◦〄◦ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 ◦〄◦
━━ʟᴏsᴛ
"𝙸 𝚆𝙰𝚂 𝙿𝙻𝙴𝙰𝙳𝙸𝙽𝙶"
☐
IT HAD BEEN SEVEN MONTHS SINCE JOSEPHINE HAD ARRIVED, NORMALIZING THE DAUNTING ROUTINE OF HER GIVEN LIFE.
She stood in the Med-Jack cabin, her hands tracing the remaining supplies as she waited for the Runners to come back.
She must have not paid much attention as she gave a small jump when her back turned and was met with Minho and two fellow Gladers, their expressions frozen.
"You scared me! Don't sneak up on somebody like that!", she gasped out, her breathing in and out.
However, the boys did not respond to the girl, sorrow trapped in their eyes.
"What? Why are you guys so down? Let me guess, Hudson needs patching up again", Josephine joked, but her brightness faltered as she observed the small flinch that came form Minho at Hudson's name.
"Minho, where is Hudson?", she questioned.
No reply.
"Where is he?", she asked once more, her voice barely above a whisper.
"He disappeared, Jo. We think...we think we heard him scream", Minho finally spoke.
"Oh."
As the group of four entered the humid cabin, Jo's eyes quickly met Alby's shaking body, bare-chested and sweaty. She swallowed down the lump inside her throat, the guilt only racing towards her stomach. She hadn't seen him since his arrival back, she was afraid that perhaps Alby wouldn't be there anymore.
She watched as Alby took in deep breaths, the black ooze dripping down the sides of his exposed torso as his chest fell. The group of boys remained quiet, watching the girl's eyes flash with so many emotions that they were afraid that she would faint into their arms. Gally and Minho made their way towards the shaking boy, their eyes glancing at each other's.
Alby's condition was effecting everyone, even those who didn't want to show it. Jo knew she had to do something, something to make everyone's pain go away. But, what could she do to help?
She eyed the burlap sack that carried the dead Griever's stinger, and darted her sight back to the trembling boy. "What are you thinking, Jo?", asked Minho, his voice quiet, not wanting to startle the girl. The group watched the quiet girl, her eyes moving back and forth from the boy to the burlap sack. "The mechanical piece that we took from the Griever, maybe, somehow it could help. I'll be over there", Jo answered, gesturing towards the isolated room that was located across the cabin.
Jo stepped towards Alby, his eyes closed, trapped inside a nightmare. A sigh escaped her lips, bright memories flashing inside her head. She snapped out of the thoughts that comforted her and turned around, picking up the burlap sack and walking towards the isolated room.
Her hands released the robotic piece of the Griever onto the circular wooden table, a loud thud escaping from the contact. Her hands traced the figure, feeling the cold metal that many feared. She took a cloth that was stored away inside a basket and began cleaning the piece, dirt and gravel being wiped away.
As she turned the piece over, her eyes glided along the tightened line that ran vertically from the stinger to midway, a horizontal line following it, surrounding the piece. It was if it was forming a a "T" shape, the lines keeping the machinery intact.
Jo grabbed her silver blade from the pouch attached to her belt, and wrapped the handle with the cloth, placing her hands on it. With one hand on the blade, her other met the metal, stabilizing it. She swiftly placed the tip of the blade to the line on the metal, lightly hammering it down with a rock until the tip was no longer visible. The blade, now partially inside the line, could now stand alone, stabled by the tightening metal.
Jo took in a deep breath as she placed her hands back to their previous positions. Her grip on the handle tightened as she tried to drag it across the line. Jo let out a small grunt as the blade wouldn't move. Heading to try again, her hands froze midair as a loud groan was heard.
Jo rushed out of the secluded room, her racing body stopped by Newt's hands gripping her shoulders, causing the girl to stumble in place. "It's okay", Newt told her, but her eyes were stuck on the boy laying down, violently shaking. "Go back to what you were doing", Newt told her. "But Alb-", Jo began to let out, her eyes still on the closed eyed boy. "There's nothing you can do right now. Go back, get the answers you want", Newt said.
Jo met Newt's stare, giving him a small nod. "Tell me if anything happens, please", she told him, her voice coming out raspy. Newt nodded and watched as Jo turned on her heel, heading back to the room. His worry for the clever girl kept increasing each moment passed. She was always there for anyone in need, she was the one to go to, but who made sure she was okay?
