𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐈𝐀 - TMR, Gally ¹

𝟢𝟤𝟫，𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭

CH. TWENTY - NINE
┗━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━┛

"You're kidding?" She gasps up at him. "Seriously?!"

"Yeah—"

"Oh my god!" She jumps, and her arms wrap around Gally before she knows it. "Yes!"

The Greenie, Joe, and Alfred, the retired Runner, are now Tool-Makers. Obviously, she was at the Gathering too, but she barely spoke, since Gally somewhat took lead and insisted that both of them turned into Tool-Makers, because Joe was good when he tried it out, and Alfred was a great Builder back when he was the Greenie, so Tool-Maker won't be any harder.

So now she's not just with one other boy, but two! Less awkward, they can get more work done, and her job finally doesn't seem idiotic compared to the others, who have at least five boys.

"I don't like hugs," he grumbles.

"And yet your arms have wrapped around me a few seconds ago," she says.

"Because..." he starts, but the explanation never follows.

She lets go of him again. "Your face is all red, so I assume that was a good thank you."

"For what?"

"For making them Tool-Makers, of course." She crosses her arms. "So, Gally, thank you."

"It wasn't a big deal—"

"Thank you."

"I didn't specifically—"

"Would you just accept?"

"Fine." He crosses his arms, too. Looks down at her with a triumphant look. "You're welcome. Now go eat dinner, woman."

Her stomach makes a twist. "Alright. See you."

"Bye."

Happily, she gets her dinner and sits down in front of Alfred and Joe. "Hey, guys."

To her luck, they smile back just as brightly. "Hi!" Joe, the Greenie, greets. He seems quite young, like fourteen, with longer brown hair.

Alfred is a blond, in fact. A little bit gel styles his hair, but besides that, he's the same as the other boys. "Hey."

"I hope y'all don't mind working as a Tool-Maker," she starts.

"I don't," Joe says. "You seem cool. And not as stern as Gally and Eric."

She smiles. "Good that. Sorry 'bout your ankle, Alfred. Does it hurt much?"

"Well, a bit." He shrugs. "I'll live... no longer a Runner, but I'll live."

"There's gonna be a few times in which you have to run away from Alby, so don't worry." A chuckle leaves her mouth.

❀

With a deep breath, Joan dives into the water, constantly thinking back to what happened last time. She knows she didn't mind seeing her mother.

And though she might get into danger with this, she still moves along with the creatures that almost immediately show up.

This time, it doesn't hurt. Maybe because she's not resisting. She just swims through the thick blackness until she falls— and is then at a complete different location.

"I figured you'd come back," the familiar voice besides her.

Joan looks at her mother, then around her. They're in some kind of lab. Everything is white. Liquids bubble in little tubes and people are working with masks covering their mouths.