Trigger Warnings: Vulgar languages, mentions of SA

Chapter 3

"Psst, hey Greenie."

Ava whined, trying to turn in the hammock they had lent her. The boys said they would figure out a way to accommodate her. Just because Ava wanted to fit in, doesn't mean that she needed to be with the boys everywhere. The bathroom included, so the Builders were going to start creating her a little room of sorts so she could take care of herself. She would still be a part of the Glade, with a few tweaks.

"Come on, green bean. Get up." She sighed, before slowly cracking her eyes. It was barely daylight outside, the sun just beginning to peak over the giant walls. She looked up where Alby was standing over her, torch-lit in his hands. She raised an eyebrow, before yawning and stretching as the hammock wobbled. She caught herself before she fell, sighing and rolling her eyes as Alby chuckled.

"Come on. I want to show you something before your big day." He whispered, not wanting to wake the others. Ava looked toward the other boys who slept in their hammocks, before sighing and pushing herself out of it. She grabbed her boots and laced them up quickly and messily, before joining Alby.

They walked a ways away from the Homestead, and for a moment Ava began to worry. It was farther away from everyone. More than she hoped for. That dread and fear still sat in the pit of her stomach. But as soon as she saw another lit torch, this one held by Gally, she relaxed, taking a deep breath.

They continued on their trek once they met Gally, toward the walls of the Maze. "It wasn't always this way, Ava. We had our dark days, where there wasn't order. We lost a lot of boys during those days. But since then, we've established order, established peace." Alby explained as they came up to the wall. Ava didn't notice anything at first, before seeing the names carved into the stone of the wall. She recognized Alby's, Newt's, and others.

She turned when Alby put his hand out, holding a knife into it. "You're one of us now. And it would be very unfair not to have your name on this wall. Now it's your turn." Ava looked at the knife for a moment, before back at the wall. On the wall were some names that were crossed out. She wanted to ask why they were crossed out, but the way Alby explained it, she could piece it together. She looked toward Gally, who smirked and nodded.

Slowly, she took the knife in her hands, holding it tightly. "You're one of us now." For some reason, that sentence felt right. It sounded like music to her ears. Slowly, she walked over, before beginning to carve her name into the rock between Newt and Gally's.

She was a Glader. She was one of them.

Ava was slowly learning her place in the Glade. In fact, she really didn't have a place.

That day, they started her out working to see where she would fit. While she was figuring out her place, the boys who volunteered were helping to build her someplace to stay. She was often shadowed by Newt, who made her she was safe and felt comfortable wherever she was. Sometimes Gally would take his place when he wasn't building. She had learned to lean on the two boys that helped her out of the Box the very first day.

She could not be a Slicer. She found that the very first day. Watching Winston kill the pig wasn't what was bad. It was watching him skin the creature and then divide up its innards and body parts that Ava didn't enjoy. She knew she wasn't suitable for that job.

The boys didn't want her to be a Slopper, everyone agreed on that. It wasn't that she couldn't do it, they just didn't want to give her the messy jobs.

Being a cook wasn't all that bad. Frypan and the other cooks enjoyed her. She asked questions and wanted to know what they were cooking and how. She didn't dare get in Frypan's way when he was cooking, knowing that it was something that he enjoyed and she wasn't going to take it from him. But she did bring supplies when needed and helped chop up vegetables or knead dough when it was needed.

She liked helping the Builders also. She liked surpassing the boys by picking up heavy items or climbing on the roofs of their buildings to help patch up. Gally liked her being there. She was as witty and sarcastic as him, and they would banter back and forth as they worked. The other builders didn't really enjoy it, but it was better than working in silence.

She was great as a Track-hoe, keeping a tally on what plants need to be harvested or what needed to be planted without being too early or late. Zart enjoyed having her around because he had another set of hands to watch over his plants. A few seed packets that he didn't need had been given to them, and Zart tossed them to her since he didn't need them. She had found a patch of ground around the tree she had climbed the first night, and planted the seeds. What shocked her was they had begun to bloom into flowers. It made her smile. A little color in this dreary land she now called home.

She helped the Slicers when she could. Being part of the Builders had its advantage. After seeing the ample amount of rabbits and squirrels around the Glade, she realized they weren't being used to their advantage. So she created a trap out of old twine and wire they had left over. Plenty of times she would bring Winston the rabbits that way they would have something different for lunch and dinner. Overall, she helped out everyone where she could.

