Sacrifice

Chapter Four

          One Year Ago 

Claire was woken by the sudden hand clamped over her mouth. She tried to scream, but all that came out were muffled sounds no one would have heard. Then something cold brushed up against her throat. 

"Shhhh." 

Claire stopped struggling. Her heart was pounding and she felt like her insides were frozen. 

"Good girl," a voice whispered in her ear. 

Claire wanted to turn her head so she could see who it was, but she couldn't seem to get any part of her body to move. 

"Now I need you to stay perfectly still, can you do that for me?" 

The intruder took Claire's silence as a yes. Before she could even consider what to do next, the person tied a cloth around her eyes, blocking her vision. They then pulled her hands behind her back and bound them together with rope. 

"I'm glad you came," the stranger said. "It gets very boring with just boys here." 

In that moment, Claire would have done anything to not be a girl. She felt even more helpless than when she had first woken up in the Box. 

"I just wanted you to know that I called dibs on you," the voice continued. "From the moment I saw you, you were mine." 

Claire felt a hand touch her waist while another twisted her hair. Her heart beat even faster. 

"I'll see you tomorrow." 

Before the stranger left, he tied Claire's feet together, even gaged her just so she wouldn't be able to yell for help after he left. 

"Good night, Darling." 

Claire didn't sleep for the rest of the night. 

************* 

          Present Day 

Thomas was woken from his dreams by someone clamping a hand over his mouth. He looked up and saw Alby, who was signaling him to be quiet so he wouldn't wake the others. Thomas followed Alby out of the Homestead and across the Glade toward one of the walls. 

"It wasn't always like this," Alby explained, breaking the heavy silence as they walked across the field. "We had some dark days, lost a lot of boys to fear. But we got through it, established order." 

"Why are you telling me this?" Thomas asked. 

"Because you're not like the others; you're curious," Alby replied. "But you're also one of us now, I want you to understand what that means." 

Alby handed Thomas a large metal nail and hammer. They approached the wall and Thomas saw names carved onto it. Alby, Winston, Claire, Newt, Zart and dozens of others. There were also names, like Nick and George, that had a line drawn through them. 

"What happened to them?" he asked. 

"Like I said, we lost a lot of boys," Alby answered. 

Thomas saw the heavy look in Alby's eyes, the kind of look someone might expect to see on an old man who had lived through a long, difficult life. Not a look that belonged on a young man who couldn't be more than eighteen-years-old. Thomas realized that Alby had most likely seen some of these kids die; kids he felt responsible for. No wonder Alby was so protective of the Gladers, and the rules he'd established to keep them safe. 

Armed with the new knowledge, Thomas carved his name onto the wall. 

************* 

          One Year Ago