Chapter Five

I awoke to screaming. Jumping out of my chair, I realized it was Ben. I quickly tried to comfort him, so he wouldn't wake up the other Gladers. I took off the sheet, and looked at the Griver sting.

It had swollen up again, and was oozing. I quickly covered up my hands with my sleeves and squeezed the pus out, causing him to scream louder. But as soon as I finished, he calmed down a bit. He stopped screaming, but he was still wincing.

I took the cloth off of his chest. All that was in it now was water. I replaced the ice, dampened the cloth, and placed it back on his chest.

He let out a sigh of relief, and he closed his eyes again. "Goodnight, Ben." I whispered, and covered him up in the sheet again.

I sat down in the chair again and sighed. I really hoped that none of the Gladers woke up to his screaming. But chances were, the entire Homestead heard.

I put my head in my hands. I was exhausted, but I couldn't bring myself to sleep after Ben's screaming. It must've been about 1:00 in the morning.

I stood up and stretched. My back was extremely sore from sleeping in the chair, but I needed to stay close to Ben. I walked around the room a little bit. I sat back down.

I leaned my head against the wall and dozed off again.

---

When I woke up, it was light out, and Ben was still sleeping. I stood up and peered out the window, to see all of the Gladers doing their work. It must've been past breakfast time, because nobody went out to work before eating.

I went over to Ben, and gently pulled off the sheet. The Griever sting was starting to swell up again, but it wasn't as bad as it was during the night. I decided that I would take care of it when he woke up.

I took the cloth off his forehead. I dipped it in water, and wrung it out, so that it was damp. I then placed it back on his forehead. I got new ice for his chest and wrapped it up in another damp cloth, and set that on his chest.

Suddenly, I realized I had pus from Ben's Griever sting on my sleeves. After leaving it on for so long, it had stained the bottom part of them yellow. I grabbed a knife, cut the bottom part off, and threw it away. My clothes looked pretty torn up, and I wished the Creators would hurry up and send me new ones.

As the day went on, Ben just slept. I always checked his pulse to make sure he was just sleeping, and not dead. I didn't leave the room all day. I didn't have any visitors until shortly after supper.

I heard a knock at the door. I got up from my chair, opened the door, and it was Newt. He was holding a plate covered in tinfoil. "Oh, hey Newt." I said softly.

"Hey, Rosa. Can I come in?" He asked, and I nodded. He stepped into the room, and I shut the door after him. "How's he doing?" He asked.

"He's doing good. I mean, good for someone who was stung by a Griever.." I said.

Newt nodded. "You haven't eaten since lunch yesterday, so I brought you some food. I mean, if you want it. You should probably have it. Unless you don't want to, of course. But.." He trailed off, awkwardly. I smiled at him, and took the plate.

"Thank you, Newt."

"No problem." He grinned.

I sat down in the chair and took the tinfoil off the plate. I immediately smelt roast beef, potatoes, and carrots. My mouth watered at the smell, and I realized how hungry I really was. I immediately dug in, savoring the food. I then heard Newt chuckle. I looked up.

"Huh?" I questioned.

"I'm guessing you were pretty hungry." He laughed, and then smiled. I suddenly realized how much of a pig I was being, and I turned red.

"Heh, yeah, sorry.." I said, and wiped my mouth. 'Ugh, I'm such a shuckhead!'

"It's no problem. I'd honestly do the same thing after not eating. Why didn't you just run and grab some food?" He asked.

"I made it my responsibility to take care of Ben, and make sure he survives to get the serum. I can't leave him. I need to do my job." I said, and he nodded. Then, he looked at my arms.

"What happened to your sleeves?" He asked.

"I had to cut them off, because I got pus all over them from the Griever sting. As for the rest of my clothes.. They stink, they're dirty, and they're all torn up. I wish the Creator would've given me some when I first came up in the Box." I groaned.

"That's a load of klunk. We all had clothes sent up with us when we arrived, so why not you?" He said, annoyed. I shrugged, mentally agreeing with him.

---

Newt stayed with me all evening while I took care of Ben. We talked about everything and anything. I was honestly glad to have his company. He was funny, and you could actually have a good conversation with him.

At the end of the day, I sat down in the chair next to Ben's bed. I yawned, and as soon as I closed my eyes, I was out like a light.

---

The next morning when I woke up, it was light out, and I was no longer in the chair. I sat up, and looked around. I then realized, I was in the other bed in Ben's room. I stood up and stretched. I walked over to Ben, and checked him. Everything seemed normal. I replaced his cloths, and got him new ice. I went to sit next to Ben in the chair, but I noticed something in the chair. Looking closer, I realized it was clothes, and a note. The note read:

'Here's some fresh clothes. They're mine, so they might be a little big, but they'll do. -Newt'

I put down the note and smiled. I quickly changed into Newt's clothes, and set my old ones underneath the chair. The shirt was pretty baggy on me, but it was super comfortable. His jeans were just a tad to big for me. I giggled, realizing how skinny his legs must really be.

All morning I basically just sat around, not doing anything. But then, shortly after lunch, Ben opened his eyes.

"Hey Ben.. How are you doing?" I asked him. He didn't say anything, he just stared at me. I took the sheet off of him, revealing his Griever sting. He glanced down at it and quickly looked away. He had an upset expression on his face. "I know, this is a load of klunk. But in two days the serum will get here, and then you'll be back on your feet again."

He sighed, and closed his eyes. "Listen, I'm going to try and get the pus out of your sting, okay?" I said, and he nodded, eyes still closed.

I grabbed my old shirt from under the chair, and covered my hands with it. Then, I squeezed. He screamed in pain, and I was sure the other Gladers could hear it from outside the Homestead. When I stopped, Ben opened his eyes again. They were glazed with pain, and I felt sorry for him.

"Don't worry. It'll all be okay." I said soothingly. All of a sudden, he reached out his arm, and grabbed my hand. I sat down next to him, still holding his hand, and I didn't let go.

We stayed like that for half an hour, until Ben fell asleep. I smiled, and let go of his hand. I changed his cloths again, making sure they weren't too wet. Then I pulled the sheet back over him again.

I sat down in the chair, looking at Ben. 'I really hope he's okay...' I thought.

---

The next two days were the same. I would take care of Ben, Newt would bring me supper, I'd fall asleep in the chair, and wake up in the bed.

It had been a week since I'd arrived in the Glade, which meant the supplies was coming up today.

The day went on like normal, until after lunch. There was a knock on the door, and I answered it to see Clint grinning. "I've got the serum!" He said. I smiled, and brought him to Ben.

He woke up, and smiled weakly at the sight of the serum. Clint put it into a syringe, and then stabbed it into Ben's arm. He yelped in pain, and looked at me with tears in his eyes.

I held onto his hand, and a tear ran down his face. "I don't want to change.." He whispered, and then blacked out.

•••

A/N

Sorry this chapter skipped around a lot, but it was difficult to write about Rosa taking care of Ben. But better things are to come, trust me.

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