She fit in, and that's all that Ava had wanted.

"So there's no way out?"

"Nope. It's called the Maze for a reason, love." Newt explained from where he was digging in some old weapons they had, looking for a new machete for the harvest. They weren't allowed to use any weapons, or even have any. But sometimes you had to have tools for the fields.

"So, the Runners have been doing it for how long?" She was leaning against the wall of the storage building as Newt dug through the boxes. He couldn't help a chuckle. Every Greenie was always this curious.

"Three years. At least that's what Alby said. I've only been here a year." He pushed one box to the side and moved to the next. Ava sighed, shielding her eyes to look toward the entrance to the maze. "And still no one's found out anything?"

"The Maze changes every night, like clockwork. The Runners could map it every day and it would still change on them, there's no way to know how it will change or when. They just know it changes. Now come here and help me before Zart gets suspicious." Newt looked over at her and chuckled. Ava rolled her eyes, before moving to kneel beside him and pull another box to her.

"What about the Box? When it comes up. . "

"Already tried it. Box won't go down."

"Okay. And you can't climb down the hole. . ." Ava had already seen the grave with the half corpse. She knew that answer. "What about climbing the ivy?"

"We've tried it. Too high. And I don't think it goes that far up." Newt looked over at her, chuckling. "What is with your interest about the Maze all of a sudden?" He asked, leaning against the wall as she shuffled through. She shrugged.

"It just seems odd, ya know? That some of you have been here for three years and yet no one has found a way out." She sighed.

"Trust me, if you're thinking it. We've tried it, maybe twice. We've tried everything, some of us have just let it go and called this place home." He explained, leaning his arm on his propped-up knee.

Ava sighed. It just didn't make any sense to her. She leaned over another box before squeaking as two red eyes were staring at her. She raised an eyebrow, looking at the little gray mechanical bug. "What the heck?"

"Don't touch it!" Newt's warning came too late as she moved to push the bug out of the way. Her eyes blinked rapidly as white-hot pain suddenly slid up her arm and shoulder, jerking her for a moment. She froze for a moment, disoriented by the pain as the bug scurried away. Her eyes were wide as she watched the bug, confused and hurt from what just happened.

"Ava." Newt quickly moved in front of her. "Are you alright?" He took her hand in his, palm up as he looked at the burn. She hadn't noticed it until now. It was faint, but the same length as the bug that she had touched, and it hurt. Her skin was red underneath the black coloring and as she closed her hand she hissed. "What the hell was that thing?" She hissed as he touched the raw flesh, pulling away once he noticed the blood.

"Beetle Blade. And this one got you good." Newt spoke, reaching over where he had left his pack and rifling through it.

"A Beetle what?"

"Beetle Blade. It's how the Creators keep tabs on us. Hold still." Newt popped the cap off of his canteen and slowly poured water over it. She whimpered, swallowing back the curse words. "They're little bugs that have cameras, or that's what we're guessing. They keep a close eye on us. I guess that's how we get the things we need from the Box each month. But you can't touch them, or they'll give you a nasty shock." He explained, wrapping a spare piece of fabric around her hand and tying it.

"I figured that out." She spat playfully, making Newt smirk. He tied the fabric around the burn and sighed, moving and sitting back across from her. She examined the new bandage, moving her hand upside down and back. "We should try climbing it again." She mumbled after a moment.

"You just got zapped by the one thing that keeps track of us, and the first thing you say is about the Maze?" Newt rolled his eyes, sighing. Ava shrugged, looking over at him. "It's just a thought."

"A bloody dumb one."

"And how would you know?" She snapped, sighing angrily. She didn't know if it was the heat that was getting to her or the fact that any idea of leaving this place was immediately shot down that was upsetting her. But she was getting tired of listening to them say they couldn't do anything. There had to be something they could do to get out. But all of the boys had the same feelings. That they were stuck there forever. Newt sighed.

"Ava, I get your ambition. Really. But we have tried everything, and you've seen what has happened in that. Nothing good comes out of here, and we're still stuck here." He explained it, looking over at her. "We want out. All of us, but there's no way out at this moment. We're not giving up. We just have to think practical while we can." He explained, wanting to stop thinking about this.

