I jolt up in bed gasping with one word in my mind. Today. Standing above me is a surprised looking Newt.
"Good. You're awake. You slept in late."
"Yeah..."
He gives me a concerned look. "You okay?"
"Yeah.."
"Well are you gonna get up?"
"Yeah."
"Is that all you can say?"
I smile at him. "Yeah." He rolls his eye. "What's so special about today?" I ask him.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, is there anything special going on today?"
"Well the box is coming up with a new Greenie today."
"A new Greenie?"
"Yeah."
"That's today?"
"Yeah."
I smile at him again. "Is that all you can say?"
He laughs a little. "Yeah."
"Cool. Now let's go eat. I'm starving."
"That's a first. Are you sure you're okay? You seem downright cheery today and that ain't normal for you."
"I'm fine. I just have a feeling that today is gonna be a good day. That's all."

Later that day I am standing around the Box with all the other Gladers. Standing right next to me are Newt, Gally, Alby, Chuck, and Minho. I haven't said a word to any of them the entire time I've been standing here. Finally the Box operns and I get a good look at the Newbie. I feel panic start to rise up in my chest as I realize that this is the boy from my dreams. He was in every dream that something bad happened in. I take a deep breath and shove the panic down, force myself to remain calm. If the Gladers see me freak out they will know that something isn't right. I could get myself and this Greenie banished if I'm not careful. I'll just have to wait and tell Newt later. Some Gladers lower a rope into the Box and pull the boy our. Alby grabs his hand to help him and says the first words that the boy will hear in his new life. "Nice to meet you shank. Welcome to the Glade."
Everyone pitches in to help get him out of the Box and standing upright. The poor shank looks like he's freaking out as he takes in his surroundings.
"Look at the Greenbean!" Gally says. "Gonna break his shuck neck checking out the new digs."
"Shut your trap Gally." I say, giving him a glare. Ever since I had that dream of him killing Chuck I can't help but feel a strong surge of anger rise up in me every time I look at ugly face. At least with the other deaths it wasn't murder. Well... Ben is the exception. He was crazy though, trying to kill this Greenie who is currently looking at each Glader in turn. His gaze lingers on mine, he's probably wondering why I am the only girl. Then he turns and looks at Alby.
"Where am I?" He asks in a voice that sounds different then I expected. He looks like his voice should be higher pitched than it is.
"Nowhere good. Just slim yourself nice and calm." Alby tells him.
"Gosh Alby. You're gonna freak him out even more saying stuff like that." I say just as someone from the crowd asks which Keeper he's gonna get.
"I told ya, shuck face. He's a klunk so he'll be a Slopper. No doubt about it." Chuck says, laughing. A few Gladers laugh and I size the Greenie up.
"I don't know kid. I think might make a pretty good Track-Hoe." I tell him.
"Looks like Echo's got a crush on the Newbie!" I hear someone shout.
"Shut your trap shuck face!" I yell back at him.
Some more people laugh and the Greenie looks even more lost. As I size him up again I wonder, why him? Why is he the one who watches everyone die? Why is he the one who is there for all of them? Why is Ben going to attack him. There's gotta be something about him right? Something that explains why death seems to be tied to him in a double not. But what?
"Shut your holes!" Alby yells, snapping me out of my train of thought. I have to force myself not to flinch at his harsh voice. "Keep yapping adn next break'll be cut in half!"
That shuts everyone up. The Greenie looks at Alby and then at the Glade. He seems pretty overwhelmed by it all, but then again who wasn't on their First day. He loos at each of us in turn again, this time avoiding my gaze completely and focusing on Gally. The Keeper of the Builders looks more pissed off than I have ever seen him. Finally he breaks the Greenies gaze and stomps off to sit down on one of the picnic benches. Alby takes a step forward.
"It's a long story shank." He tells the Greenie. "Piece by piece, you'll learn. I'll be taking you on the Tour tomorrow. Till then... Just don't break anything." Alby holds his hand out to the boy and introduces himself. The Greenie ignores his hand and pushes past him to sit under a tree.
"Than tell me." The Greenie says. "Tell me the long story. Seriously. Where am I?" His voice gets less steady with each word.
Alby walks over to him and sits down in front of him, the rest of us pack in close behind him. I can tell by the look on Alby's face that he's about to give the Greenie the 'if you ain't scared you ain't human' speech. He never had to give it me or Chuck. I guess the two of us were obviously pretty freaked out. Even if I did hold Minho hostage.
