Green eyes shot open to see that the world around them had been overwhelmed by a great darkness.
Groaning, the young girl pushed herself up to a sitting position. The strain on her arms to hold her own weight, told her that they hadn't been used in a while. It took a few moments of staring into the unknown, but she was now able to see slight shadows and outlines in the darkened space around her. She rubbed her forehead in an attempt to make the splitting headache disappear…it didn't work. With panicky breaths she blinked a few times but nothing became clearer. Where am I? she thought, unease swimming in her mind as a more disturbing thought entered her subconscious, Who am I…
Feeling around her to try and get her bearings she attempted to remember something or anything for that matter, but found that she couldn't. The only thing that came to her mind was a name, Joanne. She had no clue to if this even her name or just some random one she thought up, but it was the best she could do for the moment. She clung to the name, hoping that It would help her keep her sanity in this world of upset.
Feeling her way around on hands and knees she came to the conclusion that she was in a box. It wasn't until she tried to stand that that the box shifted and then started it assent up. This sudden drive upwards sent her crashing back to the floor with a loud bang. She braced herself against a corner as her whole world continued to shoot up. Squeezing her eyes shut, anxiety was beginning to set in and her heart was beating so fast that she was beginning to wonder if it would pop straight out her chest.
With her back now braced firmly against the walls, she pulled her knees to her chest and hugged them as tightly as she could. She tried taking deep breaths to calm herself, it worked somewhat, but there was a continued fear that she couldn't seem to shake. Why can't I remember anything?!
Her ride continued for what seemed like a lifetime before it suddenly came to an abrupt stop an her body was harshly jolted into the wall behind her. With a pain stricken groan, she slowly dared to open her eyes again. She attempted to ease the new pain forming in her shoulder from taking all the damage when the ride stopped. There was still no light…
Getting back on her feet, a little more tentatively this time, She again tried to feel for anything that might be a way out of her darkened house. Her fingers brushed around the whole room, however she found that she couldn't reach the top of the box. Becoming frustrated at circling the room only to find nothing, she called out not really expecting to get an answer in return, "HELLO! CAN ANYONE HEAR ME!"
Joanne was shocked by her own voice, almost stopped mid sentence. It sounded so weird, so unnatural! How long had it been since she'd last heard her own voice…not that she could remember anyways. She was sure the words hadn't come from her own mouth. A loud clanking sound of metal crashing against metal above her, broke her from her thoughts. A suddenly blinding light filled her dark room and shocked her senses. She quickly threw her arms up and turned her head to the side in a desperate attempt to block the striking outburst of light.
"whoa…" A guys voice above her said, without seeing the voices owner, Joanne could tell simply from the way that it was said, that he was about as shocked at the whole situation as she was.
Joanne dropped her arm slowly to reveal her face. She could hear a choirs of voices asking questions in the not to far off distance. Looking up her eyes made contact with two boys standing on either side of the box. A question broke through the crowd, clearer then the others, "what is it?"
"Well I've been shucked," one of the boys above her said before turning to address the crowd, which she had assumed had gather behind him and out of her field of view. "It's a girl"
An outburst of conversation arose outside the box. Joanne felt the moment become uncreasingly uncomfortable the longer she spent in the box. Unable to see anything in her little world inside the rectangular object and the walls being to high to climb out, she was forced to wait until someone was willing to help her out of the box.
A harsh voice suddenly rang threw the air, "slim it you klunk heads!"
Joanne had looked to her left to see a darker skinned boy directing his words towards the crowd. Considering it wasn't long before the voices stopped, she imagined that the boy had some kind of leadership over the rest.
"Hey," The sudden voice to her right broke her from her trance. Looking to her right, she could see the other boy had bent down. One of his hands hung in the box just within Joanne's reach. "take my hand…"
Hesitating only for a moment, Joanne reached up to grasp his hand and she was easily pulled up out of the box. Once her feet were back on solid ground, she took a second to take in her surroundings. The sun shined brightly without a cloud in the sky. Joanne stood in awe as she stared at the large, ivy covered, walls that surrounded the area. In one corner there was a garden filled with what look to be fruits and vegetables.
Looking around, her eyes fell on the crowd of thirty or so people that had gathered around the box and herself. A quick scan threw the group told her that she was the only female face here. She turned back to the original two guys that helped her out of her rectangular tomb. Joanne took a instant to get a better look at her saviours.
The boy who had pulled her out of the box was a good few inches taller then herself and the other boy who stood next to him. His blonde hair lay perfectly just above his shoulders. Joanne shook her head lightly, her finger instinctively reaching up to rub her left temple. What is going on here….
"So Greenie, what's your name?" The one that Joanne had deemed as the leader, asked, well more demanded.
Her name came back to her, Joanne.
"Ah, Joanne….I think…" Joanne spoke, her voice again surprising her.
"Well, Joanne…Welcome to the Glade"
Thanks for reading the first chapter! I am very excited to post this story and hope that you all enjoy reading it. If you have any suggestions or feed back, I would love to hear it. Don't be shy, promise I wont bite ;)
I *unfortunately* do not own the Maze Runner or any of the character, except for my own :)
