▬That night, I sat with Minho, Alby and Newt for dinner.

Frypan especially seemed quite pleased that I'd finally decided to join the other Gladers in the kitchen to eat. He'd come around to table I sat at quite often and chatted with me, Minho, Alby and Newt, cracking jokes and making us laugh. Since I still felt out of place, I didn't contribute much to the conversation, though the others would still try to get me to talk.

I was eating my plate of fried chicken when someone slid right next to me on the bench.

I cringed away immediately and turned to see who it was. It was a boy I saw around the Glade but had never spoken to; if I remember right, his name was Kris. He had dark brown hair and startlingly bright blue eyes, and freckles dotted his cheeks.

"Hi," he said casually. He didn't seemed to notice that I felt uncomfortable - or maybe he just didn't care.

"The hell do you want?" Alby demanded.

"You know, for one of the leaders around the Glade, you're pretty rude," Kris snorted. "Calm down, I only wanted to talk to Rosalind here."

"Rose, you know this guy?" Newt asked. I shook my head.

"Ah, she's just kidding," Kris said, though the way his eyes twitched suggested that he was running low on patience.

"What do you want exactly?" Alby demanded again.

"Are you deaf? I just said - I want to talk to Rosalind. Come on, Rose, come with me."

All eyes turned to me. The other Gladers from nearby tables had started to notice the commotion and were now nudging each other - this was entertainment to them, I realized. They wanted to see how I would respond.

I stubbornly folded my arms and said, "No. I don't know you. Also, you do not get permission to call me Rose."

Kris stared at me for a while. Then without warning he lashed out and grabbed my wrist. He started to drag me, nearly making me topple off the bench. Minho, who was sitting beside me, leaped to his feet and growled at Kris: "Don't you dare touch her!"

When Kris did not respond, Minho marched forward and swung a fist into the face. Gasps erupted from the Gladers around us; Alby and Newt rushed forward to intercept the fight, but Minho and Kris were now engaged in a brawl. I stared in horror as Minho started beating Kris to a pulp - he punched at every inch of the guy, at his face, at his chest, at his stomach. Poor Kris groaned and tried to wriggle his way out, but Minho was too strong.

"Minho, stop it!" Newt cried, trying to grab his friend's arm. He and Alby finally got hold of Minho and pulled him off of Kris, who now laid on the ground in a weak daze.

"What the hell were you both thinking?!" Alby yelled. "Minho, we do not attack people like that without a valid reason! And Kris - do you not shucking understand when someone says no? If Rosalind said no, then she means no. Get it through your shucking head!"

Kris didn't bother responding - he was too badly beaten up anyway. Clint and Jeff arrived on the scene moments later and carried him away to the Homestead, where they would no doubt patch him up.

I sat there on the bench, eyes wide and mouth agape. I was too shocked to say or do anything. The crowd of onlooking Gladers shuffled away, and Newt came over to me while Alby headed toward the Homestead.

"You alright?" He asked.

I nodded hesitantly. I was still trying to process everything that had happened.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," he said. "If he comes near you again you tell me, alright?"

I nodded again. Newt gave me a nervous yet comforting smile, then trudged off.

-

That night, I retreated to my usual tree spot where I usually slept and laid on the grass, staring up at the canopy of leaves above me. I replayed back the day's events, from me bandaging Newt's wrist to Kris trying to pull me away to "talk". I shuddered as I thought of what he wanted to do with me. I wasn't stupid - I knew he wanted to take advantage of me because I was a girl. But to make it a public scene in front of everyone like that was just a low blow. Thank the gods Minho, Alby and Newt saved me from the situation.

I heaved a sigh and closed my eyes. I laid there, wide awake despite my futile attempts to fall asleep.

I heard a twig snapped behind me - there were footsteps. I sat up and glanced around; the forest was shrouded in darkness, my eyes struggling to adjust to the level of dimness. I stayed still, careful not to attract attention to myself. More footsteps. And they were heading directly towards me.

I leaped to my feet and glared into the darkness. "Who's there?" I called out.

