Alex felt something tapping her forehead. She groaned and put her arm over her face. She felt something poke her cheek. She tried to smack it, eyes still closed. Another poke.
"Shuck it! Stop it, you Shank!" she moaned. She heard a chuckle. A chuckle in British. He poked her again.

"BLOODY SHUCK FACE! SHUCKEN SLINT HEAD STOP!" She yelled.

"Such language! And first thing in the morning! Tsk tsk" Newt scolded. "Come on She-Bean, time to get up, Fry has breakfast cooking, and you have your tour with Alby."

"Come on Mama Newt! 5 more minutes!" she yawned, rolling over.

"Excuse me? Mama Newt? I think the bloody shuck not! No way you're calling me that!" Newt's voice came from above her. She let out a loud growl as a pillow smacked her in the face.

"ALL RIGHT! I'M UP!" Alex roared, throwing the pillow back in Newt's general direction. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and sat up. Newt was standing at the end of the bed, all ready for the day, a mug of something steaming in his hand.

"Is that coffee?" Alex asked in disbelief. If they had coffee she could get through this prison sentence.

Newt nodded his head, taking a long dramatic slurp.

"COOOOFFEEEEE!" Alex said dreamily. How could she remember that she loves coffee? She remembered drinking coffee with people, but faces all blurred or no faces at all, like someone took an eraser and rubbed details away.

"Thank the creators, they send it up with the supplies every 2 weeks. Get your sorry arse outta bed and come get some. Meet me in the hall in 10." Newt ordered, leaving the room, closing the door.

Alex got out of bed and stretched. She spotted a crate on the floor that wasn't there last night. She picked it up, saw it was for her and brought it back to the bed. Inside held everything a girl could ever use in a maze full of stinky boys...well not everything, but, still helpful things: hair ties, deodorant, a hair brush, toothbrush and past, shampoo and conditioner that smelt like coconut, a few t shirts and tank tops, black leggings, skinny jeans, a pair of olive green shorts 2 sports bras and underwear, socks. There were also a few supplies for 'that time of the month'. "The creators can take my memories but can't deal with that issue? What a bloody rip" she muttered to herself.

She pulled on a pair of black leggings, a white t shirt, she pulled her black combat boots on, threw her hair up into a messy high pony after brushing it quick, slapped some deodorant on and as a last thought grabbed Minho's hoodie and threw it on. She packed everything back into the box and left the room looking for Newt.

"Good, you're up. Isn't that Minho's hoodie?" Newt asked suspiciously, from the bottom of the stairs, his lip curling into a smirk, raising an eyebrow. Alex shrugged, not quite meeting his eye, feeling a little warm all of a sudden.

"It's comfy, and I don't have one. Now, Mama Newt, where can I get some shuckin' coffee in this joint?"

Newt groaned "That name is never leaving is it?"

"Nope" she answered, popping the p.

With a steaming mug of coffee clutched in her hands and a stack of pancakes in front of her, she was content, the sun was warm, and it was quiet. That was until the table filled up with guys; Clint and Jeff sat down, "Morning" they yawned. Chuck plopped down right beside Alex, and started chatting, this kid was definitely a morning person.

Who has that much energy in the morning?

Alby slouched over holding a cup of coffee like it was his life line.

Definitely NOT a morning person.

Newt came back to the table, talking with 2 new boys she recognized from the fire last night. She guessed they were Keepers. The one boy, had droopy eyes, blond hair and already covered in mud, held out a hand to Alex, "Zart, Keeper of the track hoes."

Alex choked on her coffee, "Keeper of the what?"

"Keeper of the track hoes, I work in the gardens, I'm a Track hoe." The boy said with a deadpan face. He was serious, that was an actual name here.

"Who's a hoe?" Asked Minho walking up to the table, backpack in one hand and water bottle in the other. Alex choked on her coffee again, laughing.

"You guys have the weirdest bloody names for things. Why not just call 'em farmers? Or even better 'gardeners'?" she looked around at the boys sitting at the table, they all gave her blank looks, a few shrugs.

"Cuz I guess we never thought of it" Minho finally replied, tapping his chin.

"Well that's shucking obvious you guys didn't think!" Alex rolled her eyes.

Boys.

"Where are you off to this early in the morning?" she asked.

Minho straightened up, struck a pose and flexed his muscles, his head was held high with a serious expression.

"I." He said, deepening his voice. "Ma' Lady am off into the maze, to save you all from the evil clutches of the creators and greatest peril of the shuck maze!" he ended with his hands on his hips puffing out his chest.

"Uh huh" Alex said very unimpressed, however inside she was freaking out.

That deep voice, shuck me! Two: oh my goodness those muscles...how does his shirt stay together when he flexes? Man those are some ripped shoulders and chest...and three: what the shuck is out those walls?! Did he say maze?

