Disclaimer: I do not own these amazing franchises know as the Maze Runner and Percy Jackson and the Olympians. All rights go to James Dashner, the author of the Maze Runner, Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson series, and their publishing companies whom they probably sold the rights to. This story is written purely for my entertainment with nothing to do with profit or recognition. "I write what I want to write, I write what amuses me, it's totally for myself."- J.K. Rowling.
The past was a whirl of emotions and thoughts, none making sense in the swirling mind that belongs to the memory-less boy who only knows his name is Luc. Not only does the past swim before him, but as does his eyesight. All he can see is darkness that swirls around him, reaching out to tug at his hair. "Luc..." it whispers to the boy. "Luc, come... Play..." A faint whimper escapes his throat as the oppressive darkness presses in harder on each side. All he wants is to bask in the warm light, in the warmth of the sun. Oh, how glorious the sun felt on a sunny day... Wait, where had that come from? How did he know what the sun felt like? As far as Luc knew, he had never felt the warmth of the sun, but he must have at some point.
A jolt shivered down his spine as whatever he was in, what seemed like a small, metal room, jolted. The darkness continued to press in on Luc as he pressed himself into one of the corners, heart pounding an buckets of sweat soaking his shirt. A low whimper escaped his throat once again, the fear boiling within him and then suddenly surging outwards. "Help me!" His voice was hoarse and his scream drawn out, pounding against the metal walls, before fading into the roar of the moving room. Then, just as quickly as the moving started it stopped, and Luc slammed against the wall.
"Someone help me!" He roared again, voice even hoarser than before. A metallic grinding noise filled the dark space as a splint of light poured through a crack in the ceiling, driving off the ferociously cold fingers of the dark.
But it still whispered, still tried to reach him, calling Luc's name over and over again. A rush of intense panic filled Luc's heart as he slammed a fist into the walls, crying out in pain when a trickle of blood traced his fingers. The rocking room continued to jolt and rush, tossing the boy within back and forth from wall to wall and splattering him to the ground with an avenging force. A soft cry of pain escaped from Luc as he slammed into the wall once again. Struggling to regain his footing, Luc grabbed one of the many crates that littered the room. The seconds stretched longer, becoming minutes and long hours. After what felt like hours, but what Luc knew was only a half hour, a last, ferocious jolt sent Luc sprawling to the ground.
A grinding noise filled the small room before an intense creaking sound reached the boy's ears before light breached down from the ceiling, burning Luc's gaze. He let out a soft whimper that was half relief, half fear as the strip of light expanded until it became an entire sky full of the light, a sky with faces looking down from the edges. A tall blond next to smaller brunet. A tiny red-head. There were maybe thirty boys, each one staring down at Luc until one finally broke rank, slipping into the ceiling-less room.
Luc stumbled back on his hands and feet, struggling to get away from the approaching boy until he backed into the corner and forced to allow the older boy to approach. The boy was about average height for a sixteen year old boy, with shaggy black hair that hung into his brown eyes. The boy crouched down to Luc's level, reaching out with one hand, causing Luc to flinch back, trying to get away from the older boy.
One of the boys above laughed. "Jumpy lil' Greenie, eh?"
Another nodded in agreement, watching Luc press himself farther into the corner.
The boy who had entered what was then a box looked up to glare at the other boys. "Slim it, shank! You're scaring the Greenie, so off with you!"
Muttering of irritation came from above and slowly dispersed.
The boy then turned back to Luc and reached out to brush a fluffy lock of blond hair from Luc's eyes, once again causing Luc to flinch back. "Whoa there, Greenie. Just slim it nice n' calm. Take a deep breath, now."
Luc stayed perfectly still, pressed into the corner, refusing to move or speak. The boy continued to stroke Luc's hair until the smaller boy finally began to calm ever so slightly a few minutes later, slowly relaxing.
"There, that's a good boy, now." The boy had a quiet and soft voice, deep and soothing to the terrified boy. "Can you tell me anything about yourself? Who you are, what your name is?"
Luc's breathing quickened once again. "I- I can't remember nothin'," he whispered nervously.
