I was in charge of watching Minho the next two weeks. It was quite boring, because I just sat there and made sure he didn't die.
Almost all of the glades had come to visit him, and I got to get to know them all. When Alby came to visit, he pulled me out into the hallway, and said he was worried, because Minho seemed not like himself. I just shook my head, and said that being stabbed by a griever will do that to someone.
I turned on my stool from the door, towards Minho. "How are you feeling?" I asked.
He just grimaced. "I think that pain medicine is wearing out."
Nodding, I got up from my stool and got the syringe ready for him.
I put the needle in his arm, and he sighed. "That's better."
I sat back on my seat, another awkward silence sitting between us. I looked at the room around us. The wood around the bed was stained red from his blood, and the white bandage around his bare chest had a small stain of scarlet.
"What's it like," Minho said suddenly, "being the only girl here? I bet it's a blast."
I sighed and tucked my hair behind my ear. "Well, it was scary when I first got here. But, by now, I'm more of a sister. I'm glad that Newt and Alby stick up for me. What about you?" I said, changing the subject. "What's it like being a runner?"
He just laughed, then grabbed his side in pain. "Ugh, remind me not to laugh." He put his hand down, then raised his head to me. "Well, I don't know how much I can tell you, but it's not easy, I'll tell you that. And it takes a lot of determination. You should be glad you're in the glade. I would trade my job for something else. Being a runner is stressful."
"It sounds stressful." My eyes then drifted out to the window, where Newt was working in the fields. He stood up and walked over to the water pump, and I noticed his limp yet again. "Minho," I said, looking back towards him, "Why does Newt limp? Was there an accident or something?"
His expression darkened. "Ask him yourself, Y/N," he said in a rough voice, and the mood in the room got a lot more negative. He didn't say anything else, and another awkward silence settled between us.
After sitting quietly, I spoke up. "I'm sorry," I said quietly, "I didn't know that it was that... tough to talk about."
Minho ran a hand through his hair. "Well, there's probably a reason Newt doesn't go preaching about it to all the gladers." He sighed and dropped his hand. "If Newt wants to talk about it, he will, okay? You guys seem pretty close."
I nodded, and hoped he was right.
~~~~
The rest of the day crawled by. Minho and I exchanged some small talk (which I quickly found out I hated), and I gave him his medicine when he needed it. Thomas stopped up in the room after he got back from running.
"Yeah, I was helping Fry in the kitchen today," Thomas explained, laughing. "And I accidentally put cinnamon in the stew instead of cumin. Fry almost kicked me out of the kitchen with his big boot and then made me start from scratch."
Newt laughed, looking at me. It was dark outside, and the boys had mostly gone to bed. Thomas, Newt, Minho, and I all sat in the Medjack's room, which was lit by a flickering lamp.
"Well," Newt started, stretching in his seat, and scratching his face, "I successfully filled the water yoke and walked all the way back to the gardens without falling." He grinned and looked at me, patting my knee.
"Wow," I said, shoving his shoulder playfully, "Big deal."
"It is a big deal, for you anyways." He teased.
I rolled my eyes and laughed at him, then looked over at Thomas. He was smiling, and so was Minho.
Over the course of the past two weeks, I had learned that Minho, was in fact, very sassy. He had given me some mouth, and I snapped back at him. We had now came to a mutual respect, both equally sassy and snarky.
The boys around me kept talking, as I began to grow tired. I commented in on a few conversations, but my eyelids began to grow heavy. Sleep welcomed me with open arms.
~~~~
I felt someone touching my hair. I opened my eyes, and realized I was laying sideways. Then, I realized I was resting my head on someone's lap. I twisted my face, and I saw Newt sitting there, his hands playing with the ends of my H/C hair. We were still in the Medjack room, and I recalled falling asleep in here last night.
"Goodmorning, sleepyhead," Newt said, his voice barely above a whisper.
I felt heat rising to my cheeks. Quickly sitting up, I noticed that Thomas was gone, and Minho passed out in his bed.
"Sorry if I woke you up, Love."
"No, no. You're fine," I said. "What time is it?"
"I dunno. I'd say, maybe, ten minutes before breakfast. Clint or Jeff will be in here soon to keep an eye on Minho."
I nodded, and rubbed my eyes. "Where Thomas?"
"He left a little bit ago to run the maze."
"Oh." I stood up and stretched. "I'm gonna go down to breakfast. You coming?"
