The Lost Glader || A TMR Fanfiction

Chapter 16 || Suspicion

I remained silent, as Thomas continued to question Alby, who refused to answer any of his questions. I almost felt bad for him, as the look of distress on his face becoming apparent the more confused he got. Part of me wanted to step out and help him, but I just couldn't get the sounds of my screams out of my head that were triggered as soon as I saw his face, and I didn't believe that was a coincidence. I recognized him. I couldn't put him in a specific time or place but I had seen before, that flashback memory vision thing, it felt so real, like I had lived it.

My eyes drifted from Thomas to the other boys, curious about their reactions. None of them had any unusual expressions, until I spotted Gally, who was watching Thomas with a hate filled glare. But there was something else in there, recognition. Seeing this, I made a mental note to talk to Gally when we all dispersed.

I was surprised out of my thoughts when Thomas suddenly pushed his way out of the crowd and over to a lone tree, sitting down his back against it. I exchanged a look with Chuck, about to ask what had just occurred, since I hadn't been paying attention, when Thomas called back to Alby. "Tell me the long story."

Alby walked over and sat next to him, the other Gladers following not far behind, I on the other hand hung back near the Box, wrapped up in my own thoughts. My eyes drifted back over to them after a few minutes when I noticed that the crowd had dispersed leaving only Newt and Thomas, which caused me to join them.

"Ah, and this here is Nicole. And as you probably noticed, the only girl here." Newt said to Thomas as I approached. I attempted to put on my best smile, but I could feel it lacking its usual warmth. "Yeah that's me. Nice to meet ya, shank." I said holding out my hand for him to shake, which he did after a moment of apprehension.

As soon as our hands touched, again I was hit with another wave of images, though this time more mild. Nevertheless I immediately stiffened, but quickly tried to play it off, hoping it wasn't noticeable. One look at Newt's face showed that I wasn't as discrete as I had assumed.

Without warning, an ear piercing scream cut through the peacefulness of the Glade, causing us as to turn towards the Homestead. My heart sunk a little as all that had happened came flooding back into my mind. "Shuck it...Guess they need my help. " Newt mumbled. "Hey go find Chuckie for our new greenie here. He'll be in charge of this shanks sleeping arrangements." He said turning to me and I nodded before he took of running towards the Homestead.

I softly sighed and looked back at Thomas. "Just sit tight. Chuck should be close by." I said and didn't wait for a response before I ran off. My guess had been correct, as Chuck happened to be at the porch of the Homestead.

"Congratulations!" I exclaimed spreading my arms wide as if he just won the greatest prize ever. He raised his eyebrows quickly standing up. "What's going on?" I smiled mischievously. "You get to he the Greenie's guide for the night." Chuck's excited expression fell and he groaned. "Me? But I don't know that much either." He said and I breathed a laugh. "You know more than he does. Besides, it's like your move up from newbie to official Glader." I clapped him on the shoulder and he sighed.

Having sent Chuck off, I found myself wandering into the Homestead, even though Ben's moans and screams still sounded clear. As soon as I opened the door I spotted Gally with a group of other Gladers talking at the bottom of the stairs. "Hey I need to talk to you!" I called out to him, something I'd never thought I'd do. He must have felt the same way because he looked just as surprised.

He narrowed his eyes but shrugged, while a flurry of ohhhhs came from his friends along with a few snickers. I walked outside to the front porch of the homestead, waiting for him to follow, which didn't take him long.

"Well?" He asked crossing his arms and leaning against the door frame. I drummed my fingertips on my thighs as I looked over to where Thomas and Chuck were talking. "What do you think of the greenie?" I finally said and looked back at Gally to see him narrow his eyes. "I don't trust him."

I looked at him for a long moment taking a deep breath. "Why not?" I asked searching his expression. Gally grunted shifting his weight. "I've seen him." Immediately I remembered a conversation I had with Minho, how Gally had been stung and gone through the Changing.

"You mean after you went through the Changing?" I quickly asked my heart rate beginning to quicken. Gally firmly nodded anger flaring in his eyes, but for once, it wasn't directed at me. "He's working with those creators!" I rubbed my arms as I uttered my next sentence. "You said the same thing about me... I'm just supposed to believe that you aren't just being paranoid."

Clenching his jaw, he pushed himself slightly off the wall. "I saw him." He said forcefully, and I looked into his eyes to see if he was telling the truth. Along with pure hatred for Thomas, I saw something else, something that set icy chills down my spine. Fear. Whatever Gally saw when he went through the Changing scared him much more than he would ever admit.