A Rude Awakening

Bang!

A seemingly lifeless girl lay within a metal elevator.

Rumble…

As it started to ascend, she could hear its noises.

Clang!

The sounds sounded far away yet close.

Rumble…

She was tired, fatigued, and felt utterly incompetent.

Clink!

Slowly blinking open her eyes, the girl saw flashing lights.

Rumble…

But then, she felt something wet on her cheek.

"Mph." The girl heard a strange noise in her ear. Still, she did not stir. Her body just… felt so weak. However, the thing that made that noise wasn't having it with her weakness. "Ruff…!"

"AH!" the girl let out a yelp after the sudden noise ripped through her eardrums. She immediately jumped back and sat up, her eyes still getting used to the brightness. When those eyes finally situated, though, the girl let out another yelp. "W-What the…?!"

The girl's eyes widened in disbelief as she snapped her head in all directions. She was in a metal box - a moving metal box - that had even more boxes within it. But, below her, the girl saw only blackness: the metal box was moving upward, and beneath it, was a seemingly bottomless pit. A feeling of panic rushed through her system, especially when the girl tried to remember. Remember anything. Every time the girl thought up a question like 'Where am I?' or 'How did I get here?' that same girl was met with the question of 'Who am I?' She couldn't remember anything. Nothing at all. And yeah, that thought made the girl start to panic even more.

"O-Oh my gosh," the girl muttered with rapid breaths. "Oh no, no, no…!"

Right before the girl was about to have a full-blown panic attack, though…

"Mph." Once more, the girl heard that sound and a wetness on her cheek. Looking back up, her eyes were met with brown ones. And around those brown eyes, she saw long black fur. The girl placed a hand over her cheek where the creature had licked her, feeling a strange calmness wash over her.

"Y-You're," the girl somehow managed to smile, "a dog."

"Ruff!" the dog barked in happiness. It then laid its head down on her lap, nuzzling its face into her torso. "Mm…"

"You're… a nice dog," the girl said, instinctively lifting a hand to pet its head. "What are you doing in-"

BANG! But then it happened: the metal box stopped. Deep red lights illuminated the space, causing a feeling of fear to shoot through the girl once more. While, on the other hand, the dog stayed on her lap and kept completely calm. Nonetheless, the girl could tell something was about to happen. Something big. She sat there, in complete silence, before a loud noise sounded through the space. The loud noise came with the brightest of lights, but unlike the red ones, this light was yellow and white. It was so bright that it made the girl put a hand over her eyes, the light blinding her. Oddly enough, however, she felt something block a portion of that light. A shadow loom over her. Or, in reality, multiple shadows. So as the girl removed her hand from over her eyes, she saw where the multiple shadows were coming from.

People.

There were multiple people now standing above her.

"Hey, guys…"

"Am I seein' things right?"

"Is that a girl?"

"No way," a boyish voice chimed in. Moreover, before the girl even knew what was going on, the metal box was opened and a boy jumped down into it. The girl moved herself away from him, fear and uncertainty coursing through her veins. This boy had short brown hair, freckles, crazy eyebrows, and the way he looked at the girl made the girl even more worried. Although, the boy matched that worry after getting a good look at her. "Holy shit… They really did send a girl up here…"

"Lemme see," another boyish voice said as he jumped down into the metal box. He slowly walked closer to the girl, his eyebrows creased in confusion. However, once he got a good look at her, his eyes widened in awe. "She's…"

The girl had her long, dark brown hair up in a ponytail and had pale skin; her left eye was blue and her right eye was brown; she had black cargo pants, a striped shirt, black Converse, and a deep green, buttoned-up sweater over that same shirt. Nevertheless, all that wasn't what made this boy unable to look away from this girl. It was just… She was just… As she cowered in the corner, her differently colored eyes staring into his brown ones, the blond-haired teenager felt a bunch of unfamiliar emotions rush through him. The girl was so scared, so unsure, and it reminded him of himself. It made Newt feel…

"They even brought a dog up with her?" the first boy, who was named Gally, asked while staring down at the black German Shepherd, completely confused. "This is weirder than weird."

