Another chapter, yayy! This one was a struggle, because I had problems with both the beginning and the ending.

But here it is, hope you like it! A huuuuge thanks to the best beta reader, fixusi, again :*

I own nothing.

CHAPTER 2

On my fifth morning in the Glade I wake up before sunrise.

I lie on my hammock, staring at the poorly built roof. Minho's hammock on my left side hangs empty like always, since Runners always have to wake up before others to be able to leave right after the door opens. I turn my head to my right side, where Zart, the Keeper of the Track-hoes, sleeps. I'm supposed to be working with him today, but according to his loud snoring he won't be up before he has to.

I stand up, knowing that I won't be able to catch any more sleep, and take my shirt from the floor. Then I make my way to the door, trying to avoid as much noise as I can since everyone apart from the Runners seem to be sleeping.

As I step out, I notice it's going to be a sunny day. The sky is blindingly blue, and when the sun will rise, it'll surely be even brighter.

Then I see something that I haven't been able to see earlier, since I'm usually the last one to wake up. Minho and Newt are walking towards the doorway that hasn't opened yet. I put my shirt on, not caring that it stinks a little bit of sweat, and start jogging towards them. Since they're in no hurry, I catch them in no time.

"Hey, Newt! Minho!" They both turn around as they hear my voice, Newt raising his eyebrows questionably.

"Afraid of sleeping late after yesterday's wake-up? I'm impressed," Newt smirks. Oh, right. Yesterday morning Newt decided that I had slept too much, and woke me up by covering my mouth with his hand. Seriously, who does that? I nearly had a heart-attack.

"Shut up, I wasn't even scared," I lie. Then my gaze shifts to Minho, and I ask: "So, you haven't left yet?" Minho rolls his eyes.

"No, I magically walked through the huge wall made of shucking stone because I know how to turn immaterial, Thomas. Seriously, think before you ask, okay?" A slight blush raises to my cheeks.

"I didn't mean…I just thought, I haven't seen you in the mornings earlier," I try to explain, but even I realize what I asked was dumb. Just utterly, plainly dumb.

What can I say, I am not a morning person.

"Wonder why, considering the time you usually wake up," Newt grins.

Then we're next to the Maze's wall – or a wall that soon will turn into a doorway. I stare at it in awe, the height of the thing creeping me out a little.

"What's the point in getting here this early, if it's not even open yet?" I ask. Newt shrugs, but Minho doesn't know how to keep the big mouth of his shut, and replies: "Obviously I was gonna open it with my power of will, but you're kinda ruining the mood here, Tommy."

"It's Thomas, jerk," I grunt, which makes Minho hum amusedly. Newt shakes his head with a smile on his face, and says: "We shouldn't bully the hero of the day when sun hasn't even risen yet, Min." Hero of the day? I raise my eyebrows to the choice of words, but I'm forced to wait till later to ask Newt about it when an oddly familiar screeching splits the air, and we all turn our heads to the giant, moving doors.

It's almost painful how slowly they open, making you want to start pushing them just to make them move quicker. My gaze doesn't tear away from them till they're properly open, and a chilly breeze from inside of the maze greets me as I stare the sight opening before me.

The Maze is…phenomenal. Of course this isn't the first time I'm staring into it, I've stolen glimpses of it every now and then since I got here, but I just can't seem to get enough of it. The hallway is long, walls rising to 250 feet on both sides, making it look extremely gloomy and…even scary, I admit. The walls are partly just bare walls, revealing the cold-looking stonewall in its whole majesty, and partly covered in thick, dark-green climbers.

"Man, doesn't he just get off on looking at the Maze."

"What did I just say, Minho?"

"What? The sun has risen, I can keep bullying him now."

I turn to look at the two boys beside me, and Minho winks at me. Then I realize my mouth's hanging fully open, and I snap it shut. Newt simply shakes his head and pushes Minho closer to the doorway, saying: "Go, you shuckface, you have work to do." He's trying to sound serious, but the smile on his face gives him away. Minho chuckles.

"Aww, you're breaking my heart."

