INNOVATION - CHAPTER THIRTREEN

⚘ A GRIEVERS STING ⚘

After remembering his name, Chuck seemed much happier. It was understandable, it gave him something to hope for; an escape. Kalisa felt responsible for the kid, especially after he had confided to her about his parents.

She was gonna get him out of here.

But for the time being, he was assigned as a Slopper, much to his displeasure. Kalisa hated to admit it but Chuck wasn't nessesarily skilled when it came to work.

He accidently hammered a nail into Gally's finger on his building day. He burnt Frypan's bread to a crisp on his cooking day. And when he stepped foot into the Blood house, one look around was all he needed before he bent over, and barfed on Henry's feet.

Being a Slopper meant Chuck was given all the dirty work no one else wanted to do like dishes, and Klunk duty. Kalisa helped the kid out whenever she could, but she could tell the work was discouraging for him.

It was especially bad since the other Gladers took it upon themselves to make his work as difficult as possible. Being bigger and older they found pleasure in picking on Chuck, which was what they were doing now.

"Give it back!" Chuck stamped his foot angrily as a few Builders tossed his Slop bucket back and forth, out of his small reach.

"Mmm, I don't think so," A blonde boy laughed, dangling the bucket before his face, then moving it just as the kid reached out to grab it.

"Come on Chunky, you can do better than that!" They snickered as Chuck tried and failed to retrieve his bucket.

"Hey!" Kalisa shouted from afar, noticing the ruckus. This wasn't the first time she had caught Gladers picking on Chuck.

The girl stomped across the Glade, coming from the Blood house where they had just been dismissed from work.

"Uh oh, here comes your bodygaurd! Can't do anything without her huh?"

Kalisa stopped next to Chuck who was out of breath from attempting to get his bucket. "Give it back." She ordered.

"Oh sure! We were just messing around you know," The boys sneered handing Chuck his bucket dramatically. They turned to walk away before one of them paused and kicked over Chucks giant pile of wood he had spent the better part of the day collecting.

"Oops, I tripped." The boy laughed along with his friend as Chuck rushed over to try and stop the wood from rolling away.

The two boys turned to leave, still chuckling about what they had done. Kalisa's fingers itched. How was she expected to just sit here and watch? She couldn't.

A knife lodged itself in the trunk of a tree, just inches away from missing one of the boy's head. They whirled around, shock and disbelief written clearly on their once smug faces.

"Oops, I tripped." Kalisa glared, noticing the knife had nicked one of the boys in the ear.

"You're shucking insane!" One exclaimed before they dashed away, looking cautiously over their shoulders as they went.

Once they were gone Kalisa retreived her knife and knelt beside Chuck. "Let me help,"

"You didn't have to do that." The kid said, though there was a small grin present on his face.

"Don't worry kid. I enjoyed it." Kalisa grinned back.

She had been put in the Pit for a night after that. The boys had snitched to Alby, and the leader had to uphold the rules, though Newt visited her later and said that he was on her side for the matter.

The days passed slowly. Kalisa watched as Chuck grew from a frightened Greenie, to an accepting Glader. He still had nightmares sometimes, but overall he had grown to call the Glade home, or at least home for now.

Then everything changed.

    It was the morning before Greenie Day, and everything in the Glade was standard. Boys milled about doing their respected jobs, protected from the scorching sun by the colossal walls surrounding them. Kalisa had been in the Blood-house all day, stuck with the smell of iron and the stifling aura of death.

    From the minute she had woke up that day something felt different. Wrong.

    It wasn't until mid-afternoon that she discovered what it was.

    "Hey! Med-jacks!" A yell echoed across the Glade, alerting everyone at once.

    She shared a worried glance with Henry and Winston before throwing down her knife and chasing after the others, who had already started towards the commotion.

    Kalisa ran hard, curiosity and alarm racing through her veins. As she reached the clearing she saw a commotion.

