Chapter 3

Anna informed the rest of the Glade about the beetle blades the next morning. They seemed interested in how Anna thought that they were cameras, and much speculation ensued about who exactly was watching them. Anna didn't participate in these discussions. She didn't really want to talk about the people who could be observing her every move at that very moment. Anna thought it was creepy.

She decided to work alongside the Builders today, as they were adding on a new section of the Homestead and needed all the help they could get. However, Anna was finding this difficult, as the tip of her index finger had swollen up to twice its normal size. She fumbled with the boards, nails, and hammer as she tried and failed multiple times to drive a nail into the slab of wood, hammering herself about twelve times in the process. Gally, who was the Keeper of the Builders, walked up to her with a confused expression on his face.

"What's up, Anna?" he asked. "You don't usually have this much trouble hammering a nail."

"Sorry, Gally," she apologized. "It's just that the beetle blade thing that I told you about bit my finger and now it's all shucking swollen up."

"It can't be that bad," he wheedled. "Show me." Anna displayed her huge fingertip. Gally's eyebrows shot up about two inches.

"Shuck," he said. "That is all swollen up. I don't think you should be working with us today. You just go and get that figured out." Anna nodded without complaint, as she had been thinking the same thing all along. She wandered out into the Glade, unsure of whom to go ask for assistance. Anna walked aimlessly for a few minutes before running into Clint, who was trying out work with the Slicers. His face was paler than usual and his mouth was pressed in a tight line, like he was trying not to vomit. When he laid eyes on Anna, his features relaxed in relief, and he strode over.

"Oh, man, Anna," he exhaled, wiping sweat from his forehead. "You just saved my life. Working with the Slicers is the worst job yet, and yesterday I was with the Sloppers, so that's saying something."

"Clint," said Anna, cutting right to the chase. "Do you know of anyone who can help me with this?" She held up her finger.

"Well…" he muttered. "I'm new, so I don't know a lot of people, but I could maybe work something out for you." Anna was apprehensive about letting the Greenie mess with her injured finger, but she gave in. Clint did seem confident that he could do something.

"Where are all the first-aid type things?" he asked. Anna shrugged.

"I don't know," she admitted. "We've never needed them before. Probably there are some in the supply closet." Clint nodded.

"Okay," he said. "Let's go there, then. You lead the way."

Anna and Clint walked to the Homestead, where the Builders still worked. Gally shot her a questioning glance when she walked past with the newbie, but kept his mouth closed. When Anna opened the supply closet, Clint dug around in there for a while until he surfaced holding a small bag that looked unimpressive. Anna ushered him into one of the empty rooms, where he set down the bag on the bed and opened it, revealing an array of first-aid supplies. He gestured for Anna to hold out her finger. She did so, and Clint wrapped it in gauze, using up a whole entire roll. When he was finished, Anna asked,

"Why did you do that?"

"So nothing can get in," Clint explained. "I don't have any sort of antibacterial ointment that I can use, so that'll have to do." Anna nodded. She clapped Clint on the shoulder with her good hand.

"I think we've just found a suitable job for you, Greenie."

Clint settled down quite nicely in his new job, which everyone called the Med-Jack. By the end of the day, he had set up an entire little office in the empty room in the Homestead. Anna didn't have much to do the whole day, as she didn't want to dig around in the dirt or move boards or pick up trash for fear of getting her finger infected. She instead wandered over to the Kitchen to see what Dave was up to. Anna was met with a wave of a very strong smell resembling rotten meat.

"What's up, Dave?" she asked him, trying not to choke. He grinned at her.

"I'm cooking," he answered, gesturing to the pot of something foul brewing on the stove. Anna nodded casually.

"That's nice," she said. "Alright, I've gotta go do… uh… important leader-y stuff. Just wanted to check up on you. Bye!" She walked out as slowly as she could bear, and then ran for it. She made it all the way to the Map Room before letting her breath out in one big sigh of relief. She leaned against the door, catching her breath. Anna decided then to take the day off.

She spent the rest of the afternoon lying around in the Homestead, feeling bored. When the sun began to set, she got up out of her bed, grateful for something to do. Anna stood outside the East Door, waiting for the Runners. When they finally came sprinting through the Door, panting and brushing their sweaty hair out of their eyes, Anna was standing there waiting for a report.

