The fresh, cool air whipped past me as I leapt down into the malevolent cage. Somehow I managed to land on my feet, and maintain my balance as the Box swayed back and forth furiously. The movement brought back a wave of memories when Gally had jumped down here, the swinging making my stomach churn.
Soon after, Newt jumped down next to me, his body automatically folding up to brace the impact. The Box hardly moved once he jumped in, and it was clear to me then that Newt was much more experienced in doing this than I.
"So what exactly am I supposed to do down here?" I inquired while surveying the area around me. It was surprising how different the Box seemed now that I wasn't scared out of my mind. I could see so much detail then I did before.
I was quick to notice how the wire that stretched along diagonally was slowly being eaten away by a deep red-brown rust. As I spun around some more, I noticed a familiar sounding label messily spray painted onto each of the boxes. The deceiving red paint dripped down the boxes a little, however it was still clear what the label read.
WICKED.
I inhaled quickly as I read each box; the exact same label printed on every one. The strong smell of copper hung heavily in the air as I breathed in, my nose crinkling up with the overpowering scent.
"Well first we are gonna inspect each crate for anything new or different, and by then there will be someone to help us get all these outta here." Newt answered, his accent seeming more prominent as it bounced off the metal cage walls and echoed down the black pit beneath us.
"Why do you have to check for anything new or different?" I probed as I walked over to a large rectangular crate and ran my hand over the wooden surface. The wood felt ruff against my skin as my hand continued to run along the top of the crate.
"We are always searching for a possible sign or way of escaping here. Whether that's out in the Maze, or here in the Glade, we always need to be looking; even if we know there won't be anything down here." Newt's voice reduced to a low murmur, his eyes glistening with desperation.
"Well that's depressing." I muttered under my breath as I pried the wooden top of the crate away to reveal a small box filled with various medical equipment. Directly beside it was another box, only this one was filled with strange cylindrical glass tubes filled with a sapphire blue liquid.
I reached down and picked one up; its touch cold in my hands. The glass tube was secured in a metal container which had a cap. Curious, a pulled the cap away from the tube to discover a long, silver needle at least the length of my pinky finger.
"What the hell is this stuff? I haven't seen it before in the Medjack's room." I asked, turning around to hand the syringe to Newt. He hardly glanced over his shoulder to look at it before returning his attention to the short crate in front of him.
"That's just Grief Serum." Newt replied uninterested. My grip tightened around the syringe as I gulped loudly.
"Grief Serum?"
"Yeah. it's what we give to the bloody shanks who get stung by a Griever. Griever, Grief Serum; I'm sure you can see the connection." Newt continued as if everything he just said was the most normal thing on earth.
"Oh.' Was all I could manage as I stumbled back to the crate. Just as I was about to place the syringe back down where I found it, I noticed a deep creamy violet purple liquid in a syringe just below it. I swapped it for the one in my hand and held it up to the light. Unlike the Greif Serum, this had a thick, opaque appearance.
"And what's this one?" I asked yet again turning to show Newt.
Just as he had before, Newt quickly glanced over his shoulder to inspect the vial, and quickly looked back, however he didn't answer. After a second, his head swung back around and he snatched the syringe from my hands, standing up and inspecting it closer.
"Newt, what is it?" I asked warily, taking a step closer to peer over his shoulder at the mysterious vial. After a moments silence that seemed to stretch on forever, Newt finally answered the one question that was running a muck in my mind.
"I don't know." He barely breathed as he held it to the light and shook it up. With the movement, the substance inside mixed together to somehow form an emerald green liquid that shone in the early morning light.
"Oh for shuck's sake! Why does everything around me have to change or be different? Why can't this bloody place stay the same for once?" I began to rant, pacing back and forth in the cage while Newt remained silent, continuing to inspect the new syringe.
Just as I had turned to look at Newt, I saw that he had opened his mouth to speak.
"Wait! Let me say it for you. We have to take it to Alby because it could mean something." I quoted Newt while giving him a tired look. Newt seemed taken back at my outburst, and if it weren't for the bad situation, I would have sworn I saw the corners of his lips twitch up in a tiny smile.
"Good to see you're learning. That's exactly what I'm going to do. You on the other hand, are going to go to work without another bloody word about this." Newt commanded while lightly shaking the emerald green liquid, making it appear even more vibrant.
"Excuse me?" I asked in disbelief.
"You heard me Greenie. You have a job now, so it's your top responsibility." Newt paused and stopped shaking the vial to face me. With a sigh of defeat, he continued. "Look Rosie, I'm sorry but I have to do this. Certain people are finding it a bit unfair that you get to do anything you want." Newt explained while awkwardly shuffling around on his feet.
"Gally?" I questioned, not surprised.
"Yeah. He's still trying to convince everyone that you're here to ruin stuff. He's being smart about this; he's staying low and quiet, not drawing any attention to himself. But I've overheard him a few times quietly talking with some other shanks about how 'we need to stand up and overpower you.'" Newt explained with a disgusted and irritated expression.
"I honestly don't know what I ever did to Gally to make him hate me this much." I muttered, however it sounded much louder as it echoed around the Box.
"Yeah, that makes two of us. But don't let it get to ya, 'kay?"
"Of course not." I said with a small smile.
