Where am I? I reach out my hands, feeling cold metal grates underneath my feet. The ground suddenly jolts upward, thrusting me back to the wall. I'm in some sort of a cage, or box, I'm not sure which. Lights blare into my eyes through the metal grates, revealing where I am. The box is about 5 foot long. Crates decorate the floor, and screeches from what looks like chickens emerge from the other side of the cage. Pushing myself back up against the wall, I try to collect my thoughts.
How did I get here? Where is here? Immediately I realize, I can't remember anything. I don't know anything. I rack my brain for some sort of trace about my life, but still, nothing. I don't even remember my own name.
I start pounding at the roof of the cage, screaming at the top of my lungs, but no response, there's no-one here. Slowly, I sink back into my original position. How can I not remember anything? Who did this? How did I get here? With a clank, the box stops. Nothing but the sound of silence. Before I can get up, something above me creaks, something metal.
Light bursts in through an open shaft above my head. At least thirty boys are standing there above me. I vaguely recognize some of them, but I can't place the memory. Whispers echo throughout the group, "It's a girl..."
I stand to my feet, shaking a bit. Swinging my hand over the edge of the railing, I pull myself out of the cage and observe my surroundings.
Grass covers the greater area of the square, bar a forest to the east, and a couple of houses here and there. The square itself is surrounding by massive stone walls. At the walls there are four gates, equally spread out over the area. Through the gates are paths, winding in and out. Is this a maze? Vines cover the walls, and cracks are everywhere. The walls themselves, reach to at least forty feet high. What is this place?
A tap on my shoulder brings me out of my daze. I turn around to see a pale man, well, teenager. His gigantic brown eyes set his chiselled face, covered in dirt. His clothes are the same, dirt covered, and he has some sort of gardening tool in his left hand. In a strangely familiar British accent, he starts speaking. "Welcome to the Maze, Greenie!"
Lost in confusion, I manage to croak out a response, "What's that supposed to mean? Who are you? Where am I? Why can't I remember anything?"
The blonde teen continues to answer my questions, "They're the other gladers, we..." Before he can finish, a loud rumbling sound comes from the walls, and the ground starts to shake. The gates in the walls begin to move. I look around for some sort of reaction from everyone, but they just look normal, like it's happened a hundred times before. Blondie continues speaking, "I'll explain later, for now, we need to get back to the homestead."
"Welcome home, Greenie!"
'Newt' as he is called, leads me into a giant wooden hut. Filthy beds cover the mud floor, while hammocks hang down from the beams of wood on the roof. This is disgusting.
I carefully lift up one of the rags over one of the beds and look at Newt, "Am I seriously expected to live here?" He nods and throws a sheet and some rope at me. "You can tie your hammock over near the door, if you need help, Gally can help you. He'll be showing you around tomorrow, seeing as he was the newest Greenie."
A boy rushes through the door, "We got another one." Another what? Newt sprints at the speed of light out the door and towards the forest. I run after him as fast as I can, which isn't very fast...
As we approach the forest, I get a better look at the situation. About fifteen guys are surrounding something hanging down from one of the many tree branches. Newt slows to a halt and slowly jogs over to the group.
A body hangs from the tree. I can't see much from here, but it's definitely another 'Glader'. He must have been dead for at least five hours, his skin is pale white. The silky brown hair on his head is covered in dried blood. Green veins on his arms pop out from the weight of his body.
What happened? One guy is up the tree balancing on one of the branches, trying to cut the dead guy down with a machete. The body falls to the ground with a huge thud. A black teen in a blue shirt carefully walks over and regretfully closes the dead boy's eyes. Interrupting the silence, Newt begins to speak, "When was he killed?" No-one says a word, shock settles over the others as Newt repeats the question, "Alby, when did he die?"
Alby finally says something, breaching the silence, "Last night, same time, roughly midnight." What does he mean? "What do you mean? Is this a regular occurrence?"
Newt responds, "It happened four months ago, another Glader was found over to the east side of the deadheads." I look around at the others to see their reaction, but nothing, "Suicide?"
Newt seems rather on edge, but answers me, "We thought so too until another one was found two months ago, then we became suspicious." Alby continues on Newt's sentence, "There was another one last month, and here again, the day you arrived."
The guy who cut the body down pushes past a couple of the boys and stands beside Alby, "Maybe this new Greenie knows a lot more than she's telling us, she's the first female one to get here, and maybe the last." Shoving past Alby, he stands right above me.
He's tall, at least six foot. His brown hair is cut above his forehead, revealing the biggest eyebrows I've ever seen. The stench from his clothes makes me chock, only making the situation worse. Newt puts his hand over eyebrows' shoulder and intervenes, "Calm down Gally, we don't know that yet."
This is Gally? Apparently, he's supposed to be showing me around today, and we're bunkmates. This is going to be great...
Alby signals for another group of about three guys to come over and move the body, "Get him back to the medjacks, see if they can give us any more clues. Do it quietly, I don't want a scene. As for you, Greenie, you can follow Gally around, he'll give you the tour."