Chapter 2: Letting Down the Walls We've Built.
Minho continued to laugh at her, making her thoughts spiral in a million different ways, leaving her more confused and uneasy with the situation the twins had been presented with. They were in a prison, there crime was unfathomable, but their fate was easy to decipher. They had been locked up in a creative form of a prison, there only means of escape within the depths of the maze, concluding the fact that escape was no doubt suicidal. She knew Alby had at least explained that permission into the maze was given to a select few, but his explanation hadn't breached further, leaving Blake more clueless about the whole situation at hand.
Which gave her no choice but to wait it out and see what the boys would hopefully reveal within the tour. Or she could at least attempt to find some answers, even if it was just one from Minho, who was still standing beside her, waiting for her to respond.
"Are we in prison, are we criminals?" She asked, curiosity evident on her face, but Minho offered her a pitiful expression in return, making her stomach knot in disgust. She hated it when people looked at her with pity or sympathy, but she let her snap go. Her attitude would only last so long with these strangers.
"I don't know, all I know was that we were put here by the creators, but I can't tell you anymore. Unfortunately, you'll have to wait until the tour like everyone else. But Blake, this place, it's not as bad as you think, us Glader's were alright you know. So, if, you know, what someone to chat to about anything, I'm here. Besides I'm quite good company you know." He offered her a smug smile, revealing the lingering and ever big ego lurking beneath. Blake liked the gesture, but she wasn't one to tell people how she felt, even with Adeline. She was a closed book and she kept her feelings locked deep within the cavernous walls she erected for protection.
"Thanks." She knew it was half-hearted but she wanted to thank him none-the less, but her rejection seemed to have struck a nerve and she watched as Minho shrunk away, his face deflating in dejection. Guilt gnawed within her as she realised that maybe using her attitude was a mistake, these people were being nice to her, accepting her and her sister with open arms. Yet, here she was, throwing her weight around like a child and slamming people with her hurtful attitude. Which Blake knew, would fall back on her eventually and she would be the one to blame as she picked up the broken pieces and would be left with no-one but herself.
"You don't seem too keen on the offer, but whatever, I'm just trying to help." Minho threw his hands up in mock surrender, his tone of voice making the guilt knot more. Regret welling within in her as she stared at the boy in front of her, and while she did so, recognition swarmed in her again and she fully took in the boy in front of her. Everything about him as a whole was a mystery, but the intricate parts of him sent recognition electrifying through her. The dark charcoal of his eyes that are patterned with tiny pinpricks of sparkle, making her remember the twilight sky blanketed with stars. Those eyes, eyes that she knew deep down she'd seen before, eyes that seemed to settle a sort of connection within her and she couldn't quite distingush what that meant. Answers to her confusion wasn't forthcoming and she didn't ponder on it for long, but she concluded that Minho probably wasn't someone she should ostracize. So, for now maybe he was someone she could allow herself to be friends with. Her thinking only consumed a second, which allowed her time to catch Minho as he turned to walk away over towards the buildings Alby had previously called the homestead.
"Minho, thank you for the offer, it means a lot." Her sincerity of her voice stopped Minho in his tracks, kick-starting his thoughts about her into a more positive light. He turned and offered her a heart-warming smile, clearly forgiving her attitude she had presented him a minute earlier.
"Your welcome, anyway even though speaking to you is so entertaining, I do need to get some sleep, so come on, I'll show you to your bed." He offered, indicating for her to follow him, which she eagerly obeyed as fatigue loomed beneath her eyelids.
...
The room contained two small beds, one neatly made the other up-holding her twin sister, two straight-backed chairs, a chest of drawers and a small table. All day the sun had been pouring down upon the roof, and the little room was like an oven for heat. The room was dark, due to the curtains being drawn tightly shut, restricting the moonlight from illuminating the room before her. The air was still and the flame barely flickered. It was steady and bright enough to relieve the darkness of the room, but it was not enough to read by. The items around the candle cast shadows that radiated out as hands on an old analogue clock would. The wick blackened and the wax slowly turned to liquid, running down the side and onto the glass plate.
