Prologue
Today was a regular day in the Glade, and the group of boys and girls go on with their daily routine and one day, the alarm goes off and they head to the box, preparing to expect a new Glader to join them. A tall and muscular Caucasian and Canadian boy, the leader, led the others, along with an British and Nigerian boy, and a short brunette girl with hazel eyes, waited as the box arrived at the top. And the number of group consists of twenty-one boys and twenty girls. Soon, they opened the doors and the Caucasian boy jumps down.
Chapter 1
I woke up with a gasp, I looked around and I was surrounded by darkness, along with boxes and everything else around me. The first thing when I wake up, I couldn't remember anything. My head was a blank space. I started pounding on the metal grates.
"HEY! Someone get me out of here!" I shouted.
The metal box finally came to a stop and I was thrown on the ground. The doors were opened and I was blinded by the brightness. I looked up and there was forty-one people staring at me. A tall and muscular boy, who's light skinned with a dark brown hair and dark brown eyes, jumps down. And I quickly scooted away from him.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"The name's Will. Welcome to the Glade, newbie." he replied.
He offered his hand to me and I took it gently as he pulled me up to my feet.
"Let's get you out of this first, yeah?" he asked.
I nodded as he guided me out of the metal box. And soon, I was overwhelmed with questions.
"What is this place? Who put us here? And why are we here?" I asked.
Before I could ask anymore questions, Will raised his hand to silence me.
"Easy there, newbie. Everyone around here is like that too. You'll remember your name in a few hours, maybe a day."
I looked around and everyone was doing their daily jobs.
"This is the Glade. Everyone here does their jobs and I just happen to be the leader of this place. I'll be taking you around for a tour. And I have a few rules to go over with you. Do your part, and never harm another Glader." he explained.
Will led me to the the two wooden and sturdy buildings, and I assumed that the Gladers had built this.
"This is the homestead. It's where most of us sleep and cook. The building on your right, that's for girls, and the building on my left, that's for boys." he continued.
I continued to follow him and he led me to a small wooden shed.
"And that is the slammer. It's the place where we keep the Gladers who aren't behaving." he finished.
Will continued explaining the places that were set up such as the gardens, the Bonewoods, and the meatrack barns.
"What's out there?" I asked as I pointed to the giant walls.
Will took a deep breath, hesitated to answer it.
"Let's just say it isn't safe out there. We have the number one rule that applies for everyone here. Never leave the Glade." he replied.
Will was leading me back to the Homestead where there's gonna be a bonfire. And then, I remembered my name.
"It's Kate!" I shouted, accidentally making Will jump.
"What was that?" he asked.
"I remember my name. It's Kate," I replied.
"Welcome to the Glade, Kate!" said Will as he smiled at me.
Just then, a boy and a girl ran past me.
"Who are they?" I asked him.
"Those are runners. They change shifts everyday. Their job is to map out the maze section, memorizing it, and looking for a way out." he replied.
"I thought you said no one is allowed out of the Glade." I said.
"Only runners are allowed to go in there. Because they're the fastest, strongest, and smartest group of everyone here." said Will.
Then, I heard a loud metallic screech, I looked around where it was coming from, until I realized the giant walls had closed.
"How do they do that? Do the runners come back?" I asked.
"We don't know how the giant walls work. But they do close every night. There is also a reason why the runners have to come back to homestead." Will replied.
I heard a distant noise in the maze and it made my spines shiver.
"What was that?" I asked him.
"We call those things Grievers. We lost a few Gladers to them. They're the reason why the runners have to return as soon as possible." he replied.
"But, if you don't make it when the walls close, no one has survived the night." he finished.
"Will, get over here. Let's introduce the newbie to the runners." said an African boy who looked about Will's age.
"Come on, newbie. Let's introduce you to the fellow Gladers." said Will.
Later, I sat at the bonfire by myself until I heard a female voice.
"Hey there, newbie."
I looked up at a girl, who has long brown hair and blue eyes.
"You said your name was Kate, right?" she asked.
I nodded.
"I'm Sadie. It's nice to meet you." she said as she sat down beside me.
"How long have you been here?" I asked.
"I've been here for a month. Will was the first one who came here." she replied.
"He wasn't the only one." a Nigerian boy stated in his strong British accent.
"Very funny, Ethan. Some of the others were here before you." said Sadie.
"Hey there, mate. I'm Ethan." he said as he took his hand out as I shook it gently.
"It's nice to meet you." I said.
"I better go join Will and the other guys because they're gonna have an arm wrestle." said Ethan as he walked away to join the other boys.
"What's your job, Sadie?" I asked.
"I'm the Keeper of the runners. Adam assigned me to the job after the day I came here," she replied.
"So you're like the leader of the runners." I said.
"Something like that. I got some of the best runners in the group," said Sadie.
Two minutes later, Will and Ethan came back from their arm wrestling.
"Time to go to sleep, newbie. You're trying out some of the jobs tomorrow. And we'll see what kind of jobs will fit you." said Will.
