Remember for the Both of Us [COMPLETED]

13: Grievers

I glanced at my watch. 11:55.

I slipped out of my new room, careful not to wake Teresa, and walked down the stairs. Exiting the Homestead, I walked across the Glade to the bathroom. I tugged up my sleeve, baring the tattoo to my dim reflection, and checked my watch again. 11:58.

11:59.

12:00.

I looked at my arm. The ink curled and twisted, morphing from a twelve to an eleven. I couldn't help but wonder who came up with this. Who wastes their time inventing mobile tattoos?

I pushed open the door, heading back outside. Suddenly, the ground was shaking and the air was filled with a huge rumbling noise--the Doors!

Slowly they were cracking open... no! Just one. The one directly across from me. I started sprinting back towards the Homestead, pounding up the stairs. I shook Teresa awake.

"Huu--" she mumbled.

"Grievers!" I yelled. "The Doors are opening and Grievers are coming!"

She snapped awake, and we ran through the building, banging on doors. Then the building shook. Again, and again. I looked out a window and screamed, backing up in terror. The Grievers were throwing themselves against the Homestead.

Above me, a beam cracked and splintered. I dodged as it fell, protecting my face with my arm. Someone else yelled in pain and horror, and for a moment the night was quiet, everyone freezing in place.

Then chaos erupted again. Doors slammed and people yelled names, trying to find their friends. I stood paralyzed, staring at the piece of wood, feet away from me. "--Hope! Hope!" Newt rushed up. "I found you! Are you okay? Are you hurt?" He paused. "Hope?"

I swallowed, turning. "Sorry," I mumbled. "I just--" I tried to step forward and stumbled, only then feeling the pain of the three-inch splinter embedded in my arm. Newt caught me and supported me, wrapping my arm around his shoulder. I watched distantly as blood stained his white shirt.

He swore. "We should get that wrapped up. Clint!" he yelled. "Jeff!"

Teresa ran up. "They're busy," she panted. "Some kids got crushed--Hope! Are you okay?"

I tried to smile. "Just a splinter," I said.

"Get me some bandages," Newt told her, and she nodded curtly, disappearing in the confusion. "Can you walk?" he asked me. "We have to get you to your room."

I tried, I really did. But my legs collapsed from under me, and Newt had to sweep me into his arms. "You must be in shock," he said. "Come on." As we walked up the stairs they swayed back and forth deliriously, and I had to close my eyes, resting my head on his shoulder. His arms held me tighter.

"Hey," he murmured in my ear, "I'm going to need you to open the door. Can you do that?"

I opened my eyes and found the doorknob, gleaming in the dull light. I reached out and turned it, pulling the door open. Walking inside, he gently set me down on the bed so that I was sitting up. 

Teresa came in a moment later with a strip of white cloth. "Um..." Newt hesitated. "How are we supposed to get it out?"

She rolled her eyes. "You didn't think of this before?"

"Well..."

"Just pull it out," I said tautly, squeezing my eyes shut again.

"Are you sure--"

"Do it! Get it over with."

Newt sounded slightly nauseated. "Teresa, can you?"

"Yeah. Get the bandages ready."

I opened my eyes to see her smiling reassuringly as she held my arm down at the wrist. "Don't worry, I've been training as a Med-Jack."

She contemplated it for a second. It was thin, perhaps only as thick as some twine, and though it was three inches long, it was only one inch under my skin, and such a shallow angle it was almost parallel to my arm.

She put her hand on it, ready to pull, and panicked, I grabbed Newt's hand and squeezed. Teresa yanked and out came the wood along with a sudden spurt of blood. I howled and jerked forward, but she held my arm tight. Tossing the stick aside, Teresa grabbed a shirt and wiped off my arm, and Newt wrapped the bandages around the wound, quickly tying it off.

"You okay?" he asked.

Biting my lip, I nodded. "Yeah. I'll live. I think."

He smiled tightly. "Stay right here. I'll be back."

Teresa looked at the shirt, wincing as she realized it was mine. "Oh. Sorry," she said. "Hopefully the blood will wash out."

"It's fine," I said, exhausted. "Don't worry about it."

"I'll go get some antiseptic stuff so it doesn't get infected," she said, ducking out of the room. 

I sat there on the bed, swinging my feet back and forth, for a good fifteen minutes. Newt came back first. "What's going on?" I asked immediately.

"The Ending I told you about?" he asked. "It's happening again."

"Did someone get taken?" I asked.

"Yeah," he muttered. "It was Gally."