The room was silent, save for the intruding snores of the boys filtering through the gaps in the door, breaking through the emptiness of space between the frame and the door. In the silence, Blake allowed herself to fully think and feel, letting the situation wave through her like a tsunami. Answers about where they were, who put them there and why they were there, were still not forth-coming. Yet, that was understandable, since their arrival the girls had been told jack, which meant the two had no choice but to wait for the 'tour' tomorrow.
Although, Blake still wasn't all that sure, how did they know everything they was saying was the exact truth? As far as Blake was concerned these people were still strangers, regardless of how nice they'd been, they could still as easily manipulate them, wait for them to let their guard down and strike. Yet, somehow, Blake knew that scenario wasn't probably going to occur, the twins were in their territory, under their jurisdiction. If they were thinking of doing something, they had all the power from the beginning to show that of to them. So why haven't they?
Maybe they could be trusted, with some time.
Adeline liked where they were, she got along with the Glader's, most of all Newt and as far as Blake knew, Adeline wasn't in any danger what so ever. So why was she stressing over the true nature of the Galder's, when the one person she cared about was safe? Surely as long as Adeline was alive and safe she could accept the Glader's and their new life in the Glade? She didn't have to be best friends with everyone but that didn't mean she couldn't at least try and be nice to people? She could drop the attitude, right?
She pushed against her thoughts further, digging deeper to the hidden memories from before, but like she assumed her previous memories were impenetrable. Locked away from the keen grips of any nosy thinkers. Blake wasn't able to distingush why her memories were forbidden to her? Why she couldn't remember anyone besides her sister. Did she know any Glader's from before? Or are they simply just strangers in this new and unknown situation? A few of the memories were unlocked for her permission, however, these were scarce in amount and revealed no important or useful information. Just little facts about both her's and her sister's personality. Everything else was simply a mystery.
"Blake? Are you awake?" Adeline mumbled into the dark, sleep etching her words as her sister pulled herself from sleep. Letting her know the conversation Adeline wanted to start was important.
"Yeah I'm awake. What's up?" She whispered into the dark, Adeline shuffled the sheets a little as she erected into a sitting position.
"Can you do me a favour?" She asked sincerely, making Blake's heart well, when it came to her sister she would do anything for her, no matter what.
"Sure, what is it?" Interest perked within Blake as she tried to distingush what her sister could possibly ask of her. Blake instincts and good sense of sight confirmed to her that her sister was smiling due to her response.
"I know your finding this situation hard, and I know it's all confusing, I get that. But the people here are nice Blake and I know you find it hard to trust people. But I think we could fit in here so for me could you just try? At least try and make some friends and co-operate?"
"Fine. I guess I can let the attitude go a bit." She answered with a chuckle and she relaxed a little when she heard the answering tones of Adeline's laughter filter over towards her.
...
"Did you pick the short straw?" Blake glanced up at Newt as he excitedly slid onto the plastic seat before her and grin up at her in glee. Blake continued eating her egg, surprised at the fact that Newt was giving her tour instead of Alby, she was adamant that he would pick Adeline. Due to the fact that they had a little connection and the fact that Blake was a whole lot less nice then her sister. Which led Blake to the conclusion that Newt and Alby played a fair game on who got stuck with her for the day.
"Actually, I asked specifically to take your tour and you can imagine Alby didn't complain. And besides I think It will give us a chance to get to know each other." Newt smiled at her genuinely, clearly wanting to be friends with her, as well as her sister. Blake cringed a little at the exaggerated behaviour, but she remembered her promise to her sister last night and she clamped down on her response. She needed to try and besides would it hurt having Newt as a friend? He seemed like a nice guy.
"Fair. To be honest I prefer you to Alby anyway." She chuckled sarcastically as she scooped another spoonful of scrambled egg into her mouth, cleansing the gnawing hunger growling within her. The kitchen was empty save for herself and Newt, the other Galder's already starting there day's work, obviously early morning starts was the norm for the boys here, something Blake wasn't too keen on.
