Clara's POV
The night of the shake was the longest night we've had in the glade so far and it all started with the screech of a griever. It echoed through the glade like death and hung in the air a second before causing the initial round of panic. As soon as it happened and Gally dropped me everything afterwards seemed to happen so fast. The second my head hit the ground my body was already working to pull me back to my feet so I hadn't noticed Newt charging at Gally. Minho yanked me out of the way and wrapped his arm around me so I wouldn't intervene. We stood there for a long few seconds before there were distant calls for medjacks. My feet reacted before I did. Before I knew what was happening I had already halved the distance from where Gally and Newt still wrestled one another to where the screams were coming from. I crossed the threshold into the homestead and froze.
My eyes instantly landed on the injured Winston who was already being slowly lifted from the floor. His leg was completely destroyed and there wasn't a doubt in my mind he would be limping like Newt after all of this was over.
His screams of pain pierced the air and it took everyone a moment to recover from the horrific sound. After they pulled Winston up I noticed another body below him. A much smaller body. My heart pounded furiously in my chest as I saw the very pale Chuck laying in a puddle of what was hopefully only Winston's blood. Any hope I had felt drained the second I tried to lift Chuck. There was a large gash on the back of his head, most likely where he hit one of the steps. My trembling arms pulled him closer to me and all I could focus on was if he was still alive or not. My palms were sweaty as I leaned down closer to him to listen for a heartbeat or a breath of air escaping his slightly parted lips. I sighed a breath of relief when I felt the soft air hitting my hair. At least he was still alive.
My hands, shaking more than I had realized, clutched Chuck's shirt desperately as I started to gently shake him. "Come on Chuckie wake up!" I cringed at the desperateness in my voice but when Chuck didn't move it amplified my fear.
"What happened?"
I didn't need to look up to know Jeff had finally come in. "I guess Winston was on the roof when the shake happened and he fell on Chuck."
"Come on, we'll need your help."
I nodded absently to Jeff as he pulled Chuck up with the Clint's help. My eyes quickly scanned the crowd behind us, briefly touching on Newt, Thomas and Minho.
After they carried Chuck into the medihut they got him on a table next to Winston, who was still writhing in pain. I made my way over to him and patted his shoulder lightly. "Come on Winston, hang in there."
His frantic eyes met mine and he nodded silently as he struggled not to touch his leg. "Is Chuck alright?" His voice was breathy and there was sweat beading on his forehead as he tried to lean up to see Chuck.
My hand gently pushed him back and I shook my head at him. "Stay still. You don't want to move that around too much."
"He'll be fine." Clint said, answering Winston's question. I spun to face him, relief flooded through me when I saw his expression. If Clint thought he'd be okay then he should have a very good chance.
I smiled lightly at Winston, squeezing his shoulder gently, before I moved over to Chuck's side, grasping his hand tightly in my own. I brushed the curls from his forehead and my thumb grazed his cheek.
"Clara, I mean it. He'll be okay. Just most likely has a concussion and the fall knocked him out." Jeff spoke quietly so he wouldn't cause any more alarm than was already present. I looked at the door at the sound of approaching footsteps.
Minho, Newt, and Alby appeared, all breathless.
"What happened?" I asked the trio as they tried to regain their breath.
"Bloody walls are cracked and they're literally crumbling at the moment. It's just causing mass chaos. We were actually hoping you could try calming everyone down." Newt replied, running a hand through his hair.
My face scrunched up at the confusion this statement had me feeling. "Why me?"
"They'll believe you when you tell them it'll all be okay." Alby said with a soft smile.
I looked back down at Chuck before my eyes met Jeff's. "Promise you'll take care of him for me?"
He nodded as Clint continued cleaning Chuck's wound. "I promise."
Newt eagerly grabbed my hand and pulled me from the medihut. My eyes scanned the glade in amazement at how much things had gone downhill in just a matter of minutes.
There were animals running around everywhere, there was some visible damage to the homestead, bloodhouse and showers, but the most noticeable thing were the large cracks that ran down the walls. My eyes widened as I took everything in including the gladers that were frantically running around without any order. I turned to Alby as determination flooded through me.
