Emma had come to the conclusion that the new Greenie had a death wish. He, alongside Minho, led a group of Gladers into the Maze to investigate the dead Griever. She only knew because she was with Newt, who was pulled into a Keeper meeting by Gally to discuss the events once they returned.
Gally was furious. That much was apparent by the way he was stomping around the Glade after the Gathering. Part of Emma wanted to calm him down, but the other half of her knew Gally needed to defuse on his own. If she tried to help right now, he would only take his anger out on her.
Besides, Emma liked the new Greenie. She found him to be intelligent and courageous. That was something the Glade needed. For so long, things had been the same. Thomas was the change that Emma had always been hoping for.
But she couldn't tell Gally that. It was clear he hated Thomas.
Emma stuck to herself for most of the afternoon. She hadn't returned to the Med-Jack hut to see the new girl. Seeing the girl only worried her. What did her arrival mean? Was it good? Bad? Why had she arrived only a few days after Thomas? That had never happened before.
Distantly, Emma could hear shouting. Her head perked up at the sound, eyes squinting as she tried to figure out what it was. It wasn't uncommon to hear commotion throughout the day, but something about this sounded different.
Emma set down the tools she had been using. Cautiously, she made her way through the Glade. As quickly as her journey started, it stopped. She found the source of the noise. It was impossible to miss. Emma's eyes widened at the sight. The new Glader Girl was on top of the tree hut.
She was awake, which was a good sign. However, that wasn't the issue. The issue was that she was throwing things over the side at the group of Gladers below. Emma noticed Newt hiding under a wood panel with Winton. Gally and Frypan were in the middle of the group, not bothering to protect themselves from the falling objects. There were a dozen others, all with different things to protect themselves with.
"Wow," Emma muttered, a lazy smile on her face. It was amusing, the scene in front of her. She noticed Chuck a few feet ahead and joined him. "Enjoying the show?"
The young, curly-haired boy glanced at her. He had a large smile on his face. "Yeah, this is great." Emma chuckled. "Were you like that when you entered?"
"I wish." She hadn't reacted the same way the new girl was currently.
"Stay away from me! Go away!" Emma wasn't sure what to do. Watching the boys underneath was amusing, but the girl was clearly frightened.
"Chuck," Thomas called out. Emma glanced at him over her shoulder. Minho and Jeff accompanied him. "What's going on?"
"Girls are awesome." He pointed at the scene. Thomas and Minho followed where he was pointing. Minho laughed, shaking his head at the sight.
"Stay away from me!" Thomas ran forward to try and help.
Minho stood beside Emma. He didn't move to follow Thomas. "Not going to help?"
"And risking messing up my face? I'm way too pretty for that." He winked at her.
Emma rolled her eyes, nudging his shoulder with hers. "You're insufferable."
They both looked back at the scene, noticing that the new girl had stopped throwing things. It seemed Thomas had said something, but Emma wasn't sure what. Then, to her surprise, Thomas began climbing up the ladder.
Realizing it was safe, Minho jogged toward the group.
"Are you coming?" Chuck was staring up at her. He wanted to see what was going on.
"I'm going to stay here." Emma didn't want to overwhelm the girl. "Bring me a status report?"
"You got it." With that, he was running toward the group. Emma chuckled to herself, watching from a distance as Thomas spoke to Teresa. He leaned over the side a minute later, "hey, guys. Give us a second, okay?" Some of the Gladers started to leave. They still had work that needed to be done.
Newt waved his hands, ushering anyone who hadn't left yet away. Emma watched Gally, who was looking around. His eyes caught sight of her standing to the side. It looked like he wanted to approach her but ultimately decided against it and walked in the opposite direction.
She took a deep breath, ignoring how her chest tightened as he walked away from her. Emma wasn't sure what was going on with Gally, but something told her it wasn't good.
~~~~~~~~~~~
The girl's name is Teresa. She's only slightly taller than Emma, with the same dark hair. However, she had the most vibrant blue eyes that Emma had ever seen.
They hadn't spoken to each other. Not directly, at least. Thomas had managed to calm her down, which wasn't much of a surprise. What was a surprise was what she revealed to him. Teresa had been sent in the box with something in her pocket: two syringes full of a blue liquid. Thomas believed it could help Alby.
Several people were in the Med-Jack hut when Thomas and Teresa explained what they had. Emma was included in that group. They were surrounding Alby, whose body was covered in bulging blue veins. "We don't know what this stuff is." Newt held the two vials in his hand. "We have no idea who sent it or why it came here with you." Jeff and Clint were sitting beside Alby, observing him. "This could kill him."
"He is already dying." Emma knew that Thomas was right. Alby was only getting worse. They needed to do something. "How could this make it any worse? It's worth the risk."
"Thomas has a point," Emma said, glancing at her closest friend. "What is the worst that could happen?"
Alby groaned on the bed. Newt glanced at him. A frown on his face at the sight. Alby was suffering. "Fine." He passed the vials to Thomas. "Go ahead."
Thomas took the vials. He moved closer to Alby and bent down. He glanced back at Newt to make sure before he proceeded. However, before Newt could speak, Alby shot up and grabbed Thomas, yanking him down. "You shouldn't be here!" Everyone rushed forward to pull them apart. "You shouldn't be here! No! No!"