"That's my Greenie." Newt smiled as he brought his big hand to the top of my head and messed my hair up.
"Hey!" I complained, playfully smacking Newt across the chest. The eerie silence of the Box was wiped away with our laughter as Newt and I messed about.
"Alright come on shank. Breakfast should be ready now." Newt chuckled as I attempted to fix my hair up, but to no avail. I turned to glare at him, and poked my tongue out. A low chuckle resoanted through the Box as Newt continued to be amused by my reactions. I let out a loud huff as I gave up on fixing my hair and waited for Newt to leave the Box.
I watched as Newt carefully stepped up the stacks of crates; the mysterious vial securely held in his hand. I waited until Newt was out of the Box to start climbing out, and copied Newt's steps; lightly stepping up onto the same boxes just as I had done when I first arrived in the Glade, however this time Newt was up top to help me up. I gratefully took his hand as he easily pulled me up, however he did so too fast, causing me to stumble and fall onto Newt, who also came tumbling to the ground. With a loud huff, we both hit the ground.
"What is this, the second time this week? Bloody hell Greenie, you gotta control those clumsy feet of yours." Newt murmured, his face so close to mine this I could feel his warm breath brush against my skin, and I could see the fine detail of his deep russet brown eyes, flecked with a brilliant gold.
"You have beautiful eyes." I blurted out, mesmerised by the beauty they held. His eyes seemed to be an endless pool of warmth guarding all his secrets and emotions.
"Umm, thanks? Did you hit your head a little too hard Greenie?" Newt's deep, smooth voice pulled me from the strange trance I was stuck in, and I realised what was happening. The blood rushed to my cheeks furiously as I quickly lifted my body from Newt's. I couldn't help but noticed how he never made any move to get me off of him.
Probably because he couldn't move. Stop being a stupid love-struck girl!
"Huh, I guess so." I muttered to myself as I stood up, tucking some of my fiery hair behind my ear.
"Wait, is the vial okay?" I asked, a little panicked. Newt silently held out his other hand to reveal the same brilliant green liquid dancing around in the glass tube.
"Oh, good." was all I said before helping Newt to his feet. He handed me the vial while he brushed off little bits of stone and dust from his back.
"Umm, what were you two doing?" I heard Alby's voice call out as I watched Newt clean his clothes off. Both Newt's and my head spun around to see Alby striding over to us. We both looked back at each other, very confused.
"Just inspecting the crates as always?" Newt explained, however it came out as more of a question.
"Was that all you were doing?" Alby pressed accusingly.
"Ah, yes. Why?" I spoke up as my brow creased together in utter confusion.
"Well I just saw you both get out of the Box with messed up hair and clothes, and well..." Alby trailed off, obviously uncomfortable with the way the conversation was going. Newt and both turned to look at each other simultaneously, our eyes scanning over each others body. That's when we realised how it must have seemed from afar, and our cheeks lit up with a vibrant pink.
"Not this again. Alby, we were just messing around down there. You know I wouldn't do something like that." Newt defended, seemingly offended by Alby's presumption. For some reason, I felt disappointed by Newt's response, and I physically felt my shoulders slump over.
"You're right Newt, I'm sorry." Alby apologised while scratching the back of his neck, avoiding eye contact with me.
"There's something we needed to show you by the way." I added, my grip tightening around the thin vial slightly.
"What is it Greenie?"
"Here." I mumbled as I handed the vial over and into Alby's hand. He seemed to inspect it for a moment, just as Newt had done, before turning to face Newt with a deep scowl.
"What is it?"
"How the bloody hell should I know? Rosie found it amongst a crate with Grief Serum." Newt explained, gesturing to me.
"Do you have any clue what it could be? Hasn't appeared in any of ya dreams has it?"
"No, I've never seen anything like it before." Alby studied the vial further before returning his attention to us.
"If it was in the medical supplies, it must be some sought of medicine, Maybe its a new Grief Serum; something that works faster?"
"I don't think so Alby. When we got the Grief Serum, they sent up a note telling us about it. There was no note this time." Newt explained, his arms folding over his chest, causing the sleeves of his shirt to lift up slightly, revealing his masculine arm.
"Well it's clearly a medical supply. Just inform Clint about it, and tell him to keep it in the other medical room."
"There's another medical room? Why haven't I been told this?" I burst out abruptly.
"It's sectioned off from the rest of the Medjack's level of the Homestead; at the very top actually. It's where those who have been stung are kept, along with all the equipment required for them." Alby explained, uninterested.
"Oh. Will I learn about the Changing?"
"Yes, eventually. But for now you will stick to your usual activities. Hardly anyone gets stung anyway." Newt explained more kindly than Alby.
"Speaking of which, shouldn't you be getting to work now?" Alby questioned, his scowl growing even deeper somehow.
"Yes." I muttered as I began to walk away towards the Homestead.
"Rosie, wait!" Newt called out. I stopped and turned to see Newt running my way.
"What are you doing?" I questioned as we began to walk towards the Homestead together.
"A tradition." Newt answered simply while looking straight ahead, however I could still see the warm smile spread across his cheeks like a child. I never realised that Newt would always walk me to and from work until now, and I felt a warmth spread through me as a thought occurred to me.
I mean enough to Newt for him to go out if his way just to see me.