The room erupted.
Newt ran his hands through his hair. "That's bloody insane," he said.
"She can't be serious," Minho exclaimed, then met my gaze. "Oh, she is serious. Shuck us all, then."
"What do you suggest we do?" I asked, slamming my hands on the table. "How long do you think they're gonna let us live in the Glade? They'll see that we aren't close to finding the way out, see that we've failed and grow bored of us. Don't you see?"
A brief moment of silence, after which the shouting started anew, even louder than before. I tried to shout, but my voice was drowned by the noise, by the boys disagreeing. I even picked up someone proposing they threw me in the Slammer again.
"Enough!"
Everybody quieted, and we looked towards who had yelled. Chuck had climbed on the table, his cheeks aflame. "I know you don't like the idea," he said, "but Emily's right. We've been in the Glade for over three years. Don't you think you would've found the way out already if it was anywhere near here?"
I bowed my head in thanks.
"You don't understand," Jeff, unexpectedly, said. "If we leave, everything we built here for ourselves is as good as dust. We might not be able to return. And, let's be honest, most of us aren't good enough to be out there. Most of us might die."
"I get it," Alby replied, "but Chuck's not wrong. I don't think we were put here without a way out. Plus, none of the Runners saw the room Emily encountered. Which means there certainly is more we haven't discovered in the Maze."
Silence, again, everyone thoughtful.
"But what if she's been sent here for a reason?" Bricky, a builder known for his brash demeanour, spoke. "What if she was sent here precisely to do this? To get us to leave and send us to our deaths?"
"What did you just say?" Newt said through gritted teeth.
Minho shook his head and stepped in front of the blond boy, whose fists were tight. "Newt, no. Now's not the time." Minho turned to Bricky. "I suppose there's no way of really knowing. But we've known Emily this long, and she's done nothing but help us."
"Believe whatever you want," I said. "But I swear to you that I'm not lying."
Bricky scoffed.
I looked around the room and met everyone's eyes. "I am going out there. I know the Glade is your home, and that it represents safety, but staying here will only get us killed one way or another. Who's with me?"
Newt was the first to answer, not even a heartbeat after I finished. "I am."
Minho rolled his eyes and mumbled something I couldn't make out, but then he straightened and nodded solemnly. "Me too."
"Me too," Chuck whispered.
"Shuck it," Alby said, and I laughed at the choice of words. "I'm in."
The rest of the Keepers agreed, more or less.
"Now comes the hard part," Alby said. "Convincing everybody else."
"And what if they don't agree?"
"They will." The Leader cracked his knuckles. "Leave that to me."
We went outside, where the rest of the Gladers had huddled together, waiting to hear what we'd discussed. Alby told everyone to gather around, and launched into a speech so persuasive and moving that some boys had to be held back from sprinting into the Maze with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
"Spread the word. Pack up, but take only what's necessary. Food and weapons are the priority. Everyone has to help with something. If everybody does their part, we can be out of here by dawn. Are we clear, shanks?"
Most of the Gladers yelled, "Yes, sir!"
There were, of course, some who turned down the idea of leaving, not even acknowledging it. Those, of course, were told they could remain behind and see what would happen to them.
Surprisingly, the Glade became a very organized place. Everybody received tasks, and nobody dared joke as they did what they'd been told. I headed to my Hammock to pack up my things after snatching my Runner backpack.
I knew that we needed was to be as united as possible. Everything would be screwed if we didn't collaborate. Soon enough, lunch came, and all the Gladers dragged themselves to the Kitchen, where Frypan was in overdrive. Most of us chewed, not even paying attention to the food, too preoccupied with the sudden turn of events to enjoy our meals. Not even Minho and Newt tried to cheer me up. The truth was that I was afraid of the plan too, even though it had been my idea. Leaving the Glade meant leaving everything familiar, ditching the only safe place we knew and venturing off into a dangerous and unknown world. I caught and held Newt's gaze a few times, his eyes filled with worry, perhaps even fear—I couldn't figure it out.
As soon as we finished our meals, everyone scurried off to do their chores and speed things up. I didn't notice Newt had been following me around until someone yelled his name from behind us and got me to turn.
"Newt, is there something wrong?" I asked, the boy just a few feet away.
We were near the forest, and there was no one near us.
"Everything's bloody fine," he replied, averting his gaze by looking at the trees.
"Then why are you following me?"
"I want to make sure no one tries anything," he justified.
"Newt, I'm fine—"
"You know how I feel about you being alone after your return from the Maze."
I was getting louder. "But absolutely nothing will happen."
"How can you possibly ever know that?" Newt retorted, irked.
"Because I can take care of myself."
Newt was quiet for a second, and I was mistaken to think that meant the argument was over. "It's better if you go on with your business and ignore me."
I narrowed my eyes. "Your constant following around is really distracting. Perhaps it would be better if you stopped caring so much. It might help both of us."
I began walking away, reminding myself there were many things left to do.
"You know I can't do that, Emily," Newt pleaded, grabbing my wrist and turning me around.
"And why's that?"
"Because, if you haven't noticed, I'm bloody in love with you."
YOU ARE READING
The W.I.C.K.E.D Girl
Fanfiction❝She must save them. He must save her.❞ Upon her arrival into the Glade, things take a twisted turn and survival becomes the number one priority as the W.I.C.K.E.D girl realises she cannot save everybody, perhaps not even herself.