"Whoa, it's alright, you'll get your name back in a few days," the boy soothed gently. "Might have it back soon. The boys call me Nick. Now, do you want to get out of the Box, now?"
Luc's nod was jerky and nervous.
"Okay," Nick murmured to Luc, a hand resting on the small boy's shoulder. "Just promise me you won't freak out."
Luc gave another jerky nod.
"Calm now," Nick reminded softly as he stood next to Luc, just outside of the Box. What Nick referred to as the Glade was an immense courtyard surrounded by towering stone walls. In one corner was a spreading forest. In the other three corners were fields, a large building and another large building.
"Mhmm," Luc replied absently, gazing around at his surroundings.
"Okay, this is what we call the Glade. It's where we live and do everything. There are about thirty-five of us if we include you and we all got here around six months ago. Since then we've gotten a new Greenie once a month and supplies once a week. The forest is the Deadheads, in the south-east is the Homestead. In between are the Bloodhouse and Fields. We only have three rules. The first is that you do your part. This whole place only runs if we all do our pieces. Second is never harm another Glader. Nothing will run if we don't have trust. Finally is our most important rule. Never, ever, leave the safety of the Glade. These walls are all that protect us from the monsters outside."
Luc nodded in agreement. It didn't sound like that bad of a place. Certainly better than... Than what? Something, a tiny sliver of memory, had come to Luc for only a second. Tius continued on, pushing the idea to the back of his mind, thinking about how great of a leader Nick was since he was certainly better than K-. Again, the tiniest sliver of a memory that surfaced for only a moment.
"Nick?"
"Yeah, Greenie?"
"Has anyone ever just felt like they know something but then it disappears?"
The dark-haired boy considered for a moment. "Well, every so often a shank can think up a name or a quote of some famous guy, but it's never much of anything specific. One shank once woke up screaming about something called the Flare which is the most specific it's gotten. Why?"
Looking down, Luc responded. "I, it was like I knew that you were a better leader than someone. K-something. And this place is better than some place, too. I just have flashes of a hoard of people, teens, dressed in armor."
Nick frowned silently. "That's more detailed than anyone else." Confusion had hitched a ride upon the boy's face. Luc watched him silently. "We'll just have to wait, Greenie."
So Luc waited. It wasn't long later when something did show up. One of the boys, a tall bloke with sun-kissed skin, sky blue eyes and blond hair, glared at Luc, a strange mixture of anger, fear and awe sketched upon his chiseled face. Nick had called him Soul, one of the first boys to the Glade and easily the bravest. Soul was a boy of kindness who had talent in performing. To look scared hadn't been seen before and if he was afraid of something it was a force for reckoning with. Luc had asked if he were a force that needed reckoning with. Nick had laughed and shook his head, stating that Luc was simply to cute for scariness. Apparently he had fluffy blond hair, warm brown eyes and a child-like face, putting Luc at around twelve.
Yet Soul continued to glare as he made his way over. "What," the boy spat. "The Hades are you doing here, Time?" Anger and fear laced his voice creating a strange combination.
"Whoa," Nick soothed softly. "Slim it, Soul? What's wrong?"
Soul whirled to glare at Nick. "What's wrong? What's wrong? It's the mind, that's what! The Alv recognizes him! This slinthead killed them! Shoved Ethan from a mile up! Stabbed Mike with the Falcatae! Broke 'Beth's heart into a thousand shards! Crushed the Praefectus beneath a pillar! What about the Praedico?! Nearly died! When the Alv recognizes someone and gives such a reaction, it's big! Why? Because of this slinthead, our numbers were a mere forty from our fighting force of hundreds! He needs to die! He killed my family!"
Nick stepped between Soul and Luc, completely calm. "You're just over reacting, Soul. Calm down. Greenie's got nothing to do with this. We'll figure it all out later."
Soul lunged forward, dodging past Nick and thrusting Luc towards the sky. "You will pay for what you did to my family, Timely One. I swear, you will. Hello, Luke Castellan. They didn't always call me Soul. My name was Will Solace. You killed my brothers, my sisters, slaughtered my friends and cousins and nearly killed my hero, Perseus. You were Luke Castellan. The most hated on the planet.
