CHAPTER 3 *I'm basing this part off the movie, simply because a lot of the character descriptions are more precise. I'm aware that our Lord and Savior James Dashner wrote that there was no individual first Glader, but simply because of writer's creativity I shall assume the authority of taking the movie's perspective on this one. Also, Grace isn't like Teresa, she does not signal the end. She follows the regular monthly pattern of the Box. Sorry for erasing Teresa out of the Maze… SPOILER ALERT! I have an idea to add her later!!

I have no idea how long we sit there. All I know is that I don't want to leave his arms. He is lanky, but he is strong. He holds on to me so tight that I feel like he will never let go. Suddenly, he breaks the silence.

'I came up here for a reason, Grace. You're right. You deserve answers. About the Maze, the Grievers, everything.' He lets go of me and turns so that we look directly at each other. 'I told you that the Box brought you here. It brought all of us here. Newbie every month. But there had to be a first, right?' I nod. 'Minho was the first. He lived here alone for a month. Then came Nick, then Alby, then Gally, then Zart, then Jake, then Frypan, then Ben, then Clint, then me, and so on for about two years, until about a month ago when Thomas came. You are obviously our most recent Glader. A few of the Gladers have died, like Nick and Jake. They both died in the Maze. Others, like Ben, were Banished for attacking fellow Gladers. Ben was Stung and he attacked Thomas last month.

'Banished? Stung? What does that even mean?' I ask, completely bewildered.

'I'm getting there, don't worry,' Newt says patiently. 'This brings me to the Grievers. When the Grievers get close enough to you, they Sting you. They have needle things on their legs. I'm sure you saw that yesterday.'

I nod. I definitely saw. The image of the demolished Griever is still vivid in my brain.

'Well when those needles touch you, you get Stung. We don't know why, but when you get stung you go through something called the Changing. The Changing makes you get all vein-y and purple, and you remember things from before the Glade. But most people refuse to talk about anything they see.'

'Wait, so what does this have to do with Ben attacking Thomas last month?' I ask.

'Ben was Stung. He went through the Changing. He said that he recognized Thomas, and that Thomas was evil, part of the reason we were here. Ben attacked Thomas. We have a rule against hurting other Gladers, and Ben broke the rule. So we Banished him to the Maze, which is where the Grievers stay. When people get Banished it's safe to assume they get killed by the Grievers. Oh and speaking of rules, we also have a rule against going into the Maze unless you're a Leader or a Runner.'

I wince. I already broke a rule, and I can tell it's an important one. 'Sorry about that…' I say sheepishly. I turn our conversation back to what Newt calls The Changing. 'But with the Changing you just remember everything? Why don't people talk about it? What's so bad?'

'The most anyone has ever said about the Changing is that it shows how horrible the world is outside the Maze. No one knows what that means, but that's all anyone will ever say.'

'So is that all the Changing does? Make you remember?'

'It makes you remember, but it puts you through unimaginable pain. Your veins get purple, and those who go through it scream for days. It's caused by this thing called the Grief Serum which is the only antidote to a Griever Sting.'

'The Grief Serum?'

'It's part of our supplies. It comes up weekly with the Box.' Newt pauses for a moment then continues: 'That covers the Grievers. Any questions?'

'No, I think I got it. So basically these crazy creatures can Sting you and the Grief Serum saves you, but it causes this super painful thing called the Changing that gives you memories but no one ever talks about it?'

'Yeah, that's it in a nutshell.'

'Great.' I sigh. This is all insane. 'One thing though, how do the people who go through the Changing know that the memories are real?'

Newt is silent for a few moments. Then, simply, he says, 'They don't. Moving on?'

'Okay, moving on.'

'Next we have the jobs. First is the Leaders. That's me and Alby. Then there's the Runners. Minho's the Keeper. Those are the only people who are allowed in the Maze. They're the strongest, the fastest, the smartest of us all. Don't mess with the Runners, or the Maze. Then Sloppers. They aren't good at really anything. They just clean up behind everyone else. Next you got Bricknicks and Builders. They build and repair all of our structures. There's Slicers and Bloodhousers, who raise and slaughter animals for the Cooks. Baggers are in charge of if someone dies. They clean up the body. They're also our guards and protectors. Next is Medjacks. They take care of us if we get sick or hurt, and they give the Grief Serum to guys who get Stung. Then we got Track-hoes, They take care of the garden and all our plants. And last we got the Cooks. The Keeper of the Cooks is Frypan, and he's gonna be one of your favorite people. His food is so good, you'll fall in love with him.'

I laugh. 'Is that all of them?' I ask.

'Yup,' Newt responds. 'Starting tomorrow we'll get you looking at some of the jobs, see what you're best at.'

'Sounds good. Where first?'

'I wanna try you at Medjacks first. I feel like you've got a real knack for helping people out.'

'Why's that?' I ask, smiling.

'You're just so darn personable.' Newt laughs. 'And you seem like you like making people feel better. I don't know, just a hunch.' We both smile.

'What are you?' I ask. 'What's your job?'

'Well, I used to be a Runner,' he starts, 'but because of this…' he gestures at his leg, 'I'm not really able to run anymore. So now I'm second in command, behind Alby. Our job is to make sure everyone else is doing their jobs.'

'You're a natural born leader,' I say with a soft smile. And I mean it. I can tell that his attempted suicide made him stronger, that he's become the type of person that you can't help but listen to.

Newt smiles at me and takes my hand once more. And again, we're sitting in silence, not needing anything else but each other, looking eye to eye, and we're content exactly where we are.