"Thanks. Anyway first, there's a number of jobs within the Glade, Slicers, builders, med-jacks, track-hoe's, chef's, bagger's and slopper's. The rules state that every greenie has to do a trial within each job, but Alby has nicely allowed you rule out any one's you don't wanna do." Blake wasn't sure what some of the jobs were but the words was evidence enough to settle the fact that she wasn't going to choose any of them. However, the word med-jack caught at her and she knew out of the jobs this was probably the one most suited to her, she was first aid trained and had training in combat med technician, for her this job was perfect. However, Blake was clever enough to identify that Newt was holding some information back, one more job he hadn't yet mentioned. She remembered the words Alby had explained the day before, that the maze was only entered by a select few and the job's Newt had described earlier didn't suggest anything to do with the maze.
"There's one more job you haven't told me isn't there?" She narrowed her eyes towards Newt, wanting him to reveal the thing he was holding back and she watched as shock by her declaration tarnished his face and he immediately began to ponder his response, obviously deciding whether answering her was worth it or not.
"Fine, yeah there is. The last job are the runners. They run the maze, mapping it, trying to find a way out. And no, they haven't found one yet." Newt uttered, letting her know the secret he probably wasn't allowed to tell her, maybe they were worried she would pick it for a trial or maybe the job was only open to a select few. She laughed at the thought as she knew full well, that she was defiantly going to pick it, maybe not as a full-time job though. Running wasn't really her thing and besides medicine was something she'd been interested in for as long as she could remember. Therefore, the reason she was going to pick it was purely out of spite, just to annoy Alby a little for a laugh.
"Minho's a runner, isn't he?" She pondered, slightly annoyed he hadn't let that important piece of information slip yesterday. Yet, the information was evident enough, Blake could've easily known just by looking at his fit physique. His body, from his bulging biceps and toned stomach that was easily identifiable from beneath his shirt, was evident enough that he led a fit and healthy lifestyle.
"Yeah he is. But don't get any ideas, Minho's the keeper and he doesn't let anyone do a trial. So, don't get your hopes up." Blake just smiled smugly at his words, if Alby said she could try out any job that she wished, surely a runner could be on that list to, right? It's not like she was unfit and besides running wasn't that hard for her anyway, so what was the problem? Maybe there was hidden secrets within the walls of the maze that the Galder's weren't keen on revealing just yet?
"Well I guess it makes things a lot harder when I say I wanna do a trial for the runners huh? Ohh and the med-jacks, I wouldn't mind being one of them either."
...
"So, as I briefly mentioned earlier, every job has a keeper a leader of the team, they make all the decisions and there ultimately the spokesperson at any gathering's we hold. There meetings by the way." He chuckled as he summarised the meanings of their word's, Blake noticed they spoke in a way that she'd never heard before. Using words such as 'greenie' and 'shank'. Blake just rolled her eyes at the summary, she was intelligent enough to identify the meaning of bloody 'gathering.'
"I know what gathering means dumbass!" She chuckled as she lightly punched him on the arm and laughed as he rubbed it gently in mock hurt. Blake liked how easy it was to banter and get along with Newt, it surprised her but it was nice just the same.
Blake stretched out her arms into the early summer morning, she always knew it would be a fine day when she couldn't feel the temperature of the air. Outside had the sweet fragrance of freshly cut grass and the birds chattered in the trees. The sky was blue with just a few stratus clouds making their unhurried way toward the ocean, she assumed. The sun was already a friendly ball of yellow above, promising more heat as the day progressed. Blake remembered the joys associated with a bright summer day, the happiness and joy that came hand in hand, she couldn't decipher specific memories but she knew that summer mornings always resulted in a good day.
The sounds of joyous Glader's hard at work joined the symphony of the summer morning sounds, adding to the relaxed and peaceful mood of the Glade, making Blake relax a little more into her new life within the maze prison.
