𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐍 & 𝐄𝐂𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐒𝐘-𝙜𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮

THREE

Jackson stalked slowly towards me, confused when I didn't move away from him immediately. I was still trying to come up with a game plan on how exactly to get this over with.

The boys were insanely quiet so I could hear my own breath and heartbeat in my ears. Jackson was now five feet in front of me and lunged, his hands outstretched. I ducked under his arms, running to the other side of the ring. I skidded on the dirt and was pushed back into the ring. I turned to see who it was and saw Gally laughing. "You can't run from him forever."

"I don't plan to." I grumbled and faced Jackson again. He looked mad that he wasn't able to get me. I took a quick glance at Newt. He was only focused on Jackson and from the look in his eyes, I would hate to know what he was thinking.

The boys were still cheering for Jackson and it spurred him. I only heard a few people yell out Greenie. One of them being Minho. I took in another breath and ran for Jackson.

It threw him off and he stumbled when my body hit his. "There you go Greenie." He grunted, pushing me back to where I had just run from. The dirt dug into my feet as I tried to stop him, but it was useless. I would have had better grip with my shoes on. I turned my head and saw how much closer we had gotten.

This was it. I was going to lose and they would see me as the weak little girl I was.

But then I caught Newt's eyes. And his determination set mine ablaze. An idea popped into my head and when I practically felt the heat of the ring of boys on my back, I stood up straight and swung my leg until it was behind him, with that momentum and his unpreparedness, I spun us and pushed him to the boys. Only they moved out of the way and allowed him to fall onto the grass behind them.

It was quiet for a second as everyone processed what just happened. Noise erupted from everywhere and they started towards me. I looked up from Jackson to see everyone smiling and cheering for me. Even Gally had a proud smile. I smiled back. A small victory was still a victory.

I felt something hook onto my heel and pulled my feet out from under me quickly. I yelped and landed on my back, my head following suit a second after.

I couldn't breathe and everything was swimming. I was vaguely aware of everyone surrounding me. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to suck in breaths but all that was coming out were wheezes. A warm hand rested just below my chest, on the part that felt like it was being squeezed with an iron fist.

"Greenie, try to breathe where my hand is." What the hell kind of instruction was that? I felt the faint edges of consciousness slipping away from me, but tried to do what the voice told me to. "Slowly." I went slower and felt the air rush back into my lungs. I was sat up immediately and quite literally almost coughed up a lung. "There you go, someone bring me water."

I looked over at the boy who helped me with blurry vision and realized I was crying. The boy had unkempt blonde curly hair and some baby fat in his cheeks. "Thank you." I rasped out.

"Of course." He took the glass of water from whoever brought it and handed it to me. "Just drink this slowly, you'll feel better. I should check your head out as well." I grabbed the glass and sipped from it, my throat immediately felt better, but it was sore.

I felt as the boy lightly touched the back of my head and winced when he hit a tender spot. "Ow."

"Yeah, that doesn't look too good. I'm not sure if you have a concussion, but we need to take care of this and have you stay in the Med-hut."

I nodded, half listening when I felt the whisper of something at the back of my mind. Florence. A name. I had a name. A laugh fell from my lips and I couldn't fight the smile tearing across my face.

"What's so funny about a concussion Greenie?" I heard Newt ask.

I turned my head to look at him and everything swam again. I groaned and closed my eyes. When I felt it subside I opened them again and smiled up at Newt. "The name's not Greenie. It's Florence."

I was taken to the Med-hut-the place that I had woken up in-and put back in the same bed. Clint-the Med-jack who was assisting me-said that it wasn't anything too serious, but he had to bandage my head and I had to spend the night in the Med-hut to be monitored.

"That's fine anyway." Newt scratched his chin. "We didn't really have a spot for you to sleep in anyway."

I pulled at the part of the bandage that rested against my forehead, not loving the feeling of the edges as they brushed my skin. "How long do I have to wear this for?" I asked Clint.

"Hopefully just tomorrow. You should be fine come tomorrow night."

I nodded, letting my hand fall. "Where's Alby?" I didn't really expect him to be here, but he was the leader and all. I would assume he would want to know how one of his Gladers was doing. It was just Newt who had followed Clint and I.

"Taking care of Jackson, I presume." Newt answered. He shook his head. "I knew it was a bad idea for you to be in that ring. And then Jackson stepping forward was even worse. Everyone knows how competitive he is."

I rested my hand on Newt's arm, offering him a smile. "Hey, I'm okay. It could have been worse."

He nodded absently, then sucked in a breath. "We'll have to watch her in shifts. Like when she was out." He said this to Clint. The Med-jack nodded. "Get three people you trust. I'll be the first shift." Clint bid us a goodnight and left the Med-hut.

"You don't have to stay with me." I said as he got comfortable in the chair beside the bed.

"Of course I do. I don't trust most of these shanks with an inch of my life."

I chewed on my lip, fighting back the worry his words brought on. If I wasn't trusted to be left alone, how would it be to live with them all the time? I couldn't have a buddy in the toilets, especially in the showers. If there were any here.

I decided to ask Newt.

"Yeah. By the Deadheads. I can be a guard when you need to shower. If you want."

"That sounds like a good idea." Newt nodded. It lapsed into silence and I found myself picking at the wool blanket beneath me. "How long was I out for?"

"A couple days. We thought you were dead when that bloody box opened. Clint confirmed you were alive and we brought you here. You mumbled a lot though. More when you were closer to waking up."

"What was I saying?" I looked at him.

"Mostly just nonsense." He yawned and stretched out on the chair. "Couldn't understand word out of you.

I looked away. Nothing useful.