I'm a Keeper (Gally and Thomas Fanfic) [#Wattys2016]

Chapter 9

Manon walked with slow, heavy steps towards Gally, already regretting the deal she'd made with Annabel. Only a second ago she was determined to tell Gally every single thing on her mind. But now, looking at his fuming expression, she wasn't very sure anymore. What was she going to say to him anyway? 'Hi Gally, I really like you, can you please tell me what I did wrong?' That was the shuckiest pick-up line she'd ever heard. Maybe she'd better turn around and walk away. Not such a good idea either, Gally would surely chase her all the way through the Glade and drag her back to work. Plus, he would, without question, loathe her even more, if that was even possible.
While these worries shot through her mind, she had kept walking, and suddenly she realized she was already standing in front of Gally. She gulped audibly, panic rushing through her blood. What was she going to say to him?
"Where'd that good-for-nothing friend of yours ran off to?" Gally asked, sarcastically emphasising the word 'friend'.
Manon bit her lip, she had completely forgotten about Annabel. "She, um, she went to see Alby," she lied. "Something about a place to sleep."
Gally nodded, the mention of Alby's name seemed to have calmed him. "Then follow me."
Manon hesitated. It was now or never. "Um, Gally?"
"What?" Gally snapped, making Manon flinch.
"I-I was wondering-" She looked into his eyes, and all of a sudden she had to remind herself to keep breathing. What is wrong with me? She thought. I can't keep staring at him, it'll get awkward. She then felt her confidence slowly return, coursing through her veins. "Can we talk?"
Gally gave a quick nod. "Go ahead."
"Alone?"
Gally rolled his eyes, grabbing Manon's wrist in an iron grip. "Listen shank, I don't have time for this nonsense, there's work to be done. Now get your ass over to the workbench, and start working."
"No," Manon replied sharply, sending him a glare. She was sick of his attitude towards her, it was downright rude. She wanted to yell at him, let him know what he did to her, but she held her mouth shut. Instead, she turned around and walked briskly towards the first thing that met her gaze: the woods.

Manon stared into the distance, slumped against a headstone. How dare he treat her like that. One moment he was being all nice and cuddly and the next he practically wanted to kill her. It was just shucking frustrating, not knowing why he did it. If only she could remember, everything would be different.
She suddenly jolted up. That was it, she thought. What had Gally called it again? Right. A Griever. But was it really worth it? She could also recall Gally saying words like 'pain' and 'agony'. Was she really prepared to go through all that? Even though Manon pondered about the whole situation, she knew she'd already made her decision. She needed to get into the Maze. She was going to let herself get stung, whatever the shuck that meant.
She glanced up at the sky, but couldn't figure out what time it must be, as the sky was packed with dark clouds, now directly hanging above the Glade. They surely contained rain. It wouldn't take long before the storm would break. She could only hope she'd have enough time to get through the walls before they closed.
As she stood up, she could already feel the first drops of rain starting to fall.
"Manon?" she suddenly heard behind her.
She spun around and to her surprise saw Gally standing there, a couple of feet away. Rain had started to pour down heavily and within seconds they were soaked to the skin. The combination with the cold wind made Manon shiver to the bone.
"Come here," Gally said, extending his hand, while he looked up worriedly at the black-clouded sky that now started to lit up every once in a while.
Manon slowly moved a step towards him, uncertain of his intentions. His voice had sounded kind and caring, but she knew it could all be an act.
"Let me take you to safety," he urged, taking Manon's hand in the process. He squeezed it lightly before taking her to the supply shed of the Builders.
Once at the shed – Manon had to run to keep up with Gally – he ushered her inside, closing the door behind them. It was only a small shed, barely large enough to fit in two people. Shelves with tools hung on the right wall, whilst there was a small, smudgy window at eye level on the left one, but the light shining through it was minimum.
Gally gently pushed Manon against the back of the shed, while he leaned much closer towards her than necessary. She could feel his breaths against her temple, and her cheeks reddened, but luckily it was too dark for Gally to see.
"Are you still cold?" he asked in a muted voice.
"A bit," Manon responded cautiously. She instantly felt Gally wrap his arms around her waist, and he pressed her against his heaving chest. This caught her by surprise and she pulled away slightly, eyeing him suspiciously. "What are you doing?"
She felt his back stiffen. "Protecting you," he muttered after a long pause.
"But what's with the rude attitude? I don't get it, Gally," Manon replied, almost desperately. "One moment it seems as if you really care about me, but then you go yelling at me again."
"I-" he started, but then fell silent. "I don't want to," he finally confessed, but was immediately interrupted by a familiar grinding sound: the walls were closing for the night.
"Shuck," Manon whispered in shock. She needed to go. Now. She had to get her memories back and she couldn't wait any longer. Her mind was a blur when she shoved Gally to the side, darting out of the shed. The only thing she could focus on was getting through those walls in time, so she ran with all her might while rain splashed against her face, whipped up by the frenzied wind. She heard Gally cry her name, a high-pitched, desperate shriek, which shook her to the core. But she couldn't stop now, she had to keep moving.
Behind her she could hear Gladers calling out to her, telling her to stop running, but Manon kept going, decreasing the distance between her and the Maze. She heard Gally shout her name over and over again. He was coming after her, trying to chase her down, but apparently couldn't catch up.
The walls were closing rapidly now, narrowing the space through which Manon could enter the Maze by the nanosecond.
"Manon, don't you bloody do it!" she heard Newt yell, and felt a pang of guilt. But she was determined, so she kept going.
Suddenly someone grasped her wrist. "Are you mad?" she heard a girl shout in her ear. Annabel. She couldn't use this. Not now, when the walls were almost shut. With all her strength she yanked her hand free of Annabel's grasp, and closed the last metres between her and the doors. There was only a small opening left for Manon to go through, but as her body touched the cold metal, she knew she was going to make it. She squeezed through, and as soon as she stood in the Maze, she whirled around, only to let out a shocked gasp at what she saw. Through the last couple of inches she saw Gally standing in the Glade, a worried and hopeless expression on his face. She had never seen him like that before and it made her feel guilty for what she'd done.
But as the walls closed completely shut, she saw Annabel. And she was standing right in front of her.

~

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