"Alright, you know Blake you're not so bad you know, you're actually alright." New uttered sincerely, as his laughter dwindled down into a smile. The compliment was nice and Blake couldn't help but feel glad that she'd made a good impression on him. She knew she had an attitude problem but that didn't mean she liked being a bitch. Also, surprisingly she seemed to enjoy his company also, somehow, spending the day with him didn't turn out so bad after all. Making her, she decided, able to see herself becoming friends with the British boy eventually.
"You know what Newt, you're not so bad yourself you know." She smiled, making Newt's face light up again, clearly happy with himself that he'd helped Blake relax in the presence of the Glader's, helped in her relax her fiery attitude. The easy and happy conversation dwindled to a close when Newt halted their short walk when they arrived at the metal elevator that transported the twins earlier the previous day. They stared at the box in silent for a moment, leaving Blake some time to observe and wonder more on the contraption before her. The elevator was closed now, revealing a set of double doors that lay dormant on the floor, branding white paint that was faded and cracked from time.
Newt pointed down towards the box, indicating for her to look, even though she already was, "This here's the box. Once a month, we get a newbie like you, never fails. Except obviously we got two, who were both girls and were not entirely sure why but anyway. Once a week, we get supplies, clothes, some food. Don't need a lot- pretty much run ourselves in the Glade." Blake nodded in response as she took in the explanation, some of her confused questions being answered, yet, more burning questions seemed to arise, that left her burning with anticipation to ask. Yet, she halted, Newt probably would answer the majority of her questions eventually and besides, her asking question after question would make things run more slowly, so she obediently kept her mouth sealed shut.
"Before you ask, we don't know jack about the box, you get me?" Newt continued, " Where is came from, how it gets here, who's in charge. The shank's that put us here ain't told us nothin'. We got all the electricity we need, grow and raise most of our food, get clothes and such. Tried to send a slinthead Greenie back down in the box one time- thing wouldn't move till we took him out." Newt's words revealed more about the Glader's nature for Blake, they seemed just as clueless as her and her sister was, about the situation they had been presented with. It just seemed like the Glader's had accepted their fate and learned to life with it. Which seemed like the only safe scenario for the twins, they were stuck here, regardless if they wanted to be our not. Which meant they would eventually have to accept it and move on also. Maybe life within the Glade wouldn't be too bad.
"So, you guys don't really know much about what's going on then? You just came up, got told the basic's and you what just learnt to live?" She uttered, worried that maybe her attitude had creeped in slightly on instinct. Yet, Newt didn't seem all that fazed by the question.
"Well to be honest with you, we don't have much of a choice. And besides, the people here, the Glade. It's not all that bad. Life here can be ok sometimes." Newt muttered with a smile, obviously proud of the fact that he was part of such a good community, regardless if he didn't have a choice in the matter. However, Newt continued you talking once again in his authoritive voice, obviously regaining back into the tour at hand. "Anyway, Glade's cut into four sections." He held up a hand as he pointed at the respected places as he uttered the words, "Gardens, Blood house, Homestead, Deadheads. You got that?"
Some of the words seemed to garner an explanation, Blake knew what the gardens and the homestead was, but the other two? She had no clue. Newt seemed to realise this and she was glad to find his patience was still intact, as he explained each of the four words in detail. "Gardens- Where we grow the crops. Water's pumped in through pipes in the ground- always has been, or we'd have starved to death a long time ago. Never rains here, Never." The idea that it never rained baffled Blake but the declaration was like music to her ears, she hated rain. Newt continued this time pointing over to the southeast corner, at the animal pens and the wooden barn. "Blood house-where we raise and slaughter animals." Blake shivered at the thought, wondered why they were committing such awful crimes, but then she realised, it was survival of the fittest. We were the top of the food chain in this situation and food was scarce by the looks of it, so maybe the Glader's had no choice. He pointed over towards the living quarters, Blake clearly knew what it was but she didn't interrupt his flow of explanation "Homestead- stupid place is twice as big than when the first of us got here because we keep adding to it when they send us wood and klunk. Ain't very pretty but it works. Most of us sleep outside anyway, hence why you and Adeline have a room in there."