"Nobody likes you Minho. Now, go." He gives Minho a one, final push, making him cross the invisible line between the Glade and the Maze.

Minho pretends to swipe away imaginary tears, waves at me, turns around and starts jogging deeper into the Maze. I look after him for a long time, and when he finally reaches the end of the hallway, he turns around one more time and flips the finger at us. Then he heads left and disappears.

Newt laughs. "A bloody charmer, isn't he." I agree with a hum, and turn around when I hear someone calling Newt's name from behind us.

"Did Minho already leave?" It's a very nice guy I've talked to a couple times, but I can't remember his name. He's the only Runner besides Minho, and even I, the newbie, the loser who doesn't know shit about this place, think that two Runners is not enough.

"Yeah, he did," Newt answers, making what's-his-name sigh.

"Always ahead of us, that shuckface," he murmurs, waves his goodbye and jogs to the Maze. Instead of turning left like Minho did, he goes right, making me wonder if they decide about these kinds of things before going to the Maze or if they just go with the flow.

After the Runner has disappeared behind the corner, I ask Newt his name.

"Oh, that's Leo," the blonde answers, ruffling his hair lazily. "Shuck, we should hurry or the Builders will eat all the breakfast," he continues. I know that's not exactly true; the Builders are still sleeping like almost everyone else, but when Newt starts walking towards the Food House I follow him anyway.

Yup, the Food House. You'd think after spending two years here the Gladers would've had time to come up with a little cooler name for a dining hall than friggin' 'Food House', but no.

"Newt, the Runners are the ones who could find the way out of here. Why's there only two of them?" I finally ask the question that has been burning inside my head for days. Newt glances at me and shrugs.

"There was more of them before. But…we manage," he simply says.

I frown. "But why is there only two? Like, wouldn't more Runners mean better odds for us to get out?"

"Look," Newt sighs, exasperation clear in his voice, "I told you; we manage. Now slim it."

I decide to press his patience a little more, because I suddenly feel like I can't keep my Runner thoughts to myself any longer.

"I wanna be a Runner."

Newt's eyes meet mine, and a nervous laughter escapes his throat.

"Sure."

For a slight moment I think oh, that was easy but then I realize. He thinks I'm kidding.

"No, but I really want to, you know. Be a Runner."

There's an odd look in Newt's dark-brown eyes as he stares at me.

"Nobody bloody wants to be a Runner, Tommy. That means going into the Maze," He points out, his gaze shifting back to the house we're headed to. "Shuck, I wish Fry has some bacon for us. His bacon's the best," he then continues, totally changing the subject. That usual smirk in his voice seems to be gone, and although he tries to smile, it looks slightly fake. Frustrated that he doesn't take me seriously I grab his arm, forcing him to stop.

"Newt. I wanna be a Runner, I've wanted since the first day. I know the Maze isn't all cupcakes and rainbows but I just have this feeling –"

"Shut up! You have bloody no idea what you're talking about, no buggin' idea! You don't know what's in there. Trust me when I say you don't want to go into the Maze," Newt snarls, and I'm taken aback by the angry tone in his voice. The playful, kind shimmer I've grown to note in his eyes during these five days is gone, replaced by frustration and – and if I didn't know better, I'd say fear. But this is friggin' Newt we're talking about, he doesn't fear things.

Does he?

"But I – "

"I said slim it. Now, if I hear any more of your stupid bullshit about being a Runner, I'll buggin' throw you to the Stammer for a week," he says, snatching his arm from my grasp, and storms away.

I'm having a hard time understanding what just happened. Sure, I've only been here for five days, but during those days Newt's been the one I've most hung out with. It might have something to do with the fact in the beginning Newt was the only one to treat me like I wasn't special, but with him I feel the most relaxed. Without my own noticing, I've grown to be kind of close with him in such a short amount of time.

And this is the first time he's stormed out on me. I know I haven't been the most patient newbie here, asking questions all the time and all, but even when others have given up and gotten annoyed with me, Newt has always just laughed it off and changed the subject. This is the first time he didn't do so. And only because I told him about my desire to become a Runner?

