Day Seven Hundred and Thirty Three

Ada had only been asleep for ten minutes – ten glorious minutes – when Newt was shaking her awake again.

"No." She groaned, turning her face into the pillow, the light of the sun worsening her headache. The pillow scratched at the bruises on her cheek, and she cursed whatever god had decided to target her that day.

"Ada," Newt shook her again, the panicked tone of his voice slipping through the fog in her brain. "Ada, come on, you have to wake up."

"Newt, I swear to god." She tugged her blanket up over her eyes. "I don't care how pretty you are, I will maim you if you don't let me sleep."

"So you do think I'm pretty."

"Fuck. Off."

"The girl is awake," At his words, she lifted her head slightly and squinted through bleary eyes up at him. His hair was ruffled, his cheeks flushed, and he was fidgeting in his seat. Gone was the calm composure she had grown to expect from him. "She's, uh, not exactly enthusiastic about being here."

"Not my problem."

"She's throwing rocks at people."

"Good for her."

"From the watchtower."

Ada blinked the sleep from her eyes, peering across the glade curiously.

There was a crowd gathered by the watchtower, all yelling and screaming as if the world was ending. From this far away, she could barely see the rocks smashing into the poor shelter the boys had scrambled to find. Things such as wooden boards and unfinished doors were held over their heads, and one person had even grabbed a large frying pan and was using it to shield himself.

"Well," Ada said simply, "this is new."

"Come help," Newt pleaded, eyes wide, "she's scary."

"Why do I have to deal with her?"

"Seeing another girl might help." Newt ignored her protests and pulled her up out of the hammock, not even giving her a chance to put on her shoes before he was tugging her across the grass. Dew soaked her socks, and she grimaced in disgust, her bad mood worsening.

Newt's hand was still clasped in hers when they reached the crowd, immediately on guard. The gladers were yelling, moving back and forth like ants as they dodged the rocks being hurled down at them. Pebbles littered the floor, and she dodged them carefully as Newt pulled her over to where Gally was standing.

"Leave me alone!" The girl yelled, the sound followed by a series of yells as another rock came flying down at them.

"Watch your heads!" Frpan yelled from underneath the box he was holding above his head.

"Hey!" Gally yelled, pointing a stern finger up at her. "You throw one more of those things and I'm gonna – Ow!" A rock hit him squarely in the face.

Ada let out a shocked laugh, tiredness temporarily forgotten as Newt tugged her under the protection of a wooden door Winston was holding. He tucked her closely to his side, keeping one hand hovering over her head just in case. "I don't think she likes us very much."

"What do you want?!" The girl yelled.

"We just wanna talk!"

Ada held her hands up in surrender. "Seriously, we just want to clear the air here!"

Thomas and Minho joined them, the latter screeching as a rock skimmed his hair. He cupped it protectively, looking horrified. "She's insane!"

"I'm warning you!" The girl yelled.

Frypan waved his arms frantically. "Take cover, y'all, take cover!"

A rock rolled and landed at her feet, and Ada looked down at it with wide eyes. Newt wrapped an arm around her, fingers digging into her waist. "Does this count as attempted homicide?"

"Juries still out."

Another rock sailed by right as Thomas threw his arms up, voice high and panicky. "Hey, it's Thomas! It's Thomas!"

The assault immediately stopped, and Ada turned to look at Thomas in disbelief. "Are you kidding me?"

"She stopped?" Newt asked in disbelief.

"Okay, I'm gonna come up, alright?" Thomas asked. Gally, still rubbing his forehead, went to take a step forward when Thomas stopped him. "Just me."

"I'm starting to see why you dislike him, Gally." She muttered as Thomas left them, heading for the ladder. She kicked one of the stones away from her, careful of her lack of shoes, looking around at the mess. There were bits of smashed fruit and vegetables that had clearly been weaponized before she had gotten to the rocks – Frypan was staring at them sadly.

"Well," he said, "there goes tomorrow's lunch."

"Well," Minho scoffed, "that was interesting. Alright, everyone, come on, move it." He clapped his hands, shooing away the crowd. "Get busy, quitting time isn't for another hour."

"I don't like this," Gally muttered, running a hand over his face. "Shouldn't one of us go up there?"

