Ivy stared at the model before her, her mind trying to process what she was seeing. She and Adam had come back from their run long ago and had mapped out the latest advancements they made during their run. For the last three weeks, they had been mapping the new corridors that they found when they first started running together. It was slow progress; most of the halls they found turned out to be dead ends.
Ivy placed her hands on the table in front of her, trying to ease some of the soreness in her legs, but her eyes never strayed from the model.
"You know, it's not going to look any different the longer you stare at it."
Ivy finally looked away from the table to find Newt standing in the doorway, crutches under his arms.
"I know," the girl sighed. "I was just thinking."
"Yeah, for almost an hour. You need a break, Ivy. And no excuses. You're done working for the day."
"Fine, mom."
Newt rolled his eyes at her as she chuckled. Ivy stood up straight and followed the blond out of the Map Room. They slowly walked back to the Glade, pausing at the edge of the small woods to look at everything.
"Another Greenie came up," Newt commented.
"That's right. I forgot it was Greenie Day."
"How could you bloody forget Greenie Day?"
"I've had a lot on my mind."
"Apparently."
The two stood in silence for several minutes, simply watching the Glade prepare for the night's bonfire.
"How are you feeling?" Ivy asked.
"Much better. Minho's been a lot of help. We did quite a bit of walking around without the crutches."
"And how was that?"
"It felt really good. My leg is getting stronger."
Ivy smiled.
"That's good to hear."
After his accident, Newt stayed in the Glade and Zart had agreed to letting Newt become a Track-Hoe again. It had been a month since Newt broke his leg. Clint said that he had broken his leg in three different places and thanks to some medicine sent up in the Box, he was having a fast recovery.
No one knew how he broke his leg; for all the Gladers knew, he had fallen and broken his leg while running. Ivy and Newt agreed not to tell anyone about what really happened, not even Alby.
Since he was stuck in the Glade, he had been working with Minho to get better. Minho had been made a Med-Jack and spent most of his time with the ex-runner. The two had become close over the last few weeks. Ivy was happy that Newt had someone he was comfortable around in the Glade.
"We should get going," Ivy said after several minutes. "I promised Frypan I would help him cook dinner tonight."
A wide smile appeared on Newt's face.
"Then let's get going. These shanks love your cooking."
~
Just like every month, Gladers were shouting and goofing off around the bonfire. Ivy had to walk around the outside of the large circle just to safely get to Newt and Minho. The girl greeted the two as she sat down. The three ate their food in silence, simply watching the Gladers before them.
"You know what we should do?" Newt said long after they had finished their meals. Minho and Ivy looked to him, waiting for his suggestion. "We should play honest or risk."
"I'm in," Minho said.
"Alright, Minho," Ivy said. "Honest or risk?"
"Honest."
"Which Glader would you want to throw in the Maze?"
"Gally."
Newt laughed, patting Minho on the shoulder.
"It was almost scary how quickly you answered that question," he chuckled. "Not to mention the serious look on your face."
"Not my fault the shank's annoying to be around," Minho replied with a shrug. "Honest or risk, Newt?"
"I'll do a risk."
"I want you to take some goat klunk and put it in Gally's bed."
Newt groaned but rose to his feet. Glancing around to make sure no one noticed him, Newt slipped away, heading to the animal pens. Minho and Ivy had to fight to keep back their laughter when they saw him go to the Homestead a short time later. After several long minutes, Newt came walking back toward them, a smile on his face.
"Gally's going to be in for one bloody surprise when he goes to bed tonight," he commented as he sat down.
"He'd probably be too drunk to even realize what happened," Ivy replied, causing the three of them to chuckle.
"Alright, Ivy. Your turn."
"Risk, ya shank."
The boy smiled.
"Ya know how last month you said you weren't gonna fight Gally because you didn't want to damage his ego?"
"Yeah."
"Do it."
"You want me to fight Gally?"
Newt nodded while Minho looked amused. Ivy smirked and stood up, walking over to the large ring that had formed around Gally and his opponent. She watched with her arms crossed as Dmitri tried to knock Gally down but the poor shank was thrown out of the circle. The Gladers around her cheered, laughing.
"Who's up next?" Gally called to the Gladers around him. "Come on now. Don't be shy."
Ivy glanced back at Minho and Newt, sending them another smirk before looking at Gally.
"I'll have a go," she stated calmly.
Every head turned to look at her. Gally chuckled.
"That so?" he asked. "Not afraid you'll break a nail?"
"Are you making up excuses for me, Gally? What, you saying you're afraid to take on a girl? Not to mention one that's half a foot shorter than you?"
The Gladers oohed at her words. Gally sent Ivy a playful glare and nodded.
"Step right up then. Let's see what you're made of, Ivy."
She walked into the ring, ignoring the shouting of the boys around her. She stood opposite of the Builder, watching him carefully. She had seen him fight many times and she knew he liked to use his strength and size against people. She also knew that he liked to catch his opponents off guard. The Gladers watched the two as they circled one another, waiting for the other to move.
"Now don't worry about anything, Gally," Ivy said to him with a smirk. "I'll be sure to go easy on you."
"I was about to say the same to you. Although I'm sure you're gonna want to use everything you've got."
"You sure about that?"
"Why not. May make you last longer."
"Are you trying to give me tips?"
"Thought you might want them seeing as you've never done thi-"
Gally didn't get a chance to finish before Ivy lunged at him. The boy stumbled back when Ivy rammed her shoulder into his stomach. Ivy ducked when Gally's fists came flying at her. She took several quick steps backward, prompting Gally to move toward her. Each time Gally tried to grab her, Ivy took a step out of his reach, keeping a safe distance from him. Around them, the Gladers were cheering.
Ivy waited until she saw an opening before running at Gally. He tried to knock her down but she blocked his attack and moved behind him. Before she could do anything else, she suddenly found herself in a headlock. Her hands went up to Gally's arms, glancing behind her as best as she could.
"Ready to give up yet?" he asked.
"Not even close."
She brought one of her arms down and quickly elbowed Gally in the stomach. He grunted at the force, loosening his grip on Ivy. The girl slipped through his grasp and turned around to deliver a punch to Gally's face. Gally glared at her and threw his arm at her to return the punch. The Runner moved to the side, causing Gally to miss his target. While he was off balance, Ivy grabbed his arm. Using all of her strength, she flipped him over and threw him to the ground. Gally tried to get back up, only to be met with a knee on his chest. He stared up at Ivy in shock.
The Gladers were silent for a moment, stunned by what had just happened. The silence was broken when Adam let out a loud cheer. The other boys joined in, cheering for Ivy. Ivy stood up, giving Gally her hand. He took it and got to his feet.
"Not bad," he commented. "You pack a nice punch."
"You're the one who said not to go easy." She patted him on the shoulder before beginning to walk away. "Let me know next time you want to have a rematch. Maybe next time I'll go easy on you."