Chapter 2
Later I was taking a walk through the forest. I heard a shout behind me. I turned around, and saw a girl jogging up to me. It was Susan, the Keeper of the Runners.
"Hey, Greenie! Wait up!" She shouted.
I slowed my pace until the other girl caught up.
"I'm sorry about what happened with David." She began.
I opened my mouth, but she continued.
"But I noticed how shucking fast you ran. You'd make a good Runner."
I looked up in surprise.
"Really?" I asked, a little bit shocked.
Susan grinned and nodded. "You're strong, smart, and obviously fast. In fact, I think I'll ask Will to call a meeting later."
I stared at her. "You being serious right now?
Susan laughed. "I never lie. C'mon, let's see if we can find Will."
Then we walked out of Bonewoods, and headed towards Homestead. We found Will in deep conversation with the Bricknicks about the leak in the Meatrack shed.
"All the meat's gonna rot if you shanks can't fix a shucking hole." He noticed me and Susan standing there, and dismissed the Bricknicks.
"Go fix that hole, you slintheads."
They walked off to get their tool. Will turned to them.
"What can I do for you ladies?" He asked drily.
Susan took a deep breath.
"Call a Gathering, Will." She told him.
He looked back and forth between her and me, then shrugged.
"Fine, but you better have a good reason for it."
Later, at the Gathering, all the Gladers, well, gathered in a big round building. The Keepers sat in the middle.
Susan stood up. "The reason I had Will call a Gathering tonight, is because I think our new Greenie has found her job."
A couple cheers from the crowd followed that statement. Susan waited for silence before she continued.
"I think she should be a Runner."
Absolute silence followed that.
Then that kid, Addy, stood up. "She's been here for a week! How the shuck is she going to survive the Maze?" He shouted.
A couple rumbling murmurs followed Addy's question. Will stood up.
"You have a good point, Addy, but she was able to outsmart, outrun, and overpower one of our best Runners. I think she'd be up for it."
His gaze searched the crowd until they found me. I was completely shocked. Addy coughed. "Yeah, right. The only reason she's still not with the Med-jacks is because Gabe hit David over the head with a shucking shovel."
He followed Will's eyes, and glared at me. That's when Abraham chose to stand up.
"Would you rather David have killed her? Because that's what it seems like your implying here, Mate." He shot at Addy.
Shouting broke out within the room. Will shouted for silence while Addy stuttered for a comeback. When the whole room was finally quieter, Will cleared his throat. Then he looked directly at me .
"I say we make her a Runner. All in favor, raise your hand."
I was amazed at how many people raised their hand. More than half the room's hand was up, so the choice was clear. Will smiled at me.
" You'll start tomorrow, Greenie." He announced.
The whole room it seemed cheered for me. But all I could think was: I'm a Runner.
I woke up to Susan gently shaking me.
"Rise and shine Greenie. First day in the Maze!" She whispered.
She handed me a bread roll and an apple.
"Eat, get dressed, and do it as fast as you can. Meet me at the Maproom as soon as you're done." She said.
I nodded, then got to work on getting myself ready. I haven't gone back to the Maproom since the incident with David. As I walked through the forest, it occured to me why they call it Bonewoods. All the trees looked like giant bones stuck into the ground. With leaves growing from them.
When I reached the small hut, I found Susan inside. She was studying a huge map that looked like it mapped out the whole Maze.
"Hey, Susan." I said, "why did you want to meet me here first?" I asked her.
She turned around. "To show you what section we'll be running today." She responded, pointing at the map.
"So… what section are we running?" I asked.
She showed me a part of the map that said Section 3. I nodded, and then we left the Maproom. The doors to the Maze were just opening. I turned around at the sound of screaming. It was coming from the Slammer, and that's when I remembered David was going to be Banished tonight. Right before we started running, I stopped Susan.
"What happens when you banish somebody?" I asked her. She looked at me.
"We stick 'em outside the Glade for the night. Wait for the Grievers to get them." She responded gruffly.
I was about to comment, but she gestured to me with her hands. It was time to go into the Maze.
The huge ivy covered walls towered above us as we ran through the twisting corridors. Susan led, apparently she had the whole place memorized. We ran the whole way to the outer section without stopping. When we got there, we took a break to drink some water and eat a little food. Then we kept running towards our destination. We passed a way that ended in a huge black hole.
"What's that over there?" I managed between puffs of air.
Susan looked over her shoulder. "That's the Cliff. Come on, keep up."
We kept running, past different walls and different turns. When we reached a big open space, Susan pointed up. I followed her gaze and saw a giant 3 painted on the wall, high up.
"Did you guys put that there?" I asked. Susan shook her head.
"How do you think we got the idea to number them? That was always there." She started running again, and I followed her.
We got back to the Glade a couple minutes before it started to close. I noticed Susan checking her watch.
"Is there a certain time the doors close?" I asked her. She nodded.
"They close every night at 7 exactly." She had just finished speaking when the doors started closing.
We jogged back up the hill to Homestead, and saw a group of Gladers at another door. That's when I heard the screaming and pleading, and my stomach twisted. It was the banishment of David. I decided to not go watch, since I'd probably never forget it.
Me and Susan kept walking towards the buildings, wanting to forget what was going on. We could still hear Davids screams even after the doors closed. Then they stopped. And that was probably the worst part of it.