Chapter 18
672 Words
Tee's POV
I thought things would be better than they are right now. Rachel had dramatically changed and wouldn't talk to anyone, since Ben had been banished, I could tell Gally was heart broken to see his sister like this and so was I to be honest, I didn't think all of this would've been this horrific.
I was walking around the glade, well more like shuffling... The mood had been awful with everyone since yesterday in particular. I saw Rachel and Gally inside the shelter and ran over to them. Gally greeted me with a warm hug and then rubbed his head and shuffled from foot to foot. "I don't know what to do, she won't eat" he said frustrated. I nodded and knelt down beside her. "Rachel, Ben would want you to eat and try and move on" I said rubbing her back. She made eye contact with me and even I had to admit, it was very unsettling to see her like this. "Ben is dead" she uttered bluntly. "Rachel, you need to eat" Gally said a little more sternly, I could see he was getting more and more frustrated. Gally didn't exactly have the most patience to deal with this. "He was the only one that made me feel like I was worth anything. Without him, I'm as good as dead anyway" she said and with that, she got up and walked slowly towards the deadheads. I looked up at Gally sympathetically, he just shook his head and walked away, a tear in his eye. I knew there was no point following Rachel if she was being this stubborn so I followed Gally to try and give him some reassurance.
I found Gally in the wood shed, sniffing. I know he wouldn't want anyone to see him crying. I made a noise coming in and he looked up, smiling weakly. "Gally, we'll figure something out, I promise" I comforted, taking his hand in mine. He shut his eyes and shook his head. "I'm sorry Tee, you know, if I'm not being very fun to be around right now" he said and looked down. "Nonsense, its a hard time for you Gal, I'm here for you both" I said, I understood. He nodded and we stood there in silence for a bit. I felt I should leave him to himself so I got up and began to walk away. "Tee?" He called. I stopped. "Yeah?" I replied. "I need to talk to Alby, see what we have to do next, want to come?" I smiled at him. "I am her best friend" I replied and took his hand and squeezed.
"Hi guys, I have a feeling I know what you're going to tell me" Alby said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. We stood before him and explained the situation as best we could, no other glader knew what was happening with Rachel better than me and Gally. "Well... I can only think of one thing, it's not nice, but its imperative if we don't want her to die" Alby exclaimed ernestly. Gally nodded in agreement and turned to me. "Gally, what does he mean?" I asked. "He means, if she keeps this hunger strike thing up for much longer, we'll have to force feed her" he said lowering his head. I stood there shocked, processing everything in absolute horror. I made a noise and they both turned to look at me. I shook my head and looked away. "It's so cruel" I said quietly. "It has to be done, if you want her to live" Alby concluded sternly. "She's not in the right state of mind, if she was, she wouldn't be doing this" Gally explained. I didn't say anything, there was a big lump in my throat; like I'd swallowed a big pill and it wouldn't go away. I knew they were both right.
How can I do this to my best friend? If I loose any more people close to me, I will go mad....
- Writer