    Minho was struggling to support an unconscious boy while harrowing away from the open Maze doors. Upon closer inspection Kalisa could tell that both the boys were covered in sweat, dirt, and... blood.

    "They aren't supposed to be back yet." Kalisa said, watching from afar with the Slicers as Clint and Jeff raced forward, holding a stretcher for the motionless boy.

    Winston and Henry shared a pained look, fight temporarily forgotten in the heat of the moment.

    "Whats going on?" Kalisa pressed, noticing the boys expressions.

    "It's Ben." Henry said blankly. "He- he was one of my good friends."

    "He was stung. By a Griever. Or thats what it looks like at least, maybe he"- Winston was cut off by Henry shaking his head, "No, thats a sting. He looks like Nick did."

    Kalisa tried to follow along, but she was having difficulties. Ben was stung by a Griever, but weren't those only supposed to come out at night? And who was Nick? Kalisa recognized the name as whose room she was in.

    Minho collapsed to the ground, exhaustion very clear as he gasped for air and looked after the Med-jacks worriedly. Newt dashed forward with Alby, clearly going to question the Runner.

    "Will Ben be okay?" Kalisa asked, dreading the answer.

    "Well... he'll get the serum, and if he survives that then he might be a bit jumpy... but he'll be alive." Winston cleared his throat, picking his words carefully for Henry's sake.

    If he survives.

    Kalisa didn't like the sound of that. She wanted to ask more questions, but hesitated when she saw Henry's heartbroken look. She would ask someone else, later.

    "Back to work shanks!" Alby yelled, before following Minho to the Map Room, Newt headed to the Med room.

    The rest of the day had been filled with anticipation and worry. Winston had explained that the serum was what was injected to a Glader after they had been stung. Supposedly it healed you and returned your memories, though Winston had also said that not many people survived the Changing.

    Kalisa didn't know Ben. But she didn't need to know someone to fear for them. What would she have done had she been in his situation? How do you recover from that?

    Later that night came the screams.

    The first one broke through the night like a bird screech, then the second, and the third. Kalisa lost count.

    As the Med room wasn't far from her bedroom the girl decided to join Chuck for the night, wanting to be as far away from the sounds as possible. Not because she yearned for sleep, but because she couldn't stand the sounds of pain, knowing that anyone could be next. She had grown too comfortable here. She had forgotten the warnings, the Glade was dangerous, and it could kill.

    The next morning Kalisa went to work, needing to do something to take her mind off Ben. She didn't know how long she had been in there, but when an accented voice cut her out of her knife sharpening haze, it seemed to be afternoon.

    "You know we have the day off right?" Newt moved from his spot, crossing the large room to stand beside the girl. She wondered how long he had been watching her.

    "I know." Kalisa set the knife down and sighed. Newt looked tired, from his bags under his eyes to his slouched posture Kalisa could tell he had had a long night. "How is he?"

    "Not too good if I'm being honest." Newt huffed rubbing his eyes. "The Changing is taking a horrible toll on him. He's fighting it, kept us up all night as I'm sure you know. This is the first moment of peace I've gotten in forever."

    Kalisa gazed at the distressed boy. "I don't get it. How could he have gotten stung? I thought the Grievers only came out at night."

    "So did we." Newt stared off into space. "Gladers have gotten stung before of course, but it's almost always at nightfall, when the doors are about to close and the Grievers are beginning to wake. This is new."

    "What does this mean for us?"

    "Could be anything." Newt answered finally meeting her eyes. A thousand words were said at once. "Alby's wearin' himself down over it."

    "Are you okay?" Kalisa was shocked at her question. It was genuine, she truly was worried about Newt, and that was dangerous.

    Newt's lips quirked, "I will be once he's better." They stared at each other for a minute until Newt cleared his throat and stood straight, "The Box should be here any minute with our Greenie."

    "Thats poor timing." Kalisa sniffed distastefully. She had a feeling the Creators did this on purpose.

