To The Shucking End

Chapter 8

The next few hours were fairly uneventful as they went about their jobs, Minho taking Thomas to the Runner's Keep to give him a crash course before he legally went back into the Maze again tomorrow.

At least until the girl woke up.

Tanya had no clue how she got the things she did and managed to make it to the top of the tree lookout, but apparently, the new girl did, and she was now throwing rocks and all kinds of knicks and knacks that Tanya realised were building supplies.

"Come down here!" Gally yelled as a few of the Gladers brought things to cover their heads with, Winston an old piece of wood, Frypan with a frypan and others with metal dishes and other odds and ins.

"Heads! Heads!" Winston called as the girl threw another object, this time it being a mallet. Gally was quick to cover Tanya's head with his body, both of them ducking out of the way of the mallet that bounced on the ground before he pushed her to stand under the piece of wooden board that Winston was holding up, a small rock bouncing off the top of it.

"Hey! You throw one more of those things - AHH!" Gally cursed as something hit his head.

"Gals, you good?"

"Yeah, I'm good," he grumbled as Newt ran over to see what was happening.

"What happened?" asked Thomas' voice as he and Minho arrived, the Med-jacks having gone to get them from the Runner's keep seeing as the girl had been saying Thomas's name numerous times as she slept.

"Just duck," Gally advised.

"I don't think she likes us very much," Newt joked as he joined Winston and Tanya under the wooden board.

"Hey look, we just want to talk!" Thomas called up.

"I'm warning you!" the girl's voice called as she threw more things, Gally and Thomas almost hitting the ground as they ducked low.

"Take cover y'all! Take cover!" Frypan shouted as he covered his head with his frypan.

"Hey, whoa! It's Thomas! It's Thomas!" Thomas yelled and just like that the throwing stopped as the girl peered over the edge and Thomas waved his hand to identify who he was.

"Ok, I'm gonna come up, ok?" he said and when she didn't protest, he took it as a yes. "Just me," he said to Gally who was about to follow Thomas up. "Alright, I'm coming up," Thomas called as he began to climb up the various ladders that led to the top of the tree.

"Your head alright?" Tanya asked Gally as she moved closer to him, the boy leaning his head down slightly so she could see the damage, which asides from a bit of a small bruise, there wasn't any.

"Think he'll get through to her?" Newt asked as he moved over to the couple.

"Well, she was calling out his name in her sleep. Even if she doesn't remember him, she'll have questions," Tanya answered before Gally couldn't take it anymore.

"Hey, what's going on up there?" he shouted, all of them peering up as Thomas leaned on the railing.

"Hey, listen, you guys just give us a second, ok?" Thomas asked.

"Alright. Come on," Newt called as he tried to get everyone else back to work.

"Is this what all girls are like?" Frypan asked as Tanya whirled, her ponytail flying.

"You really want to find out Fry?" she questioned with a wicked smirk the cook unnerved before Newt shoved him away.

"Knock it off and get back to the kitchens Frypan," he reprimanded before Tanya turned to Gally who hadn't moved.

"Hey," she said softly as she placed her hand on his shoulder. "Come on. We'll go sit by the lake, hmm? You like the lake."

He relented eventually.

"Alright."

And Tanya placed her hand on the crook of his elbow as they walked.

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The sun was nice and warm as Tanya sat on the soft ground by the lake, Gally pacing nearby.

"Gals, walking up and down like that isn't going to make them come down any faster," she pointed out as he stood staring at the tree where Thomas and the girl were sitting on the platform as they talked.

"If I didn't trust him before, I trust him even less with her," he remarked as Tanya sighed.

"Gally, come sit with me," she asked, and he did because Gally never really could find it in himself to say no to her.

He lowered himself onto the grass next to her as she scooted closer, hugging both her arms around his as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Do you remember when Stephan almost killed me? He was stung and he had his knife to my throat?"

He scoffed.

"How could I ever forget? You know I still have nightmares about it," he replied as he thought about the scar that was still on her neck.

"Everything changed back then too. We realised what the Grievers could do to us. And we may not be part of the Creators like Thomas and the girl might be, but, being stung still screwed with Stephen enough that he was acting on impulse. Do you know why he held a knife to my throat?"

Gally furrowed his brows as he looked at her.

"Because he was stung and out of his mind?"

"Yeah, but it was also because he saw us kissing and he wanted me to choose him instead of you. And if he couldn't have me, he didn't want anyone else too," she revealed and Gally gave her a surprised look.

"Why didn't you tell me this before? This happened two years ago!"

Tanya only chuckled as she smiled.

"I thought it was best saved for the next time you felt jealous of another Greenie. Because what did you do when I had a knife held at my throat?"

"I saved you," he answered.

"Exactly," she replied. "And then I saved you from George. We got through that, and we'll get through this. Things are going to change Gally, and maybe they'll be good, maybe they'll be bad, but we'll get through it. Together."

Gally stared at her in wonder before leaning in to kiss her.

It was a short kiss, but it was soft and sweet as he pulled away, his earlier tension and frustration essentially reduced to nothing.

"You always know what to say. And I love you for it."

Her answering smile was warm as she snuggled closer to him.

"I love you too."