"And risk getting bludgeoned to death by a rock?" Ada shook her head, "no thanks, I'm gonna leave that honour up to Thomas."

Gally cupped his hands around his mouth, squinting against the sun as he looked up at the tower. "Is she coming down?" He yelled.

Thomas' pale face appeared for a split second over the edge of the railing. She couldn't quite make out his expression from that far down, but the sun glinted off his dark hair as he shook his head. "Um... you guys just give us a second, yeah?"

Ada looked at Newt in disbelief. He was squinting up at the watchtower, hands on his hips, lips pursed in a disapproving frown. "Alright." He nodded, turning back to them. "Alright, come on. Let's leave them to it."

"Leave them to it?" Gally echoed incredulously. "You just trust them up there by themselves? Who knows what they're talking about, she could know something!"

"Thomas will tell us if that's the case." Ada said confidently.

"You don't even wanna question her? See what she knows?"

"Of course I do," Ada said placatingly, "but I don't think it's smart to ambush her with questions when she's only just woken up. Attempted murder via rocks is pretty solid evidence that she doesn't trust us. She probably wouldn't tell us anything even if we did go up there and demand answers." She ran a hand down Gally's arm, squeezing his fingers comfortingly. "Give her a little time to settle in, then we'll talk."

Frypan looked between Ada and the watchtower with raised eyebrows. "Is this what all girls are like?"

"Nah," Winston shook his head, "Ada was never this crazy."

"Agree to disagree. She threw an apple at me one time when I woke up in the med hut." Newt scoffed. Ada elbowed him in the side, scowling. "Come on," he said, wrapping an arm loosely around her shoulder. "We should wait somewhere else. Don't wanna make her uncomfortable."

"Oh so now you're a gentleman."

"Darling, I'm always a gentleman."

"You two disgust me." Gally rolled his eyes. "You do what you want, I'm staying right here. I don't trust them. Either of them."

Ada shrugged, knowing that his anger came from a place of deep rooted concern. "Come find us later, yeah?" She asked. Gally nodded, shooting her a tight smile.

They passed the box on the way to the homestead, now empty, piles of crates and other supplies stacked haphazardly to the side of it. It still hadn't gone down, and the possible ramifications of what that meant weighed heavily in her mind until her head spun.

She's the last one, ever.

Perhaps Jeff was right, and no more Greenies meant no more supplies. They'd be dead within two months.

—

It had barely been fifteen minutes since Ada had settled in her hammock once more that she was being violently shaken awake again.

"I swear to God," she reached for her dagger, "I will do it, I swear I will do it-"

"Ada, it's Alby." Newt's words had her sitting upright immediately, any remnants of tiredness gone completely. She scanned his face, heart pounding against her ribcage.

"What?" She asked, her voice clogged with fear. "What is it? What happened, is he okay?"

Newt's hands clamped down on her shoulders, a wide smile breaking out over his face. A dimple appeared in his cheek. "Ada, the new girl, she has something. A syringe, she found it in her pocket. Two of them. Thomas said it's a cure, he said we can use it, that we can save him-"

Ada threw herself into Newt's arms before he could finish his sentence, laughing breathlessly against his shirt. Tears of relief stained the fabric. "We can save him?" She croaked out, pulling back just enough to look him in the eyes. They were glassy, warm with barely restrained relief as he looked back at her, letting her see every emotion painting itself across his face. The tiredness and bruises barely mattered then, the achy muscles and broken bones nothing compared to the light feeling that had settled in her chest, swelling like a balloon.

Newt pressed his forehead against hers, large hands cupping her cheeks. "Yeah, Ads, we can save him."

"Well come on!" She grinned, swinging her feet over the side of the hammock. She toed her shoes on quickly, not caring that one of her socks was twisted at the ankle and rubbed painfully against the skin as she walked. "Come on, let's go! Are they in the med hut? Are we gonna do it now?"

"Yeah," Newt grinned, "yeah, they're all waiting."

She ignored the curious stares and the violent protesting of her muscles as she started running across, legging it across the damp grass and up the stairs. The sun was setting now, the sky a dazzling array of pinks and oranges. Stars punctured holes in the few remaining clouds. She slammed the door open, barely registering the startled shriek Minho let out or the way he fell back against the wall.