"Alby! Stop!
"Watch out." Newt and Minho tried to pry Alby's hands off of him.
Jeff managed to grab one of Alby's arms, but he wasn't letting go of Thomas. "Grab the syringe!" Emma couldn't reach it, but Teresa could.
"Let him go!"
"Alby, stop!"
Teresa lifted her arm and jammed the syringe into Alby's chest. He immediately let go of Thomas and relaxed into the bed. Emma cautiously dropped her hands but remained on edge, unsure if Alby would attack Thomas again.
There was a stretch of silence as they waited for Alby to move, but he didn't. His breathing had evened out. "I guess that worked."
Emma took a deep breath, glancing at Thomas. "You okay, Thomas?"
Thomas nodded at her. "Yeah, fine."
"From now on, someone must stay here and watch him around the clock."
Before anyone could respond, a new voice cut in. "Hey." All eyes went to Gally. "Sundown, Greenie. Let's go." Thomas had to spend the night in the Pit because he had entered the Maze again.
It was clear Thomas didn't want to go, but he didn't have a choice. This was his punishment for breaking the rules. Emma watched as Gally led Thomas out of the Med-Jack hut. She crossed her arms over her chest, unsure of how she was feeling.
"Clint and I will take turns watching him tonight," Jeff spoke to Newt. "But we might need some help tomorrow." They would be tired from the lack of consistent sleep.
"I can help," Emma offered. "If you think the Gardens can spare me."
Newt glanced at her. "That would be great. Thanks, Emma." His attention shifted to Teresa. "Teresa, I want you with Emma tomorrow, okay? By her side. She'll show you around and help you with whatever questions you have. We need to figure out what's going on."
Teresa and Emma locked eyes. The first girl in the Glade offered her a friendly smile. It was clear why Newt had paired Teresa with her. They were both girls, she was new, and everything was changing. It wasn't clear why, but they needed to figure that out. "Yeah," Teresa said. "Sounds good." Her posture seemed to relax slightly.
Newt's body was tense. "Tonight, you'll stay in here. Tomorrow, we'll get you a room in the Homestead." Teresa nodded, a sign she understood. "Minho, come with me. We need to talk before you and Thomas go back out into the Maze tomorrow."
"Good that." Silently, Minho and Newt walked out of the Med-Jack hut.
"I'll be back tomorrow morning," Emma said to Teresa. "I'll show you around first, and then we will stay here to watch over Alby."
"Okay." It sounded simple enough to Teresa. "Thank you."
Emma smiled at her. "Of course."
Brushing the hair out of her face, she turned on her heel and walked out the door. Minho and Newt were long gone, but there was someone else. Squinting, she realized it was Gally. He was leaving the Pit after locking Thomas in one of the cells. Emma remembered that Thomas wasn't the only one in a cell. Jordan was as well.
In all of the chaos, she had forgotten about him.
"Gally," Emma called out, pushing the thought of Jordan aside. The Keeper of the Builders stopped walking, head turning in her direction. As she started walking toward him, he started walking toward her. "Hey," she said once they were closer together. "I haven't seen you since-" Emma was cut off by Gally grabbing her arm and leading her away from the huts near them. "Gally?"
He didn't speak. Instead, he led her toward the Maze walls. It was late at night, making it impossible to see anything further away than five feet. The torches around the Glade barely provided any light. Emma wasn't sure what was going on but didn't question it.
She trusted Gally.
"Emma," Gally spoke once they were far enough away from anyone who might hear. Emma raised an eyebrow, wondering what was going on. "I need-" he paused, unsure of himself.
"Gally," she spoke gently. "What is it? What's going on?" She placed a hand over his, comforting him.
It seemed to be what Gally needed. "I need you to stay away from the Greenie."
That wasn't what she expected to hear, and her hands fell to her sides. "What-"
"We can't trust him. He's bad news."
Emma stared up at him, lips parted. Gally was asking a lot from her right now. She didn't have any issues with Thomas. In fact, she liked him. "Gally, I can't-"
"Please," he begged. "What if-" he kept stopping himself. Gally blinked a few times, rubbing his hands over his face. "I don't want anything to happen to you, okay? So, just," his cheeks were vibrantly pink, "keep a distance from him."
Emma couldn't help but smile at his shy nature. It wasn't like Gally to act this way. It should concern her, but her mind is elsewhere. "Okay, I'll try." She stepped closer, placing a hand on his upper arm. "But you don't have to worry about me, Gally. I'm fine." She wasn't worried about Thomas or the new girl. Not in the same way he was.
Gally stared at her, eyes flickering between hers. "Everything's changed since he showed up. It can't be a coincidence."
"Maybe it's not a bad thing-"
"It can only be a bad thing," Gally argued. Ben was dead. Alby had been stung in broad daylight. They killed a Griever. A girl had shown up only a few days after Thomas. It wasn't normal. Nothing about what happened is normal. "People have already gotten hurt. I don't want you to-" Emma pressed her lips against his, cutting off his speech. Immediately, Gally stopped talking and kissed her back. She smiled faintly, leaning into him.
A few seconds later, she pulled back. "You know, you talk to Shucking much."
Gally smiled, something that only she ever seemed to see. Wordlessly, he pressed his lips against hers once more.