"W-Who…" When the girl finally found her voice, though, both boys could hear the fear within her tone. "Who… are you?"

"Hey… You don't have to be afraid…" Newt softly told the girl while he slowly walked closer to her. "We won't hurt you. No one will."

"But," the girl visibly gulped, "where is 'here'?"

"...You're in the Glade," Newt said after reaching her and kneeling down in front of her. "A camp… of sorts."

The way this girl looked into Newt's eyes - so undeniably scared - made his heart beat painfully. Who would send a girl up here? After all of the countless guys, why suddenly a girl? They all knew whoever did this to them were pieces of shit, but Newt didn't think that they were this cruel. Everything about this circumstance was messed up and confusing, but his main concern was still the girl. And yeah, that girl needed his concern right about then.

The moment those two boys jumped into the box, a dizziness washed over the girl. This dizziness came with even more uncertainty and fear, making the girl's brain and body even weaker. She didn't know who she was or where she was, she didn't know what was happening or what would happen, and that fear triggered something fierce within her soul. Something strong. Powerful. Something with so much strength that, before she could ask about this 'camp' of Newt's, every muscle in the girl's body… failed.

"Woof…!"

"Hey!"

The girl heard the woof of the dog and the sound of the two boys' surprised voices. She felt her body fall forward, but shockingly wasn't met with the metal box's metal floor. Instead, she felt a soft warmth against her cheek and body. This warmth made the girl feel safe, secure, and oh so tired. Therefore, the girl fainted against the chest of a boy she didn't even know. This boy's name… being Newt.

"This is so weird…"

"You were made for better things."

"Why would they send a girl up?"

"It's okay…"

"And such a small one at that. Barely any muscle on her."

"Everything is going to be okay."

"Minho, that's not the point."

"They need you."

"And so what if she's small? I think she's pretty."

"They need your goodness."

"That's not the point either, kid."

"They need your smile."

"Dang, is she still not awake? I got her dinner."

"The Maze needs you."

"Hey, guys… I think she's waking up!"

"Really…?!"

After hearing the sounds of the past and the sounds of the present, the girl slowly awoke from her slumber. Above her, she saw an unfamiliar ceiling and an even more unfamiliar face. Seconds later, however, this face wasn't the only one she saw. Five more faces appeared above her, all of their eyes curiously staring down at her. Furthermore, the girl then felt a wetness grace her cheek; she turned her head to the left, immediately seeing a hairy black dog sitting there. Absent-mindedly, the girl lifted a hand to stroke its furry head, allowing the large dog to lean into the touch. She then turned her head back upward, seeing those six same faces still staring down at her.

"H-Hello…" she eventually greeted. A nervous pit formed in her stomach in spite of the attention, and that same emotion showed on her face and tone. "U-Um…"

"Okay, guys, let's give her some room," one of the boys ordered despite him being a part of the staring. Still, upon hearing his order, all of the other boys quickly stepped away. This allowed the girl to sit up and finally look around at her surroundings. She was in some sort of wooden hut, sitting on a bed, and was surrounded by six boys. However, right before fear caused by confusion could overtake the girl again, the same boy that had spoken up just before placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, hey, hey… It's okay. You're safe."

"W-Where…" the girl stuttered as she stared into the boy's dark brown eyes. This certain boy had dark skin, a white shirt, and a necklace around his neck. His eyes were also… oddly quite calming for the girl. "Where am I…?"

"You're in the Glade," he told her, kneeling down at her side. "A camp. You were sent up here."

The girl shook her head. "B-By who?"

"None of us know," another boy cut in. After the girl looked over at him, she saw that he had tan skin and very short black hair. "They only let us remember our names. Everything else is gone."