If this was a movie, I'd chase after Newt and forgive for – for whatever the hell it was that I did, or something as cheesy as that. But instead, I decide to leave Newt alone for now, since well, I am pretty hungry. Not like I'm going to solve anything by standing still and doing nothing. And I think if somebody storms out of a scene, it's pretty damn clear he wants to be left alone.

And – okay, I'll admit it – because I'm among the first ones to wake up, I might actually get to taste Frypan's morning bacons, just like Newt said. I hurry to the Food House, and as usual, an overwhelmingly good smell of food greets me.

I hum happily, going straight to the desk where Frypan and his helpers stack the food, and Bingo! There's bacon.

"Hey, Greenie," Frypan greets as he pushes through the kitchen door, his hands full of cups and bowls. I hurry to help him with them before one of them drops and cracks, and Frypan smiles thankfully.

"Morning," I answer, and snatch a piece of bacon from one of the bowls. "Wow, these are really friggin' tasty!"

Frypan chuckles. "Use a plate, you shank," he says, and then glances over my shoulder with a confused look on his face. "Newt's not with you?"

I shrug and steal another bacon. "Haven't seen him," I lie, reaching for some more bacon when Frypan slaps my hand away and grunts "use a plate", offering me one just to make me stop being a pig.

"Weird, usually he's already eating by now."

I simply nod, humming "weird" and start to stack food on my bowl. Gotta take advantage of being awake this early, right? Frypan frowns and disappears back to the kitchen as I start searching for a place to sit. Considering all the chairs are empty, it doesn't take me long to decide.

I must admit, eating alone sucks. Sure, it's nice and quiet – except it's not nice at all. I can hear my own munching disturbingly loudly when there's nobody babbling by my ear, and it's really making me feel like a fat-ass. Ridiculous, I know, I'm only doing what I must to survive, but when you eat alone, you have all the time in the world to think about those awful munching sounds you make and how the food smashes inside your own mouth. As I swallow, I can only think "That must look stupid."

God, I need company.

Fortunately I don't have to wait long for it – I've been in the Food House for maybe five minutes when Zart and Chuck storm in, followed by a bunch of others who I don't know by name. When Chuck notices me, a wide grin appears on his face.

"Thomas! I was wondering where you'd be," he calls out. He goes to get some food, and quickly takes the place on the opposite of me. Zart comes sit next to me after taking some breakfast himself, and some others join our table, too.

"Morning," I greet them, and Chuck only nods, being unable to speak with his mouth full of a bacon sandwich. Zart investigates the Food House with his eyes and then looks at me.

"Where's Newt?" He asks, raising other one of his eyebrows.

"I wouldn't know," I shrug, lowering my gaze to my half-empty bowl.

"What do you mean you wouldn't know? Usually you're pretty much glued to his side."

I frown. "No, I'm not."

"Uhm, yeah, you kinda are," this time it's Chuck who's speaking, still chewing food and making it hard to understand what he's saying. I shake my head, huffing.

"Sure, I've maybe eaten with the guy like once or twice but its' not like I'm – like I'm glued to him," I deny, because okay, I've spent a lot time with Newt on the Glade, but what's the point? I've spent time with others, too.

"Dude – more like pretty shucking impossible to spot you eating without him," Zart says, and Chuck hums in agreement.

I'm just about to answer something denying, when Alby walks to our table, yawning widely. "Morning, shanks."

"Morning," all of us who aren't furiously chewing on a sandwich at the moment answer. Alby asks Zart something about the gardens, and I mute them for a while in my thoughts. I'm supposed to be working with Zart and the other Track-hoes today, but since I'm not even a proper Track-hoe – and hopefully never will be because I want to be a friggin' Runner – I decide it can't be anything important for me.

Then I feel Zart nudging me lightly, and I look at him, puzzled. "What?"

Zart nods towards our leader, who's leaning against our table, looking amused.

