Day One, Greenie.

[wegotarunner]

[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.

Comments

[wegotarunner]

[He manages a very faint smile at her greeting. Something about her immediately reminds him of Teresa, but he's not sure what it is.]

I've heard bits and pieces, yeah. I mean I knew a little before I got here. Just not all the specifics.

[forgetyourusedtobe]

Well, if you have questions, never hesitate to ask. Some people might grumble a little bit if you post it to the network, but I'd say don't listen to them. It's better to know as much as possible.

But if you don't want to listen to their grumbling, I'd say ask anyone who's been here a while.

[Elena makes no distinction between asking a warden or an inmate. Both opinions are valid as far as she's concerned.]

And if you need a tour, I'd be happy to show you around unless someone else beat me to it.

[wegotarunner]

[Oh, Elena. Prepare to be the receiver of countless questions in days to come. He's pretty sure he about drove Alby and Newt both crazy with his questions about the Glade.]

Thanks. I'm sure I'll have a lot of questions pretty soon.

[Right now, though, he's just too mentally exhausted. Physically, too.]

No one's beat you to it. I think I need to get a little sleep before a tour though.

[forgetyourusedtobe]

[Hey man, bring it on. She'll answer questions for pretty much forever.]

[She nods because although he is cleaned up now, he does look a little worse for wear.]

Sure. Just let me know when, or you can go ahead and give yourself the tour. [She smiles.] There's nothing stopping you from exploring yourself and I promise I won't be offended.

[wegotarunner]

[She's much nicer than the guys at the Glade had been at first, that's for sure.]

Okay. Thank you. How uh -- how long have you been here?

[forgetyourusedtobe]

The first time was nine months. There was a second time that I don't really remember and I couldn't say how long that was for, but this time it's been a little over one.

There are people who've been around longer than that though.

[wegotarunner]

Nine months. Wow.

[He'd only been in the Glade for a few days and it had felt like an eternity. He looks a little overwhelmed.]

[forgetyourusedtobe]

It goes by fast. I mean, it still sorta feels like I just got back yesterday.

[Although a number of things have changed since then. Things that Elena still doesn't know how to make sense of if she's completely honest.]

[wegotarunner]

[He nods at that, looking uncertain.]

Have a lot of people left since you were here last?

[forgetyourusedtobe]

I don't know if I'd say a lot, but yeah. There have been quite a few that have come and gone.

[wegotarunner]

That sounds rough.

[forgetyourusedtobe]

It can be, [Elena agrees with a small nod.] But most of the time, it's not really a bad thing to see people leave.

[Although some would probably disagree with her, some definitely consider this place to be home, Elena doesn't think that the Barge is ever really meant to be for last forever. People are meant to move on eventually because that's what this place is ultimately about: change.]

[wegotarunner]

Yeah, I guess that's sort of the whole point, isn't it?

[Thomas has no intentions of staying here forever. He has to get back home to help his friends. He doesn't know what they're facing now that they're out of the Glade, but he knows they're going to need him.]

[forgetyourusedtobe]

Some of it, at least.