"...Oh my gosh." Upon hearing the boy's words, the girl got punched in the face. Not literally, but very much mentally. She remembered the metal box, the dog, the boys, and most importantly, her inability to remember. Remember anything, for that matter. She couldn't even remember- "I-I don't know my name…"

"It'll come back to you in a few days," the boy kneeling beside her said. "Trust me, you have much more to be worrying about."

"Like… what?" the girl asked, making the freckle-faced boy let out a snort.

"Alby calls it a camp, but it's more or less a prison…"

"W-Wait, wha-"

"Gally, dude, don't scare the poor girl!" another boy interrupted the girl's words. This boy had dark skin, brown overalls, and a bowl in his hand. Likewise, after the girl's and his gaze met for the first time, he walked over to hand the bowl to her. "Here. Eat this and ignore Gally's depressin' attitude."

"I'm not being depressing," the boy named 'Gally' argued. "I'm being realistic."

"Well, being 'realistic' can wait a little longer," the boy kneeling beside her argued. "Seriously, eat up. You'll need it."

"Th-Thank you," the girl mumbled while taking the bowl of streaming stew. Furthermore, her stomach felt so empty that she couldn't stop herself from taking a bite. "Wow… This is really good…"

"Oh!" the boy who gave her the soup beamed. "Oh, someone around here appreciates my cooking! And here, boy, eat this."

"Ruff!" the dog barked happily after being thrown a piece of meat.

"I can't believe they brought up a girl and a dog." There was yet another boy who spoke up. This time, the girl saw this boy sitting beside her on the ground; he had puffy red cheeks, brown curly hair, and an infectious smile. More so, once the girl met his starry-eyed gaze, his smile brightened. "I'm Chuck, by the way. I've never met a girl before, so this is really cool!"

"Yeah," the tan boy smiled, "it shows, Chuck."

"And I'm Alby," the boy kneeling beside her added. "The stew guy is Siggy, but we call him Frypan."

Frypan waved. "Nice to meet ya."

"The depressing guy is Gally," Alby then said, causing Gally to scowl.

"I am not."

"Am not depressing or am not Gally?"

"The sassy one is Minho," Alby said after hearing Minho's sassy response. And despite the glare Gally was sending Minho, Minho himself simply waved to the girl, and the girl waved right back with a smile. Alby then moved his smile to the final person in the room - the only person who hadn't talked the entire time. The girl followed Alby's gaze to see the blond-haired boy from before leaning against the wall, his arms crossed. Their eyes instantly met as Alby continued. "And this is Newt: our second in command. If you can't find me, find him."

"That was some show you pulled earlier," Newt said to the girl. "Not only did you shock everyone with your gender, you fainted in front of everyone too. You sure are a bloody eye-catcher."

"Y-Yeah, I'm… I'm sorry about fainting earlier," the girl apologized. "And I'm sorry that I can't introduce myself back."

"You can't remember anything, and you don't know where the hell you are, but you're worried about fainting and manners?" Gally asked in disbelief. "You're so weird."

Chuck tilted his head. "Are all girls weird?"

"Don't know." Frypan shrugged. "Never remember meeting one."

Minho scoffed. "How would any of us know that, Chuck?"

"Guys, please," Alby stopped them. "We're getting off subject."

"What subject?" Newt questioned, making Gally let out a huff.

"Yeah, I thought we couldn't talk about 'the subject'?"

"Well, now that she knows who we are, we can properly explain now…" Alby sighed and then gave the girl a sympathetic smile. "Look, I need you to understand that no one is here to hurt you. I know that you're confused and scared, but just know that everything will be explained and that you will be safe. Now, I can explain everything to you now. That's fine. However, if you feel too sick right now, we can wait until morning to tell you. Whatever works best for you."

"I… I, uhm…" the girl stammered with a gulp. "If it wouldn't be too much trouble, could I know the truth now? Where are we? Truly?"

"Here," Alby extended a hand to her, "let me show you."

A/N: I don't own "Maze Runner" or any of these characters. I only own 'the girl.' (^_^)