𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗨𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗥 𝗚𝗜𝗥𝗟 ᐅ 𝙣𝙚𝙬𝙩

𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗲

╔═══*.·:·.☽✧    ✦    ✧☾.·:·.*═══╗

Does this seem like a
holiday to you?

╚═══*.·:·.☽✧    ✦    ✧☾.·:·.*═══╝

"Alethea. Your opinion?" Alby says, and suddenly all heads in the room are turned to look at me, their eyes watching me, waiting to hear what I've got to say. We've been here for at least half an hour, each voicing our opinions on the girl and what in the world is going on right now. Yet, the only thing we've accomplished is more fighting. Alby and Newt are exhausted by the looks of them — having to control us all is a stressful ordeal, especially when Billy won't keep his flap shut. I honestly wonder why that piece of klunk has even been elected.

I let out a sigh, my breath shuddering as I do so, making me silently curse myself — immediately straightening my spine and hardening my gaze as I look at Alby. "Everything was normal, but now the pattern is changing, the box comes up late and the next day it comes up with another bloody Greenie? Next thing I know, I actually see the girl in a vision."

"What're ya getting at?"

"What I'm saying is that there's a reason she came here so early. I'm not saying she's bad news, but what I am saying is that it's out of the ordinary," I explain, scanning over each of the Keepers, surveying their reactions. Some are shaking their heads as I speak, however some are silently agreeing, their heads nodding. "It's always been one way, and she's the last one ever. And we still don't know why they're suddenly sending girls up."

"Maybe they're both here to... yanno," Billy flashes a devilish grin at me. "Repopulate."

The room breaks out into chaos, all of the Keepers shooting rude remarks at him, including me. I'm not surprised at all that no one finds his joke funny. Everyone knows about Newt and I, and even before that, no one but him ever saw me in that way. They treated me just like everyone else — which is the one thing that made me feel safe at first. No one treated me differently because I was a girl. They treated me as though I was one of them, almost like a sister.

"I think the shuck not," Newt snaps immediately, his glare able to cut through glass.

"Yeah, I don't consent to that," I say dryly, raising my hand in the air — making Minho cough to cover up the snort he lets out. Newt doesn't even register what's happening around him, still staring Billy down until he bows his head in an apology.

"They're not here to repopulate," Alby barks, pointing his finger at Billy. "Get that out of your shuck brain right now and speak when it's your turn."

"Now's not the time for joking, Billy." Gally stares at Billy harshly before shooting me a subtle nod of the head. The voices in the room don't cease, instead exploding all at once, as though someone had compressed a volcano that was ready to erupt. The voices are overwhelming, clouding my senses and making me shrink back into the pole behind me.

"So what are we gonna do?" Fry shouts.

Clint shrugs, saying quietly, "Suppose we just wait for her to wake up?"

"That's productive," scoffs Minho.

"Got any other bright ideas?"

"How longs that gonna take?"

"Don't look at me," Newt snaps, "I'm not the buggin' Med-jack."

"Slim it, ya shuck-brains! Right now!" Alby screams, his voice bellowing throughout the room, halting all of the noise.

It's a deafening silence.

I stare at Alby, eyes wide as Newt leans away from him slightly, trying his best not to flinch. I'd almost forgotten he doesn't like loud noises. His eyes are dark and clouded, nothing like the clarity they usually held — another thing Id noticed about him. You can always see his emotions through his eyes. I furrow my brows as he rights himself and his eyes meet mine, instantly relaxing more.

"Anyone else?" Alby grumbles.

❀

Alby storming out of the room marked the official ending of the Gathering, but everyone stayed put in their places for a moment, processing everything that was said in the Gathering. Newt is scowling as he looks down at his shoes, scuffing the stone floor, kicking up dust as he does so.

Everyone in the Gathering knew that something was wrong, any old shank could see that. The thing that divided us was why they thought things were different. Some people blamed me, or even Thomas for what happened — considering his reaction to the girl was strange to say the least. However, most of us didn't blame anyone but W.C.K.D.