"Do you mind if I say a few things, take control of this?" My voice came out stronger than I expected and I saw Newt smile out of the corner of my eye.
Alby nodded fiercely. "You're the one that will be the best for this, Clara. They'll listen to you." He smiled lightly at me and gently squeezed my shoulder. "We'll gather everyone."
He turned along with Minho and they started gathering the gladers. Newt grabbed my hand, a small smile still on his face. "You're bloody amazing you know that?"
I blushed and quickly looked away. "No more amazing than anyone else here. Especially you." My eyes met his once more and the blush deepened in my cheeks.
His smile widened and he reached up to brush the hair from my forehead as several gladers approached us. My eyes quickly scanned the group of nervous, panicked boys and I could feel the hope surging through me. As Alby and Minho gathered the others I put a hopeful smile on my face. Several of the boys surrounding Newt and I had already calmed down a bit but now it was time to change things.
"Alright. Everyone listen up! Clara would like to say a few things and I expect each and every one of you to give her your undivided attention!" Alby announced as he made his way back to us.
Every single glader turned their attention to me and Newt's grip tightened on mine in response to the sudden silence that swept through the glade.
"From here everything looks like it's getting pretty bad. You all see the large cracks in the walls, the animals running loose and the buildings that you've built starting to crumble." There was quiet mumbling as they didn't know where I was taking this. "Things could be worse. You all know things could be worse. Look around. The walls are still keeping the grievers out. We can get most, if not all of the animals back and fix the gate. The gate you've built. The buildings can easily be repaired and you all know this. Now, I want every one of you to stop thinking for a minute and just listen to me, okay? Stay with me here." I paused and searched the faces looking back at me. "We can do this. We. Can. Do. This." I spoke slowly to emphasize the meaning of my words. "We all know how to fix what has become broken and we all know what needs to be done. Panicking won't do anything here and you know this. For years you've lived here and maintained order and that shouldn't change now. We know what needs to be done and most importantly, we're all still here to do it."
A loud cheer erupted through the glade as the group in front of me, surrounding me, cheered when I finished speaking. My eyes met every one of the boy's around me with eager anticipation and I was met with determination, confidence, pride, and many other emotions. Thomas, Minho, Alby, Newt, Gally, Zart, Fry Pan, and Jake were the ones closest to me and all of them were cheering with a bright smile on their faces. I smiled at how I successful I was at giving hope back to these boys who seemed so lost just moments ago.
Alby raised his hands to quiet the crowd with a grin thrown my way. "You all heard the lady! You know what to do!"
The gladers quickly dispersed into their groups, following their keepers to their designated areas. Gally led the builders to the fence that contained the animals where they would begin preparation on repairs. Zart's group went along with him since none of the crops had been damaged. Fry Pan's group also aided the builders with repairs since the animals had become the priority. The guys that usually worked in the bloodhouse remained around us since their keeper, Winston, was injured.
"All you slicers need to start rounding up all the animals and keep them contained in the bloodhouse for right now. With nearly everyone working on that fence it won't be long until it's fixed." Alby called out to the boys. They all turned and made their way across the glade to the area where nearly every animal had escaped to.
Minho turned to Alby with a sudden flare of determination. "It's clear we're working through the night but we can't do anything until those walls open again. We need to go out as soon as possible and see what caused the griever to screech and all of this to happen."
Alby nodded and looked around at those who still stood before him. "Minho, take your runners to the map room. I'll meet you there and we'll talk about the game plan for tomorrow."
Minho nodded and we all turned to follow leaving only Newt and Thomas with Alby. "Greenie, can you run?"
I glanced back at Thomas over my shoulder and saw him smile before nodding enthusiastically. Looks like Alby is gathering recruits for the big day ahead.
A/N: Hey guys! Sorry about the delay in posting this one and it's a bit shorter than usual but I'm working on the next one as we speak! Still no internet at home so I'm only able to update at work or on my phone. I will try to post another one asap!