Silence

Chapter 14

Minho had somehow convinced Alby to let the four of us into the maze again. We were moving slow and didn't spend that long in the maze, but we slowly mapped out the place. Alby would always be standing guard by the doors when we got back, to make sure nothing had happened.

"We're still alive" Minho said annoyed at Alby as we entered the Glade after another visit to the maze. "Just making sure" Alby nodded at Nick before looking at me for any bruises. Since I was quite clumsy, Alby would look at me for any sign of injuries. If he found one, he would have a reason to keep us here.

I waved my hand at Alby to make him stop. His efforts were sweet, but they were starting to become ridiculous. "Yes, yes" Alby rolled his eyes at me before turning his attention to George in order to find a way for us to stay in the Glade.

As George got held up, I decided to run over to the gardens. I could see Frypan holding Zart and Newt company. Zart noticed me and started to raise his hand to wave. I quickly raised my finger to my lips to tell him to be quiet. He nodded a small nod at me and continued his work.

"Maybe if you gave the bush more water?" Frypan commented as Newt sat kneeling in front of my raspberries. Out of the bushes I had planted during my first week in the Glade, only one was still alive. I don't know why, but it seemed like die every week.

I walked to Newt quietly, making sure he didn't hear me. "I don't know, I feel like I've tried everything" Newt rose again, just as I jumped on his back, making him stumble forward before gaining his balance again. "Em!" He yelled at me as Frypan and Zart laughed. "You're going to be the death of me" He chuckled as I got down from his back.

"I should be used to that" Newt said. I would do it everytime I got back from the maze and he would be just as surprised everytime. I smiled and nodded my head at him. A sharp alarm broke the silence in the Glade. Time for some new supplies.

We headed over to the Box and met up with the rest of the group. "Maybe they'll send up some new tools for the gardens" Newt said, we had been using the same ones since Alby got here. "Or maybe a new hammer. I broke the last one when I tried to fix the doors to the Slammer" Gally said.

The Box opened and we looked down. Some tools, a few boxes and another load of pigs. Ever since Winston had almost fallen of the Cliff, he seemed to have some built up anger. Alby had offered him the chance to slaughter one of our pigs as we needed the meat. He had accepted and surprisingly liked it, making him our very own Slicer.

"Right, first we remove the animals then the boxes" Gally and Winston jumped into the Box, careful not to scare the animals. "Now we take this plank and lower it down" Alby handed Nick a plank. "Make sure it leans a bit so the animals can go up". Nick lowered the plank as Gally and Winston tried to keep the animals away from it.

"Now we need the rope" Alby held his hand out to Clint. "Ropes?" He questioned. "So the animals doesn't escape. You didn't bring any ropes?" Alby's voice got a little harder. "Pig incoming" Gally shouted as the first pig ran up the wooden plank. "You, remove the plank" Alby shouted as another pig escaped. "Minho, Newt, Em, get them before they go into the maze".

We sprinted towards the pigs, they were faster than the ones we already had. "Get that one!" Minho shouted as he and Newt advanced on one of the pigs. Newt had been training a bit with Minho and me, getting a little faster every week. "I got it" Newt yelled as he threw himself towards the pig. He missed it, landing in front of Minho and taking him down instead.

"Shuck" Minho exclaimed as they quickly rose. "Newt, left. Em, ropes" He directed and we started running again. I ran back to the Box and snatched the rope Alby had found. "Get those pigs!" Alby yelled from behind me.

Newt and Minho had managed to corner the pigs by the garden. I threw one of the ropes at Minho and one at Newt. They tied a knot to catch the animals. "Now" Minho whispered and they threw the ropes at the pigs. Minho caught one of the pigs, but the other went running again. "No, no, no" Newt shouted as we ran after it. "Move out, then get it" I nodded at him and we parted.

The pig was almost by the doors as Newt moved in from the left and I moved on it from the right. However, the pig slipped through us and we collided. It ran into the maze and disappeared through on of the corridors.

Newt had landed on top of me, his face close to mine. "Hi" He chuckled nervously as he tried to rise. His hand slipped and his face came a little closer. I could feel my cheeks burn and could tell that he was blushing to. "Wait, I got it" Newt removed his face from mine and managed to rise. He held out his hand to me and pulled me up just as Minho reached us.

"Pig?" He asked out of breath. I pointed at the maze. "Shuck" Minho said, "prepare your ears for tonight then". Whenever a pig had escaped into the maze before, the sounds it made when it got caught by one of the creatures were horrifying. "At least we got one" Newt said and nodded his head at the pig Minho had caught, currently being lead to the other pigs by Winston.

*******

After all of the remaining pigs had gotten lock into their pens, it was time to empty the Box. As I lifted a bigger container from Gally to pull out, my eye caught a smaller box. It didn't look like somthing that had come with the supplies before. I kneeled down and took it in my hands to examine it. It didn't look that strange and it had the same engraving as the other boxes, "Property of W.C.K.D".

I shook the box before opening in. Inside lay a small syringe with a blue liquid inside. I held it closer to my eyes to see what it said. "Property of W.C.K.D" and in smaller letters underneath, "Serum". What was this.

The Box was now empty and I let Newt pull me out. I still had the small box in my hand but didn't know what to do with it. I saw Frypan stand a bit away from the other boys, so I went over to him. "Hi Em" He greeted me with a smile as I handed him the box. He took it in his hands. "This arrive in the Box?" He asked me and I nodded.

"We could give it to Alby, but he might want to try it on something" Frypan put the syringe carefully in his pocket. "I'll keep it safe" He said before we headed back to the group again. Newt raised an eyebrow at me but I shook my head and smiled at him. I didn't need to worry him about this, for all we know it was nothing.

When night had fallen, we had created a small fire. We talked and laughed as screams filled the air. The voices died out and Newt put his hands over my ears. I closed my eyes, the screams could still be heard. Then it suddenly stopped and everything got quiet.

"What-" Jeff started to speak but was interrupted by Alby. "That's why we don't let anything be on the wrong side of the doors" He said looking into the fire. "It's just a pig, but it's still a life" Minho looked up from the ground as Newt removed his hands from my ears. "We can end it here, quicker and less painful"

The silence was making me uncomfortable and I stood up from the log. I decided to walk along the walls. I found a place with not that much ivy. I took out my knife from my pocket and tried poking it into the wall. It was quite soft. I smiled, an idea forming in my mind.

*******

After breakfast the following morning, I had asked everyone to follow me to the wall. "What's with this wall?" Gally asked and looked at me with a raised eyebrow. I responded by taking out my knife and showing how I could carve small sections. After a little demonstration I had written E on it. Our names. So we can all be united I wrote on my chalkboard.

The boys seemed to like the idea, because they smiled and went to put their own name on the wall. I continued my writing but the tip of the knife broke after the two first letters, leaving my nickname behind. "We'll fix it another time" Newt smiled at me before looping my arm in his, leading me to the gardens.