wegotarunner | Day One, Greenie.

Day One, Greenie.

[Open Spam]

[Thomas arrives on the deck of the ship with a look of weariness not only on his features, but one that's settled into his shoulders. Chuck's carving is still clutched tightly in his hand. There's still blood on his clothes. On his hands. His face is streaked with dirt and sweat and blood from a cut above his eye and another on his cheek.

So this is the Barge.

He looks up at the sky with wide eyes, momentarily distracted by the sight and forgetting the events of the last few hours. But only momentarily. He blinks himself out of his dazed stupor and rubs a hand over his face. It takes him a moment to get his bearings. The first thing he needs to do is find his room, and take a long, hot shower. Change his clothes. Get something to eat. It's been hours since he last ate anything and his stomach isn't happy about it.

And then he's going to explore the Barge, find out where everything is. Figure out what to do from there. He's sure there's a lot to learn about this place, about the people he's now sharing space with. He's not completely thrilled about having to meet a whole slew of new people. People who won't know him, who will probably treat him like an outsider. Like he's not to be trusted.

Truthfully, he's still not sure should be. He remembers Newt's words. That who he used to be doesn't matter, it's who he is now that counts. And he can't save them if he focuses on things he can't do anything about. He has to stay focused.

For Newt. For Minho. For Teresa. For Alby. Ben. Even for Gally.

But most of all, for Chuck.]

[Video]

[Thomas appears on screen looking better than he had only an hour ago for those who ran into him on the way from the deck to his room. He's cleaned up, all the blood and sweat and dirt gone from his skin. The cut above his eye and the one on his cheek are still there but they look a little less angry now. He also looks a little hesitant, like he's not sure about this.]

Someone said I should introduce myself.

I'm Thomas.

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Thanks.

[He draws in a breath and heads into the bathroom, quickly stripping out of his bloody clothes and climbing into the shower, turning the water on as hot as he can stand. The heat eases some of the tension and achy feeling from his muscles and for awhile he just stands there, letting the water wash away the blood and sweat and dirt and tears. After awhile he finally reaches out and turns the water off again, climbing out, drying off and changing into the clothes that Merlin left out for him. They're a little baggy on him, but they're clean and dry.

His hair is still damp when he steps back out into the main room.]

[Merlin's not far away, flicking through a book while he waits. When he hears the door he looks up, and smiles.]

You look better.

[He feels better. Physically, anyway. The rest will come with time.]

Thanks. I appreciate the help and...the clothes.

You're welcome.

[He hesitates just a moment.]

...a lot of people come here, looking like you did. I did. And I don't know what happened to you, or why you're here, or where you've come from, but...if you ever want to talk about it, you can.

[He swallows hard at Merlin's words. He tries to smile but doesn't quite manage it. He believes him. His voice is sincere. Thomas just isn't ready yet.]

Thank you. I think I just need some time to process first, I guess.

[Merlin nods, and it makes him feel a little more hopeful for the younger man that he can even say that much. He doesn't think he would have been able to. (He doesn't think he can now.)]

If there's anything you need, all you need to do is contact me. You should have - [He rummages in a pocket for his communicator, and holds it up for him to see.] One of these, to speak to the rest of the ship.

[Thomas pats his pockets after seeing the device and sure enough, he finds one in his pocket. He stares at it curiously for a moment, much the way he'd stared at the Griever's mechanic stinger.]

Oh. That's different.

[Merlin smiles gently.]

I can show you how it works, if you like. I'd never seen anything like it before I arrived here.

Yeah. Yeah, that'd be good, thank you.

[Merlin's explanation is slow, and thorough, and careful - in the way of someone who knows exactly what it's like to be handed a relatively complicated electronic device, having come from somewhere with no greater technology for recording information than quill and paper.]

...people use these to watch for newcomers, I think. There's no announcement that you've arrived beyond any you make for yourself, so - when you're feeling up to it, you ought to.

[God knows he didn't, at first.]

[It reminds him a bit of one of SmartPhones that he has passing memory of from when he was younger, but no one really had phones anymore. Or anything like this, really. He's kind of fascinated.]

Do a lot of people show up every day?

[He shakes his head.]

Not every day. I came here a little over a month ago, and there's been...six, or seven who arrived after me.

[Thomas nods, thinking. Six or seven new people a month is definitely a lot more than one new Greenie a month showing up. Or even two. And two had been enough to freak out the Gladers. Gally, in particular.

He chews his lower lip.]

So I'm probably the only one today.

I think so. I've not seen anyone else today. Though I don't think there's a...schedule, really.

But it's normal, right? For people to show up randomly? It doesn't upset people?

No, it doesn't. They're used to it. Most of the people I've met here have been very kind.

[It's an oddly specific question; he tilts his head.]

Where are you from?

I'm not sure.

[He knows that's a weird response and he grimaces even as he admits it.]

I was in a place called the Glade right before this. But not for long. I don't really...remember much before it though.

...I'm sorry.

[A life forgotten is a life lost. He can't help but offer his sympathy.]

How long is 'not long'?

[He can remember bits and pieces of life before the Glade, but they're so small and so scattered that putting them all together to come up with any kind of clear image of life before is difficult at best.]

A week. Maybe not a full one. Just a few days.

Do you know how you lost your memory? Were you injured, or...?

[It's hard to imagine how the Admiral would judge someone a Warden, or an Inmate, or anything else on the basis of a few days alone. How anyone would even know who they themselves were. Merlin knows there's a few weeks in his life that he'd rather not be taken in isolation.]

[He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly.]

There was a procedure. We called it the Swipe. It pretty much gets rid of all your memories.

[His eyebrows lift in surprise, and frankly a little horror.]

Someone did this to you? Why?

We were trying to figure out how to save people from a disease. I don't really understand all of it, but...I agreed. I thought it was going to help.

[He's pretty sure it hasn't.]

[He's not going to address that any further. He doubts Thomas has any answers to his questions, and he probably wouldn't understand them if he did.]

Is there any way your memories can be returned to you?

I honestly don't know. There was this thing -- back in the Glade. They called it 'getting stung.' It gave you back some of your memories. Not all of them. But a few.

[He looks down.]

I used it to try and remember.

[And the stuff that he did remember hadn't been good.]

But it wasn't exactly clear. I mean, I remembered some things, but not a lot.

[He doesn't even know his last name.]

Day One, Greenie.

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Spam - gonna skim this a little because pfft like I know the technical deets

Spam -- lol totally fine XD

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