okay. Argue your case, but Gally and Alby makes the final decision." She sighed.
-----
Ava yawned, stretching out her arms.
"Go to bed." Thomas said for the hundredth time, but again, Ava shook her head. "You're tired. Just take a nap or something."
"Tommy, I'm fine. I just, I don't wanna go to sleep. I'm scared." She said under her breath, hoping he was the only one who heard her. She was wrong.
"What are you scared of?" Newt asked and she turned towards him. "You're safe as long as you stay in the glade."
"I know I am. Believe me, I know nothing in here can hurt me, but that doesn't change the fear that's settled inside of me." She says and he looks down for a moment before looking back up at her with a sympathetic expression. "I'll be fine, I just have to get used to being here, is all."
"You can sleep under the tree with us, if you like." Chuck interrupts, with too much enthusiasm than she could handle right now. Both her and Chuck had had a chat. It was quite teary for Chuck, and he didn't expect her to forgive him, but she did. She couldn't stay mad at him.
"Which 'us' are you referring to?"
"The three of us." He says, making a circle with his hand that traced the small group.
"I might. If that's okay with you guys."
"You know I won't have a problem with it, sis." Thomas said.
"That's good, bro." She replied, nudging him slightly, causing both of them to smile.
-----
Eventually, after her brothers reassurance, Ava finally drifted to sleep.
"Is she okay?" Chuck asked, as the three of them looked over her as she slept.
"I hope so." Thomas replied, watching Newt as he leaned over, moving a piece of hair from Ava's face. "I think that..." he trailed off.
"What?"
"I think they made a mistake sending her in here. I think maybe, they're gonna see it too and take her back. I just don't think it makes sense her being here." Thomas thought.
"Maybe she was sent in here to bring a little happiness." Newt replied. "We haven't exactly been at our best lately, have we?" Both Chuck and Thomas shook their heads in reply. "I know we don't remember life before the glade, but if I do remember anything, it's that she's made me feel more emotions in one day than I could ever in a whole year." To onlookers, Ava seemed peaceful. However, in her head, nightmares swarmed like vultures around her. In her mind, she was back in the small box she arrived in. Her breaths shakey and her heart pounding against her ribcage. Only this time, something was different. She wasn't scared of where she was going, she was scared of where she'd just been. She wasn't the same anymore. She was sent up in an entirety different type of clothing, and her hair held streaks of red. She had no recollection of what had happened, but she knew she was right in being afraid. When the lift chunted to a stop, like last time, the doors were opened, but instead of being greeted with friendly and familiar faces, there were all kinds of strangers -men and woman- in white lab coats with large pieces of equipment glaring down at her with malicious smiles on their faces. One man, however, stood out to her. He was in a black blazer and held nothing, except his hand out for her to take. She didn't move, but stared to at him in fright.
"Ava." He spoke in a gritty voice. "We can't let you go back into the maze." Suddenly, two of the bystanders leaned down and grabbed her roughly by the arms, pulling her up.
"No. No, stop." She pleaded, trying (pointlessly) to fight them off. Another woman came towards her with a needle. "No- No! NO!" She screamed, all of the air leaving he lungs as she begged for mercy. Suddenly, her eyes snapped open and she let out a large gasp, relieved she could breathe again. That's when she noticed, Newt was looking down at her with worry evident in his eyes. She also realized, he had a rather tight grip of her wrists and was leaning right over her, as though trying to hold her down. "What's going on?" She asked, breathing heavily.
"You were screaming." He replied in a hushed tone.
"I was screaming?"
"I was trying to wake you up but you started throwing your arms around and I didn't want you to wake anyone else." She sighed, shutting her eyes for a moment. When she opened then, she no longer saw Newt, but the same man from her dream.
"Ava. We can't let you go back inside the maze." As if by clockwork, her eyes opened once again, yet this time, it seemed she hadn't made a single sound. Insead, she was just layed there perfectly still. She turned her head to the left, seeing Thomas and Chuck had passed out and looked rather content. She then looked to her right, and saw Newt a lot closer to her. So close, in fact, they could practically be on top of one another. She suddenly froze when he stirred a little, subconsciously shuffling closer to her as to bury his face in the crook of her neck. She could almost feel her heart melting, and the panic she'd felt not moments ago dissolved with it. She slept with a smile on her face for the rest of the night.