People file out of the room, chattering and debating boisterously until it's just Newt and I left, and I walk over to him, raising my eyebrow. He shakes his head slightly, his jaw clenching as he heads over to the door. I scoff as I follow him out of the Gathering Room. "This isn't too ominous."

"Yeah," he grumbles, his eyes dark, holding the door for me. "I'm glad W.C.K.D are being straightforward with us right now."

"It's what I live for."

As soon as I step out into the open, the cool air envelops me, almost as if it were flushing out all of the anger and bitterness I'd had bubbling below the surface. To my surprise, it looks to be around lunchtime, the boys wandering away from the kitchens and towards their workstations. I look over to see Newt searching the glade, his jaw clenching as he watches the Keepers disperse from the Gathering Room. My eyes travel down to his hands, currently clenched into fists at his side and I carefully take his hand in mine and uncurl his fingers, his touch spreading a comforting warmth through me. I look up to see Newt smiling softly down at me before looking down at our hands and entwining our fingers, his smile growing when I blush. I curse myself.

"I think I've made ya soft," he says smugly.

I hastily rip my hand away from him and cross my arms, despite my head screaming at me to hold his hand again. "I don't think so."

"Thea!" Alby calls as he walks over to the two of us. I silently thank Alby for the intervention, I think if Newt smirked at me one more time, I'd either punch him, or kiss him. I'm undecided on which one I'd enjoy more. "Go and check on the Greenie," he orders.

I roll my eyes, "Didn't know Greenie duty was in the job description."

"Slim it," he snaps. "Get gone."

"I'm going, I'm going," I say, walking away from the two boys with my hands up in mock defence. I scowl at Newt as the corners of his lips quirk upwards into a small smirk. "Shut up, Frog-face."

"I didn't say nothin'."

"No, but you smirked." I stop and turn around, watching Newt raise his eyebrows as Alby surveys the two of us with amusement glinting in his eyes.

"Tommy's not that bad," reasons Newt.

"That's true. At least he's better company than you or Minho."

"Wow," he says dryly. "You're a keeper, huh?"

I almost laugh at myself. "Technically, I am."

"Get lost," Newt says, his smirk stretching into a grin as he and Alby walk in the opposite direction before casting a mock glare at me over his shoulder, which I return instantaneously.

❀

I lean on the door frame of the kitchens, surveying the room quietly before my eyes land on Thomas and Chuck, sat on one of the wooden tables in the back corner of the kitchens. Thomas's dark hair flops over his forehead as he watches Chuck throw a plate down with a sandwich in front of him, resting his hand on his palm. I smile as Chuck's ringlets bounce on his head when he plonks himself down in front of Thomas with a smirk on his face.

"Oh, man," Thomas mumbles as he devours his sandwich while Chuck watches with an amused gaze. "At least the food is good."

"Yeah?" I scoff, pushing myself off of the door frame and walking towards the two. "We'll see if you think the same after tasting Fry's stew. That stuff is like bleach."

Chuck giggles in an agreement as I slide next to him on the bench and taking a bite of his sandwich. He slaps my hand away with a glare and mutters something about me getting my own sandwich, to which I mumble just as incoherently back to him that I could, but I can't be bothered.

Thomas doesn't ask either of us any questions, the only relief I've been granted so far today. Everything has gone to klunk so far. Ben's screams still replay in my mind, stuck like a broken record, one which seemingly would never stop. I'm not sure even if I wanted to visit him — even if Alby or Newt would let me. I don't want to see him in that state. Hearing his blood chilling screams is enough.

"So," the Greenie says, breaking the blissful silence, "what do I have to do to become a Runner?"

"Not that again." Chuck looks up at Thomas, still picking at the leftovers of his sandwich before rolling his eyes and sending me a look that says 'I don't wanna explain anything right now'. So, naturally, I want to do the exact opposite.

I almost laugh. "Big mistake."

