Protect Her
The sound of metal clashing together was what woke me up.
"You have to get them out, Nikki. You're the only chance they have. You'll remember more than they will. Remember me, Nicole. I'm your brother. Remember to get them out. Be strong." A voice said. Nicole. That must be my name. Wait…
Why am I here? To get them out? But who am I getting out and where am i getting them out of?
Then a light shone from the top of whatever I was in. It seemed like a box. A tall blonde figure jumped down into the box. He wasn't very muscular, but he wasn't scrawny either. He actually was pretty well built, and he had a kind smile on his face.
"What does he look like?"
"Where do you think he'll be working?"
"Do you think he'll be a runner?"
"Newt, are you going to answer us?"
voices said."It's a girl!" The blonde boy said. Everyone started to ask questions until a dark skinned, muscular boy yelled, "Slim it! All of you! It's just another greenie, there's nothing to see here so all of you get back to work. Now!" Whatever the hell "slim it" is supposed to mean, it got them to get away from me.
"I'm Newt. Do you remember your name?" The blonde boy asked. "Nicole, but from what I remember people used to call me Nikki too." I told him.
"Ok, now I know you have a lot of questions but you'll just have to wait a little bit. Bring the ropes." He said.
A bunch of boys threw down a rope and I held on until they pulled me up out of the strange, claustrophobic box. As I take a better look at my surroundings, I see that all there is around me is a huge field with only a few buildings and huge walls surrounding us.
And then, everything went black.
When I woke up, Newt was sitting beside me. I immediately ran into one of the buildings and locked everyone out, while throwing rocks at them, telling them to leave me alone. Think about it. I'm the only girl here. I don't want to be around like 50 were all covering themselves with random buckets and wood and things like that.
"I don't think she likes us very much." I heard Newt say.
"No shit!" I yelled down to them.
"Come on, just let us up!" yelled the dark skinned boy.
"At least let me up!" yelled Newt.
"Only Newt. I only trust Newt." I said. I know it's weird, but I somehow only feel like I can trust Newt. I feel like he will protect me, even though I just met him.
When Newt made it up, he sat down next to me and asked, " Do you remember anything about yourself? Where you came from?"
"I remember someone talking to me, I think it was my brother, and he was telling me 'You have to get them out. You're their only chance. You'll remember more than they will. Be strong.' and right now I'm guessing that the 'them' is you guys. I also remember that I can play the guitar, piano, and sing."
"When you came up in the box, you were holding a note. Do you remember holding it?" he asked.
"No, what did it say?" I said.
"Here." he said, passing me the note.
Protect her. She's your only chance. Trust me. You will grow to love her. She's amazing. She can get you out. Love her with everything you have, because the second you take her for granted, you lose her and you lose your last chance of not just getting out, but survival. Good luck,
Her brother, Josh.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked him.
"Probably that you're special. Different. And not just because you're a girl." He said.
"Where'd this come from?" I said, picking up an acoustic guitar from beside me.
"It came with you. In the box. Do you think you could play something for me?" he asked.
"I could try." I said.
I remember tears streaming down your face
When I said, "I'll never let you go"
When all those shadows almost killed your light
I remember you said, "Don't leave me here alone"
But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight
Just close your eyes
The sun is going down
You'll be alright
No one can hurt you now
Come morning light
You and I'll be safe and sound
Don't you dare look out your window, darling,
Everything's on fire
The war outside our door keeps raging on
Hold on to this lullaby
Even when music's gone
Gone
Just close your eyes
The sun is going down
You'll be alright
No one can hurt you now
Come morning light
You and I'll be safe and sound
Oooh, Oooh, Oooh, Oooh
Oooh, Oooh, Oooh, Oooh
La La (La La)
La La (La La)
Oooh, Oooh, Oooh, Oooh
Oooh, Oooh, Oooh, Oooh
La La (La La)
Just close your eyes
You'll be alright
Come morning light,
You and I'll be safe and sound...
Oooh, oooh, oooh, oooh oh oh. [repeat 'til fade]
(This song is Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift from The Hunger Games Soundtrack. All rights go to her. I suggest looking this song up and listening to it during this scene. watch?v=5K4PGpXsOAI)
"That was beautiful, where's that song from?" Newt asked.