I sighed and got up and went to join Sadie at the homestead where my hammock was set up and I laid down. Five minutes later, I drifted off to sleep.
The next couple of days had passed by in a blink. I tried out different jobs but none of them were right for me. Today was the fifth day for me and I decided to try out being a Mapper and Will was fine with it. Luckily the map room wasn't far from the homestead. I entered and Sadie looked up and waved at me.
"Hey, newbie! Over here!" she called.
"How's it going?" I asked as I walked over to her.
"I'll brief you on the maze and how it works." she replied.
Sadie explained that there were eight outer sections of the maze and how a different section opens up each day as well as a pattern they were trying to figure out.
"Have you tried-" I asked but I was cut off mid-sentence.
"Whatever you think of, we had tried everything." said Sadie.
I felt disappointed, as I ran my hand through my hair.
"You gonna help me out or not?" she asked.
"Yeah, sorry. I'm coming." I replied.
In the evening, as the sun was setting, I sat by the bonfire by myself as I was thinking about what Sadie had said earlier today. I got up and decided to return to the maproom so I could find a clue. As I reached a building, I stopped walking, and I started getting a bad feeling when I saw a door was open, and it was supposed to be closed.
I looked and saw one of the male runners I met on the first day I came up. I stared in horror as black substance had crept up on his neck and watched as he muttered something to himself, shaking in an uncontrollabe way. He was completely insane.
I tried to back away slowly, but I was too late as I realized I had stepped on a tree branch, making a cracking noise that drew the male runner's attention.
I started running, not daring to look back. The male runner grabbed my ankle as I lost my footing. I fought him off as I got back up on my feet and continued running. When I was clear of the forest, I spotted Ethan.
"Hey! Ethan!" I shouted.
Ethan turned around as the male runner jumped up behind me before he started digging his nails into my arms, pinning me to the ground.
"Sadie! Go get Will!" Ethan yelled before she ran off to get Will.
I struggled to get the male runner off me before he kicked me in my ribs as I cried in pain. I could hear Sadie calling Will. The other Gladers stopped what they were doing and ran over to see what was happening.
"Heads up, newbie!" Ethan shouted as he slammed a shovel on the male runner's head, knocking him unconscious. I shoved him aside as Ethan helped me to get back up on my feet.
Just then, Will ran up with Sadie trailing behind him. The first thing she did was pulling me into a giant hug.
"You okay? I called these guys after Ethan told me to get Will." she said.
"What the hell happened?" he asked.
"I was just going to the maproom and saw this guy. He just went insane and attacked me in the process." I replied.
"Will, lift his shirt." said Sadie.
Will tugged up the male runner's shirt and I almost threw up. He had a puncture wound in his abdomen along with black veins. Will turned away at the sight before he stood up.
"Med-jacks!" he called.
Two people came and lifted the infected male runner and carried him away. The other Gladers left and the only people that are still standing here were Will, Ethan, and Sadie.
"Poor Jacob." Sadie whispered quietly.
"What?" I asked.
"Jacob was our first newbie here." she replied sadly before she and Ethan walked away.
I was about to follow them when I started feeling dizzy as the world spun around me.
"Hey, you okay there?" asked Will.
I nodded. Before I could take another step, I started to stumble.
"Kate!" Will shouted as he caught me before I passed out.
I opened my eyes as the brightness overwhelmed me. As soon as my eyes adjusted to the light, I looked around my surroundings. I was lying in a cot and the first thing that I see are collection of plants and bottles with labels on the shelves, all placed neatly. I sat up as a door opened.
A Hispanic girl with long brown hair, tied into a ponytail came into a room, carrying a tray. Her skin is very warmed. She looked up at me, giving me a small smile.
"You're awake. My name is Izabella. But everyone here calls me Izzy." she said.
Izzy placed the tray beside me and the first thing I noticed was cooked food on the plate. She then handed me a fork and a knife. She then checked on my temperature.
"Your temperature is good and there's no sign of what's wrong with your pulse." said Izzy.
As she got up and ready to leave, I stopped her before I could continue eating.
"What happened to the Jacob kid?" I asked and she froze midway to the door.
"He got stung by a Griever. That's why the maze is a dangerous place. Will had enforced the number one rule. Don't let the newbies go out into the maze." she replied as she turned around to look at me.
That's when I started hearing the screaming sound as I flinched.
"What was that?" I asked.
"It's called the changing. It's what happens when someone gets stung by a Griever. I got some of my med-jacks help him. But tonight he's gonna be in the slammer. And then, he'll be banished in the maze at sundown." Izzy replied.
She doesn't say anything else before she looked away as tears started to fall from her eyes. I watched as she ran out, leaving me alone. I just sat in the same spot, taking in a lot of what I've been told by Izzy. I then got up and left, because I couldn't stand Jacob's terrifying screams anymore. I realized that I don't know what I look like. I decided to ask Will tomorrow so he could tell me and describe my appearance.