Newt paused for a split second, obviously garnering her time to absorb the information and process it. Yet, Blake wasn't confused at all, everything Newt had described thus far made sense. She wondered how Adeline felt, no doubt probably a little terrified at it all, but she knew she was safe with Alby and besides, after hearing more explanations of the Glade. It didn't seem that much dangerous anymore. Then lastly, Newt pointed his finger towards the southwest corner, at the deadly and foreboding forest area fronted was dead and ghoulish trees and benches. Blake shivered a little at the sinister sight. "Call that the deadheads. Graveyard's back in that corner, in the thicker woods. Ain't much else. You can go there to sit and rest, hangout, whatever."
Newt started walking again towards the south door, located between, what Newt had referred to as the blood house and the deadheads. While they walked the word, Graveyard clanged like warning bells within her mind. Why was there a graveyard in a place full of teenagers? A place that up until now seemed as safe a place as any, what thing within this place was warrant enough to send a kid kneeling at death's door? Blake wasn't sure she wanted to find out what, whatever this dangerous thing was, it sure as hell could stay well away from her and her sister.
The closer they got the stone door, the more the smell of animals and manure seemed to mature. Blake crinkled her noise at the awful smell and she fought back a heave. The smell was disgusting and she wondered why anyone, in their right mind, would've chosen to be a slicer. Out of everything.
The pens beside the blood house was occupied by a range of different livestock, cows grazed under the beating sun, chewing on the mint green grass beneath their feet. The pigs sunbathed atop puddles of dirty mud puddles, obviously enjoying the heat of the sun and the joys of the summer morning as much as Blake. Others littered the other pens, sheep, chickens and turkeys. All lazily relaxing in the heat of the sun. Workers bustled around the pens and between the animals, all working with ease and confidence, making it seem like they'd been working on a farm their whole lives. The farm was full of life, but over towards the deadheads, the view was like a polar opposite.
The forest seemed to harness its own form of light as it radiated its own midnight blackness. The trees curled like bone finger and seemed to decay with age. Deep within the forest a death-like silence hung over the trees like a blanket, trapping the forest in a bone-chilling mood. Suddenly, a pair of red eyes transformed within the black and Blake shrinked away in shock. What is that? In an instant the light transformed and the red eyes turned in a metal beetle, completely different to anything she'd seen before. Questions fired within her as she wondered what this thing was, if it was supposed to be there and if it was dangerous? Yet, Blake wasn't given time to ask the all-important questions, because the two had arrived at their destination and again Newt fired back into explanation mode.
"Out there's the maze, which of course, you already know. Yes, Minho filled me in." He wiggled his eyebrows at the mention of Minho and she rolled her eyes in annoyance, what happened last night was like that, Blake thought but didn't voice. She wasn't going to put ideas in his head that may or may not be there.
"Anyway, I've been here two years, was one of the early ones to arrive. The one who's been here the longest is Alby. The few before him are already dead. Two years we've tried to solve this thing, no luck. Shuckin' walls unfortunately move out there at night just as much as these doors. Mappin' it ain't easy, no way." Newt pointed over towards a concrete blocked building, not very large in size, but big enough to accommodate a small group of people. "That over there is the map room, the runners come in every night and draw out what they saw that day." Blake realised that they'd reached the all-important part of the tour, the start was just a warm-up, this part was crucial. They'd been here two years, living a life they don't fully understand or even comprehend. People had died, for unknown reasons to Blake and she wasn't entirely she would be told. Was there even a way out of this place? The ideas and questions were scary, even the situation they were in seemed scary and dangerous, not that Blake minded. But Adeline, she was terrified of pretty much everything, how was Blake going to be able to help her when she didn't even know what the danger was. Blake on instinct, stepped forward, curiosity marring her features. The maze was the puzzle, which meant the maze held the answers, prehaps she was looking for. She had to go in. Yet, she didn't get vrey far as the feel of Newt's hand pushed against her chest, holding her in place.