The room was dark, barely lit up by a sconce on the wall and the low light of a candle flickering feebly on the bedside table. The dark lurked in the corners of the room, shadows watching and waiting, observing the scene. Alby was in the middle bed, restrained at the ankles and elbows, hands bound together in front of him. He wasn't awake, but he wasn't asleep either, half-lidded eyes moving rapidly from side to side.

His condition had worsened, and Ada didn't need to be a medjack to see that.

The majority of his bare chest was roped with thick black veins, pulsing and writing under his skin, like living beings trying to break their way past the barrier of skin. His entire body was ashy and covered in a thick sheen of sweat. It dripped down his sides and soaked the sheets beneath him, the linens sticking to his body as he thrashed against his binds, whimpering in pain. His voice was nothing more than a cracked plea splitting through the intense atmosphere.

"Ada," Thomas said, shifting her attention from the bed over to the corner, where he and the other girl were standing awkwardly. "Ada, look." He held up two syringes, small glass cylinders filled with vibrant blue liquid. "Teresa said these were in her pocket. We think she was sent up to deliver these, so she could help Alby. That's why she came up early." He smiled eagerly.

Something tugged at the back of Ada's mind, a nagging voice screaming at her that he was wrong. People had been stung before, people had died before, and the creators had never stepped in. Not once did they do anything to help, and now they're sending someone up a month early for the whole purpose of delivering two strange syringes? It wasn't right, and she knew that, but the hope swelling in her chest pushed that voice aside as she ran a finger over the side of the syringe, tracing the familiar letters stamped on the side.

"Okay," Newt took a step forward, closing the door firmly behind him. "I'm as thrilled about this as everyone else is, believe me, but I feel like someone should point out that we don't even know what that stuff is. We don't know who sent it, or why it came up here with you." He shrugged helplessly. "I mean, for all we know this thing could kill him."

Thomas opened his mouth and closed it again, gesturing at Alby. "He's already dying. Look at him."

Ada did just that, moving over to Alby's bedside to smooth a comforting hand over his sweat soaked brow. His skin was hot and clammy, and she tried to ignore the flicker of pain in her gut as he shied away from her touch as if expecting an attack. "He makes a point," she said quietly, "I don't really think this can make it any worse."

Minho spoke up for the first time, moving forward to look at Clint and Jeff. "How long does he have?" He asked. "If we don't do this."

Jeff shook his head sadly. "His heart rate is through the roof and we're pretty sure that blow to the head did some nasty damage. We can't say for sure, but... ain't no way he's making it through another night."

"Then we don't have a choice." Ada said stubbornly. "We're doing this."

Newt looked at Minho, but the other boy simply shrugged. His jaw was tight, entire body tensed. "It's worth a try."

"Alright." Newt said softly. "Do it."

Thomas rounded the bed, uncapping the syringe and hesitating as he held it over Alby's chest, clearly trying to find a spot that wouldn't be as painful to inject. Newt reached forward, wrapping a hand around Ada's wrist and pulling her back away from the bed. She wanted to tell him that she didn't think for one minute that Alby hurt her, but the handprint around her throat and the bruises littering her skin were startling reminders of the opposite.

Thomas looked back at them once more for reassurance before turning to Alby, lowering the syringe. The needle barely scraped his skin before Alby was jolting up off the mattress, eyes slamming open. Surprise rippled through the room as he reached forward a white-knuckled hand to grab at the material of Thomas's shirt.

"Holy shit!" Minho exclaimed as Alby let out a guttural scream, eyes furious and gleaming as they fixed on Thomas.

"You shouldn't be here," he snapped, voice as sharp as a whip. "You shouldn't be here!"

Thomas began to thrash, trying desperately to free himself. Newt and Minho lunged forward, struggling to rip Alby's hands away.

"No!" Alby screamed, hands tightening against Thomas's throat. The syringe had rolled to the ground, and Ada grabbed it immediately before tossing it to Teresa, who was closer to the bed than she was. She rounded the mattress immediately, waiting barely a second for Newt and Minho to pull Alby's arms away before she was plunging the syringe into his chest, the needle sliding straight through his skin. Ada gagged at the sound it made, at the pained cry Alby let out, but whatever was in the syringe seemed to work instantly.

