Newt and Clara finally found Alby standing by one of the openings of the Maze. Clara never realized how massive in size they were until she was right in front of them. She caught a glimpse of a few boys turning the corner from inside the stone walls. She suspected that they were going to map out the Maze like Newt told her they did.
"Hey Newt. You feeling better, Greenie?" Alby said.
"Yes, thanks." Clara replied. Then she turned and noticed Newt had left her side and was taking a backpack from a muscular Asian boy. Newt slung it over his shoulders and looked back at Clara.
"I'll be back soon, dont worry. Zart'll take care of you." With that, he ran off into the Maze without looking back.
"Zart's the Track-Hoe, right?" Clara asked Alby once Newt was out of sight.
"Yes.You'll be working with him today in the Gardens. Only to see if you like it. If you do, that'll be your new job. So you can go on over there and Zart will get you settled."
"Alright." Clara waved goodbye and walked over to the Gardens, trying to remember what Zart looked like. She finally found him bent over some crops, hard at work.
"Hi, Zart." she said. Zart stopped pulling weeds, straightened, and stretched out his back.
"Hey, Greenbean. Quite a scare you gave us yesterday." he joked "What happened?"
"I just hurt my ankle. But, it's better now so I was wondering if you needed any help around here. I'm testing the jobs out."
"Yeah, sounds good. Let's get started." he said, handing Clara a pair of gloves.
After showing Clara the ropes about weeding, planting, and harvesting, Zart basically left Clara to her own devices. With the little bit of information she had, she began to work. She spent hours weeding, planting squash and carrots, and picking apples from a large tree in the center of the Gardens. Clara didn't love it, but it was way much better than having to kill animals at the Bloodhouse.
As the sky turned pink, Clara yanked one last weed from the ground. She stood up triumphantly, wiping off the sweat on her forehead with her arm. She felt a light tap on her shoulder; she turned around to see Newt standing there, sweaty and weary-eyed.
"Hey," he greeted, taking a swig of water " how was work today?"
"Not bad, it was pretty enjoyable. How about you?"
"Eh. Same old, same old."
"Maybe to you. I've only been here for two days." Clara joked; Newt chuckled softly.
"I'm bloody starving, can we go eat now?"
"Yeah, tell me about it."
As the two walked across the grassy field to the Homestead, Clara decided to ask Newt a question that had been bugging her all day.
"So, what's in the Maze?" she asked. Newt shrugged.
"Besides an occasional Griever, nothing but rocks and vines. It's quite boring, actually."
"Wow, I thought there'd be more to it... it seems so important to Alby and them. Alby goes crazy if I go within two yards of it." Clara muttered, slightly disappointed.
"Well, he has good reason to. It's extremely dangerous out there. We don't want you or anyone else getting hurt."
"Fair point."
The pair walked into to the Homestead, grabbed their dinner, and sat down on the benches outside, enjoying the cool air. A few Gladers tried to flirt with Clara, including the tall Asian boy she'd seen before, but she was unbothered.
Newt seemed to care, however. Every time someone would pass by, he would give them a glare as a warning. When someone would actually hit on Clara, Newt wouldn't look up from his plate.
"Cool it..." he would mutter under his breath.
Clara had just finished eating when a loud boom exploded through the air, making her jump. The noise was followed by a horrible grinding sound. It was as if the whole world was shaking beneath her feet; Clara covered her ears with her hands, panic settling in her chest.
She looked at one of the Maze entrances. The stone wall at the East entrance was sliding against the ground, rock against rock. The right part of the wall was moving toward the one on the left. Clara then noticed that the other three entrances were doing the same thing. The walls finally sealed shut, trapping Clara inside the Glade.
"Wow." was all she could muster.
"They do that every night." Newt explained; Clara had completely forgotten he was there. "You'll get used to it soon. For now, we need to get some shut eye."
Clara reluctantly followed, knowing that Newt probably not in the mood for any more questions. He led her to a small awning by the Homestead, where about 50-60 hammocks hung from the ceiling. Each hammock had a name posted above it on a piece of wood. Newt stopped at a brand new one with no name.
"This one's yours. The Builders will probably have your name up there by tomorrow, you'll just have to wait til then."
"I think I'll live."
Newt smirked and crawled into the hammock beside hers. Clara then attempted to get into her own, ignoring Newt's stifled laughs. As she finally settled in, she rolled over to face her friend.
"I could get used to this." She sighed in relaxation.
Newt smiled. "No more nightmares?"
"No more nightmares."
"Well, goodnight, Clara." Newt replies, yawning.
"Goodnight, Newt." Clara said. She soon drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
