Single-Blind - Newt (TMR)

Chapter 5 - Lab Rats

I meant what I said to Newt the night before. I didn't know if there was really a way out of here. But as I rose with the sun and put my boots on. I knew that each day was coming and each day we had to survive. If I wasn't doing this for me, I could at least do it for them. That's why I rolled out of bed earlier than everyone.

I tickled Chuck's nose, making him swat at it and shift in his hammock. I didn't want to wake the whole camp so I put my hand over Thomas's mouth, making sure he didn't scream.

"You made it through day one, Tommy," I whispered when he opened his eyes. He looked around confirming that it all had not been a dream. He had a light panic that I hushed and motioned for him to follow me.

"I'm sure you've done the math by now, you know that we didn't always live like this. Alby was out here all alone for a whole month. He doesn't talk about it, but we can only imagine what that was like. Take everything you've felt on the last day and think of what would happen if you were completely alone when that box opened."

"I would have walked straight into the maze." He realized.

I nodded my head, "Gally may portray that he's the strongest and the toughest, but he doesn't compare to Alby. Without Alby, none of us might be here. We wouldn't have order or peace. And some of these boys might never shower." I got him there as a small chuckle passed his lips. "Without each other, we're nothing."

"Why are you telling me this?" He wondered as I stopped in front of the south wall.

"Alby had to learn everything from scratch. He had to learn how to survive. He built himself shelter, got food, and stayed warm all without anyone else's help. He did that by being smart, learning from every challenge the Glade throws at you. He didn't jump unless he could see the ground." I explained. "Your goal should be to be like Alby. Smart, strong, and patient. Be patient with yourself. We didn't learn all of this in a day and neither will you. Take each day as it comes but don't forget the one before. After all, all you got in that brain of yours is room for new memories."

He nodded as I handed him my dagger, I pointed towards the wall that had been cleared of vines and left with our marks. Thomas scanned the whole wall looking up and down it. He ran his hand over George's name and the X mark that crossed him out. "What happened to them?"

"They jumped when they couldn't see the ground," I answered, holding every boy that was crossed out in my heart.

He then found my name, written in small letters under Newts. He was the one that brought me here my first month. "Why is your name so small?"

"I didn't think I was going to make it to see the next greenie," I answered with my head down, I wasn't proud of how much I doubted myself. But it did show how far I had come. "I wrote my name so small that I could be easy to cross out. And then I would be so small that they would eventually forget about me. Turns out the bastards upstairs can't get me that easily. But they'll continue trying though." I joked to cope with the truth.

"Why do you think we're here?"

I shrugged my shoulders, looking out over the entire glade from here. "Some say we were chosen, others like to think that maybe this is what comes after death. One boy a few years ago came up with the conspiracy that I was the last female on Earth and we're sent here to repopulate and start over."

"I'm sure Gally was pleased to hear that one." He added humorously.

"I had to hold him back from banishment," I told him with a smile.

"But me? I'm banking on aliens." I said with a straight face, holding back my giggles until I saw his face drop.

"What do- What?"

"Thomas." I leaned forwards like I was going to tell him someone secretive, "I'm joking." He ran his hand through his hair, letting go of his stress, "We're glorified lab rats for sure."

"But why?" I pursed my lips together. He chuckled and shook his head, "Dumb question, nevermind. If we knew, we wouldn't be here, got it."

I smacked his shoulder, hoping he wouldn't beat himself up too much. Nothing made sense for a while when your memories were just wiped. "Come on, if I can smell bacon from here, that means that the rest of them can too. We better get there before those shanks roll out of bed and leave us with cold eggs."

We hurried over, pretty much racing each other to the Homestead. A competitive attitude was a side effect of living with boys. I wasn't dumb enough to expect a girl to come out of the box after all this time, but it was fun to imagine.

When we reached the door, Chuck sprinted our way as well. He sat at the table talking to Fry while he had his attention on four different pans.

"Good morning, Fry. ETA is two minutes." I said as I strolled in, Thomas right behind me.

He set three plates down in front of us, "Well, take it and run, I don't want any fights going down in my kitchen."

"Frypan, did I ever tell you the way to a girl's heart is with food?" I thanked him, taking my plate.

"Did you hear that ya'll? Fi's in love with me." He joked, having a little celebration behind the counter.

"Shh, it's supposed to be our little secret!" I dramatically chastised him.

Thomas and Chuck exchanged their 'thank you' as we headed towards the courtyard outside. Just as I expected, a few minutes later there was a line out the door and chatter came from all around.