Disclaimer: No, I do not own the Maze Runner or its characters. I only own Leah parts of the story. The rest belongs to James Dashner.
A/N: I'm going to be changing this because I read through some of the writing and decided that I need a major editing session (so many typos, so little time…) so please forgive me if there's a mild mess. I'll be combining chapters so that these are a little longer.
When I crawl out of the Box, I am immediately swept off my feet and onto Minho's shoulders "Hey there Leah! Where have you been you shuck? You've had Newt worrying like a greenie on their first night." He grins. Newt shakes his head, rolling his eyes but not denying anything.
"Oh, I've been off doing Creator things. Making Grievers and the like. They had a contest to see who could design the ugliest one and I won. I have you to thank for that. I just imagined your face and modeled it after you." I joke. He and a bunch of other boys burst out into laughter. Others look nervous. The topic of Grievers and Creators have that effect on some. It's just a taboo subject because some believe that the Creators may send down a lightning bolt or something like that to smite them, Zeus-style. Those that have been around longer are less wary. Living in this hell hole does that to people, makes them less sensitive. They figure 'I'm likely to die any moment now, so why worry?'
"So. How many newbies? I don't really know how long I've been away, help me out here Minho." I said as he put me down.
"Nuh uh, not yet," Someone grabs my arm before I can rush off, "You've just gotten here Leah. Leave the poor buggers alone." Newt scolded me. I latched on to him, squeezing him in a tight hug.
"How could I have forgotten to greet my favorite Glader?" I say dramatically, ignoring Minho noises of indignation, causing Newt to chuckle.
"You still haven't changed. C'mon, Alby will want to talk to you. The usual." He sighs, exchanging a look with me.
"Let's just get this over with, yeah?"
~TMR~
"It's the same as always Alby. I don't remember anything so I can't help you understand anything." I said, repeating the same words I said every time we had this talk.
"It doesn't hurt to check Leah. Just…tell me if you remember anything okay? You too Newt. You know she has a habit of sleep talking." Alby says.
The thing about me being sent here is that nobody knows why it happens. I just showed up one day, during the year that the first Gladers were sent here. Maybe I was the next step, maybe it was an accident. There is nothing about my presence here that makes sense that happens in a pattern. I show up sometimes, sometimes with supplies, sometimes just by myself and never stay for the same amount of time. But it always happens. A Box is sent up, empty, that never leaves until I'm in there (alone).
I was terrified when I first got here. I didn't know anything besides my name, which I didn't tell anyone for a week. It was Newt that I finally told my name to, after a bad nightmare where he helped me calm down and I've been close to him ever since. I spend the nights in his room since I occasionally have nightmares and nobody can calm me down like Newt can. On top of that, I mutter things in my sleep (mostly nonsense) and occasionally reveal things that I can't say when I'm conscious. See, to make sure I don't my friend's everything, the Creators placed some kind of lock on the memories I have of the things that happen in the Lab. The loophole is that the lock doesn't work on my unconscious self. Other than that, I'm utterly useless to the Gladers when it comes to learning more about the Creators.
"You're doing it again, aren't you?" Newt asked me quietly, as we were walking back to our room. While everyone usually slept in the same room, Alby decided early on that no matter how many of the boys were my friends, it would be safer to have me stay in a separate room. Newt stayed in the same room I did as additional protection (or so he claimed).
"Doing what?" I asked innocently, avoiding his gaze.
"Leah," he stopped walking, forcing me to look at him, "Nobody blames you for not being able to tell us anything. It's not like you know any more than we do."
"But I do-"
"No, you don't. Here, now, you're our Leah. Up there, with the Creators, you're someone else. She's the one who knows everything, not you. Think of it like that, okay?"
"…okay. A double personality. Not the weirdest way to think of it, I guess."
Newt laughed and we started walking again. I liked to talk to him, he always made me feel better. I guess that a pretty juvenile way to say it but it's a simple truth. It's also why I did what I did (we'll get to that later).
"Let's go get you fed. Then I can introduce you to the Greenies."
He laughed again as I let out a cheer. I guess I make him happy too.