Nepenthe (TMR FF) UNDER EDITING

Chapter 16

                  
The past couple of weeks, mine and Newt's relationship has been pretty strained. I don't even know if we're in a relationship anymore. We hardly look at each other, let alone talk to each other. I don't really talk to anyone all that much actually, besides Chuck. Gally and Minho try to cheer me up, but I can't help but feel that the crumbling relationship is my fault. If I would have just quit being a Runner, then maybe Newt wouldn't be mad at me. Maybe he wouldn't have called me an idiot.

"Hey, the Greenie box should be coming up soon. Wanna go over there and wait?" Chuck asked, nudging me gently with his shoulder. I looked up at him from my sitting position on the ground. I honestly wasn't in the mood to handle people in general, let alone a confused teenage boy. Shaking my head, I picked at a blade of grass, examining it in boredom.

"Nah. I'm not feeling up to it today." I sighed, shrugging. Chuck's eyes softened and shuffled awkwardly before sitting down beside me. He was silent for a few moments, playing with the green grass that surrounded him, much like I was.

"That's cool. Wanna talk about it?" He asked, finally looking up at me. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, giving him a fake smile.

"Talk about what?"

"Talk about why you're always so sad. Is it because of Newt?" He asked, glancing over in the direction of the British boy. I followed his eyes only to find that Newt was with the Track-Hoes, and was conveniently already staring at us. He quickly looked away when he noticed me looking at him, and continued chopping at a tree with an axe. I sighed, turning my head away.

"I'm fine, Chuck. I'm just tired, is all." I lied, letting out a laugh. It was almost as fake as my smile. Chuck raised his eyebrows, giving me an 'I don't believe you at all' kind of look. I wrinkled my nose. Before Chuck could say anything else, the Greenie alarm went off, and the other Glader's ran over to the middle of the Glade. I was only a couple hundred metres away, so if they needed me, they could just yell, and I'd be right over. Unless there was another Chuck incident, I'm pretty sure they could handle it themselves. I mean, technically, I was in charge of keeping the Greenie's, because I was the best at calming them down, but I wasn't too worried at the moment. They did pretty okay before I came, so they should be fine.

"I'm glad I'm not the Greenie anymore." Chuck muttered, standing up and brushing himself off. He smiled softly to me. "Are you sure you don't wanna come meet him?"

"I'll be fine, Chuck. You go ahead." I laughed, gesturing to the group of boys. He nodded excitedly before slowly jogging away. A small smile came to my face as I watched him. I was quite fond of that boy. He always seemed to make me laugh or smile, even on the days when all I wanted to do was run into the Maze and sacrifice myself to the Grievers. I've had a lot of those days recently. It wasn't getting much better, but I would never admit that to anyone. They all assumed something was up though. I know they did. They just never mentioned anything.

"We've got a runner!" A voice screamed. I think it was Zart, but you could never be sure with these boys.

Everything seemed to happen at once. Before I could even have a chance to look up and see what was going on, a great force smashed into my back. The air was knocked out of me, and I let out a small squeak, my face being forced into the ground. My jaw clenched as I felt a weight gradually fall on top of me, and I fought to push it off. I groaned loudly, shoving the person off of me and rolling over. My breathing was coming in and out in short gasps as I looked at the boy who had run into me. I didn't recognise him, so I assumed he was the new Greenie. He did seem eerily familiar, however, which made me want to get up and run away. After all, if anything seems familiar when you're in the Glade, then it's never a good thing.

The other Gladers rushed over to us and started yelling at the Greenie. I immediately wanted to defend him, but the look he gave me cause my mouth to dry, and I was unable to speak.

"Hah, it looks like he's never seen a girl before!"

"Dude, I swear to god that she's a feminine boy!"

"Ouch, that looks like it hurt."

"Sorry, Greenie. The girl's taken already."

"Emma?" Everyone's jaws dropped as the boy spoke. His brown eyes were wide and they stared at me with awe. He knew me? How does he know me? Why don't I know him? What's going on? "Emma! It's me, Thomas!"

Something sparked in my mind when he said his name, as if a part of my brain lit up. Despite not knowing who he was, I felt an instant connection to him. I felt like I could trust him.

"I-I don't-" I stuttered, shaking my head. I couldn't even finish my sentence.

"Wait, you know her?" Alby demanded, stepping forward. I was lifted to my feet by Minho, who kept a strong grip on my arm, making sure I didn't fall over again.

"Of course I do!" He exclaimed, stepping towards me. Newt intercepted the path, holding a hand out in a 'stop' gesture, whilst Minho's grip on his arms tightened. "She's my sister!"

I broke out of Minho's grasp, falling on my hands and knees and emptying my stomach. I shrieked loudly, a sharp pain shooting through my head. It felt as if someone was taking a hammer and smashing my skull in. Tears started to come to my eyes as the pain got more intense.

"Emma!" Newt shouted, rushing over to me. I let out a whimper, the tears finally streaming down my cheeks.

You're not allowed to remember.

My eyes widened in fear as the voice rang through my head, my hands starting to move on their own. There was nothing I could do as my fingernails dug into my forearms, slowly started to draw blood. I shook my head roughly, my body beginning to shake. I couldn't stop. This wasn't me doing this. Someone was controlling me.

"Emma, stop! What are you doing?" Newt yelled, forcefully grabbing my hands. I let out a sob as I writhed in his grip. The other Gladers stared at us in Shock, and Newt glared at them. "Someone help me!"

Minho was beside us in a second, his arms wrapping around my waist. I continued to struggle, incoherent sentences flying out of my mouth.

"It hurts!" I screamed, biting my lip until I could taste blood. Newts hand slid down my wrists, gripping them tightly. He tugged on them, trying to get my attention.

"Emma, look at me!" I let out a whimper, finally meeting his eyes. "I love you, Emma. You're going to be okay. It's all going to be okay."

And then finally, the pain stopped, and my mind went black. I bent over, throwing up once again. I coughed loudly, as Minho let go of me, gently pushing me into Newt's Embrace. My heart was beating so loud that I was scared that the other Glader's could hear it and there was a strange ringing in my eyes, despite them being blocked. Newt breathed a sigh of relief, his hands grabbing fistfuls of my sweater.

"Newt, she's bleeding." Gally stated. I glanced over at the boy who was holding back Thomas. As soon as our eyes met, I felt another sharp pain and cried out, my hands flying up to cover my ears. It felt like someone was pumping water in my ears and after a moment, I couldn't hear the shouts of the other Gladers. My eyes widened in shock when I brought my hands away and examined them. All I could see was the bright red colour that could be nothing other than my blood.

"What the shuck! Where the hell are the Med-Jacks?" Minho shouted, but from what I could hear, it sounded like a mumble.

"Newt." I muttered, collapsing in his arms. Then the darkness consumed me.