"Get up Sadie." A gruff voice spoke in her ear followed by a nudge to her side. Sadie slowly peeled her eyes open and found Minho leaning over her shining an overly bright flashlight in her eyes.
"Jesus Minho! What is it with you boys and waking up early?" She demanded pulling herself to her feet. Sadie wouldn't admit it but she was glad Minho had woken her up; she had been going through a replay of her dreams from last night and was relieved when they ended.
"Here yah go Greenie. Breakfast." Minho said tossing Sadie an apple as they wandered off to go find Thomas. Sadie peered down at the fruit in distaste. I hate apples. She thought taking a bite into it's green skin because, hey food is food. She slowly rubbed the sleep from her eyes and jogged over to Minho her eyes scanning the Glade for any sign of Thomas.
They found him in a secluded area by the Deadheads. Sadie watched in amusement as Thomas sprang to his feet obviously as excited as she was for their first day.
"Morning shuckface." Thomas chirped messing Sadie's hair up as they followed Minho towards Homestead.
"Good morning shank." She answered receiving some annoyed glares from the sleeping Gladers they were weaving their way through. Minho led them to a small storage room pulling out a key and opening the door. He shined his flashlight around the room the light glinted off hanging chains and ropes. The beam landed on an open box of running shoes.
"The Creators send us so many shucking running shoes we don't even use half of them." He said leaning over and rifling through the box. "What size are you two?"
"Size? Dude I'm not even sure how old I am." Thomas answered leaning over to pull off his shoe. Sadie followed suit tugging off one of the brown and weathered combat boots she'd been wearing since her arrival in the Box. "I'm size eleven."
"I got six." She added as Minho checked the different shoes.
"Dang Thomas. You got big shucking feet." He exclaimed pulling out a pair of silver shoes and showing them off to the two. "We could use this sucker as a boat." Sadie laughed loudly and took the pair he found for her in excitement. They were sleek, black and incredibly light in her hands. Jeez I have small feet. She thought as her and Thomas sat down and pulled them on excitedly. "Here yah go. Only Runners and Keepers are allowed to get these." He said handing digital watches over to the pair. The watch was simple with a plain black wristband and a small face.
"Newt has one like this." She mumbled strapping it onto her wrist and looking up at Minho.
"Well he was a Runner Sadie."
"But he has a limp. Did he get it while he was a Runner?" Her curiosity spiking, she had asked multiple boys in the Glade. They all told her the same thing, that he had been a Runner then got injured, but no one ever went into any details. So naturally Sadie was dying to find out. Minho sighed and handed them both backpacks along with an extra t-shirt and a pair of shorts.
"Not my place to talk about it shank." He mumbled pulling out things from his own bag naming each in turn to change the subject. "And finally we have these for you Thomas." He said pulling out a pair of small shiny white underwear.
"What the shuck is that for?" Sadie yelped backing up slightly while Minho and Thomas snickered at her.
"We call them Runnie-undies, and they well yah know keep everything comfy?"
"What?" Sadie wrinkled her nose and shook her head.
"Well you know, they-"
"Never mind. I don't wanna know." Sadie stated turning her attention back on her backpack as Minho and Thomas talked.
"So the Creators just sent you guys this stuff?" Thomas asked taking the underwear and backpack from Minho. "Like you can actually request stuff?"
"Yeah we just pop a note in the box. Sometimes we get what we ask for sometimes we don't."
"Well that's a relief. I'm probably going to need to request something pretty soon." Sadie interjected a her lips twitching up into a evil grin as she prepared to freak the two out in return.
"What do yah mean?" Thomas asked strapping his own watch on.
"Oh yah know girly things, to keep everything-"
"Don't wanna know! Please do not finish that sentence, I'm shucking begging you." Minho yelped slapping his hand over Sadie's mouth. Sadie pushed his hand away and smirked in satisfaction. Men. She thought grudgingly. She pulled the knife out of her bag and slowly unsheathed it.
"I didn't know you guys had weapons." Thomas mumbled pulling his backpack on.
"Shuck yeah we do. Come on I'll show you." He led them over to the corner of the room and moved a few boxes out of the way to reveal a trapdoor. "We keep them hidden in the basement so crazy shanks like Gally can't find 'em." He explained pulling up the door and clambering down an old ladder Thomas and Sadie on his heals. When they reached the floor Sadie couldn't see a thing in the pitch-black room, the sent of dust and mildew hung in the air as the coolness of the room pressed in on them. Minho stretched and pulled on a string turning a hanging bulb on that illuminated the room. It was surprisingly large but filled to the bursting point with all sorts of menacing looking tools.