"I think my brother sang it to me when a war or something was going on. I can't remember when very well but I remember whenever i couldn't sleep at night he would sing it to me and I'd feel so safe. It was like nothing was going on at all." I replied.
"What's taking so long up there?" yelled the dark skinned boy.
"Just give us a minute, Alby." Newt yelled back.
"Alright shanks, back to work. Newt'll get her down soon. AND FOR THE LAST TIME NO ONE GETS DIBS!" I heard Alby say.
"Are you gonna come down, love?" He asked me with his cute British accent.
"Not yet. Tell me about this place." I said.
"Sorry, Greenie. No questions until after the tour." Newt said.
"Oh come on, please! I just sang for you and now you won't answer my questions? What kind of gentleman are you?" I joked.
"Okay, okay. What do you want to know?" asked Newt.
"Tell me about everyone. If I'm gonna be stuck in here with all of you I might as well get to know you all." I told him.
He stood up and walked to the rail of the tower thingy. he motioned for me to follow and I did.
"Over there is Alby. He's our leader and I'm his second-in-command. Over there's Gally. He's one of our builders He's kinda cranky though, so I'd be careful not to get on his bad side. That's Minho. He's sorta like you. I think you'll like him. He's a runner along with Ben and a few others." Newt said.
"I will make a point to meet Minho then." I said.
"Over there is Chuck. He was the latest greenie before you and he's the youngest here. He'll be showing you to where you sleep later. Oh, and over there you'll find Frypan. He cooks for us. I think you'll like him too." Newt told me.
Then, Alby came up.
"Can you give her the tour Newt? I have to help Gally with something. Slinthead can't do anything for himself these days." Alby said.
"Sure Alby. Let's go greenie. Later Alby, good luck." He said as I followed him down the ladder.
"We have three rules here Nik. One, do your part. We don't need any slackers around here or we'll never get anything done. two, never hurt another Glader under any circumstance. This whole community is built under trust. Trust breaks, and we all crash." He told me. Nik. He made a nickname for me. Aww.
"I'm guessing 'Gladers' is what you call yourselves." I said.
"Yeah. I forgot to mention that this place is called the Glade. And the last, but most important rule, Never go past those walls." He pointed to these huge stone walls with a gap in the middle.
"But Minho and Ben literally just went in there." I said.
"That's different. Their runners. Through those walls is a maze. The walls open in the morning and close at night. When those doors open in the morning, the runners go in and try to find a way out, but they have to make it out before the doors close again." He said.
"What if they don't?" I asked.
"No one survives a night in the maze." He told me.
"What happens to them?" I asked.
"We call them Grievers. Of course no ones ever seen one and lived to tell about it, but they're out there. They only come out at night though, so it's as safe as it can get for the runners to go during the day." He said.
"We have a lot of jobs here in the Glade, and everyone has one. There's Builders, Bricknicks, Sloppers, Baggers, Cooks, Trackhoes, Med-Jacks, Slicers, and Runners. You'll be trying out for each one so we can see which one fits you best. You better go get something to eat." He told me and pointed to the kitchen.
I walked to the kitchen and saw a boy behind the counter.
"Hi. You must be Frypan. I'm Nikki." I said.
"Ahh, so you're the new girl greenie. You're correct Nikki, I'm Frypan. What are you doing over here?" he asked me.
"Newt said I should get something to eat. Do you have anything I could eat?" I asked.
"Sure greenie. But after this, no more food until dinner. Got it?" He said, passing me a plate of I don't even know what.
"Got it." I repeated, taking the plate and walking over to a table. When I sat down I saw Gally and Alby bringing in a table that I'm guessing the builders just built.
"Hey greenie. How's the tour?" Alby asked when he saw me.
"It was great! This whole place is really amazing. I mean, everything you do here, how much you trust each other, how you help each other, It's all incredible." I said. Because it is. I don't know how to describe it, but this whole community seems perfect. Like they all have a purpose, and they help others with their purpose. It's like a huge family.
