Hey, sorry, I forgot to introduce this. I haven't been on the site for awhile, but I am back, with more free time now. Hopefully, this new story will be exciting for you!
Newt had been the second boy to come up in the Box
After him, it had been Gally and after him, Minho and after him, Fry Pan; a pattern soon developed.
It was the same month after month, always another boy, terrified, confused and alone. No memory and no name to speak of until the latter came back to them as like a distant dream. Alby would calm them down the best he could, explain to them all he knew and from then on, it was up to them on how they would react. They had all been brave, steadily adapting to the new existence; every boy had his place and every boy did his job. After the sixth boy had come up, Alby began to sense the pattern would be consistent.
The supplies came up in the Box with each boy were simple, but enough to last them a month before the next lift and the next boy. The amount of food never increased and for some time, Alby had worried about feeding all the new mouths. But Newt had an easy solution and soon began planting the seeds of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and zucchini. By the time that the sixth boy had come up, the Glade had it's own little garden to boast and the supplies maintained them.
The life in the Glade was manageable, but the questions followed them, tormentingly persistent in the dark of night. Why were they here? And, were they ever going to get out?
Alby and Gally sat out in the sun, close by the box; it was the seventh month and the next boy was due to arrive any moment now. Newt was tending the gardens and a few of the others boys were chipping away at small branches; they would eventually be tied to make a roof. A week after Gally's arrival, the three boys had dug out a large hollow close to their hammocks. It was a multiple purpose gathering place and the roof would serve as a protection from rain and... anything else. Little progress had been made with so few hands not many branches were readily available from the ground; the boys were too heavy to climb the trees and the attempts made had yielded little, other than some close calls.
Gally had taken a break from the work to wait with Ably by the Box, the dark leader was preparing to welcome yet another boy to the Glade.
A dull metallic groan beyond the open doors before them caused Gally to look up. Alby didn't react, fiddling with a blade of grass as he listened for the box.
"How long do you think those walls go for?"
Alby looked up at the large open doorway, through which you could see dirt floor, high, stone walls and thick, choking vines crisscrossing overhead. The Glade was covered on all sides by high rising walls; the mystery of them remained unanswered for the moment. He looked away.
"I don't know,"
Gally glanced at him out the corner of his eye.
"So you're not going to let Minho out there? He's been pretty insistent on it lately,"
Alby nodded absentmindedly, peeling a thin strip of the blade of grass. Minho, one of the boys currently working on the roof had been asking, more like begging, Alby to let him beyond the door. The walls seemed to go on and on and there had to be something significant out there. Alby had discouraged all attempts thus far.
"He's curious, just like we all are. Curiosity killed the cat, Gally. We don't know what's out there,"
Gally squinted up at the sun for a moment and then looked back at Alby, seeming to swallow back frustration.
"But it also reaps answers, don't give me that shit Alby. For all we know, we're going to be here forever. But if we aren't, shouldn't we at least figure out what we're dealing with out there?"
Alby finally met his gaze, his face unreadable.
"We aren't going to be here forever Gally. This place, everything, it's too neat to be a forever situation. Supplies every month, a new boy with it, why would someone go to all that trouble for us to settle here?. This is... it could be a test,"
Gally looked incredulous, unbelieving.
"A test? A test for what?"
Alby shrugged, turning his attention once again to the blade of grass between his fingers.
"Survival. The supplies are always the same, Gally. WCKD on the side of every box, it has to mean something. The walls out there, they have the same letters on them. Someone built this place and we're here for a reason. But it isn't forever,"
"So if it isn't forever, why won't you let Minho go? If it's a test, there must be a way out, right? You've been, why not him?"
Alby let the green stalk float away in the little breeze, bending down slowly to pick up another one before he answered.
