The Girl in Charge | Newt

24 | Welcome to the Glade

Like normal, the Greenie alarm went off and disturbed the entire group's sleep. Everyone was still shaken up over Nick and not a single person was in a good mood to greet the Greenie with. The last one, Chuck, had settled in well and became a slopper. Vera couldn't help but feel bad for the boy and how the position he got was the worse one.

Whilst no one was in good spirits, there was a level of acceptance that they all had to pretend to be. They all walked around with a small smile on their faces as they worked, trying to forget the pain of losing yet another. One thing they were thankful for was that Vera hadn't spiralled again and that she was still moving and talking to anyone and everyone. She took it upon herself to look after Chuck and to make sure he was okay. He had started to become like a little brother to her and she felt overly protective of him. Nothing bad was going to happen to him on her watch.

Newt attempted to wake her up as she laid as still as a rock in his arms. It often went like that. Vera was the only Glader to now sleep through the alarm, but only because she stayed up late through the night working in the Glade. When he could, Newt stayed with her as she worked to make sure she didn't break down again.

"V, honey, wake up," whispered Newt. "The alarm is going off. We'll get a new Greenie to push around - I know you'll like that."

She slowly opened one eye, but, where she was facing away from him, he couldn't see that. She wanted to know what he thought would work to wake her up.

"Come on, sweetheart," he continued. "I'll sneak you out some cookies from the kitchen and other food. Then, after we deal with the new Greenie, me and you could go and have a picnic. How about that?"

That peaked her interest. She rolled over with a faint smile on her face as she looked up at him. What she hadn't known was that Newt was aware that she was awake, but wanted to give her that small bit of satisfaction so stayed quiet.

"I like the sound of that. We can go to the hideout and sit in the fort. I'm not on duty for running today so they won't miss me. I'm sure Alby will be happy to watch over the Glade for us," she said, grinning.

"Or you can just use your power as leader to make him watch the Glade," he pointed out to her. 

"Shhh, let me pretend as if I can get people to do things because they like me," she whispered as she started to doze back off again.

"Not happening, V," he responded. He got out of bed and in doing so, 'accidentally' pushed her out to wake her up properly.

He wasn't her favourite person at that moment in time.

———

"It hasn't come yet, has it?" Vera called out to Minho as she jogged over to where the box would be.

She had quickly gotten changed into her extremely ripped trousers and t-shirt. Her hair was being tied up into a braid as she ran cautiously to avoid tripping over her untied shoes. Newt followed behind her and once she had stopped, quickly bent down to tie up her shows. A quick look of thanks was all that was needed in the silent exchange between the two of them as they heard a scream from down below.

"I think the shank is just about to come up," remarked Minho, a grin evident on his face.

"He better be more useful than the last one. No hate to Chuck, but we need hands elsewhere," Gally pointed out.

"You do have a point, Gal. I'm betting he'll be a stubborn one. Could do with a new Runner," she thought out loud. "Stubborn ones seem to be in the job description for a Runner."

"You calling yourself stubborn then?" Minho quipped at her.

"Oh, definitely. I cannot deny that one you shank. I am nothing if not honest," she joked as the screaming got louder.

"Sounds like a bit of a priss," commented Newt, looking down at the upcoming box.

"Someone....help....me!" the kid screamed from inside.

Here they go again.

Minho and Alby pried apart the covers and revealed the box. Inside, a boy who looked around 18 sat huddled into the corner. He got up instantly as he saw the faces of the Gladers peering down at him.

"Look at that shank."

"How old is he?"

"Looks like a klunk in a T-shirt."

"You're the klunk, shuck-face."

"Dude, it smells like feet down there!"

"Hope you enjoyed the one-way trip, Greenie."

"Ain't no ticket back, bro."

Everyone had decided to start talking all at once, confusing the boy even more. He looked terrified and as if he was about to have a panic attack.

"Shut it!" Vera called out to them all. "And for gods sake, watch your language," she jokingly scolded with a smirk.

Newt and Vera sent down a rope to help get him out. The boy hesitated before stepping onto it. A team assembled to drag him out of there and as they got him standing, Vera walked forward towards him.

"Nice to meet ya, shank," she said. "Welcome to the Glade."

A/N: im going to start trying to stick to an update schedule or else i'll just forget and this book will never be finished. my aim is to update every tuesday, normally at around 10pm as that seems to be my peak writing time (that could be good or bad depending on how you look at it).

hope you all are having a great week so far and stay safe everyone! :)