"Right behind you."
As we walked through the hallway, Jeff passed us on his way to Minho, giving us a small smile. The Homestead smelled of wood. The memory of the smell of an old book popped into my head. Don't ask me why I could remember that, but not what I looked like. Ask the shuck Creators.
Down in the glade, a cool morning breeze ruffled my hair. "I'm so glad to be out of that room," I said, smiling in the sunlight.
"Yeah, it got pretty stuffy in there. Can't imagine staying in there for weeks on end. Poor Minho." Newt glanced at the rising sun, then towards the pavilion, where we were headed. "Well, I guess you can help in the gardens today, because Jeff's watching Minho, and Clint's taking care of all the small injuries."
"Are you sure you want me to help in the fields? Didn't go so peachy last time."
Newt laughed. "I'm sure we can find something for you to do. At least I'll have your company to enjoy, rather than Zart."
After breakfast, Newt and I waltzed over to the gardens. Zart was already hard at work, pulling at weeds.
"Hey, Zart." Newt called, and Zart looked up from what he was doing.
"Ugh, you're here again?" He teased.
"Can it, Goldilocks."
Zart put a hand over his heart, grinning. "Wow, greenie. I'm hurt."
Newt grabbed a basket and threw it to me. "He'll get over it. Well, you get to pull weeds again today. Zart, you should start getting the 'matoes."
Zart stood up and set his hands on his hip. "Last time I checked, I was the Keeper around here."
Newt took on a similar position, looking him in the eye. "Last time I checked, I was the one around here who could get you banished."
Zart just shook his head and went over to the tomatoes. I kneeled down to the dirt with my basket, dreading the boring day ahead of me.
~~~~
About halfway through the day, I was exhausted. Sweat wet the back of my shirt, and the afternoon sun was hot on my back. Dirt streaked my face, and caked my fingers. I sat up and sighed, wiping sweat from my brow.
Newt did the same. "I don't know about you, Y/N, but I could use a break."
"Ya think? I've been working at the same weed for the past ten minutes. I don't know how you guys do this everyday." I stood up and stretched. My back was aching from being bent over all day.
"Zart, are you good? Y/N and I are gonna take a break for a bit."
He nodded. "Just don't be gone too long."
"Alright." Newt turned back to me. "How about we go check up on Minho? See how he's doing today."
I nodded my head and went off with him. As we were walking over to the Homestead, I couldn't help but to notice his limp again. I wondered what happened, and if he would talk about it with me.
Up in one of the Medjack rooms, Minho sat in his bed, looking bored as ever. Jeff sat next to him, and also looked bored.
"How are you feeling, Min?" Newt asked, riffling his hair.
"Hey, pal. Hands off the hair," Minho said, brushing Newt's hands off. "It takes a lot for it to look this good."
"I don't doubt that. So, as I said, how are you feeling?"
"Like a griever got me. Oh, wait. It did."
I sat in the chair, tired from all the work in the gardens. "You having fun up here?"
"Oh, a blast," Minho said, shifting in his seat. "But, really though, I miss running the maze."
Newt scratched his ear. "You shouldn't be here too much longer? Maybe a week or two. Jeff?"
Jeff lifted his head towards us. "Probably just a week. I haven't checked his wound in a while though. It's about time for me to clean it again." He stood up, and opened a drawer. "You two should probably go. Sorry to kick you out so soon."
"That's all right," Newt said. "Take care Min."
I stood up again, and followed Newt out of the room. All the way through the hallways and stairwell, I still noticed his limp. I couldn't stop worrying about it.
As we got into the open glade, I set my nerves aside. "Newt," I said, "How, I mean, uh, why do you have a limp?"
Newt stopped right in his tracks. His mouth was pressed into a straight line.
I stopped and turned back to him. "Or, you don't have to tell me. I'm sorry, never mind. I'm being an idiot," I said, placing a hand on his arm.
"Go back to the gardens," was all Newt said in a low voice, ripping his arm away from my hand.
"Newt,"
"I said go." He used the same quiet voice.
I didn't say anything else, and listened to what he said. About halfway to the gardens, I glanced back, and he was gone.
Anxiety building in my stomach, I looked to where Zart was. Thankfully, he hadn't noticed me yet. I turned on my heels and slinked off to the only place that I knew where he would be: Deadheads.