"Well, I'm glad you feel that way, Nicole." he said, smiling warmly. I could tell he genuinely meant it.
"This is Gally." Alby told me, motioning to the strong builder behind him.
"Hi. I'm Nikki." I said and waved.
"Nice to meet you." He replied. He doesn't seem cranky to me at all. I just think he's misunderstood.
"Oh, I forgot to ask Newt a question. Where do we get our supplies from?" I asked.
"The box comes back up once a week and gives us a bunch of supplies." Alby replied.
"Cool." I said.
"Well, Newt told me about Minho and said that he is very much like me so I'd like to see if that's true." I said. "Any idea when he comes back out of the maze?" Just then I saw Minho come out of the maze with Ben and Chuck handed them both water.
"Nevermind."
I started walking over to them when something flashed.
Brown hair. Blue eyes. He was muscular, but not like a huge fighter guy muscular. Josh. He was my brother. He was the one who talked to me in my memory. he was the one who wrote the note.
"I love you." and just like that,
It was over.
That was weird. I keep walking over to the runners and Chuck like nothing had happened.
"Hey, it's the new girl. Whatcha doin' over here greenie?" Ben asked me.
"Just came to introduce myself so people stop calling me greenie."
"Sorry, your stuck with greenie until the next one comes." Chuck said.
"No way, am I being called 'greenie' for a month. My name is Nicole, but my nickname is Nikki, definitely NOT greenie." I told them all.
"Alright Nikki. I'm Minho, this is Ben, and Chuck. Do you know what job you want yet?" Minho asked.
"I wanna be a runner." I said.
"YOU WANNA WHAT?" They all said in unison while looking at me like I was crazy.
"I wanna be a runner!" I said yet again.
"Why the shuck would you want to be a runner?" Ben asked.
"I can't explain it. Not right now." And with that, I walk away.
I'm sitting on a rock thinking until I feel a figure sitting next to me, and I know exactly who it is.
"What do you want, Minho." I say, clearly upset with him.
"I'm gonna give you a chance." He said.
"Y-You are?" I say, shocked.
"Yeah, we'll start runner training tomorrow. But you can't tell anyone, runner training is supposed to be last." He said.
"Thanks, Minho." I say.
"There's this thing tonight. It's like a 'greenie welcome party' and you kinda have to go, but I promise it's fun. You'll get to meet everyone 'cause everyone goes, and you'll get to learn more about us. I promise you'll love it." Minho told me.
"I just might go then." I said with a smile.
When Newt came to get me for the party, Chuck had just set up my hammock for me.
"Time to go guys." Newt had said. I'd still kept quiet about wanting to be a runner, and I planned to keep it that way. Even though Newt is the only person I trust, he's still second-in-command, and I have no doubt that he would put me in the slammer if he found out.
The night was really fun. I got to know more people, like Jeff and Clint, two med-jacks. They had a really cool campfire in the middle and everyone was dancing in the moonlight while Gally challenged to fight with everyone. Of course he always won, no one except Alby and Newt are stronger than him, but the point is that he never actually hurt anyone. Overall it was as good of a first day here as it can get. And tomorrow, I train to be a runner.
Great.
A/N SO THIS IS THE FIRST CHAPTER! IT LITERALLY TOOK ME MORE THAN A WEEK TO WRITE THIS BECAUSE IT IS SOOOOO LONG! AND IF ANY OF YOU ARE CONFUSED ABOUT THE NEWT/OC PART OF THIS STORY NIKEWT WILL HAPPEN! I PROMISE! AND FOR NIKKI'S PERSONALITY, I'VE MADE HER SARCASTIC AND FUNNY AND A GOOD SINGER BUT ALSO VERY CARING AND SHE WANTS TO BE A PART OF THE GUYS AND NOT JUST A BABY BECAUSE SHE'S A GIRL.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS STORY, OR ME, OR THIS CHAPTER OR EVEN ANYTHING THAT COULD HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE OF THIS STORY, REVIEWS ARE WELCOME. ALSO IF YOU WANT TO GIVE ME ANY IDEAS IN THIS STORY THAT IS WELCOME.