The Maze Girl

Another girl?

The next morning was buzzing. I guess I missed a lot while they were fixing my ankle. Including anew Greenie next door. ... A girl Greenie.

As you can imagine, I jumped out of the bed and tried to run to see the Greenie. And I would have made it. If it weren't for my ankle. I immediately fell flat on my face, quite ungracefully. Gally scooped me up bridal style, but immediately put me down once I started struggling. He insisted on me holding his shoulder for stability.

He helped me into the room the girl was in. She did look a bit sick. Her skin was pale as a pearl. Her hair was exactly opposite. Tar black. And she looked strangely dead.

"She's asleep?" I noted.

"Yeah," Gally replied. "Thought she was dead at first, but she woke up for a moment. Seems she knows that shank, Thomas."

"Then I have to stay away from her too?" I asked, a bit joking. He shrugged.

"Only if she ends up posing a threat."

I nudged him and he helped me out the door. Together, we made our way to the edge of the Deadheads. He deposited me by a tree near the west door and went to get us some breakfast. I looked at the door. I watched the doors for a minute as they finished opening and the runners left.

I looked around. Besides the runners, no one was done with breakfast yet. I sighed. This was definitely a dumb idea, and I couldn't have explained it afterwards. But I grabbed a stick for a crutch and made my way to the wall.

I leaned and dropped the stick, then took hold of a vine and pulled myself up. Using only one leg certainly made it take longer, but it was still possible to climb. I found the loop I had left there, somewhat thankful that I had left so many around the walls, and linked my arm through it. I quickly set to work creating new loops, climbing as I did.

I got about halfway up and took a break. It certainly was harder without one leg. Sitting in a larger loop, I pulled out a pair of binoculars I had "borrowed" from the homestead and looked around the glade. At this point, I imagined Gally would be trying to find me in the Deadheads. He probably thought I was just hiding at this point. Perhaps I should have left some sort of note. It was useless now. I was already halfway up, and I wasn't going to do that again.

After a moment of contemplation and rest, I started climbing again. This particular path was more difficult to snag the vine at, so I had left it hung. That's why I chose this path. I quickly reached the top and sat on the wall, my ankle throbbing.

After another quick look at the Glade, I took off, running as best as I could along the wall. My ankle hurt with every step, but running was easier on it than walking had been. There was less time spent with weight on the foot, and only a little more pressure. I imagine I probably looked a bit goofy, limping through a sprint. While I had been a runner, I had memorized the maps of the maze, so I knew easily where I was going.

I felt a slight tug in my chest and stopped. What the shuck was that? Did I actually want to stay? Perhaps, but I had to ignore it. As well as possible. I limped on, headed toward the cliff. I honestly had no idea why I was at the cliff. I guess I'd have to get used to blaming stuff on instinct. I looked up to see the sun. That too-orange sun.

I suddenly wondered if any of this was real. I slapped myself. Of course it was real. I headed toward the edge of the maze, not sure if I should actually try to reach the glade before nightfall. I had been out here at night before, after everyone went to sleep. The Grievers stayed on the ground.

I got a sudden thought. Did Gally still think I was playing with him? Would he tell if he didn't? Why was I suddenly so worried about Gally? It just didn't make sense. Then again, neither did much else at the time.

I reached the edge and stopped. There was a taller wall around the edge, with no vines. I remembered this quite well, in fact, I often tried to climb it. Admittedly I never had long to try. I had fewer hours for it than in the day, considering that I had to make it back before morning. And I could never go out two nights in a row.

Now I had forever, though. All day minus time to eat and time to sleep. Oh, and time to steal some food.

I started running my hand along the wall, trying to find a handhold among the cracks. My hand slipped into one and I pulled to test the stability, and it held. I pulled harder. A slab of the rock suddenly moved with it. I stepped back, falling as I landed on my bad foot. The rock had moved. I got up and started pulling again.

A slab of rock about the size of a door moved aside, revealing a view of much nicer halls than the homestead had had. I stepped inside and looked around. The rock closed behind me and I heard footsteps. My head followed my ears and I saw a woman approaching. My hand went to my hip.

"Eliot," she said with a sweet smile as she stopped. "There is no reason to reach for a blade. I'm here to help you." She spoke with a french accent. I backed away, raising a hand to point at her.

"You're a Creator, aren't you?" I said in an accusing tone as my other hand silently pulled a sword out of its sheath.

She nodded. "In your Glade slang, yes, that would be me."

"Why?" I asked.

Her head tilted. "Why what, dear?"

"Everything. Why did you make this place? Why put children in it? Why drop me with a bunch of boys?! Why everything!" I growled as I yelled at her. It did the trick. She seemed actually somewhat scared now, though her smile was still in place.

"You'll know soon enough," she responded. "For now, we need to get you ready for your job."

"Who says I'll take your klunk job for me?" I asked, glaring at her.

"Because we'll tell you the truth," she said. "And the truth will easily convince you."

She started to walk away, obviously expecting me to follow her. A few minutes later, my curiosity finally got the best of me. I followed her. There was a crutch (a good one, not a stick) by a set of stairs and she offered it to me. I took it and followed her down what felt like a million stairs. Sheesh, giant moving stone walls and no elevator? Wonderful.

Even I was tired when we reached the bottom. She showed me to a room and went in. Again, I followed. Inside was a bedroom, with a proper bed, a wardrobe, and creamy tan wallpaper. There was a door opposite of the wardrobe that was opened to reveal a peach-coloured bathroom. Everything seemed to be either creamy tan or peach coloured, except the wardrobe, nightstand, and bed frame.

"Clean yourself up, then go to sleep," the lady said. "We'll come get you in the morning to explain. There's a nightgown in the wardrobe, and a laundry shoot under the nightstand. There are also feminine products in the bathroom if you need them."

"Feminine products?" I looked at her strangely. For the first time, she seemed upset.

"Oh goodness," she said, shaking her head. "I forgot you were barren. My apologies. I'm sure you won't need to worry about it, then." She smiled again and started to leave.

"Wait," I said.

She turned back to me. "Yes?"

"I never got your name," I stated.

"It's Beatrice," she said. Then she left.

Beatrice. That was a good creator, then. I went to the bathroom and took a shower, then returned to the room, wrapped in a towel. The wardrobe did indeed hold a nightgown. The only green things in the room, I supposed, were the clothes. Or at least the gowns and shirts. The pants were like the wallpaper.

I slipped a nightgown over my head and lay on the bed, not wanting to hide under the covers yet. There, laying like that, I fell asleep.