"Alby said I'd start my trials with the different Keepers. So, when do I get a shot with the Runners? What do they do every night? And what's with the concrete building?" Thomas sits back patiently in his chair, waiting for a complete answer from either one of us. It reminds me of when I was in his position, aching to get even a word from anyone else — who were all bored and frustrated with having to explain their entrapment month after month.

I tap the table absentmindedly, needing any noise to drive my attention away from the screams piercing through my brain. "That's a lot of questions, there."

"Maps. The Runners meet in the concrete building where they map the maze as soon as they get back, so they don't forget anything."

"You're a Runner, right?" Thomas turns to me with a cocked eyebrow, leaning forward in his chair. I'm starting to regret wanting to answer questions now.

"And Keeper of Map-makers," I say matter-of-fact.

"Tooting your horn, much."

"I take credit where it's due," I say simply. "We spend more of our time running not mapping, anyways."

We fall into another silence as Thomas takes a moment to process the information, just as I once had. The similarities between the two of us are astounding, and it makes me wonder if all of the Greenie's are exactly like this at the start.

And the new Greenie. The girl. Why is she familiar? She didn't talk after the brightness faded into dark. She was quieter than a mouse in my mind, however that boy wasn't. He saved me. Why, I don't know. I don't know who this girl was allied with, and I don't want to particularly know the answer, either. It doesn't matter, now. She's here, and her memories have been wiped. There's no way she'd ever side with W.C.K.D now they've taken everything from her. I'm jumping to preposterous conclusions, however I'm not sure what else could make sense from what I've seen. But I didn't see the whole thing.

Thomas's head snaps to me, making me eye him suspiciously. "What if we're all criminals — I mean, what if we're murderers or something?"

"Where did that happy thought come from?" Chuck looks at him, eyes wide, almost as if Thomas was more jacked in the head than Ben.

"Think about it," he says, clasping his hands together on the table. "Our memories are wiped. We live inside a place that seems to have no way out, surrounded by blood thirsty monster-guards. Doesn't that sound like a prison to you?"

Chuck is still looking at him as if he were crazy. "I'm probably thirteen years old, dude."

"For the tenth time, you're twelve."

"Whatever."

I roll my eyes, turning my attention back to Thomas. "You really think Curly here did something that would send him to prison for the rest of his life?"

"Hey!" Chuck nudges me on the shoulder.

"I don't care what you did or didn't do," the Greenie says bleakly. "Either way, we have been sent to a prison. Does this seem like a holiday to you?"

"I want a bloody refund if it is," I huff.

Chuck starts, "It's better than—"

"Yeah, I know, living in a pile of klunk," Thomas interjects almost immediately. I stifle a snigger at him — I wouldn't be surprised if Chuck's talked his ear off at this point. Thomas abruptly pushed his chair back and rises to his feet, announcing, "I'm going exploring. See ya tonight."

"No, you're not, Greenie," I say, but Thomas is already out of the door. I look at Chuck in disbelief. "Is that what you had to do with me?"

"Yeah," he replies, standing up. "Hated every shucking minute of it."

I grumble before walking towards the door where Thomas just left, "I'll chuck ya in the Slammer."

"No pun intended."

"Oh, for shucks sake—"

"For Chuck's sake," he corrects with a goofy grin.

"I honestly sometimes don't know why I'm friends with you." My lips stretch into a small smile at his joke, only momentarily forgetting about the stress that's weighing me down. "I've gotta go get Greenie," I say. "Alby'll have my head."

"Fingers crossed he does."

"Slim it," I snap, before rushing out of the kitchens after Thomas. I sigh — I really don't need to be playing hide and seek with the Greenie today.

—
Updates will be a lot slower than planned, so I apologise and thanks for the patience! I'm not too sure how often I'll be updating, but it probably won't be as usual since I'm now back at school.

Anyway, I hope you're all doing good today. But if you're not, that's okay. This story is a safe space, so feel free to comment or to message me <3

~ sophie xx
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