The guys had carried Gally, still twitching and moaning to the MedHut. Evelyn had taken Nick's arm over her shoulder, Jeff doing the same without being asked and they helped their leader.
"So...is this umm normal?" Jeff asked.
He used his foot to open the door, the builders were now using rope to tie Gally down to the bed, so he couldn't lash out and hurt anyone- like the last kid. He lived through the Changing process, but he was so angry and violent. He had sprinted into the Maze when the doors were closing; screaming about bugs in his brain.
Evelyn prayed Gally wouldn't turn out like them. He was a dear friend. Sure he was gruff and kind of awkward in big groups, but he was actually quite sweet and very considerate of her and her space, very intuned with what she needed. She had walked into the MedHut one time and he was fixing open floating shelves to the wall near the window for her plants.
They sat Nick down on the bed with a groan from all of them. She straightened up and looked at the Greenie.
"I would be lying if I said no. You came during some dark days my friend. I'm sorry. Here's the short of it, it's a lot of information and I'm sorry to word vomit on you."
The builders finished with Gally and filed out of the room looking lost.
"Thank you guys."
"Yeah ..no problem Ev. Call if you need anything." Lucky muttered as he passed.
She reached out and gave his arm a quick squeeze, giving him just a small boost of her healing. The door closed and she turned to Jeff.
"You're gonna wanna sit for this, Nick Kay down. I'll make you some tea, but you need to sleep. Alby can hand it for another day."
As she puttered around the table, crushing things, picking things from the hanging plants she explained the general workings of how the Glad is going, the history of the Grief Serum. She had to choke back a few tears, but continued, explaining the Grief Serum and what it had done to the boys in the past.
"Well shi-"
"Klunk." Nick interupted.
"What?" Jeff looked over, a wrinkle in his forehead.
"We had to come up with... different terms for some swears 'cause Minho has the mouth of a seasoned sailor." Nick explained with a slight smirk.
Evelyn lifted the corner of her mouth, Minho still cursed so badly a real witch would shrivel up, but he only did it away from Nick and Newt and a few others.
"Okay...well klunk." Jeff tested the word out with a frown.
"Yeah. You could say that." Evelyn sighed as she handed the mug to Nick. She finally sank down onto the chair by the bed.
"...there's also something else you need to know, if you're staying as a MedJack." Evelyn muttered.
Nick sat up starighted, and reached for her hand. They had a silent conversation. His dark carring eyes looked so sad for her behind his glasses.
"I gotta Nick. I...he's gonna find out one way or another, especially if he's gonna stay as a MedJack."
He deflated and squeezed her hand.
"Okay, Jeff. One more thing to make your world spin off course."
The poor kid looked overwhelmed, still trying to process the amount of information that was dumped into him a few hours of waking up in a dark cage.
He rubbed his short hair, "Oh...okay..." He stammered.
She held her hands out towards him, "Okay, give me your hands." She instructed, he placed them hesitantly into hers. She could feel the unease and uncertainty in him, on the verge of panic.
Taking a deep breath she harnessed the power within her to heal others and sent it through her arms into her hands, making them warm up. They started to glow slightly. His eyes flew open and his mouth dropped in a silent yell. But the longer he held on, the calmer her became, the panic in his eyes disappeared, his muscles relaxed and he sighed contently.
She felt the exhaustion hit like heard of Grievers. She let go and her hands slowly dimmed and went back to normal. She saged and teetered slightly and leaned heavily into Nick.
Jeff sat there silent for a moment. Evelyn and Nick watched for his reaction.
"Huh." Was all he said.
"That's the lamest reaction yet!" Nick chuckled.
"Well...I just came up from a caged box with no memory of anything not even my name. We're surrounded by walls, I just saw a kid...what did you call it? Get stung? I stabbed him with some weird blue stuff, and now this.." he gestured at Evelyn, "just seems like ..why the hell not?"
"Jeff, I like you." Evelyn chuckled.
There moment was interuptwhen Gally let out a loud inhuman scream and withered on the bed in the other room. She groaned and picked herself up off the bed.
"I need a shucken vacation."
"I'll bring it up with the boss."
"Nick? You are the boss!" She rolled her eyes, but gave him a warm smile. "Come on Jeff, I'll show you what the Changing is all about."
_________________________
"Hey Fry, what's for supper?" Evelyn asked sliding up to the supper line.
"Mash potatoes, and meat balls!" He grinned and handed a plate over to her.
"Hey! It's the Greenie!" He beamed at the boy.
"Jeff, this is Frypan. Fry this is Jeff. He's an official MedJack."
"Yeah I heard about all the fuss. Shuck, that's messed up. Gally, of all people! What was he doing close to the wall doors?"
Evelyn shrugged, and Fry's shoulders sagged his usual happy face slipped for a second. He shock his head and then handed the next plate to Jeff with a smile.