"If you ain't scared, you ain't human." There it is. "Act any different and I'd throw you off the Cliff because it'd mean you're a psycho."
"The Cliff?" The boy asks, looking more scared by the second. I sigh, but decide not to step in yet. I'll give Alby another chance to talk to this guy without making him klunk his pants. "
"Shuck it." Alby says, understanding that he said something wrong. "Ain't no way to start these conversations, you get me? We don't kill shanks like you here. I promise. Just try and avoid being killed, survive, whatever."
The color drains from the boys face and I roll my eyes before stepping forward to stand beside him.
"Save it for the Tour Alby. You're gonna give the guy a heart attack." I turn to the Greenie. "The name's Echo. This place" I say motioning all around me. "Is the Glade. It's where we live, eat, and sleep. We call ourselves the Gladers. That's about all you-"
"Who sent me here?" The boy demands, cutting me off. I take a deep breath to control myself and keep myself from slapping this guy silly.
Alby suddenly has the Greenie shirt in his hands and is holding him up by it."Get up, shank, get up!" Alby yells in the boys face as he scrambles to get his feet under him. "No interrupting boy! Whacker, if we told you everything right away, you'd die on the spot, right after you klunked your pants. Baggers'd drag you off and you ain't no good to us then are you?"
"I don't even know what your talking about." The Greenie says.
Newt steps forwards and grabs Alby by the shoulders. "Alby, lay off a bit. You're hurting more than helping you know."
Alby lets go of the boy and steps back. "Ain't got time to be nice, Greenbean. Old life's over, new life's begun. Learn the rules quick, listen, don't talk. You get me?"
The boy looks between Newt and I, asking with his eyes for help. "Greenie, you get him, right?" Newt asks him.
"Yeah." He says.
"Good that. First Day. That's what today is for you, shank. Nights coming. Runners'll be back soon. The Box came up late today, ain't got time for the Tour. Tomorrow morning, right after the wake up." He turns to Newt. "Get him a bed, get him to sleep."
"Good that." Newt says
"A few weeks, you'll be happy here. You'll be happy and helping. None of us knew jack on First Day, you neither. New life begins tomorrow." Wit that, Alby turns and walks off. The Greenie mumbles under his breath something that I didn't quite catch, but Newt seems to have heard it and looks about to respond. I grab his arm before he can.
"Hey Newt, can I talk to the Greenie? Alone."
He gives me a questioning look. "I don't know.."
"He's in the dreams."
"How many?"
"All of them."
He sighs. "You get 10 minutes."
I nod and turn to the Greenie. "How would you like to go for a walk Greenie? Clear your head, talk a little."
"Sure."
"Good." I grab his arm and drag him into the Deadheads.
"What are you doing?" He yells, struggling against my grip. Once we are in the middle of the Deadheads I let go of him and he stumbles back.
"I just want to talk." I say calmly. "What's your name?"
"Thomas." He says and I immediately recognize it as the name that Ben was yelling while he was attacking this shank. Ben was trying to convince Alby that Thomas is evil.
"Evil?" I say to myself. "How are you evil? What's so evil about you?" I circle him. "You sure don't look evil."
"What?" He asks, obviously starting to get creeped out. I walk closer to him and he backs up until he bumps into a tree. I get in his face and study him closely.
"Who are you? Why does Ben think you're evil? Why are you always there?"
"Who's Ben? Why am I always where? What are you even talking about?"
"Never mind." I say, backing off and giving him room. "You must have a lot of questions. Ask away. I'll answer them if I can." A Beetle Blade moves in one of the nearby trees. He watches it curiously. "Beetle Blade. It wont hurt you. Don't worry."
"Is this a prison?"
I laugh as I walk over to a tree and sit down. "No. It's not a prison. At least... I don't think so." He doesn't look reassured. "Look Greenie. It isn't that bad here. I know how it must look right now, trust me, I've been in your position, all of us have, but once you get used to it, it can actually be pretty fun." I smile at him. "I'll show you. Come on!" I stand up and grab his hand and start dragging him back through the woods.
"What are you doing?" Thomas asks.
"Every now and then we have these little party-like-things. I see no reason why we can't have one tonight."