    "Tell me about it." Newt nodded in agreement as the two headed off for the Homestead.

    After a small lunch of wood-fired pizza, Kalisa found herself anxiously awaiting the moment the Box alarm would sound, signaling the new arrival of supplies and of course the Greenie.

    "I can't wait for that shank to get here," Chuck exclaimed, the Glader term sounding foreign on his tongue. "I'm so tired of being called Greenie."

    Kalisa was glad he was such a positive kid. One crying Greenie was enough, and while Kalisa loved Chuck to death, she didn't know if she could handle him on top of the newbie. Chuck had taken the Griever event fairly well. He had been fazed in the moment, but once Kalisa had joined him in his hammock, he calmed down enough to find sleep.

    Just when Kalisa thought it would never happen, the alarm sounded, echoing off the walls and booming into the afternoon air. At once the Gladers dashed over to the Box, each elbowing and fighting to be at the front.

    As it was only her second Greenie day, Kalisa found herself in the back of the pack along side Chuck, while Newt, Alby, and Gally stood firmly at the front.

    "What now?" Chuck questioned, as the Gladers talked anxiously around them.

    "Now we wait. About half an hour, then the doors will open and we'll pull 'em out." Kalisa explained.

    And so wait they did. At first everyone stood, bouncing on their heels to try and get a better view of the scene. Some made bets on the job the Greenie would acquire, some guessed its features. But in the end almost everyone ended up sprawled out in the grass, too tired to continue rocking on their heels.

    The conversation eventually died out as well, leaving the Glade lapsed in silence saved by Ben's occasion scream. It was odd to think that just mere feet below them, there was a new Glader with no memories currently having a mid-life crisis. Surely they were freaked out, everyone was when they first got here.

"This is boring." Chuck stated after 5 minutes.

"Well there's not much we can do until the Box opens kid." Kalisa sighed patiently.

Chuck hummed and looked around. "Well... we could play i-spy!"

Kalisa raised an eyebrow, "Go ahead then."

The boy perked up and ran his beady eyes over the landscape around them, searching for his pick. "I spy something tall."

"Could it possibly be the walls?" Kalisa smirked. "How'd you know?!" Chuck exclaimed.

"I spy something thats stupid and annoying." Henry spoke up, moving from his spot by the Bricknicks to join the two. He had recovered from the loss of Ben on the exterior, though it was very clear that he still held anxiety for his friend.

Wanting to cheer him up Kalisa glared jokingly, "Is it a mirror?"

"We don't have mirrors here you dumb shank." Henry said seriously, before cracking a wide smile causing Chuck to laugh.

"I got one, I got one!" Tyler scooted over to the group who had most of the Gladers attention by now. "I spy something thats a control freak!" He not so slyly glanced over at Fry.

"Hey!" The boy gasped. "Well I spy something... with- uh, hygiene issues!"

Kalisa frowned, unimpressed, "That could literally be anyone."

"Yeah." Henry agreed, then added, "But it's probably Ed."

"Correct!"

"Hey!"

At that moment the Box let out a screech, before slowly peeling apart. Everyone was on their feet at once, game temporarily forgotten as they peeked through heads to get a glimpse of their newest addition.

"Look at that shank!" Someone hollered, pointing down.

"Looks like Klunk in a T-shirt." Another boy shook his head disapprovingly.

"I- can't- see!" Chuck jumped between words yet had no avail in getting a better view.

Kalisa shook her head, fighting a smile. "It's no use kid, and besides you'll see him in a minute."

Kalisa and Chuck waited patiently as the boys crowded around the Box, attempting to intimidate the Greenie by shouting down at him. Eventually however, someone threw down the rope and with a heave, they pulled the shank out.

Through gaps between bodies, Kalisa was able to see a muscular, tall form. He seemed to be around the same age as the others, 16 if not 17. Good. They didn't need anymore kids.