Minho deflated a little. "I run the maze. I'm a runner, Keeper of the Runners, actually" He puffed his chest in pride, he looked down at his watch "And I'm late, see ya slint heads later" He took off running towards the walls. Alex turned back to Newt and Alby, a dozen questions forming in her mind. She was about to ask them when Alby held a hand up.

"Coffee first. Then questions."

Alex huffed in frustration, turned to her breakfast.

Fair. But still!

Clint, Jeff and Zart got up, said goodbye and went off to their respective jobs. The quiet boy she never got his name nodded, stood up and left too. Chuck started cleaning off the table, bringing the dirty dishes to the sink in the kitchen. All that was left at the picnic table were Newt, Alby and Alex. As soon as he took the last sip of his coffee, setting his empty mug down, he was pelted with questions.

"What's a runner? What's out there? How come no one can leave? Does everyone have a job? What are the different jobs? How do we get jobs? What are the different jobs? Are we really surrounded by a maze? Why a maze? How come there are doors in the wall? Is there a way out? Are we stuck here?" she didn't realize how many questions she had, how confused she was until just now. Yesterday happened so fast. Alby sighed in frustration and rubbed his face.

"I really don't like this part of the job, every shuckin' greenie coming with all these stupid questions."

That hurt. How could she not ask questions, she had zero memory of anything. She only remembered her name last night! And only her first name, not even a last name! That was because Gally had to body slam it out of her. She felt her frustration rising. Of course she and every other new kid sent to this shuck prison, was going to ask questions. Nothing made sense and there guys were so secretive with answers!

Newt, sensing her frustration and seeing the tension in her small frame, cut in "Ya know Alby, Gally had some questions this morning, about the new Med Jack Hut they are planning. I'll take Alex on the tour." Alby looked at him and then at Alex.

"Done." He stood up and left without a backwards glance.

"He is NOT a morning person. Mr. Grouchy pants" Alex muttered under her breath.

"Alright She-Bean, tour starts now - no, wait, let's refill the coffee, then the tour starts."

She liked the way Newt thinks. "Good that!"

They started at The Box. The metal doors were closed at the moment, which Alex was grateful for. She didn't want any reminders of that nightmare.

"Ok. As we told ya yesterday; this is the Glade, it's where we eat, where we sleep, where we work. It's split into four parts. We got the Homestead" pointing at the wood structure.

"Looks like the big bad wolf could huff and puff it down" noted Alex.

"Shush" Newt tried to scold her, but his lip twitched. "That's where we have the new Med Hut going" pointing to what was being prep as a construction zone. "We're getting tired of hulling injured shanks up the stairs."

Alex nodded, made sense.

"Also where the kitchen is, bathroom, showers ect."

He turned, pointing to the gardens, "Gardens, where the tool shed is, where the Track hoes spend most of their day, in the fields"

Alex snorted with laughter again, Newt just rolled his eyes, "That's the bloody name, we ain't changing, just get over it. We grow most of our own food, creators supply what we can't grown or slaughter."

Alex blanched, "Slauter?!"

"Yes. Nasty business, bloody nasty business."

Alex snorted. "Good Pun. Bloody...slauter house!"

It took Newt a second, he looked at her with a blank second, then he let a chuckle out.

Newt turned again and pointed to the big red barn. It had a fenced pasture, where 2 cows, some sheep and a goat roamed around, there was a chicken coop, and a pig pen. "Slicers work there. They do all the bloody dirty work. Literally. But that's not all they do, they work with the animals."

"What's that little concrete building by the Wall?"

"That's the Map room. Only runners are aloud inside. When they get back at the end of the day, they map out what they run."

"Runners?" Alex questioned. Newt ignored the question.

He turned to the little forest. "Deadheads." He stated. That didn't sound promising.

"You going to elaborate or..?" asked Alex. Newt sighed, sadness washed over his face, and his broad shoulders slumped.

"Ya, come on I'll show ya." He led her into the cool shade of the trees, and made his way through the forest. He seemed to have trouble with the underbrush, she never really noticed on the flat ground, Newt had a limp.

"Newt? You okay? You're limping a bit, did you hurt your ankle yesterday?" Newt stopped with his back to her, shoulders tense. She realized right away, she shouldn't have said anything. Something had happened, he was still hurting, not just physically. A weird sensation in the pit of her stomach, a deep need to comfort and make sure he was okay and not just physically. She had a need to hug him all better.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything. I'm sorry Newt." She said quietly, twisting some hair nervously. His shoulders drooped, and he let out a sad sigh, "No Alex, it's fine, you're just concerned." He paused, thinking of how to word this, "l had an... accident in the bloody maze. Haven't been the same." He still didn't turn around.

"In the maze...I thought we weren't aloud in there...wait! You were a runner, weren't you!? Can you please tell me what a runner is, like what they actually DO?! Why is everything such a shucken secret around here?"