"Wow." Thomas murmured as the two wandered around the room taking in the strange collection of knives, wooden poles, swords, and saws. There were even large bats that were wound tightly with barbed wire lying around.
"How come I never see anybody carrying any of this stuff?" Sadie asked picking up a long, wickedly sharp knife from one of the many piles.
"Probably because we don't use most of it." Minho answered, "All we usually carry is a couple of knives." Sadie held the blade in her hand and peered down at it curiously. It was about the length of her forearm with a comfortable leather grip and a glinting curved blade.
"Well that seems kind of stupid." She admitted placing the knife back on the pile gently.
"What's that supposed to mean slinthead?" Minho asked obviously annoyed.
"Well what's the point of having all this crap if you don't use it?" Sadie countered picking up a medieval looking sword. It all seemed so ridiculous to her. Why have weapons and never use most of them? Why not use them on the Grievers? It all seemed silly to her, like the answer was obvious. I bet those girls used their weapons. The thought sprung into her mind so quickly it made her drop the sword with a metallic clang.
"You okay Sadie?" Thomas asked resting a hand on her shoulder. Sadie's mind was spinning rapidly yet again. This is really starting to piss me off. Sadie thought messaging her temples in aggravation. She didn't know why the idea had startled her so much but she knew it was probably right… No she knew it was absolutely right. Images of herself and several other girls training with knives and weapons swirled in her head. Stop. She thought angrily willing her head to stop it's spinning and for the memories to go away. And like a movie the images blinked off.
"Sadie?" Minho asked in concern shaking her slightly as she broke out of her trance.
"Oh. I'm fine." Sadie mumbled trying her best for a reassuring smile. Her headache had finally disappeared along with the memory.
"Let's go pick up our lunches from Frypan and finish packing then we can swing by the Map Room later." She nodded and added a few more blades to her backpack before shouldering it.
"Here don't forget this one." Minho said handing her the blade she'd held previously the curved edge shinning in the light. "You can keep that one if you want shank, god knows we have plenty." Sadie muttered thanks and smiled down at the blade. Sure Minho was a pain in the ass but she couldn't help but feel their friendship growing as she smiled warmly at him.
Thirty minutes later they were packed, and well fed, on Sadie's orders of course. 'An apple doesn't count as breakfast!' And they had arrived at the Map Room. It was a squat concrete building with a heavy iron door that looked like it belonged on a submarine. Minho held the door open and waved them on inside.
"And this is the Map Room." In the room a large, round wooden table was in the exact center chairs tucked in around it and stacks of paper piled neatly on top of it. Large trunks lined the room's walls each one shut tightly.
"It smells like old pennies." Thomas muttered to Sadie as Minho motioned for them to take a seat at the table. Minho grabbed a sheet of paper and quickly sketched a map of the Glade numbering each Maze entrance and drawing each landmark. He explained the shifting walls and different sections of the Maze.
"We've been mapping this thing for two years and the only thing we've found is the Cliff. We think the walls move every night after the doors close. They move all over the shucking place." Sadie tried to imagine the large stonewalls moving but it seemed impossible.
"So you draw up maps of the Maze everyday then right?" Sadie asked the idea seemed right to her, it's how she would have done it anyway. "Because the walls move?"
"Yeah that's what these trunks are for." Minho replied walking over to one and hefting the lid open. The trunk was full of papers all stacked to the top in neat piles, labels identifying the Runner, day, and section in the corner of each map. "We've been keeping track of the Maze's movements since the beginning. We've tried to compare the changes every day, week, and month. And the Maze does repeat itself about every month but it hasn't done us much good. There's never been an exit." Sadie sorted through the trunk while Minho and Thomas talked. Well.. argued that is.
"Are you two done yet?" Sadie complained as they bickered. "We get the idea. No staying in the Maze overnight, draw some maps, run a lot, blah blah blah. Can we go now?" The two blinked in surprise while Sadie gingerly put the maps back in the trunk.
"Yeah. Let's go runnin'."
Minho led them through the West Door towards Section Eight. Sadie fell into a fast pace her feet thumping against the hard ground as the trio sprinted down the Maze corridors. Sadie felt herself smile widely, the quick beating of her heart and footsteps echoed throughout her body pumping her with adrenaline from the end of her hair to the tips of her toes. It was exhilarating and almost nostalgic to Sadie, like she'd been doing it for years. The pain she felt in her lungs and her calves were familiar and she practically welcomed them. Running was like an old friend to her. As they ran Minho explained the Runner duties to them pausing only once to pull out his knife and slash a chunk of ivy out of the wall.