"I was just surprised to see you up this early, but I take that back – looks like you're pretty much sleeping at the moment," he chuckles, and a slight blush rises to my cheeks.

"Oh, no, I was just thinking," I answer, and Alby just nods.

"Also, where's Newt? He usually eats with you," he continues, and I feel like I could use a facepalm right now.

"Seriously, what is it with everybody thinking I know where friggin' Newt is? Because I don't," and I'm not even trying to hide the exasperation in my voice. Zart and Alby chuckle, and Alby waves his hand in a 'forget-about-it' kind of way. I roll my eyes and continue to eat while the others keep babbling around me.

"So, you're with us today, right?" Zart double-checks as we exit the Food House together. I nod, and raise my hand to cover my eyes from the blinding sunlight. It's going to be a hot day.

"How have you liked the other things you've done here so far?" Zart asks, and I shrug.

"I started with the Slicers, and it was…uhm…well, I'd rather not see a pig get slaughtered again. Like, ever," I admit, and Zart squirts.

"Yeah…that's pretty shucking nasty. Dunno how the Slicers can handle with all that blood and guts…but on the other hand, it's Winston, Billy and Tim," he says. Even with my only five-day-long experience, I think he has a point. Winston, Billy and Tim are Slicers, and they are kind of scary in a way. At least they're definitely the least sensitive type of people around here. Thoughts like "Oh my God that poor piggy" have probably never gone through their minds. I like them all, especially Winston and Tim, even though they seem a little crazy every now and then.

"I was with Frypan after that, and although I liked working with him and the others I don't exactly have any skills in the kitchen. I think Frypan was pretty friggin' ready to throw his frypan out of the window after my two days' trial with him," I continue. Zart chuckles.

"Yeah…don't be offended about it, though. That's how he's with everyone who comes near 'his kitchen'. Even Frankie and Adam are forbidden to actually cook anything, and they work there. I think Frypan's afraid that anyone who comes near the oven will explode the whole place."

I give a laugh because even though I don't know Frypan so well yet, I feel like that's exactly how he's with it.

We reach the gardening area, and Zart turns to face me. "Okay, so basically all we do is grow and harvest. Go grab a trowel and start root out all the weeds you spot."

I stare at Zart blankly – having no idea what a trowel looks like, let alone weeds. I mean, I know what weeds are but how am I going to be able to spot the difference between weeds and plants?

Zart sighs, noticing my puzzled expression, and motions me to follow him. "C'mon, I'll show you."

I follow him to a small, wooden hovel which is full of different kinds of gardening equipment. I have no idea what half of them are, but Zart just grabs a small shovel-like thing and hands it to me. We go outside and he leads me to a small gardening patch.

He kneels down, and I follow the example. "This is where we grow beans. This, look, is a bean," he points at a plant pushing through the soil, "so leave alone everything that looks like this. Pretty much everything else is weeds, so just rip them off and throw them to a wheelbarrow. And before you get to ask where you can find a wheelbarrow; there," Zart finishes, pointing at the wooden hovel. I nod.

"I'll be over there to deal with the tomatoes, so if anything comes in mind, you know where I am."

With that being said he stands up and leaves me alone. I sigh, and start looking for weeds. It's actually pretty friggin' scary since I'm not a hundred percent sure which ones are the bean plants and which are not. After maybe ten minutes of silent working, a shadow appears above me and covers me from the sun.

"Well, aren't you a bloody green thumb," and I know who it is before I turn around to check. Newt stands behind me, looking at my work with his hands crossed and his mouth turned into a smile.

I'm not sure how to act since the last time didn't end well, but Newt just sits on the other side of the patch and takes the trowel off my hands.

"Looks like you're gonna have to get another one," he points out, and I stare at him, feeling dumbfounded.

"Cat got your bloody tongue?" He asks, rolling his dark-colored eyes. I shake my head and get up, heading to the hovel to get a new trowel.

So…apparently he's not mad at me or anything. And I was beginning to plan a 'forgive-me' speech.

With a new trowel I go back to the bean patch, where Newt is already working. I kneel down and pick up where I left off.

