o b l i v i a t e

t w o

"Until she opened her eyes and there was something."
Dedicated to Christine
•

The sky was now becoming a dull grey, and she saw several strange things since her arrival, such as the walls surrounding this "Glade" closing with a creak. When she heard the sound for the first time, she was shocked as to why this happened. When she asked Newt, he merely said, "I'll explain soon."

She still carried the strange piece of wood that was in her shoe, but it was now hidden under her shirt, tucked in her jeans. The boys already saw her arrival as dangerous and strange, and carrying a strange stick wouldn't make it much better. She joined the rest of the Gladers- that's what the boys called themselves, she learned- for dinner around a bonfire. After much persuasion, Newt had convinced them to have it, because he thought they all needed to cheer up a little bit.

She watched as the boys laughed and joked, eyes bright in the firelight. She didn't notice Newt come and sit next to her.

"What's going on? Party's over there."

She smiled, and was about to speak when a throbbing surge of pain coursed through her head.

You don't belong here. Trust no one.

She grimaced at the pain, and her heart began to race at the extremity of the message in her head.

"Are you all right, Greenie?"

She smiled at Newt. "I'm fine."

His eyes were amber in the firelight. She was drawn into them, and the silence was broken by a male voice in the distance. "Newt! Greenie! Get over here!"

The boys were shouting, forming a circle around two people. She knew this was a fight. It had to be. She and Newt stood and moved toward the actions proceeding. The two boys in the middle seemed unfairly matched. One seemed very strong, and was currently tossing the other around like he was merely a pebble. The boy who was thrown didn't attempt to keep fighting after that.

The boy remaining yelled, "ANYONE ELSE GONNA CHALLENGE ME?"

It got very quiet. Fit in. Marie made a very irrational decision in that moment. She stepped forward.

"I will."

He quirked an eyebrow. "All right then, Greenie."

One. Two. Three. Four steps forward. She didn't realize it, but she felt her hands on his shoulders and she shoved him roughly backward. He stumbled but did not fall. He carried an inferno of rage in his eyes as his glare burned into her. He charged, and it was then that she became rather panicked. He lunged, and she ducked out of the way of his swing.

This only increased his anger, and in the one moment she didn't expect it, she rammed into the ground. Her eyesight went fuzzy, but she got up nonetheless. She just wanted him to stop. She gripped the wood that was tucked into her jeans almost instinctively.

Stop, she thought, just stop. Please.

He started to charge again, but then froze. His eyes widened, as if he was shocked that he was frozen. His body didn't move at all. Only his eyes moved, shifting nervously back and forth. The Gladers watched the scene in front of them with awe.

A girl, with bloodied knees and a confused, tired expression on her face, a solid grip on her side.
A boy, unmoving, a shocked expression locked onto his face.

Marie stood wearily, removing her hand from her side. The boy shot forward, as if he'd never frozen at all, and tripped, falling to the ground. The Gladers immediately began to murmur to each other, wondering why this all had happened.

The boy angrily stood, and pointed at her. "That was her, I know it! I want her banished! She's a freak!! She did that to me!"

Newt frowned and stood up. "Gally, is that necessary? She's only been here a day, if that, and we don't know for sure what happened."

The boy, Gally, scowled. "If she's not banished, I want her in the Slammer!"

Marie knew she was screwed. She didn't know what the Slammer was, but it didn't sound good.

Newt went to another boy and spoke to him. The boy spoke, addressing the Gladers calmly.

"As first in command, I am giving the final ruling on this. The Greenie won't be banished. But to appease Gally, she'll spend two days in the Slammer."