Left Behind -Gally-

Chapter 3

It rained all night. None of them were expecting it. There was no indication of any rain. The downpour started in the middle of the night. It was loud, waking Emma up from her slumber. There hadn't been any rain since she arrived, and it frightened her. There was a crack in the ceiling above her bed. Rainwater dripped on her all night.

Emma knew it would bother her every time it rained, but she didn't plan to tell anyone about it. She would never complain about anything. The Builders were responsible for all repairs, and she didn't want to be a bother. Gally didn't like her as it was, so she never mentioned the broken bed leg making the bed unsteady or the broken door hinge. There were small problems, a minor inconvenience at most. It wasn't worth troubling anyone about.

Eventually, the rain stopped. The sun rose, and Emma rolled out of bed. She was exhausted but had to work.

The pile of wood they had started for the bonfire was pretty much ruined. Some pieces were being aired out, but others were unusable. It sucked, but there was still time. The Builders collected spare wood and tossed it aside. The Gardeners scoured the forest for hours, looking for any piece of wood they could.

Emma spent the entire day walking back and forth with different branches of dry wood, anything she could find. It wasn't fun. It was exhausting. Newt would snicker, waving at her every time she passed. He didn't have to do the hard labor because he technically wasn't a Gardener.

After a few hours, Emma called it quits when the lunch bell rang. Eating lunch was the highlight of her day. Once finished, she made her way back to the Gardens with Newt. Being around her friends was the only part of her day she liked.

"You okay, Greenie?" Newt eyed her.

"Just tired," she responded casually. "Didn't sleep well."

"The rain?" He didn't wait for a response. "Doesn't happen often, don't worry." That was good to hear. The two approached the Gardens to find Zart. He was standing under a tree with his arms crossed. It was clear he was in deep thought. "Zart, you okay there?"

"Yeah," he responded. "Apples are starting to grow." Emma looked up at the apple tree beside them. "Won't be long until we have apples of our own."

"Few more weeks, you think?" Newt stared at the tree, his hands on his hips.

"Yeah, sounds about right."

Emma stared at the tree, tilting her head to the side. "How are you going to get them down?" It didn't seem easy. The tree was, at most, twenty-five feet tall. It wouldn't be easy to climb up and get apples.

"Someone will climb up and get some," Newt explained. "Toss them down to someone who will put them in a basket." It sounded easier than it would be. "Bit unsafe, but nobody's been hurt before."

"Well, Brandon fell out last time."

That alarmed Emma. "He was fine," Newt assured her. "We usually ask Minho. He's a surprisingly good climber."

"Why don't you do it?"

"Bad leg." The blond slapped his thigh. "Zart's clumsy. Neither of us can do it." That's why they typically asked Minho.

"Well," Zart clapped his hands together. "Not an issue for now. We have a few weeks. I was just making an observation."

Newt nodded. "Frypan will be delighted. It's been a while since he's gotten apples." The Creators didn't send them as much. Not when they had the means to provide them on their own. "All right, enough hanging around. We got work to do. We can worry about the apples when they're ripe."

That seemed to be the end of the conversation. From there, Emma went to help Zart collect carrots for tomorrow's dinner.

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