The Maze Runner—The Beginning of The Glade C4

Author's note: I'm not James Dashner. I do not own the Maze Runner trilogy. This is just how the Glade began, with the original Gladers, with Alby as the main character. Thank you again Celaire, for your undying support. Enjoy the story!

Chapter 4

That evening, around a small campfire Franz had constructed out of tree bark and Alby's ripped shirt, Alby still couldn't get the words out of his mind. World in catastrophe. That didn't sound good. Actually, neither did 'Killzone' or 'Experiment'. Nothing in this Glade-thing did. Dez had showed up at dinner, seemingly to have calmed down again, eating his meal in silence and flashing dirty looks at Alby.

'Rob,' Alby twisted his sausage over the fire uncomfortably, 'Why do you think they put us here? You know what the wall said. World in catastrophe. Do you think it's so bad out there that the Creators put us here to protect us? Perhaps we're special someway, or the human race is dying out or something and we were put here to survive it all?' 'Dude, you don't know how idiotic and self-centred you sound.' Rob munched his sausage, 'Coz the thing is, shank, we're the experiment. We're the poor little white mice running in cages, with scientists gawking at us through spectacles. Nah, you may have a point, but I don't think we're going to be protected in any way.' Finishing his food, he continued to pick his teeth with his fingernails. Alby sighed. 'So how long have you guys been here?' 'Few days ago, I guess. I was the first.' Rob's face darkened, shadows hiding his face. 'I was so scared that first night. Not crying wetting oneself scared but real scared. You know, like in the book that won some prize or something. Lord of The Flies. I was afraid something would get me in the night. Came as a relief when Joe—' he gave his friend a punch on the elbow—'started shouting at me from the Box to bust him out.'

A sudden thought struck Alby. 'Then how did you get here? I mean, the rest of us were pulled up from the Box. But you were alone right?'

A minute passed. Then Rob replied coldly: 'I woke up here. Six days ago. I didn't have a clue what was happening.' He rose from his sitting position, and walked away.

Franz tossed more sticks into the fire. 'Hey kid, don't pressure Rob, he's got a hard time trying to keep it together. We all do. It's no use being suspicious. We're here now so we have to stick together.' Joe yawned. 'Yeah, Mister-pep-talker. Greenie, go get some sleep. You'll have a long day tomorrow.' He grinned wickedly. 'What?' Alby asked. 'Introducing the newest-newbie to the Glade. Hopefully he won't be as curious as you.' Joe stretched out on the grass, rolled over and promptly went to sleep. Franz followed suit. Dez shot Alby a final look before retreating off into the woods.

Alby lay beside the fire, his insides churning. Later, he reflected that that night had been the best night of his life in the Glade, with nothing major to worry about. Everything would change in the morning. But he didn't know that. He closed his eyes and drifted into oblivion.

When Alby woke up, he got the shock of his life.

Above him inches away, was an upside-down face. It was leering at him .