Chapter 1

Things become routine. When you spend every day trapped behind the same walls, when you have to help out with the camp in multiple different ways, when you always wait by the doors at the same time everyday, like clock work, for him to come running through them just to give you a hug…it becomes routine.

It almost feels like things will never change.

Because we're trapped.

Forever.

"Chuck?" I called the familiar round faced, chocolate curl haired boy's name. He turned around and smiled once he saw me.

"Jade!"

"Did you eat?" I asked the boy in front of me.

"You're not my mom." Chuck sighed as I nagged him like I did everyday.

"I know, but I want to make sure you're healthy." I giggled as I placed my hand on top of his mop of curls and shook them around slightly. He waved my hand off his head as he scowled at me.

"What are you doing right now? Nothing?" I shook my head before placing my hand at the back of my neck and rubbing the sore skin.

"I've been helping with preparing the dinner for tonight. I've been looking down for the past few hours, so I thought a good walk around would do me some good before I go see Newt." I explained.

"Jade!" I turned around at the sound of someone yelling my name. The leader of the group casually walked over to me and nodded towards Chuck. "Hey Chuck."

"Hey Gally." The boy greeted the leader.

"What's up, Gally?" I asked the familiar blue-eyed boy.

"Jeff asked me to come and get you. It's about Luther." I turned around and looked at Chuck and said my goodbye before leaving with Gally to go seek out our friend who was healing at the moment from a wound he received from inside the maze.

"Is it healing?" I asked Gally as the two of us began to walk across the familiar grass towards the little shack that had our injured friend inside.

"Jeff only said that he wanted you to come and look at him." With that answer I knew that Luther didn't get any better. His injury must have gotten worse and I needed to figure out how to help him. Once we walked into the small shack Jeff greeted us.

"I need you to look at this." Jeff waved me over to the sweaty Luther and lifted up the bandage that was around his right leg. The once simply cut skin was now completely inflamed. I grimaced at the sight before placing the bandage back over the wound. "What do you think?" My right hand moved up to my hair and played with it. I pushed it completely out of my face before moving it all to the right side of my neck and letting it fall over my shoulder.

"We need to bring the swelling down, so he'll be more comfortable, but you don't want to put something hard on him because that's not comfortable. Which means it has to be a paste of some sort or…hot water."

"Just plain hot water?" Gally asked me.

"It needs something in it. Hot water alone won't help heal it…" I shut my eyes and placed my index and middle finger on my temple as I began to think of what to use. I waited and waited until a flashing image of a dried brown leaf came into view. "Bay leaf." I whispered.

"Huh?"

"I know how to bring the swelling down. Just give me some time. I know I can find it." I excitedly said as I ran out of the shack and towards the forest. As I looked around the forest I tried to spot the leaves that I was looking for. The familiar sound of branches crunching underneath my shoes was comforting as I continued to search for the brown leaves. As my fingers and eyes scanned the branches filled with leaves I noticed the leaf that I saw before and picked a few off before running back to camp.

As I ran back to Jeff I grabbed a nearby pot and went to go fill it up with water from the stream. Once that was completed I went to go make a small fire and placed the leaves in the water. I waited for it to come to a boil before taking it away from the fire and letting it cool down enough, so I could take it inside to Jeff and let him put a rag in it.

"Continue to place this on it and it should bring the swelling down." I instructed Jeff. He nodded his head and I took that as my turn to leave, but Jeff stopped me when he asked,

"How did you know to do that?" I looked over my shoulder at him and shrugged my shoulders.

"Like how any of us know how to do anything…I just remembered it." I answered before leaving. When I walked back outside I saw the familiar dirty sky blue shirt with black hair figure run towards me. As Minho reached me he wrapped his arms around me like he always did and covered my petite frame completely. I wrapped my arms around him before he let go of me and stood back, so I could look at him and make sure he came back unharmed.

"Minho! Good to see you man." Jeff greeted his friend as he stood out of the treatment shack behind me.

"Hey Jeff. How's Luther?" He asked about his fellow Runner.

"He's going to be fine, Jade figured out a way to help bring his swelling down, so I'm hoping he'll be back up and walking within the next day or two." He answered.

"Jade figured it out?" Minho inquired before standing beside me and ruffling up the top of my head with his hand. "I knew I kept you around for something." He joked as I pushed his hand away.

"I'm literally stuck with you…I don't have a choice." I sighed as I looked away from him.

"Mom of the Glade strikes again." Jeff teased me with the nickname that I had gained over the three years that I had been here.

"There better be a girl in the Box tomorrow. I don't know how much longer I can handle this." I groaned.

"We've been here three years." I sighed as I sat down beside Minho. With my back up against the tree I looked up at the dark sky above our heads.

"Thanks for the reminder." He sarcastically said.

"And you're positive that there's no way out?" My head shot to face him. I searched his face for an answer, but he only gave me a light smile as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I rested my head on his shoulder and continued to look up at the sky.

"I'll keep looking. I said that we'll get out of here."

"Mom! Mom!"

"Where's Jade?"

"She's probably with Minho…"

"Mom!" Minho chuckled at the sounds of the boys yelling out my nickname while I sighed and placed the palm of my hand on my forehead.

"I really hope there's a girl in the Box. I don't know how much longer I can take this."