"Well welcome to the klunk show my friend, best way is to just jump right in! If you ever need something in here or feel like you might just want a snack..." He held up his metal tongs threatening, and narrowed his eyes, "don't.even.think.about.it! No one touches my kitchen!"
Evelyn bit her lip trying not to chuckle at Jeff as Fry threatened him. He glanced at Evelyn and she rolled her eyes and nodded with her head for him to follow.
"Later Fry." She called.
"Later Evy. Nice ta meet ya' Greenie!"
She lead Jeff to her regular table and sat down next to Sonny. It was a quiet and tense atmosphere in the dinning area. Minho, Newt and Ben came over. Minho dropped his plate and plunked down in front of Evelyn. Newt sat at the end, glancing over at her. She gave him a small smile, he looked exhausted.
"Who died?" Minho asked the quiet table.
Evelyn looked back at Minho, her eyes sad, as her body shrunk.
"Pixy? What the shuck happened?"
"Gally was stung."
He blinked at her a few times.
"Come again?"
"Gally, keeper of the builders was stung this afternoon. The box sent up another syringe, so far...it seems to be working."
Minho let out a long string of curse words. Jeff leaned over and whispered quietly, "I understand the need for replacement words."
"Okay two questions, how the shuck did that happen and two, who the shuck is this kid?" Minho asked, with a deep scowl and pointed his fork at Jeff; who threw his hands into the air.
"No idea, he was trying to claw his way back into the Glad...not sure if the Griever tried to pull him in or what...but I had to pull him back-"
"You went into the bloody maze?" Newt asked looking up from his super.
Evelyn meet his eyes and held his gaze for a moment before answering. She kept her voice quiet and light, he seemed slightly on edge tonight.
"It was a few feet and Gally needed help."
"Yeah...but your not supposed to be in the Maze, it's a rule. We gotta have some buggen' order!"
"Would you prefer I left him? Stood with arms folded and watch him struggle? Newt he needed help. I helped."
"Yeah, but-"
"Wanna throw me in the slammer for doing it? Fine. I'd do it again, if someone needed my help."
"That's not...I didn't mean...never mind." He stammered, and looked back down at his plate, his face turning slightly pink.
"Then what Newt? Please explain."
He groaned and placed his fork down and ran a hand through his hair, which made Evelyn's stomach flip wildly. His eyes meet hers again.
"The Maze is dangerous, Lee. Kids have been bloody snatched from the Glade if you walk to close and been buggen' stung. Gally was only a few feet inside or beside the bloody open door-"
"I know this, trust me." Evelyn nodded, "what's your point?"
"You can't go in there! It's dangerous! What happens if it gets you? What would I-" He swallowed hard, blinking "-the Glad do if you're stung?"
His eyes filled with fear and worry. Evelyn felt her heart squeeze and heat rising in her cheeks, but she didn't look away from his eyes, she couldn't she was stuck; lost in his eyes. She saw them soften just slightly.
The table was silent listening to the exchange between them. She ignored them, she wished they would disappear, but privacy in the Glad was rare.
"Newt, I'm okay. He needed help, and remember, I get to decided when and how much I help, no one else."
She saw his shoulders sag, "But! Lee what if-"
"We can't live our life in 'what ifs' Newt. He needed help. I helped. It's my job. And I would do it again. Okay? You need to understand that."
She was firm but gentle. She wished she could reach out and hold his hand, but he was all the way at the end of the table. He just stared for a few more seconds, then he just nodded and looked down at his supper.
Clearly he was done talking, and she tried to keep the sigh and sadness inside. She blinked a few times and looked back at her own supper. She wasn't very hungry. The table was quiet for a bit, everyone going back to eating until Minho cleared his throat.
"Pixy, you still haven't told me who this shank is, obviously he's the Green bean."
She looked up, and Minho was eyeing up Jeff.
"Minho cut it out. No need to be like that." She tossed a bean at him, "this is Jeff and he's the new MedJack."
He raised his eyebrows at her and looked back at Jeff. He placed his hands on the table and stood up, locking his elbows, and purposely flexing all his arm muscles. His face morphed into a cold stone look, his eyes flashed dangerously.
"One hair harmed on my Little Pixy's head and I'm sending you over the cliff. You try anything on her and I'm feedin' you to the Grievers!" He didn't need to yell to be intimidating.
Jeff leaned away slightly, but Evelyn was surprised he held Minho's cold gaze. He gulped and then spoke, his voice was slightly higher then normal, but it was steady.
"What are you her boyfriend or bodyguard or something? And eww no. No offense Ev, but she's uhh not my type..."
"Bodyguard or something." Minho growled. She heard a growl from beside her, and Sonny was glaring at Jeff too.
"Minho, sit your ass down. Sonny enough, man you guys are a bunch of protective pack dogs. Jeffy is good people, he jumped into save Gally before his own builders did."
Evelyn rolled her eyes, but she had an amused smile on her face. Minho slowly sank back down. And Sonny stopped growling like a guard dog.