The air was always cooler in the forest. The tall trees blocked most of the sunlight, giving it a haunted and eerie look. I approached the lake, and I saw him standing by the lake, chucking rocks into the lake.
"Newt," I said, stepping towards him.
He whipped around. "Y/N. I though I bloody told you to go to the gardens."
"I'm just worried about you."
"Leave me alone." He said, his voice starting to rise.
I bit my lip, scared for Newt. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked about it."
"No. You shouldn't have. Did it every occur to you that maybe I didn't tell you because I don't want to talk about it?" His voice had reached a yell.
"But Minho said that y-"
"Minho? Why would you be talking to Minho about my bloody limp?" He yelled, pacing.
"I was just worried," I began to tremble, because I was not used to seeing him like this.
"So you come and ask me about this? Bring back all these memories and feelings that I've tried to hard to forget? Can't you ever think about anybody but yourself, Y/N? Think about the consequences?" He ran a hand through his hair.
"You're scaring me," I said quietly.
"You need to think! There's a reason why I don't give a presentation about it to every greenie. Why do you think you're so special?"
As I listened to his rant, the world around me began to spin. A dull aching took place in my head, growing by the second. I recognized this feeling from the time I had that vision. "Newt," I said softly, "help."
But he didn't hear me over his yelling. His back was to me, and I felt myself tumble to the ground.
I tired to get his attention, and I hoped that he wouldn't be too upset with me. I made one more meek attempt before I could feel myself slipping away. "Newt,"
Although the world was dim and my senses were dull, I could sense him running over, his hands cupping my face.
"Y/N? Y/N? I'm so sorry." I could faintly hear his worried voice, and I felt his strong hands picking up my limp body.
"I'm right here, Love." Newt breathed into my hair. It was the last thing I heard before the blackness took over.
~~~~
I was running through the maze. The giant walls towered over me, and my footsteps echoed over the cobblestone floor. My breaths were heavy and my forehead was covered in sweat, as if I had been running for a long time.
I was alone, and I had no idea where I was going. Although, I felt as if someone were controlling my movements. Just like the first vision.
I stopped when I got to a cliff at the end of a corridor. The edge emptied off into nothingness, a seemingly endless gray void.
Suddenly, I stepped back, then launched myself off the edge. A scream ripped from my mouth, and I disappeared into the abyss.
The fall was short, though. I landed on a hard surface, and everything melted away.
Again, like in the first vision, I felt as if something were pulling me back to consciousness.
I opened my eyes. The Homestead ceiling was the first thing that I saw, and it was comforting to see something familiar. I sat up, resting on my elbows. Thankfully, my headache was gone.
Clint sat there on a stool. He looked up at me, a surprised expression on his face. "Oh," he said, "You're awake."
"Yeah, I am. How long was I out?"
He stood up coming over to my bed. "A day and a half."
That surprised me. "Really? It didn't feel that long."
"Yep. You've got everyone worried. Newt especially. Speaking of which, I should probably go get him." Clint opened the door and walked out, leaving me alone.
I went back to the dream I had. Was there actually a cliff in the maze? Why would I jump? And why would I feel like someone was controlling me? I don't remember having any dreams before the maze- or anything for that matter- but I know that dreams didn't feel like that. Maybe I could talk to Minho about the cliff. He knows the maze better than anyone.
The door suddenly burst open, and Newt rushed to me, kneeling at my side. He cupped my face with his hands and ran his hand down my arm, sending goosebumps up my spine. "I'm so sorry, Y/N. I was so worried. It's my fault. Oh, I though I hurt you. I'm so bloody sorry, Love." He babbled on and on, on the brink on hysteria.
"Newt," I said, shushing him, "It's okay. It's not your fault."
Clint cleared his throat. "I guess I'll give you guys some privacy." He slipped out the door, leaving us alone.
"I'm so sorry, Love. I shouldn't have exploded on you like that. I was being a slinthead."
I though about the vision again. "I had another one."
"Another what? Vision?"
I told him what happened and what I thought about it.
"Yeah," he said, scratching his jaw, "We can talk about it with Minho tomorrow." He stood up and took at step towards the door. "Well, I should probably go get Clint."
"No," I said, "stay with me."
He gave me a small smile and positioned himself on the bed beside me. My head rested in the crook of his neck, his resting on mine. For the first time in a while, I felt safe.
He started to talk to me, into my hair. "I used to be one, you know, a runner."