"I went out there on my second day here, I was alone and I was scared, Gally. Which also means I was careless. Those walls move, I don't why, but it's never the same from one day to the next. I was foolish and I almost got stuck. I didn't make it back until the next day. If that happens to Minho, what if he can't get back? I didn't see anything while I was out there, I wasn't looking for it either. But I heard it, Gally,"
Gally leaned forward, his interest peaked. He had only heard the parts of Alby story and was eager for the rest.
"So there is something out there. You won't admit it to the rest yet, but there is something?"
Alby nodded slowly, as if unwilling to confirm it.
"I told you though, I didn't see anything,"
"But you heard it?"
Alby nodded, looking back up at the door.
"You've heard it Gally, those cries in the night. I know the boys don't believe it's just the wind,"
Gally sniffed, leaning back as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"So that's why you discourage Minho? C'mon, you know he can run and you know he's faster than you. You've seen him. He could outrun whatever it is out there and he's gonna convince you sooner or later,"
Alby nodded.
"Probably,"
"So you have to let him out there! If we aren't meant to stay here forever, there must be a way out, right? What if the walls changing is just to confuse us, but there's just a door on the other side, wide open for us?"
Alby looked at him over his forehead.
"The walls are all around us Gally, it's not straight. The shifting of the walls is periodic, there must be a pattern to it,"
Gally leaned forward again.
"So you think it's some kind of maze?" Gally lowered his voice. "You think it's some kind of puzzle that we have to solve; is that what you mean by a test?"
Alby didn't look up.
"It's just a theory, I can't prove it, but I don't want the others to know. If it's a maze, then there has to be a way to solve it," Alby finally looked up, keeping Gally's gaze. "But listen, Gally, this place is huge, that 'maze' is massive and we don't know what all is out there. Those... things; I don't know what they are and neither do you and neither does Minho. I don't want to risk losing anyone. What if losing someone means we fail the test? Have you thought of that? What if one of us is killed and that's it? Then all this goes away and maybe, maybe it'll be something worse. As of right now, we're safe, we have food to eat, water to drink and a place to sleep. Right now, is all we need,"
Gally sat back, frowning unhappily, his answers clearly not answered. Alby gave him a hefty pat on the shoulder and looked back at the box.
"Let me talk to Minho. I'll reconsider once we have another boy with us. Maybe another good runner to go with him. Two is always better than one. I won't let anyone go out alone,"
Gally scowled and did not reply. Alby smiled and reached to pick up another blade of grass. Just as he did, the shuddering sound of sharp, creaking metal caught both of their attention. Gally leapt up, the anticipation urging him forward, and started jogging toward the Box. The other' had heard it as well and were coming closer.
Alby stood up slowly, knowing that his pace would not stop the Box from coming. Gally was already standing near the edge, staring down at the Box as it made it's way up the escalator like-tunnel in the middle of the Glade. The screeching of metal on metal was only just bearable by the miles of dirt that muted its climbed to reach the top. The others boys were gathering around the hole as well, excitement spiking the air as they prepared to welcome the newcomer to the Glade.
Winston, the newest boy to join the group was being playfully shoved around by the others; he would no longer be the Greenie. The term had been developed by Alby when Newt had first arrived. The skinny boy had been terrified when he had shown up, but his gardening skills had quickly calmed his nerves and Alby had called him green thumb until Gally had shown up. The term had caught on and the newest arrival endeared the name until the next new boy appeared. Needless to say, it was one spark of humour amidst that disguised the chaos and confusion.
Alby approached the Box just as it clunked into place. The continuing noises of shutting down only added to the rising anticipation of the new Greenie arriving. The Box gave one last shudder and then opened slowly, the blazing light of the Glade shining down onto several WCKD stamped boxes, a few lazily covered cages and right in the middle was the shaking figure.
It was a girl.
Okay, and here we go. I have quite a headway on this one, I think about thirteen or so chapters, I may lull off a bit in June, but I will do my best to finish this one and all my others ones. Thank you for reading! Feel free to leave a review when you are done