"But that ambition? Of getting out? It's what keeps everyone going, right?" Ava was hopeful. She didn't want to be the only girl in a group of boys forever. She wanted to be something more. And getting out of the Maze had to be the only way. "I don't want to be the only girl forever. This world's a scary place."

"And you don't have nothing to worry about, love. You got me, and Gally, and Alby. You're okay. And of course, we'll keep looking for a way out. That's why we have Runners, right?" He reached over and poked her side, smirking when she tried to scurry away. "Come on, let's find something before Zart turns me into a scarecrow for the birds." Ava groaned before turning to help Newt continue to search through the boxes.

"Holy hell." Newt looked over when Ava spoke, before raising an eyebrow as she pulled out an old bow. "I forgot they sent that up in the Box. We must have put it in here cause we weren't using it." He explained as she grazed her fingers over it. "Should be. Ah, there they are." He pulled the quiver of arrows out, leaning it against the box. Ava grinned, removing one of the arrows and looking it over. "I know we're not supposed to have weapons, but this is cool." She explained, pulling it against the bow and pointing it. Newt jumped to the side. "Whoa whoa! Easy there, shuck-face!" He joked and she laughed. "If you want to shoot it, let's go outside where you can't take my eye out." At those words, Ava grinned, before quickly jumping up and exiting the building. Newt rolled his eyes, before following her out

The both of them headed out toward the trees to keep the arrows from flying and hitting anyone. As they headed out, they passed a few of the Builders getting up from their break. John was with them.

"Hey Newt, Ava. What're you two doing? Shouldn't you be in the fields?" He asked, not caring that his wandering eyes were obvious on Ava. Ava moved closer to Newt. She never really liked being around John. He made that quite clear the first time she had met him. "Shouldn't be keeping her all to yourself, mate. Let us all have a taste." The other two boys snickered, although one looked disgusted. Ava rolled her eyes but she felt Newt stiffen beside her.

"Slim it, John. Stop being a prick." Newt muttered, glaring at him as they stopped.

"Or what? I'm just having a little fun. Bout time you all loosened up. Especially you, Ava. Maybe you could loosen up a bit more. Could play a fun little game." Ava swallowed thickly, before quickly grabbing Newt's arm as he moved toward John, hand on the hilt of his machete.

"I said slim it, shuck face. Before I bury you under the klunk you'll have once I beat it out of you." Ava had never seen Newt this heated. She knew he was protective of her, but she had never known how much.

"I'd like to see ya try." John rolled his eyes, before turning away. "Must be getting the good stuff from her."

Ava didn't have a chance to grab at Newt before he reared back and punched John. Her eyes widened as she stood there, before watching the two begin to tussle on the ground. "Guys! Stop!" She screamed, looking up at the other two. Sighing, she moved to grab the spear that John dropped to slam it between the two of them.

"Ah-ah. You're not ruining this for us." Ava squeaked when her arms were pulled behind her, picking her up and holding her there. "Get off me!" Ava screamed, struggling.

"Dude, let her go and help me." Harry quickly said.

"Stop being a slint head. Let John beat the klunk out of…." He roared as Ava threw her head back, slamming the back of her head into nose. "You bitch!" He threw his hand back to throw a punch, but it stopped mid-air.

"I think you know where this is going," Gally spoke quickly, throwing his hand down as he turned toward Ava. Ben and Minho moved quickly, grabbing both Newt and John to pull them apart. Ava was pulled from her own stupor when Gally grabbed her shoulders. "You okay?" He asked, checking her over. She nodded, before turning where Minho and Ben were still wrestling with the two of them. "The Runners heard the commotion, plus John and the others didn't come back from break." He reassured Ava, who was standing there, visibly shaken.

"What the shuck is going on?!" Alby's voice boomed over the others, walking through the group of boys.

"That shuck face just attacked me." John spat, wrenching his arm from Ben's grasp.

"You deserved it, you slinthead!" Newt growled, letting Minho hold his arm, afraid if he was let go he would hit him again. "Saying all those foul things. I thought we had an agreement Alby. No one talks about her that way." Ava raised an eyebrow at Newt's accusations. No one was supposed to talk about her that way? She looked at Gally, who shrugged.

Alby looked over at John, before looking at Ava. "Was he talking about you? Don't lie." He snapped, watching her. Ava swallowed thickly, before nodding, hoping she didn't have to go into detail about what he had been saying. Alby glared at John for a moment. "Anyone else going to say anything?" He looked over at John's two friends. Harry swallowed, before nodding. "I was there." He said.

