TO LIVE FOR

0.5 NOT SOMETHING I'M USED TO

"I have a question." Marie stated as her and Alby walked across the glade to the Blood House section, as he had called it during the tour. 

Alby grumbled, "What's it, greenie?"

Marie paused a moment, unsure of how to phrase what she wanted to ask. Durning the tour and while they were with Nick, Alby had given her side glances, cautious body scans, and strange questions. He seemed suspicious her, and she wanted to know why. 

"Spit it out, shank. I ain't got all day."

"Is it normal? For you not to trust the new Gladers? Sorry, greenies, as you call them." Marie tried to sound casual, but she was eager for an answer and her voice sounded too high.

Alby stopped walking and turned to face her. A scowl etched across his face. His eyes met Marie's and his voice deepened as he spoke. "Not normally."

"But you don't trust me?"

"No."

"Why not?" Marie knew she was pushing it, but she couldn't stop now.

Alby faced the Blood House once more. "You ain't acting scared." 

Marie stood in place, dumbfounded. Of all the reasons he had not to trust her, that is what it was. It felt like a trick. 

"What do you mean?" She called after him, jogging to catch up. 

"I mean, you woke up in a shuckin' box with no knowhow of what happened. Then come to find yourself sittin' in a stone box with loads of strangers. Meanin', unless you know something, you shoulda been klunkin' your pants." Alby explained. "So, you know something?" 

"I wish I did..." 

Alby watched her skeptically but said nothing more on the subject. 

It was strange. Him being so blunt. Nick would have excused her behavior, considered himself lucky for not having to deal with so many questions, and moved on, but Alby appeared different. He addressed a problem honestly when he thought there is one. 

Nothing made any sense. Alby thinks she's the one who's untrustworthy. He's trying to switch the roles. She reasoned with herself. This is his way of playing victim. I need to leave. Tonight.

Reaching the Blood House, Alby informed Marie that she would be spending two hours working with the Slicers before going to the Cooks, then the Builders, then the Track-Hoes. None of it sounded too pleasant, but perhaps this would be a chance for her to prove herself. A 'work hard and maybe they won't sacrifice you' kind of thing. 

The slicers were awful. They delt with the animals, living and dead. When Marie had helped Winston, Keeper of the Slicers, deal with a pig, it wasn't the blood that bothered her, it was the squealing and screeching of a doomed animal that made her head spin. By the time the two hours were up, Marie knew that, if what everyone said was true and she would live to see another day and work among them, being a Slicer was the last job she wanted.

When she cleaned up and Alby lead her to the kitchen, she spent two hours with the Cooks, chopping veggies, washing dished, and listening to the Keeper, Frypan, yell at the other Gladers for getting into the fridge. Overall, Marie had somewhat enjoyed it. She didn't really talk to anyone or do anything other than the task that was put in front of her. 

Working with the builders after that was a completely other story. Marie was trying to keep her head down but between Morgan and her own extreme lack of social skills, it was bound to end horribly. 

Her first mistake was when she put the homemade blueprints on the wrong rickety table. The second was when she wacked Morgan in the stomach with a long pole she was tasked with moving. Despite Marie's immediate apology, Morgan still glared daggers at her for the rest of the time and spat insults whenever our paths crossed, while Gally, the Keeper of the Builders, pretended not to hear.