The Beginning of the End // The Maze Runner // Newt

// Chapter 1 //

Athena had been in the Glade for four months. Four months of peace where nothing changed. Every day was the same routine, she would get up early, get breakfast and run the Maze with Minho. When she got back, she had dinner and went to sleep, ready to wake up early the next morning to do the exact same thing.

She had made friends throughout her time there, even Gally, though it took him a couple of months before he accepted that she was there to stay. They actually became pretty good friends, despite some of the other Glader's views of him. However, she was still closest to Alby, Newt, Minho and, more recently, Chuck, the newest addition to the Glade, though she spent most of her time with Ben, her running partner.

Since it was the first day of the month, the Box would be coming up again, meaning there would be a new Greenie, something Chuck couldn't wait for. For the past week he had been talking about how he will no longer be called Greenie and Athena found his excitement adorable. He was a sweet kid, youngest in the Glade by the looks of it (with their memory loss they also forgot their ages) and he certainly acted like it but everybody loved him despite his forgetfulness and clumsiness – it was Chuck.

Athena had to stay in the Glade to wait for her crate of things to come up because the boys were annoyingly curious, especially Minho, and even though she trusted him with her life, she would not trust him with her things for a second. She had put in a few requests by throwing down a piece of paper with the item scribbled on down the Box hole, hoping that they would provide what she asked for and usually she got exactly what she needed. Except for a map and exit plan, but nobody's perfect, right?

Athena glanced at her watch to check the time. One minute. Then, right on cue, the sirens started blaring and up came the Box. Immediately, Gladers sprinted towards the hole, eagerly waiting to meet the new Greenie or just wanting to get their stuff before it got ransacked or stolen by another Glader, something that surprisingly happened quite a lot through nobody cared too much, they were all a family after all.

Athena went to stand next to Newt and Gally at the front of the crowd.

"What job do you reckon he's gonna have?" Newt asked.

"What if he's a she?" Athena replied.

"You've been saying that for four months." Newt laughed.

"I mean, it can't be long before they send up another girl, right?"

"Well, it took them three years to send the first one so you might be waiting a while, love." Athena gave him a small shove, chuckling, but she really hoped she wouldn't have to wait too long. Love. Something about the way Newt said that made her get all giddy and nervous, but she couldn't figure out why.

Gally jumped into the Box as soon as the top was lifted but his large figure shaded the newbie so Athena had to wait until the others had hauled him out of the small space and thrown him on the grass for her to get a better look at him.

He had shaggy dark hair and brown eyes that exposed all the panic he was feeling. She could see right through him, mostly because she had been in the same position as he was when she arrived in the Glade for the first time. They all had. Regardless, she couldn't say he wasn't good looking because that would have been a lie, but she didn't have much time to take in his features before he vanished.

He had started sprinting across the Glade like a rabbit running from a fox, only he was running towards the danger instead of away from it. Instinctively, Athena took off sprinting after him, exerting herself fully, knowing well what was lurking beyond the walls.

Fortunately for him, he tripped and it saved him from his deathly fate. Unfortunately for Athena, she was right on his tail and when he tripped over his own feet, she tripped over him and they fell into a tumbled heap and among the tangle of limbs, she felt something hard hit her in the jaw.