"Ain't no going out there, Blake." He warned, urging her to remain, all the while ordering her in his leader manner. Letting her know the warning was serious.
"Why not?" She understood the maze was dangerous, but why was a mystery. And besides if Newt knew so much about this place, surely, he could escort her in there for a few minutes.
"The number one rule, that applies to everyone. The only one you'll never be forgiven for breaking. Ain't nobody- nobody- allowed in the maze except for the runners. Break that rule and if you ain't killed by the grievers, we'll kill you ourselves. You get me?" The order from Newt was plain and clear, yet this probably was the wrong thing to say because warning bells erected inside her mind. They would kill her, he openly admitted it, she knew there were rules but openly admitting to killing someone wasn't ok for Blake.
"So, you'd be happy to kill us is that what you're saying?" She narrowed her eyes in a death stare, attitude returning in full form as snarled at the boy before her, shock registered over Newt's eyes as he realised his mistake.
"Of course, not Blake, we don't go around aimlessly killing people for no reason. We have rules here, systems in place. To make sure everyone stays safe and alive. If someone breaks these rules, there putting themselves and the rest of the Glader's at risk and we can't let that happen. I'd rather a rule breaker be punished then innocent people. Wouldn't you?" Newt offered, explaining in more detail the reasoning behind the punishment. Yet, surprisingly Blake found herself agreeing, he was right rule breakers should be punished in order to keep everyone within the community safe. Although, it also meant Blake still had to be on her guard and no matter what she shouldn't break any rules.
"True, anyway what's a griever?" She asked mysteriously, this is the first she'd heard that word mentioned and it obviously seemed like a big deal. Maybe this was the thing that was killing most of the kids in the graveyard.
"There this type of animal that patrols the maze at night, deadly things that wouldn't have no doubts about ripping you to shreds. Believe me when I say you don't want to become face to face with one of them." The description was harrowing and Blake wondered if that was the point. She believed him but it was just another thing to warn people away from venturing inside the maze. A movement up the side of the left wall, altered Blake from her thoughts and she zoomed her vision in on the intruder. Another metal beetle sat poised on the wall, observing the two standing before the door.
"What is that?" Blake exclaimed, pointing towards the beetle before it scurried away out of sight.
"There beetle blade's, it's how the creators watch us. Probably best not to touch them, not that you could get close enough anyway. They won't disturb you don't worry. Right, anyway, I can now officially tell you the tour is now complete. So, the next order of business is your job trial, normally all the trials take about two weeks, but because you're a stubborn ass shank and only picked 2, you'll get your job a lot quicker. Good that?" Blake nodded, excited about the prospect of finding a job and settling to life in the Glade. She wondered then what job Adeline would probably be best suited to, track-hoe probably or maybe even a chef. "For the rest of the day you'll be with Clint in the med-jack hut but you'll be allowed into the maze with Minho first thing tomorrow, if you get the all clear from Alby that is." The plan seemed good enough and she was excited to get back into practicing medicine, the idea of going into the maze tomorrow also seemed to excite her also, much to her surprise. That's if Alby let her, knowing him he probably wouldn't, but hey, it didn't hurt to hope. Yet, the last part was the only bit that shocked her, she would be running with Minho.
Minho seemed like a nice enough person, she thought, but he seemed like the person who talked a lot and she wasn't sure if she was ready to talk with someone that much just yet. And add that to the fact that he was more than happy to have personal talks with her also, something she defiantly wasn't ready for.
"What I'll be running with Minho?" She asked for clarification.
"Yeah, his the keeper, you always have your trials with the keeper, why is that a problem?" Concern etched his face, causing guilt to form in her gut. Her words made it seem like she had a problem with Minho, which wasn't the case. She liked him so far, he seemed like a nice guy, who she could potentially get along with. She was just worried about opening up.
"No of course not, I wouldn't mind running with him." She joked with a wink, she knew she was joking but deep down, maybe she was telling the truth. Honestly, she wouldn't mind hanging with him for the whole day, there was worst looking guys she could be stuck with.