"Hey, guys," she said. "How did it go?"

"Pretty well," Minho puffed.

"Nothing much bloody happened, Minho," Newt said irritably. "We ran around the buggin' Maze and then we came back." Anna stared at him.

"You okay?" she asked. He sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"I'm sorry, guys," he said. "I'm just bloody exhausted." He turned and walked off in the direction of the Map Room.

"I think you all need a day off," Anna said. They looked at her in surprise.

"But how are we gonna explore this place if we're sitting around here?" asked George.

"Maybe you could each get a different one," she suggested. "So we can still explore the Maze and you guys can just cover for the one who isn't there."

"Alright," Matt agreed. "Who should go first?" Anna looked them over.

"If it's alright with the rest of you, I think Newt is gonna crack if he doesn't get to rest. He'll go tomorrow and you guys can work out amongst yourselves who's going next." The other Runners didn't argue. They all filed off to the Map Room to draw their maps. Anna wandered off to bed and decided to skip dinner. She had had a rough day, and besides, being in the kitchen with Dave for just a few seconds had pretty much ruined her appetite for the rest of her life.

When Anna awoke the next morning, she realized that she hadn't told Newt not to go out that morning. She rushed out into the Glade and glanced around. After a few panicky seconds, her eyes fell upon Newt's slender silhouette walking towards the Kitchen.

"Newt!" she yelled. He started and turned around.

"What is it, Anna?" he called back. She gestured for him to come over to where she was standing so they wouldn't need to shout.

"Newt," she said once he was in earshot. "You don't have to go running today. We're giving you the day off." He looked surprised.

"That's okay…" he began, trailing off. He tried again. "It's fine, really. I'm okay." He tried to walk off again but Anna seized him by the shoulders and led him into the Homestead.

"I'm not gonna let you into the Maze," she said. "You just hang around and do whatever you want. You can run tomorrow." He nodded numbly.

"Okay, Anna," he said. "But honestly—"

"Shush," said Anna. "I don't want to hear any more." She turned around and walked out the door, leaving Newt standing there dumbfounded.

Anna spent the day helping out with all the odd jobs around the Glade, and when that was finished she wandered aimlessly with Newt and chatted about insignificant things. She could almost forget that she was trapped in a maze with thirty boys and none of them had any idea of what to do about it. It was nice to feel like a normal teenager who was hanging out with her friends.

The sun was about twenty minutes from setting when Anna heard her name being shouted from somewhere in the Glade.

"Yeah?" she called, glancing around. When she didn't see anyone, though her name was called periodically for the next ten seconds, she began to worry. Struck with a sudden impulse, she ran at top speed to the East Door, where the Runners returned every night. Though she didn't see anyone, the voice seemed to be louder there, so she stood outside the door and peered anxiously into the Maze. Suddenly, a figure emerged from the shadows and began making its way slowly to Anna. It was slightly misshapen, but when it got closer Anna could see that it was Minho. He was carrying George on his shoulder, who was hanging limply, his sneakers dragging in the dirt. Anna's eyes widened as she watched them numbly for a few seconds, but then she got a hold of herself and dashed into the Maze to help.

"Anna," Minho gasped. He had sweat glistening on his forehead and his hair stuck up every which way. Anna could tell from the look in his eyes that there was something horribly wrong. She didn't say anything, however, as she grabbed George's left arm and hung it around her own shoulder, taking some of the weight from Minho. He nodded his thanks and together they dragged George back to the Glade. They were met with confusion as a crowd gathered around them, peppering them with questions. Anna ignored these and sent somebody to go get Clint. In the meantime, she took Minho aside to ask him what had happened.

"I don't know," he said, his voice cracking. "I heard George call for help, so I went to look for him. I couldn't find him anywhere, until he came sprinting towards me and yelled for me to run. He was being chased by a big blobby thing like a slug, but with mechanical arms that had knives and lights and claws and needles. It was pretty slow, but George tripped over a rock and before I had time to save the poor shank it was jabbing at him with its needles. It just rolled away after it had attacked him, like its job was finished or something."

Anna was completely aghast at his story. Somehow she couldn't fathom that there were any dangers in this place other than the usual survival stuff, like starvation and disease. However, the true meaning of Minho's words settled on her soon enough. The Gladers were not alone.