Suddenly, a hand from behind me clamped over my mouth and my eyes widened. I tried to run away, but someone else tied my wrists together at the back. I tried screaming for help - but the hand forbad any sounds from escaping my mouth. A figure stepped out from behind a tree. I gasped; it was Kris. He looked absolutely horrible. Even through his heavily bandaged head, I could see a wasteland of bruises on his face. His nose was bent at a wrong angle and looked bloody.

"Stupid," Kris hissed. His voice was scratched and croaky. "Stupid, stupid, stupid. You're a stupid little girl!"

He pulled out a long knife from his back and pointed it at me. My eyes widened and I tried to struggle again, but the two people holding me back were too strong.

"You humiliated me in front of everyone today," Kris growled. "You ruined my reputation! I lost most of my allies and friends thanks to you!"

I wanted to say, Gee, I wonder why that happened. But I couldn't speak.

"I'm going to teach you a lesson," he said. "I'm gonna teach you that I'm not a person to be messed with!"

Kris flicked the knife blade at arm and a muffled scream escaped me. I felt pain in my right shoulder - he must have nicked my skin.

"Not so brave now, are you?" Kris sneered. "No Prince Charmings to save you from the situation now, huh?"

Kris swung his knife at my face - I was sure I was a goner - when something leaped into view and tackled him from the side. Kris grunted in surprise as he tried to push his attacker off him.

I stared at his attacker. It was Newt. He swung a fist at Kris' face and Kris let loose a guttural howl. He swung his knife at Newt, but the blond had already scooted away. His face was taut with pain and he was clutching his bandaged wrist - he must have broken it again from tackling Kris.

"You're a fool!" Kris yelled at him as he scrambled to his feet. He swung his knife at him again, but Newt stepped well out of the blade's range.

"Kris, what the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" Newt demanded. "Where'd you get the knife?"

"Why do you care?" Kris said. "You just attacked me!"

"Because you attacked Rosalind first, you shucking idiot! Stop being such a sissy hypocrite and drop your knife!"

"Sorry, blondie," Kris smirked, "but you're not the leader around here. Step aside or I'll run this knife through you!"

But Newt stood his ground.

"I said, drop the knife," he said firmly. "Or I'll call in reinforcements."

"Reinforcements? Hah!" Kris barked. "I never knew you were such a liar, Newt!"

Newt snapped his fingers - the sound rippled through the air and all at once, a group of Gladers emerged from the darkness and formed a ring around us. Kris blinked in surprise as the Gladers pointed an assortment of their own weapons at him: there were wooden poles sharpened at the end, long and short knives alike, and even shovels and spades.

"Drop your weapon," Newt repeated. "Now."

Kris stared at him, stunned. He shot a glance back at me, but my two captors had already released their grip on me. I turned around and got a good look at them; they were two boys whom I'd seen hanging around Kris multiple times - they must be his remaining allies. They stepped back nervously now that they were faced with a small army of Gladers.

"What are you two doing?" Kris said. "Get back here!"

But the two of them slunk back into the crowd and disappeared from view.

"Kris, ain't nobody gonna hurt you unless you put that knife down," Newt said. "Come on. Just put it down."

"NO!" Kris clamped his hands over his ears. "GO AWAY!"

Newt sighed. He looked to Alby, who was standing a few feet away from him.

"You leave us no choice then." Alby said coldly.

As if on cue, the other Gladers pushed in with their weapons. Kris tried to push them back, but they wrenched the knife from his hand and tied him up with ropes. He shouted in protest, but no one was there to help him. He was alone.

"Gag him as well," Alby said, wrinkling his nose distastefully. "I don't wanna hear his screams while I sleep."

Kris yelled some more at that, but someone stuffed a wadded cloth into his mouth and no other sounds came from him.

"Throw him in the Slammer," Alby ordered. The Gladers obeyed, taking Kris away. In just a few moments, I was left alone with Alby and Newt at the edge of the forest.

I sat down on the ground, stunned by what had just happened. Newt came over to my side and tried to console me, but I heard none of his words. I was too much in shock.

Finally, Alby told Newt to go back to sleep and he obeyed, if not a little grudgingly. And then I was alone in the forest.

It took a while for me to sleep, but when I finally did, I had nightmares.

[ END OF CHAPTER FOUR ]