Jo entered the small room once again, her eyes viewing the blade enclosed inside the small line. She grabbed the cloth once again, and placed it on top of the handle of the blade once more, her grip tightening until her palms blistered. With another deep breath, Jo gave all her strength and began trying to drag the blade down the line. With a small cranking noise, the blade began moving, slowly and roughly going down the line.
The blade stopped as it reached midway. A small relieved smile escaped from Jo's lips as she took the blade out, angling it horizontally before she hammered it back into the line once again. This time, with more ease, the blade ran around the Griever part, releasing a metal piece. Jo examined the piece that was once attached onto the rest and viewed the black liquid that was stored inside a clear tube, snugged tightly inside the stinger. The black liquid immediately resembled the dark ooze that would leave those who had been stung.
Jo picked up the tube with ease and viewed how the clear tube was encased in a metal injector. Her eyes met the over familiar trademark, "W.C.K.D." The tube of liquid met the inside of Jo's pocket as she made her way out of the room, wanting to tell the group as to what she discovered. However, she was met with a frustrated Newt and Thomas instead, both boys looking at each other.
"We don't even know what this stuff is", Newt bitterly said, Jo approaching him as she saw that Thomas and Teresa had now joined the group. The group remained silent, Jeff, Newt, Clint, Teresa, and Thomas all looking concerned and confused.
"What stuff?", Jo asked. Her question answered as Newt raised his hand, showing two metal tubes with an injecting tip and a glass middle, showing the blue liquid encased inside. "We don't know who sent it or why it came up here with you", Newt continued, his hand motioning towards Teresa, "I mean, for all we know, this thing could kill him."
"Whoa, what! Somebody catch me up here", Jo exclaimed as a shocked and confused expression took over her face. "These metal tubes were stored away in her pockets", Newt explained as he gestured towards Teresa's figure. "They believe that it could help Alby", Newt continued.
Jo grabbed the vials from Newt's hand, her eyes viewing each inch of them, trademarked "W.I.C.K.D." She couldn't help but compare the resemblance the tube in her hand held to the tube inside her pocket. The only difference was the color of the liquid inside. Knowing that the black liquid held agony, Jo's face morphed into one with fury.
"No, no way", Jo said as she shook her head. "Jo, he's already dying, look at him. How could this possibly make it any worse?", Thomas spoke, trying to reason with the two. "Oh really? I hadn't noticed", Jo sarcastically replied, a painful groan escaping from Alby's lips soon after. "Come on, it's worth a try", Thomas spoke, as Alby released more groans.
"All right. Do it", Newt said. "Newt!", exclaimed Jo as she scoffed, but Newt only ignored his friends objection. Thomas made his way to Alby, tube in hand. "No! Get away from him", Jo said as she pushed Thomas back. "Josephine", Newt said, "I make the decisions." "No fucking way, I'm not letting that liquid touch a single cell of his body", Jo scoffed and raised her eyebrows at the boy.
"Clint, Jeff", Newt said, Clint and Jeff nodding in understanding. They made their way towards the girl, their arms wrapping around her, trapping her. "What are you guys doing", she asked. "I'm sorry", Jeff whispered in her ear as she struggled to escape from his and Clint's grasp. "No! NO! STOP! PLEASE, THOMAS!", Jo cried at Thomas, his eyes filled with empathy as he got ready to inject Alby.
However, Alby had awoken from his nightmare, grabbing Thomas by his shirt, "You shouldn't be here! You shouldn't be here!", Alby grunted as his grasp on Thomas got rougher. Tears streamed down Jo's face as she watched Alby, falling onto her knees as Clint and Jeff released her to help Thomas.
"Get the syringe", Thomas ordered. And soon enough, Teresa's arm went up, injecting Alby as it fell down. Alby released a breath, his body no longer shaking, peace running through his veins. Thomas panted, "Well that worked."
"Ok, from now on, someone stays here and watches him around the clock", Newt said. "He could have died", Jo chocked out as the group snapped their heads back to the girl on the floor.
"Jo", Thomas whispered as he tried to help the girl up. "No, stay away from me", she answered as she got up on her own. "Josep-", Newt began. "Fuck you, Newt", she answered, shaking her head in disgust. "What if he had died, huh? What would the great leader have done then?", she said, her face blank and wet.