"Why'd you do that?" Thomas panted as they continued to sprint.
"Helps me keep track of where we're going. Just in case man." Minho huffed in reply.
"Like bread crumbs?"
"Like bread crumbs." He repeated chancing a glance over his shoulder at the two Newbies. "I'll be Hansel you can be Gretel Thomas." He added cutting into the ivy again as they rounded the corner.
"What does that make me then?" Sadie asked her arms pumping at her sides as she ran.
"The witch."
"Ha ha ha you're freaking hilarious." They continued to run Thomas and Sadie taking turns when cutting the ivy, they finally began to get the hang of it after their tenth or eleventh try. The whole time they peppered Minho with questions, asking about everything from the Griever him and Alby had found to the movements of the walls. They had breaks now and then but after running for two hours Sadie could understand why the Runners always looked so tired.
"Anything different today?" Thomas asked when they finally stopped for lunch.
"Nope, Nothin' to get shucking excited about." Minho answered as a beetle blade scuttled on the wall overhead. Sadie watched the metal bug scuttle through the ivy and over the wall it's black eyes glinting in the sunlight.
"What's with the beetle blades? And why does it say Wicked on their backs?" Thomas asked pulling himself to his feet and walking along the walls.
"I dunno man we've never been able to catch them. The only thing we can think of is that the Creators use them to spy on us. The little shits."
"Who are the Creators?" Thomas questioned as Sadie bit into her sandwich hungrily the same question rolling around in her own head. Minho rolled his eyes but his face seemed to darken slightly.
"We don't know jack about them. But I swear as soon as I get my hands on them I'll-"
"What's that?" Sadie interrupted her eyes catching sight of something glinting beneath the walls dense ivy. Sadie stood up and tugged the ivy aside revealing a large metal plaque that was attached to the wall, large letters stamped on it's face.
"Oh, that thing." Minho replied indifferently shrugging as Thomas looked over Sadie's shoulder in curiosity.
"World In Catastrophe: Killzone Experiment Department." Thomas read aloud. "What's that mean?"
"Man I don't know dude they're all over the shucking place." The words sent chills down Sadie's spine the mention of Catastrophe, Killzone, and Experiment seemed to dampen the air with a sinister mood. "Come on Greenies lets get a move on." Minho finally said breaking them away from the plaque.
Another hour later the trio had arrived at a dead end and had started their journey back to the Glade. The rest of the trip passed in a blur as they made their way back to the Map Room where they spent the rest of the day learning how to sketch maps until the doors closed.
"Dang Sadie have you done this before?" Minho asked picking up her map and examining it in the light. Sadie shrugged in response and tugged it out of his hand adding a few more strokes to it before setting it down in the Section Eight trunk. Maybe. She thought closing the lid with a thud.
Sadie and Thomas finally got to leave the Map Room in search of some food. Thomas seemed disappointed in the day and Sadie could relate. She'd kind of expected everything to either go up in flames or for them to find some hidden exit. She was taken completely by surprise when it turned out to be a normal day. Well as normal of a day you could have in the Glade.
"Would you look at this!" Sadie exclaimed raising her arms in emphasis as she walked into the room where Newt was currently hunched over a map of the Maze. "I'm still in one piece! Isn't that shucking amazing?" Sadie knew it probably wasn't nice to gloat but she loved saying 'I told you so'.
"Well I'm bloody relieved." Newt chuckled standing up and pulling Sadie into a warm embrace. "How was it?"
"Nothing new, or exciting. And yet I'm still shucking exhausted." She replied resting her head in the crook of his neck. Sadie was so tired she felt like she could have fallen asleep then and there. Newt kissed her forehead and chuckled.
"Come on love let's go." They walked out of the room and made their way up to Sadie's room. She attempted to feed Teresa again. Teresa had been mumbling in her sleep non-stop lately and Sadie couldn't help but wonder if she was having weird dreams too. When she'd gotten as much food into her as she could Sadie set the bowl down and tucked the covers around her friend carefully. Please wake up soon. I don't know what's going on Teresa. There has to be a way out of here right?
"Do you think she'll wake up soon?" Sadie sighed her legs aching and eyes tired. Newt gently wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and rested his chin on Sadie's head.
"I don't know Sadie. Soon I think. But there's no way to tell." Sadie nodded and laced her fingers with his, her palms resting against his rough knuckles.
"I don't get any of this Newt. What's going on? Why did they send us here? And how do we get out of the Maze?"