Hi everyone thanks for being so patient, I am a very slow writer. Rest assured I will not give up on this story anytime soon.

As always constructive criticism is always welcome.

Chapter 1

He woke to the screech of metal against metal. He was lying on the ground which was cold and hard beneath him, bringing some relief to his aching head. His eyes flickered open and he winced as bright light seared his eyes, he closed them again waiting for them to adjust, then reopened them to survey his surroundings. The atmosphere of the small metal room in which he found himself seemed uncomfortably familiar, then he realized why. He sat bolt upright and immediately regretted it, the ache in his head intensified and the world tilted and pitched around him. Impossibly he was in the box.

Light was coming from a crack in the two metal doors at the top of the box that lead up into the glade, which was progressively getting wider as the gladers above heaved them open. He looked up to see gladers peering into the box to see the new arrival. The gladers were whispering amongst themselves but he only caught a few snippets of their conversation. The confusion and shock of his current situation hit him hard and he was beginning to feel lightheaded, darkness invading his vision. Hoping it was all just a dream and would all go away when he woke up, he lay back down on the metal ground and let the darkness consume him.

Newt awoke to someone gently shaking him awake.

"Greenie. Greenie. Wake up Greenie." He knew the voice but couldn't quite place who it was.

He groaned and rolled over, opening his eyes and coming face to face with Ben! He shot up, backing away till his back was against the wall, his face as white as a sheet. He was sitting on a bed in one of the upper rooms of the homestead, Ben was sitting on a stool beside the bed with Alby and Thomas standing behind him. Alby's expression screamed annoyance while Thomas's shone with empathy.

"What is going on?" He demanded.

"We know you're confused." Thomas said gently holding his hands out to calm him "We have all been through the same thing you have."

"What!? No, I'm talking about Ben, how is he alive?"

Ben looked shocked at this remark "What does he mean 'how am I alive?' And how does he know my name?" He asked turning to Alby.

"He probably just overheard one of us say your name." Alby growled in response.

"What are you going on about Alby? What is going on?"

Now it was Albys turn to looked shocked "There ain't no way you heard my name." He said eyeing Newt suspiciously "Who are you greenie?"

Newt snorted "Like you don't know. My name's Newt, you know second in command of this place." They stared at him blankly.

"I think you hit your head a little hard shank, I'm second in command. You've only been here a day and you were unconscious most of it." Thomas said.

His mind became a tumble-dryer of thoughts. How could this be happening? They aren't just fooling around. They really don't know who I am. Is there something wrong with me? Am I wrong? No, you're not wrong they are. But Ben, he's alive! How is that possible? The creators, it must be them. With them nothing is impossible.

Then it dawned on him This cannot be my glade This thought frightened him. But before he could even begin to explore the idea further Alby coughed and he snapped out of his thoughts. He realized they were staring at him waiting for him to say something. He took a deep breath organising his thoughts, calming himself before beginning.

"Now I know this sounds crazy and I'm not sure I believe it myself but..."

Just then someone burst through the door, virtually ripping it off its hinges. It was Winston. Alby swung around till he was facing him "What is it shuckface?"

"They're in! The Cranks. They got in" Winston exclaimed.

Newt had no idea what that word meant but judging by the fearful look in Winston's eyes and the way Alby stiffened, it wasn't a good thing.

Alby recovered quickly and turned to Thomas "Escort this shank to the slammer then meet me in the map room. We will sort him out tomorrow."

Thomas nodded and reached over putting a firm hand on Newt's shoulder and started walking him towards the door.

"What! No Alby I can to help, I want to help" Newt protested as he was dragged through the door. His glade or not he was still second in command and he still felt responsible for everyone there. Alby turned away and the door closed behind them.

Thomas dragged him down the stairs and into the large room on the first floor. There were about 40 gladers packed against the furthest wall of the room, It was too dark to recognize anyone but one thing he did notice was that they were each holding a weapon of some sort.

Thomas stopped in front of the door and turned to whisper to him "Be as quiet as you can and stay low, we have to do this fast. Ready?" Newt nodded. Thomas silently crept out the front door and then began moving towards the South corner of the glade at a crouched run, with Newt following close behind.

They were about halfway to Newt's accommodation for the night when a humanoid creature came charging out from the trees to their right. It slammed right into Newt bowling him over, with the creature landing on top of him. It screamed and started ripping at his face and clothes with its long bleeding nails.

A knife materialized in Thomas hands and he took a swing at the creature on Newt, causing a fresh, oozing wound to appear on its already mutilated face. It shrieked again and leapt away from Newt and began lumbering towards Thomas.

Thomas held the knife out in front of him, almost daring the creature to come for him, but newt knew his friend well enough to know that he wasn't nearly as confident as he might seem. He quickly searched the ground for something he could use as a weapon. He found a large rock and rushed to help Thomas. He smashed it down on the creature's head and watched as it crumpled to the ground in an inhuman wail and lay still.

Thomas straightened and wiped blood off his brow. He gave Newt a small nod "Thanks. We better get you to the slammer quick, it's probably safer in there" he said turning and continuing towards the slammer.

Before they had even reached the slammer door Thomas had his key out ready. He slammed the key into the lock and swung the door open. "Get in, Hurry!" He shouted ushering Newt inside, before closing and locking the door and sprinting back towards the homestead.

Leaving Newt standing in the dark listening to the screams and crazed wails echo throughout the night.