One : Glader

Tommy POV

The blaring alarm for the box shocked me out of a deep sleep. I sat up instantly, my heart wild in my chest as I looked towards the courtyard. It was far too early, both in the day of the week, and time of day. The box wasn't due for another four days, let alone in the middle of the night.

The alarm continued to screech and gladers were beginning to scramble out of their beds and hammocks to see what was going on. Groggy from sleep, I rolled over in my hammock to see Newt pushing himself up out of his own, his blonde hair tousled and in his face. He looked just as confused and bleary eyed as I felt.

"What the bloody hell?" He muttered, his long legs swinging out of his hammock clumsily. In the distance, a group of gladers were already gathered around the courtyard, forming a large circle around it. It was only now that I realized that the sky was a dull gray, not the classic sky of nighttime that we were all used to. It wasn't even dark like it should be this time of night. Pushing the observation to the side for now, I finally managed to extricate myself from my hammock and began to jog towards where the box had creaked to a stop.

Alby was already there and he shooed people away as he knelt down to open the double doors. Newt and I pushed our way through the crowd just as he jumped down inside the empty box. Nearly empty. Alby was picking a small piece of paper off the floor and he stood there in shocked silence.

"What does it say?" Chuck asked timidly on my left. Alby slowly climbed out of the box, still staring at the note. Newt then stepped up, plucking the paper from Alby's hands with ease.

"1243756." Newt read slowly. Gladers immediately began to talk over each other.

"Is it a code?"

"Why did it come at 2 in the morning?"

"Why is it empty?"

"Why isn't it going down?"

I stopped at the last comment, staring down at the empty box. It sat perfectly still. No shuddering, creaking, or groaning like normal as it retreated down into the depths from which it came. It sat completely empty, open, and silent. Alby had his hands up, attempting to calm the cacophony of boys' raised voices. I looked back to the piece of notebook paper in Newt's hand. Newt was still staring at it, his head cocked in confusion. His gaze shifted to meet mine and he gave me a tiny nod towards the homestead. He was already moving, Minho following right behind him.

We didn't get more than a few feet away from the box when the all too familiar boom and grinding of the doors began. Everyone jumped from the sudden noise. Screams began to break out as gladers scattered, running for the cover of the homestead and forest. I glanced towards Minho, who had a look of horror etched across his face. The grievers would have free reign of the glade, picking off whomever they wanted, as many as they wanted.

"Keepers! Follow me!" Alby shouted and Newt and Minho snapped out of their shock. They ran after Alby, and I quickly followed. The three other doors were also opening, filling the small space with shrieking rock and metallic thuds. Ahead of us, Gally was already in the homestead entrance, ushering people inside. Alby grabbed his arm and yanked him towards the gathering room.

We didn't have time to collect all of the council members. Just Newt, Alby, Minho, and Gally were here besides myself. Outside, most of the screaming and chaos had died down. Alby was standing by the window, peering outside towards the now fully open doors. Nothing was happening, but I had a hunch that the peace and quiet wouldn't last long. After a long minute, Alby finally turned towards us. He reached a hand out to Newt, who handed him the crumpled piece of paper.

"1243756…" He read quietly, then glanced over at Minho. "Aren't there 7 sections to the maze?"

Minho nodded. He stood next to Newt, who had his arms folded across his chest. Gally shifted foot to foot anxiously on the far side of the room, his gaze flickering from Alby to Minho carefully.

"It has to be a code to something." Alby shook his head and then glanced back out the window. "The box hasn't moved, all four doors are open, and not a single griever yet."

"What's with the lights?" I finally asked, shocked that someone hadn't brought the issue up yet. Gally froze in his movements, Alby whipped his head around to stare at me. "It's 2 in the morning, and yet it's light enough to see out."

"Maybe the bloody creators gave up." Newt muttered under his breath but Minho shook his head.

"They sent the box up for a reason, with that paper. It has to mean something important. There are 7 numbers, one for each maze section. We need to go check it out."

"No one moves until morning." Alby hissed, his gaze now returned to watching the doors out the window. "Not until we know where the grievers are."

Hours ticked by in silence. The glade was as silent as I'd ever heard it. No one dared sleep, not with all fours doors open and inviting death so openly. No one spoke either, only occasionally peeking out the window. We had since moved out of the gathering room and now sat taut with tension in the main living space. I sat on the floor, Newt in a chair next to me. He leaned over with his elbows on his knees, hands clasped in concentration, ears pricked for any sound out of the ordinary. Again I glanced at my wrist watch; 6:55. The wake up was in 5 minutes, yet there was no one to wake up. The glade had sat through the night with baited breath, everyone watching the doors. All the while, the lighting hadn't changed at all. A dull gray ceiling. Eventually, Alby stood stiffly and addressed the room.

"Let's get everyone up and moving. No grievers will come during the day, so get to your jobs." He spoke calmly and slowly, people began to file out of the room and into the glade. Everyone except Minho, Newt, and I.

"What's the plan?" Minho asked, standing from his chair. I slowly got to my feet, my back cracking as I moved for the first time in hours. Newt remained in his chair, his dark eyes trained on Alby.

"You three are going to dig through that maze until those numbers make sense." He said. Minho nodded, but Newt just stared.

"You're sending me back in there?"

"You know the maze just as well as these two clunks."

"That's not the point-"

"Newt, please, I need someone out there I can trust." Alby cut him off. "I'll have Gally help me organize things in here, but you three need to get out there as soon as possible." He turned and handed me the paper, but Newt was now standing, fists balled at his sides.

"Come on." Minho whispered in his ear, gently taking his wrist and pulling him away. Newt glared at Alby for another second before turning and limping out the door. I shared a look with Alby before following. We all knew why Newt hated the maze, had refused to run it ever since his accident, but I understood why Alby wanted him out there. I looked down at the paper, studied the hastily penciled numbers. Whoever had written it had clearly been in a rush. The paper had been torn out of a notebook and tossed into the bottom of the box. The box.

"Guys, the box." I said and Minho stopped in his tracks, Newt nearly bumping into him. My gaze was already on the courtyard, the box still sitting right where it had stopped a few hours earlier. The doors had since been shut, yet there it sat. If the box hadn't gone down, would it ever? Would our new supplies come? How long could we last without it?