"So, about before…" I start, but Newt silences me with a glare.

"Forget about it."

"But I just –"

"I said forget it."

We work together in silence for maybe one minute, but unfortunately I don't seem to know when to shut up.

"But I just need to know why –"

"Tommy," Newt growls dangerously, but I ignore him.

"– why you got so pissed, off, what it was that I said that made you so angry –"

"Tommy –"

"– because this Runner thing? I'm friggin' serious about it!"

Newt grows silent. His eyes are closed, and he slowly shakes his head. Both of our trowels lie on the ground, the bean patch being totally forgotten.

And if a part of me feels ashamed of my sudden outburst, it's too late for that.

"You are nothing but a bloody greenie, Tommy. You've been here for five days and you act like you know shucking everything? Well, news flash for you – you don't. You don't know shit. So do you mind keeping those bloody stupid ideas inside that big head of yours?" Newt snarls, and I'd be lying if I said him calling me 'nothing but a bloody greenie' doesn't hurt a little. My throat feels very dry suddenly, and I swallow, trying to get some moist in there.

The glimpse of something incredibly harsh disappears from Newt's face, and he looks down, seeming hesitant for some reason. Then he continues, with a kinder voice; "Also, you don't just choose to be a Runner. You have to prove to be worthy, and then you get chosen by the Keepers. It's not easy, and it's definitely not a fast process."

I blink, not knowing what to say. Newt just gave me information about becoming a Runner, even though the dislike towards the subject is more than clear in him. I don't know what to say, but I'm grateful. Just when I'm about to thank him, he starts talking again.

"Shuck, we should get back to work before Zart notices. He hates slackers," he chuckles, and I have to admit he's right. The silence continues for a little while, until I remember something Newt mentioned in the morning.

"Hey, Newt, why did you call me the hero of the day earlier?"

Newt looks at me with a puzzled expression. "Yeah, the Bonfire's tonight."

"What Bonfire?"

"Seriously? Didn't anyone tell you?"

I flash him a 'now who's asking stupid questions' look, and he shrugs.

"We're having a Bonfire party tonight. For you. Well, we always have a party when we get a new greenie, but anyway. So you're the hero of the day," he explains. I get an anxious feeling over the fact that they're kind of celebrating me, but Newt notices my look and waves his hand reassuringly.

"Don't worry about it, you're really just an excuse for us to have some fun and some of Gally's horrible drink," Newt chuckles. I sigh in relief.

I'm just about to ask about 'Gally's horrible drink' when a loud, piercing siren cuts through the air. Newt bounces to his feet, his posture making him look like a deer caught in headlights.

Something clicks inside my head. "Hey, I know that sound. It's the –"

"The Box, yeah." Newt looking at the direction where the Box is, frozen to his feet.

I stand up, too, as a weird, tingling sensation spreads from the tip of my toes to my neck.

"It's too early," Newt mumbles under his breath, frowning harder than I've ever seen.

"What do you mean? You told me the Box comes up every month, to bring supplies, and so on," I point out, utterly confused of the blonde's reaction. Newt shakes his head furiously.

"Yeah, no, but it's too early. It shouldn't come yet." He starts walking towards the Box, where I can see others are heading now, too, and I follow him.

"So? Maybe they decided we need more stuff," I offer an explanation, but Newt just glances at me quickly before returning his gaze back to the Box. The noise is getting louder, sounding distractingly lot like an alarm.

"They've never done that, why would they now? The Box has never come too early, nor late. It's always the same day, like a bloody clock."

"So…what's happening?"

Newt stops and grabs my hand, making me stare straight into his dark-brown eyes.

And that's definitely a glimpse of fear I see in his eyes.

"Something's wrong."

END OF CHAPTER 2

Ta-da.

Things are proceeding! As you noticed, I decided it'd be unnecessarily boring to write about every day with Thomas being all newbie. That's why I started from day 5 instead of day 2. Also, I added an own character, too. Can you guess where Leo's name comes from? ;)

Beat me up, have no mercy! Hate, love, give it to me!