Alby fell back against the mattress like a marionette whose strings had been cut, his arms falling limp at his side. He deflated like a balloon, all fight and furious energy draining out of him in an instant. His breaths, once ragged and violent, were little more than exhausted pants as his tired eyes scanned the room.

With a flickering moment of clarity, he looked right at Ada, and tears welled in his eyes. "Ada..." his voice cracked tiredly, and his eyes were slipping shut before she could reply, his body going still again.

Ada clamped a hand over her mouth, willing the tears to stay down.

"Well," Jeff said breathlessly, running a hand over his head. "That worked."

Newt shook his head, staring down at Alby with wide eyes. "Okay, from now on, someone stays here and watches him around the clock." His voice cracked halfway through the sentence, and his blonde hair was mussed and dishevelled. Ada opened her mouth to volunteer, but he shot her down immediately. "No, not you. You've barely gotten twenty minutes of sleep in two days-"

"And whose fault is that?"

"You need to rest." He cocked his head, eyes narrowed. "We all do. Jeff, you rested enough to keep watch?"

"Sure thing," he nodded, already busy re-securing Alby's arms and legs in the restraints. "He's in safe hands, don't worry."

A throat cleared behind them, and Ada turned to see Gally standing awkwardly in the doorway. His fingers tapped an uncomfortable beat against the side of his leg. "Sundown, Greenie. Time to go."

Thomas left with no complaint, shooting them all a tired parting smile before following Gally out of the room. Minho left with them, ducking out to drop his stuff off at the map room. "You ready to finally get some sleep?" Newt asked, jerking his head towards the door.

"Ugh, more than." Ada nodded. "And this time, god help me, you will let me sleep." Her eyes snagged on the girl – Teresa, Thomas had said – hovering anxiously near the bed still. She was clearly trying not to look at them for too long, wide blue eyes scanning the hut and the medical supplies hanging from the walls and shelves. "You go ahead," Ada said after a moment, cocking her head subtly at Teresa when Newt shot her a confused look.

"Alright," he nodded. "Just promise me you'll try to get some rest soon."

She squeezed his hand, watching as he ducked out of the room, vanishing into the night. Ada turned to look at Teresa, studying the awkward way she held herself and the almost distrusting looks she kept shooting out the windows. "Hi," Ada said, leaning back against the spare bed. "It's Teresa, right?"

"Uh, yeah," She nodded, "yeah, I think so."

"I'm Ada." Ada held out her hand, "it's nice to officially meet you without threat of death via flying rocks."

Teresa's cheeks flushed as she shot her a bashful smile, but there was a certain defiance in her eyes that Ada couldn't help but respect. "I won't apologise for defending myself."

"And I wouldn't expect you to. Next time, however, I suggest you pick a better weapon when being attacked by something. Not that a rock hasn't saved my life a time or two, god help me, but they lose their effect after a while." Ada moved over to the wall, removing one of the spare daggers someone had left on the table. She handed it to the other girl, smiling softly. "You know how to use one of these?"

"I have no idea."

"I'll teach you," Ada grinned. "Not to brag, but I'm pretty good with knives. Keep that on you, it'll be useful if anyone gives you trouble. I don't expect them to, but you're one of two girls in a group of sixty men. You never know what'll happen."

Teresa took the dagger with a frown, sliding it into her waistband. "So, you're the only other girl here?"

"Yep," Ada nodded. "You'll get used to it. It's not as strange as it seems, promise."

Teresa nodded tentatively, and for the first time the careful mask of indifference on her face slipped and Ada was able to make out the tiredness and the fear underneath all the bravado. "What is this place?" She asked. "Thomas said you don't know who put us here, or why, but we're in some sort of giant maze?"

Ada shook her head, reaching forward to put a hand on Teresa's shoulder. "Tomorrow. We'll answer what we can tomorrow. For now, we all need rest. You may have just woken up from a hella long nap, but I, for one, haven't slept in two days, and I think if I don't get some sleep soon I'm actually gonna kill someone."

Teresa took a wary step back.

"You have a hammock space yet?"

"Uh, no." She said, "No, I sort of woke up and ran straight out. Just wanted to get away."

"Thomas did the same thing." Ada scoffed. "Except you made it a hell of a lot farther than he did. He only got two hundred yards before he face planted."