The boy had dark messy hair that was currently slick with sweat and dark tiny moles that were splattered across his neck and face in no particular fashion. As she had predicted the boy was clearly freaked out, and slowly turned in a circle, oblivious to the jeering and laughter around him. He only saw the walls.

After letting the Greenie soak in the scene, Alby stepped forward, "It's a long story shank. Piece by piece you'll learn." The brunette said nothing, only staring at Alby with unsettlement clear across his face.

"Tomorrow I'll be takin' you on the tour, 'till then... just don't break anything." Alby stuck his hand out, clearly wanting to him to shake it. "The names Alby."

To everyone's surprise the Greenie turned his back to their leader and fell against a tree, back resting against the bark as he blinked away the tears in his eyes.

"Then tell me." He finally spoke, voice sounding rough. "Tell me the long story."

Kalisa waited to see Alby's reaction. She knew the boy well enough by now to know that he didn't take kindly to questions. Kalisa knew exactly what it was like, wanting answers yet not receiving them. Stuck in a flurry of confusion while everyone around her just seemed amused.

Looking more dreadful he said, "Seriously. Where am I?"

Alby sighed and moved to sit across from the boy, Gladers scurrying after him. Kalisa avoided the stampede of curious boys and stuck to the back with Chuck and Henry.

"If you ain't scared, you ain't human." Alby said gravely but sternly. "Act any different and I'd throw you off the Cliff cause it'd mean you're a psycho."

"What a welcome," Kalisa muttered to Henry.

"Yours was worse, I've still never seen Alby so pissed." Henry shook his head at the memory.

Before Kalisa could question him further, the newbie said, "The Cliff?"

"You heard me Greenie. This place is called the Glade. It's where we live, where we eat, where we sleep- we call ourselves the Gladers." Alby explained gruffly. "Thats-"

"Who sent me here? How'd-" Alby cut the boy off by yanking him to his feet, anger very clear. Kalisa rolled her eyes, she still didn't understand why they were so hesitant to just explain. It would certainly help a lot more than just 'picking it up as the days went by'.

"No interruptions boy!" Alby shouted. "If we just told you everything you'd die on the spot! Right after you klunked your pants! Baggers would drag you off and you ain't no good to us then are you?"

The Greenie frowned in thought, not looking very rattled by his yelling. Kalisa had to give him kudos for that, when she had first arrived she could barely even bring herself to meet anybody's eye.

Newt, having had enough of watching, stepped forward and pulled Alby off the boy. "Lay off a bit Alby. You're hurtin' more than helpin'."

Alby took a calming breath. "Ain't got no time to be nice Greenbean. Learn the rules quick, listen don't talk. You get me?"

The boy looked around for help, but found none. "Yeah." His voice sounded tight. Unnatural.

"Good that. In a few days you'll be happy and helping. None of us knew jack on our first day, you'll get used to it all eventually." Alby said, almost sounding sincere. "Newt show this shank where to sleep, and the rest of you- get back to work! Dinner in one hour,"

A few Gladers let out groans of annoyance but eventually the group split. Each boy headed off to their posts while the new boy and Newt stayed behind, the latter saying something while pointing to the Homestead.

    "He looks nice." Chuck nodded approvingly. Suddenly Newt turned his pointer finger from the wooden house to Chuck and Kalisa, who looked away obviously.

    "We should probably get back to work." Kalisa stated acting like she was observing the Walls with interest. "Probably." Chuck started to wave then changed his mind and awkwardly scratched his chin.

    Before either of them could make a move Ben let out another scream. But this one was worse. Kalisa could just tell by the sound that something was wrong.

    Newt could tell as well. The blonde said something final to the newbie before limping off to the Homestead.

    "He doesn't sound good." Chuck swallowed nervously.

    "Get back to your work kid," Kalisa said faintly. Something was coming, she just knew it.

Let me know what you thought of this chapter! Yay Thomas has finally arrived, that means we're getting into the main plot. I hope everyone is having a great day, happy reading!

1/5/24

3080 words