𝐁𝐄𝐂𝐀𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔 - 𝘔𝘈𝘡𝘌 𝘙𝘜𝘕𝘕𝘌𝘙

12 ~ 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡

Newt

 Lottie came back from the Slammer just in time for dinner. She sat and ate in silence; something that was quite unusual for her.

"What's wrong?" I finally asked her. She looked up, jerked out of her thoughts.

"Oh... well, I was just thinking... but you'll probably disagree..." She muttered absently. I raised my eyebrows.

"Stop being vague, will you?" Minho said from beside me. He wasn't in the best mood, since he had to run two routes in the Maze today.

"I want to be a Runner," Lottie announced.

I looked up at her sharply, feeling suddenly lightheaded. "What?"

Minho laughed. "You can't be a Runner. Being a Runner takes practice."

"Then train me." Lottie replied simply.

"I think you'd be a great Runner," Mitch piped up, supportive as usual.

"Are you fast?" Julian asked.

"Yes. And everyone knows it," she replied.

"No." I said firmly, and I was glad my voice sounded normal. "It's too dangerous. You know how I got my limp, right?"

"Running from a Griever," she responded, and a surge of guilt immediately rushed to my stomach, reminded of the lie I told her.

"Exactly. That proves my point. It's dangerous." I replied. Minho shot me a disapproving look, and I could tell exactly what it meant; he thought I should tell her the truth.

"Not if I'm not stupid enough to run into a Griever, like you." Lottie snapped, suddenly upset. She stalked away, taking her food with her. Mitch and Julian followed loyally, giving Minho and I apologetic shrugs.

I turned to Minho. "Is she crazy? She does know how bloody dangerous the Grievers actually are, right? I mean, look at what happened to Gally! Surely, she-"

"She knows how dangerous it is," Minho interrupted. "I know why she wants to be a Runner. She's guilty. You heard what Gally was saying: 'It's her fault.' She wants to help get us out, because she's the one who put us here."

"You're saying that as if you actually believe it," I said harshly, folding my arms.

Minho shrugged. "It's possible."

I clenched my jaw. "If she thinks I'm going to let her-"

"It's not about what you want." He said patiently. "You don't own her."

"Of - of course I don't-" I spluttered. "But she..."

"Can decide for herself." He finished for me. Then, he got up to bring his plate back to the kitchens, leaving me to sit alone, troubled.

Alby and I decided to have a Gathering to decide Gally's fate. Only the Keepers were allowed, and because of this, Lottie threw a fit.

"I was the one he attacked! Shouldn't I be attending?"

"No, Lottie, it's against the rules." Alby said, and shut the Council Room door in her face. "So. To business," Alby said, turning to face the Council. "We are here to discuss the matter of Gally, who has been Stung, and has attacked Lottie the Track-hoe."

"Against his will!" Winston snapped. "Gally was Stung, and half out of his mind. Why should he be punished if he doesn't even know what he's being punished for?"

"Seemed to me he knew pretty well what he was doing." I grumbled.

"Shut up, Newt, you're only saying that because it was your little girlfriend he attacked." Winston shot back. I barely had time to blush before he went on defending his friend. "Might I remind you all: The whole reason Gally was Stung was because he saved Lottie? Why would he attack her if he saved her in the first place? That Griever shucked with his head, man, I don't know."

I raised my eyebrows at Winston. I may not have agreed with him, but I did respect him. This was the most he's ever contributed in any Gathering.

"Anyone else got an opinion?" Alby asked.

"Me," Zart said quietly, to everyone's surprise. "I think... Gally should be Banished."

"Zart-!" Winston interrupted, but Alby shushed him.

"You got your turn, shank, now it's his!"

"He hurt another Glader," Zart went on. "And that's one of the only rules we have here. What's going to stop him from doing it again? Besides, how often do we hear Gally go on about the rules? You know, this is what he would want."

"To die?" Winston exclaimed heatedly. "You think he'd want to die? No! Give him a chance..."

"Winston," I said gently. He whirled to face me, looking outraged. "We chose you to be a Keeper because you seemed like you could keep your cool in situations like this. Are you proving us wrong?"

Winston sat heatedly, folding his arms. "Okay, mom," he grumbled. I sighed. I was never going to live down that "mom" title.

"We're running out of time," said Alby. "We need to vote."

I looked up, panicked. I wasn't ready to vote yet; I was still conflicted. Gally was my friend. Sure, we had our mix-ups every now and then, but I certainly didn't want him dead. It hurt my heart to know that he was slowly losing his mind in the Slammer, and that there was nothing we could do. He could be dangerous to us all once he gets out. The only other person who had been Stung was Will, and he had never attacked anyone. He had just changed – the easygoing Will we knew was gone, replaced with a quiet but harsh personality.

Gally could be like that, but since he had attacked someone, we weren't sure. Or maybe it was just Lottie... something about Lottie set him off. Something he saw in the Changing. But that didn't make sense, because Will hadn't seemed violent towards Lottie at all since she'd arrived. He hadn't spoken to her at all, in fact. But maybe Will and Gally had seen different things, and that's why...

I shook my head to clear it. It was all too much to unravel.

"Newt? Your call," said Alby. I snapped back to reality. The Keepers were looking at me expectantly.

"S-sorry, what are the votes again?"

"They're even," said Alby, rolling his eyes at my distractedness. "It's up to you,"

"Shuck," I whispered. The fate of a person was in my hands - I decided whether he lived or died. To kill or to save... I had to save. I could not kill. I had to do what was right. "We can't Banish him," I said finally. There were sighs of relief, and a few grumbles, but Alby showed no reaction when he clapped his hands in finality.

"No Banishment. Gathering over."

When we left the Council Room, I found that Lottie was waiting right outside the door. She jumped up as we exited. "Well?"

"Safe," was all I had to say, and relief spread across her whole face.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"It wasn't just me, you know." I reminded her.

"I know. But the others won't let me hug them." She stepped closer and wrapped her arms around me. It was true. The other boys cringed at any physical contact with her, but I didn't mind. I didn't mind at all. 

A/N

Chapter 12. How are we feeling? Vote if you liked it (or not, that's okay too)

- 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐭