Sapphire Stones

Newt's Minho and Ben's on his shark week

The rest of the day passes by quickly. I don't do much, but Gally's company is nice. We're currently walking towards the kitchens to get our dinner. 

"Are we splitting up or going together?" I ask before we reach the outskirts of the Deadheads.

"Let's split for tonight. I don't want anyone suspecting anything yet." I nod, standing on my tip toes and pressing a kiss to his cheek. With that, I let go of Gally's hand and make my way towards the table that Newt's sitting at.

"Hey, Amphibiboy!" I shout, jogging over to him and ruffling his hair. He immediately cringes away, his hands flying to his head.

"Bloody hell, get away!" Newt shouts, smacking my hands away from his hair. 

"You're just like Minho." I mutter. I grab a tray of food from Frypan and sit beside Newt. "Where are Ben and Minho? They should be back by now."

"They will be. They're just running a little late." He assures me. Only a few seconds after Newt says that, the two Runners jog over to us, drenched in sweat and chugging a cup of water.

"Speak of the devil." I mutter, nudging Newt's side.

"What the hell happened? Why were you guys back so late?" Newt asks, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Lost track of time." Minho pants, still clearly trying to desperately catch his breath.

"Found something." Ben adds, looking a little pale. Newt and I both exchange a glance.

"You found something?" I ask excitedly, my heart thumping in my chest. Both Runners nod.

What could they have found that would keep them out almost an hour and a half after their scheduled return? Could it be a way out? 

"What was it?" Newt asks quietly, lowering his voice to a whisper. The four of us usually try to keep these types of conversations low. There's no point in getting everyone's hopes up, especially if this whole thing turns out to be nothing of importance.

The Runners take a minute to respond, both still breathing too heavily to speak full sentences. Ben's the first to respond.

"It was like a cave of sorts. It wasn't long,"

"That's what she said." I cut him off, grinning at my joke. No one at the table laughs. No one even cracks a smile. "Tough crowd." I mutter. "Go on."

"As I was saying, the cave system wasn't long. It only took about five minutes to reach the end of it, but we found some... disturbing things in it."

My eyes widen. Newt and I exchange worried looks before turning back to the two Runners.

"What do you mean when you say disturbing?" Newt asks. "What kind of things?"

"Bones." Minho replies before Ben even has a chance to. "Human bones."

There's a weight that falls upon the four of us now that wasn't there before.

"Like... the people we banished?" I ask, my voice shaking slightly. My hands shake, causing me to fidget with them to keep them from shaking too much.

Both boys nod. I look over at Newt, but he looks as if he's gonna be sick. Even Ben looks paler than usual.

"So it was like a graveyard?" I ask because Newt won't. He's too lost in his own thoughts to be able to hear anything going on around him. Minho nods. 

"Skulls, hands, arms, legs, ribs, feet... basically anything you can think of." The Asian adds.

"And dried blood. So much dried blood." Ben says, his voice barely above a whisper. He looks even paler than before now.

"I think it's where the Grievers take the banished before they... y'know..."

"They were our friends." Ben whispers. His eyes are glossed over, his mind somewhere else. I place a hand on his shoulder, which snaps him out of his daze and causes him to look over at me.

"It'll be okay, Ben."

"We have to check it out some more tomorrow. We've never found anything like this before."  Minho says, looking over at a sick looking Ben. The other Runner nods, his lips sealed tightly together. 

Minho's eyebrows knit together slightly as he observes Ben. He looks concerned for him.

"Hey, I can get one of the others to go with me tomorrow. You can just run your normal route if you want." Minho suggests, placing a hand on Ben's shoulder.

Ben nods, still unable to speak.

"I'll get Jack to do it. He's fast and I don't think he'll mind it all that much." Ben nods again at Minho.

"Hey, how about we take a walk." I suggest Ben, standing up. The Runner nods, standing up, but still looking as if he's in his own world. "Let's go get Bark."

We get Bark out of the Homestead and walk towards the Deadheads. Once we reach a mostly clear area, we sit down on the grass. Ben still looks distant, even as Bark nudges his snout against Ben's leg.

"Ben?" I ask cautiously, careful not to startle him. He looks over at me.

"Yeah?" He asks, placing a hand on Barks fur and gently scratching it.

"Are you okay?" I ask. "Really okay?"

He hesitates before answering, looking at the ground. "Just a little shocked, I guess. It's not every day that you find a graveyard you've never seen before in the place you run every day."

I nod, my eyebrows furrowing slightly.

"So..." Ben starts, trailing off before looking up at me. "You and Gally?" 

He wiggles his eyebrows, earning a laugh from me despite my bright red face.

"Yes, but don't tell anyone yet, okay? We wanna wait until it feels right." Ben nods. "You have to keep the secret between us for now, okay?"

"Hey, it's not my secret to tell. whether or not I think it's a good idea is unrelated, but I'll let you tell everyone."

"Thank you." I say, a weight lifted off my shoulders now. Ben nods, grinning, and I'm suddenly struck by how his emotions changed so quickly. It reminds me of myself when I'm on my period.

"You guys are like, together now? You're with him?"

"For better or for worse." I reply, a smile on my face.

"That kid is trouble everywhere he goes, so it'll probably be for worse."

"I knew that the day I met him." Another laugh, One from me, and one from Ben. It's still insane to me how quickly Ben's moods change. I wonder if it's shark week for him too, but if it is, I owe him my deepest apologies, because right now, I feel as if I'm going to die. Like my insides are ripping themselves apart bit by bit. It's an unpleasant, extremely painful feeling.