the kids are alright, thomas tmr

001; the newbie

two and a half years later

The memory of the boy Ella once knew faded with time, though the name didn't. Her dreams were littered with the name and the voice of the male. She had forgotten what the boy looked like long ago, too busy, too stressed and too scared to keep wasting her breath on remembering him. She had other things she had to commit to memory, like how you'd stitch up a slicer after they had cut their arm open, or how to bandage a sprained wrist properly. She was simply too busy trying to survive to think of him every second of every day.

She couldn't lie though, her first few weeks in the glade she had. She had tried to remember every little detail she could, it was the only memory she had from her past, so she thought it must be important, Thomas must be important. But as gladers kept coming up and none of them turned out to be Thomas, she gave up. As much as she hated to admit it, Thomas was her past. She couldn't dwell on him when she had people in the present who needed her.

And yes, occasionally she would stop to think of him, but only ever when she was in the solitude of her own room. Her fingers would graze past the necklace and she'd fine peace knowing that Thomas wasn't suffering her same fate. He wasn't confined to a small patch of land, nor was he tormented by the screams of grievers and the boys they'd hurt. He was somewhere safe, that's what she told herself at least.

Ella finished wrapping Winston's arm as soon as the greenie alarm went off. "You're all set Winnie, but I swear to god if I see this unwrapped tonight I'm sticking you in the slammer!" The boy chuckles as he stands from the makeshift bed. "Sir yes sir!" He fake salutes, making the girl chuckle quietly before hitting him with the left over cloth she had. "Don't you have a greenie to see?" She questions, causing the boys eyes to light up.

Ella tidied up her workspace as Winston dashed out of the room. She would be lying if she said she didn't want to run out with him to see the new boy, but alby thought it best they ease the newbie into the life of the glade slowly. And that meant she was one of the very last things to be introduced since she was the only girl. She folded up the medical cloth and placed it in its bin before placing the stitches and rubbing alcohol away as well.

When she had nothing else to do, she laid down on the beds and tried to find a comfortable position. Ella thought herself blessed that she's never been severely injured or ill, because being stuck on this bed for days made her back hurt at just the thought. The beds for the medjack hut were different than the keepers rooms; theirs were made from extra and used flour bags. They were filled with whatever they could find at the time they made them, which was mostly wood, rocks, and a thin top layer of leaves.

She could hear the yelling of the boys in the distance, a small smile took over her face at the laughter. At first, it was hard to find joy and laughter in the glade, but once the group realized and accepted that this was their fate, they did the best they could. The glade became a family, and yes there were some fights, but still family.

Ella began closing her eyes as the sound of the boys grew quiet, she laced her fingers through her hair and let out a relaxing sigh. There were few moments when she got peace and quiet like this, so she took every second she got when she did. And just like every time she found herself drifting to sleep, the voice of Thomas began drifting into her head.

"I'll be right behind you darling, just remember, please."

But Thomas wasn't right behind her, in fact, he was two and a half years (and counting) behind her. She gave up long ago on the arrival of Thomas, she didn't expect him nor did she find herself wanting him to come up in that box. Sure, it'd be nice to have a sense of familiarity, but she was now very familiar with everyone and thing in the glade. She hadn't relied on Thomas to give her that sense of welcoming-ness in a long time. She was now the one to give that to others.