The Reason

Glader in Shining Armor

If there was one saving grace in the glade for Nikola it came in the form a particularly dumb black lab named Bark. Even though he was stinky, she would turn to him whenever she had the urge to hug or touch another living thing. Obviously, anarchy would descend upon the already high-strung population of the glade if she tried to get any kind of affection from one of them.

It was a particularly warm day when she found the poor thing panting in the shade, covered in dirt from trying to dig up a cool spot to lay in. She rubbed behind his ears and told him how good he was, kissing his head and muzzle when she looked around and saw no one around to judge her. She took him over to the showers, attaching a short bit of hose to one of the nozzles so he could play in the water.

They were having a good time when two of the baggers came by. There was something about the baggers that creeped her out even more than the slicers. They seemed to skulk around in the shadows and not talk much at all, but these two were not so antisocial.

"What I wouldn't give to be that dog, eh?" One said quietly to the other but she still heard them.

"Sorry, did you want to use the showers?" She asked them, trying to sound like she wasn't afraid in the slightest. "Because I can go."

"Nah, I think we'd like you to stay," the taller one said as he walked toward her. He was skinny but muscles still bulged from his slender frame like coiled ropes.

"It's ok, I can go," she stated and tried to hurry and walk away, but he blocked her path.

"And I said I'd like for you to stay," he repeated as he loomed over her, trying to back her up toward the showers. "Things are different when you don't have Gally around to protect you, huh? He's obviously fallen down on his job today, look at you out here all by yourself. Since he didn't earn his keep, why don't you give me his payment today instead?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," She shook her head. "I work like all the other builders do. He doesn't protect me in exchange for anything, he's my friend."

The boys laughed at that. "She sounds like she really believes that," the taller one commented to the other boy before turning back to her. "You really think anyone here is your friend, that they're really just good to you out of the kindness of their hearts? Are you stupid? They're all trying to win you over and get something in return, and they've definitely thought about you the way I'm thinking about you right now."

She felt dirty from the way he looked her up and down, his tongue flicking across his bottom lip. As much as she wanted to believe what he was saying was a lie, she couldn't, doubt had slipped into her mind when Newt had called her beautiful. He had been acting just a little bit different ever since. It was hard to start having to be careful around someone she'd believed was safe for so long.

"So why not give me a little of that attention instead of wasting it on this mangey old dog," he said before giving the poor dog a mild kick, causing him to yelp.

"Don't do that!" she demanded, pushing him away from her as she felt the anger rise. She knew instantly that she'd made a mistake, she never should have put her hands on him.

He only went a step back, obviously stronger than her, and laughed. "You saw that, she put her hands on me first. I get to claim self defense now," his voice ended in a growl as he placed his hands on her chest and pushed her to the ground.

Gally had been sitting with Chuck, worn down by his constant pestering, and was trying to help him out so one day he might be able to join the ranks of builders instead of just being a slopper. He'd given the kid a knife and was watching him as he tried to whittle a small chunk of wood left over from one of the building projects. That's when he heard the dog barking. He'd been barking playfully earlier, but this was different and Gally couldn't help but think something was really wrong. Immediately he stood up and looked around for Nikola, his heart plummeting when he didn't see her.