Alby sighed. "That didn't give him the right to jump me!" John argued.

"It gave him every right, actually." Gally defended, glaring at him. Alby raised his hand, silencing the group. They still broke a rule, regardless of the reasoning. "I don't want to hear it anymore. John, if you so much as talk to Ava again, I'll be throwing you in the Maze myself. As for the both of you. One night in the Pit and no food for fighting. Starting now." He exclaimed. John glared at them, before shoving past the group of boys, a few following to make sure he went to the Pit.

Ava watched helplessly, it wasn't as if they were being banished, but it still hurt. She watched as Gally walked over to Newt, who brushed the dirt off his shirt and looked at him. He looked over at Ava, before following with Gally walking behind him. The others started to disperse, going back to their duties.

"I'm sorry about that, Ava." Alby pulled her from her thoughts. He sighed. "We made an agreement when you came up here. No one was to talk to you in any way that made you uncomfortable. And no one was to dare touch you." He explained.

"I get it. I'm the only girl in a bunch of boys. The testosterone runs wild here, huh?" She said with a sigh, making Alby chuckle but nod. "We're not animals here. Some of us have some decency. And we had to set our foot down somewhere. I'm sorry you had to witness that." He started back toward the Homestead, before stopping. "Minho." Minho turned his head where he was still standing with Ben and Ava. "Teach her the Runners' call. We don't want any more close calls." Alby instructed, before turning and leaving.

Ava looked up, before looking at Ben and Minho. She raised an eyebrow. "Runners' call?"

"It's a whistle we use in the Maze. Helps us know if someone is seriously in trouble. Only the Runners know it. Keeps us on our toes." Minho explained, moving to her side. "Where'd you get this?" He asked, picking up the discarded quiver of arrows. She smirked. "Newt and I found it in the armory. No one was using it and I wanted to try it out. Guess I shouldn't have pulled it out, since weapons aren't allowed." She explained. Ben chuckled, grabbing the bow and looking at it.

"You're one serious chick, huh?" Ben joked, handing her the bow. She raised an eyebrow, taking it in her hand. "You don't take klunk from anyone." He looked over at Minho. "They knew she'd be trouble." He references the Creators. Ava smirked, chuckling and taking the quiver from Minho.

"Come on, let's teach you that whistle." Minho patted her on the back as they headed back to the Homestead.

The day wore on, going into the night. Ava sat at one of the tables in the kitchens, slowly swirling the soup Frypan made around in the bowl. Most of the boys were off on their own, still not able to gauge Ava's interest or just not caring. And without having Newt there, the others wouldn't even think about talking to her. So here she sat, alone and watching the sunset over the closed walls.

"You look like you could use a friend." Ava looked up when Gally sat across from her. He would be the first to talk to her. She smiled weakly before looking back down at the soup. "He's fine, Ava. You've seen the Pit. It's not the nicest accommodation. But he's fine, and I made sure John got the coldest one. The one that was crudely made." Gally told her, smiling and taking a sip of his water. She chuckled.

"It's not that." She sighed, plopping her sink into the bowl. "Tell me something, Gally. What does everyone think of me here?" She asked, looking at him. Gally looked at her, confused. "Do they see me as an ally or an enemy? Just because I'm a girl." She asked again.

"I. . .uh. . ." Gally started, looking down at his own meal.

Ava scoffed. "You can tell me, Gally. I'm a big girl. I can take it." Gally rolled his eyes.

"It's mixed feelings." He finally started after a pause. "A lot see you as a friend. They know you can take care of yourself, that you don't need help. Newt, for example." He chuckled as she rolled her eyes. "Winston, Zart, Ben, a lot more." He added. She sighed, smirking, before looking at him.

"The others?"

"You're a girl, Ava. What do you expect them to think? We're a bunch of teenage boys with no such way of release. And then they decide to drop you in the middle of us." Gally explained. "That's why Alby made those two rules. We didn't want something to happen and the results be irreversible. That's why Newt and I both keep a close eye on you. But the others do too. Ever noticed how Minho watches from the background when he's not in the Maze?" Ava looked over where the Runners were standing under the shelter, chatting as their jobs had been finished. Minho wasn't facing her, but she could tell his eyes would dart to her every once in a while. She hadn't realized that. "A lot of them see you as a friend or a sister. They don't want anything to happen to you. Take that for what it's worth."

