The Unexpected

25

Philips POV

Two years.

It has been two shucking years.

Two shucking years since Gracie died.

Two shucking years since Sammy went insane over Gracie's death.

Two whole shucking years since our escape plan was ruined by hundreds of shucking greivers and dozens of Glader lives were taken.

I don't know how we've lasted this long.

I don't know when it will end.

I just don't shucking know!

In those two years we have had a lot of Straight games, tons of Collect the Shirt games (where there are two teams and they each hide a shirt on a different side of the Glade and the each team has to collect the shirt from their opponent), and lots and lots of deaths. So many Galders have died. There's only fifteen if us left.

Just focus on staying alive. Once you do that you can make it out of here. My conscience tells me. Make sure you don't forget about Ella though. Speaking of Ella, why not go talk to her? You have something to ask her, don't you? 😏

I find Ella sitting in the Deadheads up in her tree.

"Hello up there!" I call out to her. She looks down and smiles.

"Good day! How art thou?" She responds.

"I art goodith! How art thou, m'lady?" I carry on.

"I art swell, kind sir! Much thanks for asking!" She starts laughing and I join her. I climb up the tree and sit next to Ella.

"Whatcha doin'?" I ask curiously.

"Thinking." She says vaguely.

"About what?"

"The sky, this tree, the thing carved into the tree, me, you,....." She pauses and look at me before she continues. "Us."

She looks so beautiful sitting right there in front of me. The way the sun is shining on her face. Before I can stop myself I lean in to kiss her. We meet half way and I feel the joy of having these moments with her. The only thing in the world that could ruin this kiss would be-

*rustle rustle*

Well I was going to say the world ending but yeah, a beetle blade will do the trick.

She quickly pulls back and frowns at the robotic bug.

"Bloody hell! Is there no such thing as a private moment here in the Glade?!" She asks the beetle blade furiously. She then whips out her knife and as quick as a blink of the eye, she stabs the beetle right in the middle. She twists the knife in it making it spark up and the red eyes go dim.

"Whoa Ella." I say breaking the silence. She turns to me and ever so slightly blushes. "You never taught me how to do that! You shouldn't keep all that amazing-ness to yourself!"

She smirks and replies

"Well I could teach you or........keep all the amazing-ness to myself and be the only Glader who is amazing......" Boy do I love her so much!

I'm about to tell her that she's amazing anyway but the heart carved into the tree catches my eye.

"Gabriella. Can you believe it's been almost six years since you carved that?" I say instead.

Her face softens.

"Yeah." She says wistfully. "Six years we've 'known' each other. Five years we've been together. Best five years of my life. Not that I can remember more than six years of my life but you get me."

"Speaking of remembering. How did you know to go to the greiver whole to get out two years ago?" I ask puzzled.

"Umm well...." She stammers. "Oh wow! Gosh I forgot that I never told anyone! I knew because I got a few memories back."

"You what?!" I say in disbelief.

"Yeah. They weren't important. Well only the escaping part." Her cheeks get redder and redder. "They were about my family and how my dad was stuck in a buggin maze like this and he was friends with Luke's dad, Sammy's dad, Seth's dad, and after a while your dad too. The Creators renamed him Newt, Luke's dad was named Minho, Sammy's dad was Thomas, Seth's dad was Chuck, and your dad was Gally, and by the way he supposedly had really funny lookin' eyebrows. Anyway my memories were of almost everyone when we were little and my dad telling me and Jonah stories. Small bloody things like that. I'm sorry I shouldn't told you sooner."

I take a moment to let that all sink in.

"No it's fine. No relevant was it? Oh well at least we know that our parents already know and like each other!" I pat my pocket to make sure the box hasn't fallen out. It's now or never. Just ask her! It'll be easy! A little voice in my head says.

"Hey Ella? Wanna get down and take a walk?" I ask as casually as possible.

After we are down and start walking, I pluck up the courage and start talkin'

"So Ella."

"So Philip." She teases me with a small laugh. She grabs my hand and squeezed it three times. Our own secret code. One squeeze for each word.

I Love You

I do it back and we smile at each other.

"As I was saying, we've been dating for five years now and I've realized that I love you.......very much. I don't think i would've been able to survive this long in this prison without you. No. I KNOW I would've lasted this long. I was just wondering if you'd-" I'm in mid knee bend when I get cut off by a loud noise. I immediately jump to my feet and grab Ella's hand and listen to the noise.

A noise I haven't heard in a while.

An alarm type of noise.

An alarm that hasn't gone off in so long, I almost forgot what it meant.

But now that I've heard it, I know exactly what it means.

Ella and I look at each other, each wearing the same confused face.

"Is that what I think it is?" She shouts over the noise.

"I think so! I haven't heard it in forever, but I'd know it anywhere! That's-"

We yell it at the same exact time. With the same exact expression. Holding hands in the same exact place she first heard it.

"THE GREENIE ALARM!!"