"Fine. But the threat still stands." Minho growled.
"Noted." Jeff nodded.
Evelyn shook her head with an ammused smile.
_________________________
Gally had let out another wild scream, straining against the ropes that bound him. She sighed again as she checked him over again. Jeff and her had found the sting whole. It was on his side, they had to rip his shirt so she could clean it, so Gally lay sweating and panting on the bed without a shirt. They could see the black veins webbing over his chest and torso, they were swollen and looked so painfull. He arched his back and let another scream out, making Evelyn flinch.
There was nothing her healing powers could do when the boys were stung, she had tried, a few times. But it was like placing her hand on a thick stone wall, she could feel them trapped behind it, screaming for help, but she couldn't break through the wall.
Jeff had gone to check on Nick, with the guidance of Frypan, who seemed to taken a quick liking to the Greenie. She could see the bonds of friendship forming already. So Evelyn sat on the wood chair beside Gally's bed.
Hephaestus crawled through the window and into her lap. He had been scares the last few days. She wished she could disapear into the forest for a few days alone. She pulled her knees to her chest when Hephaestus crawled up onto her shoulder.
"What are we gonna do Heph? This place sucks so much! It's so hard some days. Especially..." She sighed. "Especially with Newt. I wish he would come talk to me more. I can't get that kiss out of my head. He was so sweet and vaunerable...and now...it's like he avoids me, but I think I feel him watching. It's like he cares, but doesn't want me to know! Like he doesn't think he deserves it! Hephy, I'm so worried about him."
The lizard made a noise in his throat and nuzzled into her. She swatted at the tears on her cheeks. They both jumped when there was a knock on the door. She kept out of the chair, and spun around, her heart had jumped into her throat. Gally screamed making her jump again. Hephaestus scurried as fast as he could up the wall and out the window.
"Shuck sakes!" She yelped.
Standing framed in the door was Newt. He had an odd expression on his face. She couldn't figure it out, but his eyes looked... turbulent. Not really staying on one emotion for long.
"Sorry, didn't mean t' bloody scare ya."
"It's okay Newt. I just didn't hear you come in."
He just nodded. And stood there his hands in his pockets, looking at her.
Gally let another scream out.
"Can I talk to ya? Somewhere...quieter?"
She nodded and followed him out of the MedHut and around to the back by her garden. It was dark out now, most of the Gladers had gone to sleep, a few strangled back from the bathroom, but everything had settled down for the night.
Newt had his back to her for a second, every muscle tense. He took a deep breath and let it out. She waited patiently for him. He turned around to face her.
"Lee...I wanna...I wanna say..." He started but stopped, looking away. She stepped closer, and raised a hand to place in his arm but he shook his head, stepping back.
"No. No powers."
She shook her head, "I wasn't." She rested her hand on his bicep and gave his arm a gentle squeeze. He took another shuddering breath.
"I jus' wanna say, I'm sorry for everything. For the last bloody year; for all the worry I've given' ya and all the mean and buggen' nasty things I've said."
"For all the things?"
He nodded.
"Even our good talks, and laughs, even ..that one night in the forest? Do...do you regret that?" She whispered, scared for his answer.
"No! Shuck no! Those were the best things in this bloody hell hole."
"Then what-"
She didn't finish her sentence, Newt had dug his hand into her hair, his other hand on her waist and pulled her close, and kissed her hard.
Her gasp of surprise was muffled by his lips pressed against hers. It didn't take long, she melted into him. A hand wove into his hair and the other grabbed a handful of his shirt.
Unlike the gentle hesitant kiss in the forest, this one was rough and needy. He pulled her head closer, forcither up onto her topy toes just to reach. She just followed along, allowing this to happen. She had wanted it since he kissed her last. Newt's hands clamped greedily around her hips and stepped forwards, forcing her backwards; pushing her a few more steps. She bumped up against the MedHut wall. He readjusted his head and forced her mouth open, sliding his tounge into her mouth. His hand slid from her hip up her side and back into her hair. Her hands went to his shaggy sandy blond hair.
He pushed harder, she was flat against the wall, with no where to go. It was like he was drowning and she was the only think keeping him afloat. Her head felt foggy, she couldn't think straight. Evelyn's limbs felt numb and on fire at the same time. Her heart was slamming wildly against her ribs, she felt a boiling heat in the pit of her stomach and deep in her soul, it flushed her system. Her lungs were going to explode.
His tongue still exploded her mouth; kissing her wildly. Just as abruptly as he kissed her he pulled away. His eyes looked steady, sad and broken, but steady. She gasped for breath. He was breathing hard. He placed his forhead on hers, his hands sliding down to her waist and then wrapped around her. He held her in such a tight hug. With a sigh she wrapped her around him.
"You won't have to worry about me anymore, Love." He whispered into her hair.
He unexpectedly let go, stepped away and like a shadow melted into the darkness. Leaving her shivering and confused.