Ava put her head on her hand, sighing. She was glad that most of them enjoyed her company, and trusted her. But there were those others. The others that she couldn't trust. She bit her lip, sighing. "I need to learn how to fight," Gally mumbled something as he took a sip of his drink. "And you're going to teach me." He choked, coughing as he put his cup down. "Huh?"

"Come on Gally. I've seen the way you wrestle with the others during the celebration bonfires. You could teach me to deal with them if it ever came to that. Just enough to be able to take care of myself without my trusty bodyguards around. And without actually stabbing them with that." She motioned to her bow and arrows. She leaned over the table, pushing her bowl out of the way. "Please, Gally?" She begged. Gally watched her, as those big brown eyes sparkled. He sighed and shook his head.

"Fine. Fine." He said and she grinned, sitting back in her place. "But first things first. You gotta cut your hair."

Ava looked at him, before grabbing a strand of her hair. "What's wrong with my hair?" True, it had grown a lot since she had come into the Glade. It was now over her shoulders and falling farther down.

"That's the first thing someone's going to grab. Especially if they're looking for a cheap shot."

"Fine, you can cut it. We'll do it tomorrow. But I do not want a boy's cut." She teased. Gally laughed, before reaching out. "You got yourself a deal then." He said. She grinned, before taking his hand and shaking it. Finally, she felt like she was making progress. She sat back when a cloth was sat beside her, along with two canteens. She looked up to Frypan, who was moving to sit down.

"I already ate." She said. Frypan smirked. "They're not for you." Even he was breaking the rules. Ava looked at Frypan, before Gally. She laughed, reaching over and hugging Frypan, before gathering the goods and a lantern and disappearing out of the shelter. "Further from the Deadheads!" Gally called, before chuckling and turning to Frypan and Winston who had joined.

The Pits were farther away from the Homestead. Closer to the Deadheads. She found it pretty creepy as she walked alone, lantern-lit but barely giving any light except for enough to place her feet. She looked over toward the Deadheads, shivering. They always gave a bad vibe, and she never wanted to be caught in them. She could see the dug-out cells that they had made before she had gotten here, thatched cell doors locked shut. Three out of the five were open, two shut. Ava calculated, before moving toward the one that was closer to the Homestead. "Newt?" She whispered quickly, walking a little closer, hoping she had picked the right one.

There was movement, a shadow before she could see his blonde hair peeking through the cell door. "Ava? What are you doing here?" He asked, quietly as she walked closer. She sat the lantern down to the side and crisscrossed her legs.

"You hungry?" She asked, pulling the covered cloth out and handing it to him through the bars, dropping the canteens down after. Newt grinned, taking the bread and cheese and then the canteen full of soup and water. "Starving."

"Compliments of Frypan." She said and leaned back against the wall of the cell. "How's it down there?" She asked, watching as he sat down closer to where she was and tore into the bread. He glared at her, before rolling his eyes. She chuckled.

"Gally's going to teach me to fight." She heard him stop chewing for a moment, knowing that he was listening. "So we don't have problems like we did today." She pulled one of the arrows out of the quiver and picked at the feather.

"That would probably help." He mumbled over a mouthful. She laughed, before sighing. "I'm tired of being afraid of my shadow. I fit in with all of the groups, helping out where I can but I can't keep walking on broken glass here. I have to learn to live without you or Gally following me foot to foot so that you can all get back to your jobs." She explained, looking up as the stars began to peek out against the sky. Newt stood up and moved where he was closer to her through the door.

"You already fit in here, just a few setbacks is all." He looked at her. She looked down at him and chuckled. There was a moment of silence as he ate and she watched the stars over the walls.

"We have to find a way out of here." She didn't want to start anything. Just state the obvious. Newt hummed in agreement. "Do we even know what's out there?" She asked.

"Do we want to know what's out there, is the real question?" He asked. She hummed softly, her chest rising in a sigh.

"All I know is if or when we get out of here. We better stick together. You and me, and of course Gally and Winston and all of them." She leaned back on her hands. Newt chuckled. "We will, love." He mumbled softly, reaching his hands out of the door as they watched the sky together. Their hands came close in contact, fingers brushing each other. Ava blushed, taking a breath. They had to get out of here, one way or another.

But how?