Gally Imagines

=TWENTY-SEVEN= Burning Fever (Part 2)

The first thing that you were aware of was how quiet it was, and the second was the soft press of a bed beneath you. Your eyes shot open and you flung yourself into a sitting position, instantly wincing as your muscles screamed out in soreness. It only took a second for you to take in the familiar walls of your hut, and you instantly realized that you must have fallen asleep while looking after Gally and that someone had carried you to where you were now without waking you up. You swung your legs over the bed, ignoring the pain as your feet struck the ground, and burst out of the door into the bright light of mid-day.

Despite the small amount of sleep that you had gotten, you didn't feel any more rested. In fact, if anything, you felt worse. All you wanted to do was get back to the Medjack Hut. Back to Gally. How was he? Was he alright? You'd soon find out.

Making your way towards the Medjack hut, you spotted Chuck's hunched form sitting on a log, his back towards you. You faltered in your step, making a soft noise to which he turned around before looking quickly away again. It was just a glance, but it was enough for you to have seen his red, leaking eyes and runny nose. You scanned the area, but there was no one close enough to notice and help with whatever was the matter. Taking one last longing look towards the Medjack hut, you altered your direction and came up upon the distressed little boy.

"Chuck?" you asked softly. "What's wrong?"

He shifted away from you slightly and sniffed. You hesitated a moment, then stepped over the log and sat down beside him. "Chuck?"

When Chuck finally manage to look at you, it was obvious that he had been crying for a while. His cheeks were tear-stained, his eyes glassy and red, as well as his nose.

"I'm sorry, Y/N!" The words rushed out of his mouth as if it had taken every last bit of his strength to have kept it in until now. "I'm so, so sorry! I mean it, I am, really!"

A wave of empathy washed over you as you suddenly realized how guilty Chuck must have felt about everything that had happened. If Dan hadn't bullied him into telling a lie, then you wouldn't have been trapped in the Maze, and Gally wouldn't have gotten sick.

As if reading your mind, Chuck whimpered, "I lied, and..."

"It's okay, Chuck," you said firmly, "it is not your fault."

"But, If I—"

"No," you interrupted him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "It's not. You were threatened, Chuck; you were scared. I understand that. It's okay."

"R-really?" he sniffed again.

"Yes, really; it's not your fault."

He blinked, sending a tear down his cheek, and wiped his nose with his sleeve. You smiled at him, and he smiled back, rubbing his fists in his eyes.

"Chuck," you said, unable to put it off any longer, "do you know how Gally is?"

Chuck stopped rubbing his eyes and looked at you, then quickly dropped his gaze. His previously happy demeanor had faded, and you could instantly tell that something was wrong, but not in the way that it had been before. Chuck was no longer sad, he was...

"Chuck..." You stood up, taking a few steps in the direction of the Medjack hut, then stopped.

Jeff was talking to Newt, making hand gestures while Clint shoved past them into the hut, stumbling from the weight of water he was hauling from the stream.

"-what I wouldn't give for ice!" Jeff was saying. "But stream water will have to do."

"Newt," you said, forcing your feet to move towards them, when all your body really wanted to do was freeze up. You stopped when your feet finally refused to walk any farther, "What's going on?"