A hint of a smile broke out on Teresa's face.

Ada moved towards the door, towards the comfort and quiet of the growing night. "Come on. Let's get you some food, and sort out your hammock. You can get your head down for a bit."

"Thank you."

"Yeah, no worries." Ada smiled. "It'll be nice to have another girl in this place. I have a feeling you and I are going to get along just fine."

—

It was cruel, almost, that sleep eluded her so viciously the second Ada lay down to actually rest.

Her body was stiff and aching in the hammock, the injuries and overuse making themselves known through tortured muscles and stabbing pains every time she rolled over. Her eyes were heavy with exhaustion, her mind thick with a fog she couldn't seem to shake, and yet she couldn't sleep.

Someone was snoring to her right – Minho, she presumed – and the sound was grating on her last nerve as she shoved her pillow over her head and let out a frustrated groan. The sun had set hours ago, and with the moon high in the sky all of the other gladers were unconscious and sleeping peacefully. She could hear them shuffling in their hammocks, their deep breaths filling the otherwise quiet night.

Ada rolled over once more, ignoring the sharp protest of her rib, and stared out at the rest of the glade. The torches had been doused, and the other buildings loomed in the pitch black, slotted amongst the treeline. The forest was nothing more than a shadowy nightmare lost in the void. The only light came from the two torches on either end of the Homestead, flickering feebly, their glow dancing along the grass.

Her fingers tapped an irregular beat against her thigh as she shuffled again. Her hip dug uncomfortably into her blanket, and she was too hot, so she kicked it off, uncaring of the way it fell to the dirty floor. She gave up after two hours, sliding her feet into her shoes and standing up.

She was the only movement in the glade, her shadow following her dutifully as she made her way down the rows of slumbering boys towards the edge of the homestead. The watchtower stood proudly in the middle of the glade, and she stared at it for a moment in contemplation.

She remembered a simpler time, back when it was just her and George lying side by side, legs hanging over the edge, staring at the stars.

"This is a weird place to perch, you know that right?"

"I like being up here. Great view of the stars."

He had smiled at her, talked to her about constellations, back when they didn't know who they were and they lived every waking second terrified of the life they had been thrust into. Back before the glade was their home, and the only thing they had for company were the stars.

"You remember any constellations?"

"I'll relearn them all when we get out of here."

"Maybe I'll learn them with you."

She looked away, any thoughts of escaping there vanishing.

She had reached the last row of hammocks, the last circle of light before the grass faded to black and the shadows swarmed in, when she hesitated. There were only three hammocks this far to the edge: Alby's empty one, Gally's, and Newt's.

Newt was lying closest to her, his face turned towards her, that crease between his eyebrows gone now. He looked so peaceful, so relaxed, all gentle lines and sloped nose and parted lips. The warm glow of the torch painted his skin in gold, weaving threads of sunlight through his hair. Ada's breath caught in her throat. The blanket was tugged up to his chin, and his long limbs were tucked underneath it and he looked so warm. She wanted to reach out and touch him, to share in that warmth, that calm.

Ada took a deep breath and turned away before she did something stupid.

Fingers closed around her wrist, halting her in her tracks. She looked back in surprise, heart jumping in her chest, and was met with warm brown eyes, heavy with sleep, and a soft smile that tugged at something tender inside her. His thumb rubbed soothing circles over her wrist as he pulled her carefully towards the edge of the hammock, only stopping when her knees were pressed against the fabric.

He didn't say anything as he lifted the blanket up with his free hand, as he used his hold on her wrist to guide her gently to his side. She toed off her boots, barely even hesitating as she climbed in beside him, settling against his chest. He tugged the blanket up over her shoulders, making sure that every exposed inch of her was covered and safe, before he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and placed his other hand on her waist.

Inhaling deeply, Ada pushed her face into his collarbone, revelling in the smell of soap and soil. The tension that clung to her shoulders vanished, tiredness creeping in once more. He turned his face into her hair, lifting the hand that was around her shoulders to tangle his fingers in the soft strands. A small smile tugged at the corners of lips.

Neither of them said anything as they settled into a deep sleep, succumbing at last to exhaustion, but Ada couldn't remember the last time she had felt that warm and safe.