"Jo, it worked, look at hi-", Thomas began sayin. "That's not the fucking point, Thomas. It was an irrational decision that needed to be discussed by everyone", Jo said, poison in her voice. "Jo, if Hudson was he-", Newt tried to reason. "Don't you dare say his name. I was pleading, Newt. Or did you not hear me? It doesn't matter what Alby entrusted you with, you didn't even stop to consider what I had to say", she told him, tears beginning to fall once again.
"He might be okay now, but what if he doesn't wake up? What if he wakes up worse?", Jo asked. "I didn't thi-", Newt said. "Exactly. You didn't think", she said as she began making her way out of the Homestead, ignoring all the attempted reasoning that she was leaving behind. "What did we do", Teresa whispered as the group remained silent, looking at the boy who needed to survive for everyone, for Josephine.
Jo's head was spiraling as she laid on the green grass that was illuminated by the light of the moon. She felt empty and useless and so fucking tired. How much longer did she have to fight?
She sat up at the sound of ruffling leaves, her body stiffened, as if she had something to be scared of.
Should she be scared?
She watched as Minho came into view, his eyebrows furrowed in concern. "There you are, what are you doing?", asked Minho in relief as he waved his hands around the bayou. "Oh, you know, drowning in my thoughts, as usual", Jo sarcastically replied, even though she meant it. "That mind of yours never gets a break does it?", Minho asked as he sat down next to her. "It would if I could turn it off", she spoke as her fingers plucked grass blades out of the ground. "And what good would that do?", Minho spoke, looking at the girl.
"Did you hear about Alby?, Jo asked the boy. "Yes", Minho responded. "And?", Jo asked, wanting more of an answer. "Look, I know what you were thinking, but you out of all people know that nothing can stop the changing. It was worth a try", he said, surprising the girl. Jo scoffed, her lips forming a frown. "Yeah, I know. I gave them hell, you know", Jo told him, feeling guilty for what she had said, even though she still stood by it. "Yeah, Newt was actually headed here but I assumed you needed more time to cool down", Minho said.
"I jus- I just feel like I am stuck in this loop, and I-I can't get out", she stuttered out. "Jo, look at me", Minho told her, making the girl turn her face, "You have changed our lives in ways you can't possibly imagine. I mean you made Gally less of a dick, and everyone thought that was impossible." Jo laughed at his comment, nodding her head along in agreement.
"I just want you to know that everyone here admires you. You are one of the kindest, strongest and smartest people that have ever walked the Glade, don't doubt that", he said. Jo sniffled as small tears began streaming down her cheeks. "Thank you", Jo said as her voice cracked, pulling Minho into a hug as tears soaked his shirt.
"If anyone can save us, it's you", Minho smiled at the girl, wiping the tears off her face. He stood up from the ground, wiping the scattered grass blades from his pants. "Thomas was asking for you, I think Gally already put him in the pit", Minho said. Jo frowned, "I don't know if I can see him right now." "Of course, whenever you're ready. I'm sure he will be waiting", Minho said, starting to make his way out of the woods. "Minho?", Jo asked, causing the boy to look her way, "Let him know that I'll be there in a minute." "Anything for you, Jo", he said, sending her a soft smile that she returned. The sound of rustling leaves was heard once more, Minho leaving the girl behind with her thoughts.
Minho's words repeated through her head as Jo continued staring at the moon. "If anyone can save us. It's you."
With that in mind, Jo took in a deep breath, and released it, along with all the doubt. Things were changing, and she was going to make sure that they were changing for the better. She lifted her body up from the ground, leaving the towering trees and illuminating moon behind, the image of Thomas now on her mind.
☐
━━━━━━ AUTHOR SPEAKS !
I have been re-editing old chapters, just to establish the plot-line much better.
I RELEASED A NEW BOOK! It's called "STARGAZING" and it is an enemies to lovers trope with the Spencer Reid from Criminal Minds!
If you enjoyed, comment, vote and follow!! the interaction makes my day.
━━━━ SONG OF THE CHAPTER
𝙻𝙾𝚂𝚃 ➝ 𝙵𝚁𝙰𝙽𝙺 𝙾𝙲𝙴𝙰𝙽
"ʟᴏsᴛ, ʟᴏsᴛ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴇᴀᴛ ᴏғ ɪᴛ ᴀʟʟ. ɢɪʀʟ, ʏᴏᴜ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ʏᴏᴜ'ʀᴇ ʟᴏsᴛ"
0:37 ──|────────── 3:55
|◁ II ▷|
∞ ↺
▁ ▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ █ 100