Everywhere, Everything ◆ Thomas ◆ TMR

012 - The Archer

She was in the middle of wrapping a Slicer's hand when the alarm from the box sounded again. Her movements froze as she met eyes with the boy, her breath catching. He, too, looked confused, turning his head towards the sound, telling her that it was not a normal occurrence.

Heart pounding, she asked. "What is that?"

His eyes were wide, something akin to curious wonder dancing in them. "That's the Greenie alarm."

"But I was told there's only a Greenie once a month," she said, silently urging him to go on and explain to her what it meant.

"Yeah," he shrugged and looked back at his hand, holding it closer to her as a sign she should continue. With an incredulous shake of her head, she got up and craned her neck out of the door to get sight of Clint.

He was already on his way to her, so she ignored the Slicer's protest as she made her way to her Keeper. "What's happening?"

"I don't know," he responded. He looked just as lost as she felt. "Maybe it's someone like you again? But I can't think of a reason for anyone to come up here."

"Do you think it's Ben?" She whispered lowly, her face paling. "I thought he was getting better, but what if I made it worse? What if – what if –"

"No, no, hey." He stopped her with both hands on her shoulders, making sure he had her attention. His fingers squeezed gently. "Let's not panic, alright? It takes a while for the Greenie to come up, so just go back to work and try not to worry."

"Easier said than done," she huffed, but a tiny smile made its way onto her face. Clint was always so gentle with her, and so good at putting her at ease when Newt wasn't there. She took a deep breath. "Okay, yeah."

"Good," Clint squeezed her shoulder one final time before he turned and got back to work, so she did the same, going back to her patient. He held up his injured hand, the wrapping loose around his wrist, and she sat down, tightening it maybe just a tad too much, just to see him wince.

"Man, I hope it's another girl," he said wistfully as she clipped the white bandage and put the roll away.

"I'm currently armed with a pair of scissors." She raised an eyebrow, holding up the sharp metal for him to see. "I'd be real careful with my words if I were you."

He said nothing else.

The minutes seemed to pass excruciatingly slow until she finally made her way down to the box where a crowd had gathered. She stood off to the side, her hands twitching nervously as she watched Thomas and Chuck on the other side.

A part of her wanted to go over there, but she decided against, knowing the Greenie was probably talking Chuck's ear off with a thousand questions that she was not currently in the mood to answer. Her foot tapped restlessly against the ground.

Was it going to be a girl again, or a boy? Had there been a mistake, and they'd sent someone up accidentally, or was it on purpose? But then what kind of purpose would it have? Clint believed it could be someone like her again, coming up because of an emergency, but the only emergency she could think of was Ben, and she hoped with everything in her that it wasn't.

The doors opened with a clang, and Ari held her breath. Gasps were heard, and the crowd dissolved into complete silence. Her knees almost buckled under her, as she pushed through the crowd to peer down into the box.

The boy inside had surprisingly long hair, with a healthy mess of curls. Dark, in the contrast of his winter skin. He was probably the most beautiful boy she'd ever seen, ethereal like an angel as he lay with closed eyes, chest moving steadily.