The Key to it All (Newt)

Boys

There had been three weeks of supplies. Always at the same day, same time. Artemis wasn't sure why so many supplies were necessary since she was the only one here, but who knows. The weekly alarm was nice; it provided a sense of structure to Artemis' week. She knew that every time it sounded, it had been another seven days and that she would be provided with mind-numbing work to distract her from the horror of her situation. 

Once the alarm was done ringing, the concrete slabs opened up as they always do. Bark had gotten used to the alarm and was by Artemis' side. Artemis peered over to see what supplies arrived this week. She immediately froze in horror as, instead of some boxes, there were about fifteen to twenty confused faces staring up at her. And every single one was male. 

"Who are you?" One of the boys shouted. 

It didn't do anything to help Artemis. Having been alone for a month, she had gotten used to it. And she certainly hadn't expected that people, real people, would show up any time soon. So many of them too. Once the reality set it, Artemis began to panic. She could be overpowered by only two of them. They didn't know her and she didn't know them. Her breathing began to increase and she felt like when she was outside the walls again: confused and really fucking terrified. 

 She wasn't prepared for this, so she walked away. Bark stayed at the edge of the cage growling.  Shouts arose from the cage, but Artemis needed some time. She walked back to what she had deemed the Homestead and to her room, focusing on her breathing the entire time. Running through her head was a thousand different ways to go about it. In the corner was a bunch of weapons she had collected. She always had a knife strapped to her ever since she got stuck in the maze. In her corner were a few more knives, bow and arrow, and a machete. She grabbed the machete, the most intimidating and easiest weapon to use, before walking back to the cage.

"Where did you go?" A boy shouted above the rest of the group. 

Artemis held up the machete. "I'm not about to let you out without some protection. Now pick two people max to represent you and I'll help them up. The rest of you are staying in there." 

A choir of voices came up from the crowd. Artemis grabbed a rope from her nearby supply that usually helps her lift up boxes. She just had to be brave and confident. She rolled her shoulders back and made a pact to look them in the eyes and keep her head up. She remembered from somewhere that when you encounter black bears, or maybe it was brown, that you needed to make yourself big and scare them off. 

The boys argued for a while before finally deciding on who to send up. By that time, Artemis had hyped herself up and was ready to kill if anything were to happen. 

"We got it! We're sending up a boy named Newt and one named Nick." Someone shouted. Artemis sent down the rope and pulled up the first boy. He was blonde with large brown eyes. He was skinnier than Artemis expected him to be. An advantage for her.

"Hello. Name's Newt." 

Artemis stepped back at the accent, not expecting it. She couldn't remember what type of accent it was, but she liked it. It was pleasing. 

The second boy to come up was larger than Newt in height and size. He had brown hair and sparkling green eyes. "I'm Nick. Who are you?" 

Artemis examined the boys. She held her machete up in a defensive position. "Name's Artemis. What are you doing here?"

Nick let out a loud laugh. "Could ask you the same thing. I don't remember a thing. All I know is I'm waking up in a box with a bunch of other boys then you come and let us out. Where are we by the way?" 

Artemis didn't really know how to explain it. "It's-it's like a safe haven home place. I call that building over there the Homestead. There's a kitchen, a bathroom. Some other random buildings. I've started a garden and there's some chickens. Oh, and a dog, her name is Bark." Artemis pointed to the black lab next to her.