"Yeah, I was a runner, and a good one too." He started walking again, deeper into the forest.

"Runners run the maze. Every bloody day when the doors open they go out into the halls of the maze, mapping it and try to find a way out. They are the best of us; bravest, fastest, strongest. And every day they put their life on the line, because if they don't make it back before the doors close, they spend the night in the Maze. No one has ever survived a night in the maze."

Alex gulped. That sounded so dangerous, so scary, so...thrilling. The freedom to be out of the stone wall jail cell , running free... Minho does that every day? And he's the keeper? Her respect for the guy just went up a peg. No way she would ever tell him that, his ego would topple him over, perfect hair first into the ground.

"Why hasn't anyone survived? What happens to them? They still haven't found a way out?" asked Alex.

"We call 'em Grievers. No one has seen one and lived to tell about it. But they're out there. It's not so easy, the maze walls change every night. Runners are the only ones who really know what's out there. Nasty monsters that come out at night and roam the maze. If you listen at night you can bloody hear 'em."

"Ya, but you used to be one, you could tell me?" Alex was eager to know as much as possible. Newt finally turned to face her, his face was pulled into a frown, darkened with memories he had of the maze.

"No." he answered flatly.

Alex huffed. Newt had stopped in a clearing. Alex looked around, the trees grew along the edge, casting eerie shadows. In the clearing there were little wood signs sticking up at random. She took a few steps to the closest one, crouched down to see it. The stick was actually 2 pieces of wood tied together, a name hastily painted. This one read George. She stood up and spun around to look at Newt in shock and horror.

"This is a graveyard!" She breathed.

Newt had a dark look on his face. He remembered each kid in here. He hated coming here. It made him feel sick, and guilty. Why did he live while they died. There was nothing he could do to save those kids, the creators just sat back watching as the kids died. His friends, his brothers.

"Now you know. People die here. Kids die here. This place is dangerous! The maze is dangerous. We don't know why we're here." He said darkly, "we know nothing except we gotta get out, and only through the maze, we have tried everything. You think it, we've tried it. Twice." Newt took a deep breath, "Come on, enough depressing stuff, back to the glade."

It was a quiet walk back. The two British red blond Gladers stopped at the edge taking a look around.

Newt looked down at the girl, "We have three rules. The most important rule, the one you won't ever be bloody forgiven for breaking. Nobody- absolutely nobody- is allowed outside the walls, except if you're a runner. Two. Do your part, we don't have time for slackers, everyone has a job and everyone does their job. And three. Never harm another Glader. This don't work if there ain't bloody trust."

Alex's stomach twisted.

Should I tell Newt about Chris, about how uncomfortable and unsafe I feels around him? I didn't want to be a tattle tail. I don't want to be the whiny little gladder girl.

But something deep inside told her...yes.

"Newt..." she said quietly. He sensed her sudden unease. Frowning slightly he turned to her, giving his full attention.

"What's wrong Alex? Whatever it is, It's safe with me." He put a hand on her shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"I know" she mumbled. She looked up into his brown eyes, a stab of pain shot through her head. She recognized those eyes. They were so familiar, so safe, she felt so incredibly safe with this boy. Where do I remember those eyes? She knew that she could tell him anything, he wouldn't laugh or judge her, he would take her seriously.

"There is this guy...he hasn't actually done anything...yet. But I feel so uncomfortable, so unsafe around him. He gives me the creeps. Last night at the fire, he tried taking me away from everything and everyone. I got away, that's how I ended up in the sand pit with Gally, trying to get away from the creep."

Newt's jaw clenched, same with the hand still on her shoulder. "Who?"

"Chris." Alex whispered.

Newt blinked, "He was the shuck face who said those nasty things at the box , ya?"

"Ya, the same one. Please. I don't ever want to be alone with him." Alex said quietly, looking at the ground. She knew she could protect herself if need be, but she would rather not be put in that situation if she could help it. Newt lifted her chin so she had to look at him.

"Thank you for telling me. Now that I know, I can keep an eye out. Okay? Thank you for trusting me." He was genuinely concerned, that deep natural instinct to protect her was back. Alex felt relieved, she told someone and they had her back.

"Thanks, Newt. For taking my concerns and feelings seriously." Newt nodded.

"Is there anyone else who you trust? I know it's only your second day, but anyone that you feel you could trust, who can help keep an eye out?"

Alex thought for a moment. "Ya. You, obviously. Alby, even though he's Admiral Grumpy Pants, Frypan, Chuck and Minho for sure. And I think Clint and Jeff." Newt smiled and nodded again.

"Solid choices She-Bean. I would have picked those shanks too. Now I think that's it for the tour. Let's go find Alby an' see if we can have a quick gathering. Then we can get your first job trial.