𝐁𝐄𝐂𝐀𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔 - 𝘔𝘈𝘡𝘌 𝘙𝘜𝘕𝘕𝘌𝘙

8 ~ 𝙙𝙚𝙟𝙖 𝙫𝙪

Newt

I stood frozen, unwanted flashbacks flickering past my eyes. Lottie had fallen from the wall... No – she had jumped.

It had been about ten months since the incident – ten months since I'd run into the Maze, climbed the tallest wall, and jumped off of it in hopes to die. Only I didn't. Under normal circumstances, I would have, but on the way down, my leg got tangled in the ivy and it broke my fall. It also broke my leg in three places, and from it I received a permanent limp.

Minho was the one who found me on the Maze floor, unconscious in a pool of my own blood. He brought me back to the Glade, and the Med-jacks fixed me up. I told everyone that I'd had a run-in with a Griever.

I was doing better now. I didn't hate every living second. But seeing Lottie jump from the wall brought it all back. Was that really how I looked? I was lucky no one saw me jump. I was glad that they were spared the utter fear that shook me from my scalp to my toes when I saw Lottie plummeting towards the ground. What made it worse was the crack of bone, and her hobbling helplessly towards us as the Griever advanced.

I jerked out of my horrified daze when she fell to the ground, unable to keep going. She was breathing very heavily, but with every intake of breath there was a whimper in pain. From the way she was holding her side, I assumed that she had gained a few broken ribs.

The Griever raised a metal arm. Attached to it was a needle, and a flicker of horror sent a jolt down my spine. It was going to Sting her.

"No!" I yelled, knowing fully well that it would do no good. None of us were going to make it over in time. Or so I thought. To my surprise, Gally did make it. He threw himself in between the Griever and Lottie. The needle sank into his skin instead, and he fell limp on top of Lottie.

The Griever did something very surprising then. It backed away. Away from Lottie, and away from us. It turned all the way around and clicked away back through the Maze Door.

I didn't have time to think about how strange this behavior was. I threw myself to my knees next to Lottie, shoving Gally off. Her eyes were closed, and for a minute, I thought the worst. But then I saw the shallow rise and fall of her chest.

"Is she okay?" I looked up to see Winston kneeling on Lottie's other side.

"She got hurt," I said faintly. "Winston. Go get the Gladers out of the woods. Tell them it's safe to come out. Bring the Med-jacks over to us."

Winston dashed into the forest. I clasped my hand around Lottie's wrist, keeping track of her heartbeat. Her hand still rested limply at her side. I frowned and lifted her shirt a little, examining her injury.

There was a large, swollen, red spot right on her ribcage. I pressed my fingers gently against it. It didn't feel normal; the ribs weren't aligned properly.

I realized that there was nothing I could do for her at the moment, so I looked up. Some Gladers had taken some of the hoses we used for the Gardens and were attempting to extinguish the Homestead. Others were chasing after the animals that had escaped their pens, and a few were gathered around Gally, who had begun to thrash about.

Winston came out of the forest, followed by the other Gladers who had taken cover. He rushed over, followed by Clint and Jeff.

"Her ribs are broken," I explained once they reached us.

"And Gally?"

"Stung."

"Shuck." Clint muttered, shoving me out of the way to inspect Lottie's ribs. He glanced at the smoking Homestead. "All of our supplies were in there."