𝙿𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚜 / 𝙽𝚎𝚠𝚝𝚡𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛

1

She began her new life standing up, surrounded by cold darkness and stale, dusty air.

Metal ground against metal; a lurching shudder shook the floor beneath her. She fell down at the sudden movement and shuffled backward on her hands and feet, drops of sweat beading on her forehead despite the cool air.

Her back struck a hard metal wall; she slid along it until she hit the corner of the room. Sinking to the floor, she pulled her legs up tight against her body, hoping her eyes would soon adjust to the darkness.

With another jolt, the room jerked upward like an old lift in a mine shaft.

Harsh sounds of chains and pulleys, like the workings of an ancient steel factory, echoed through the room, bouncing off the walls with a hollow, tinny whine. The lightless elevator swayed back and forth as it ascended, turning the girls's stomach sour with nausea; a smell like burnt oil invaded her senses, making her feel worse. She wanted to cry, but no tears came; she could only sit there, alone, waiting.

My name...what is my name? she thought.

She didn't understand how this was possible. She didn't know where she comes from, who her parents were, heck, she doesn't even remember her own name. Blurry images flash through her mind as the lift keeps ascending, the metal clanking being the only audible thing besides her heavy breathing.

Curiosity took over the girl. She squirmed around the dark metal box, trying to find something. She hoped for a source of light, but nothing of the sort was found.

Minutes passed and Y/n found herself sitting against the walls yet again, darkness still surrounding her.

Realization soon hit her in the head. She was stuck in a metal moving box that was leading here somewhere. But where?

"Someone...please...help me!!!" those words were the only ones able to escape her mouth, ripping her throat.

A loud clank was finally heard above her signaling the sudden stop of the lift.

Rays of sunshine started to fill up the place until the blinding sun came into view.

"No bloody way..."

Those were the first words the girl has heard. Her hand was covering her eyes, making her unable to see her surroundings and the person who muttered those words.

"What is it? " another unfamiliar voice echoed.

"It's... it's a girl!"

"What?!" many more voices roared.

"Let me see!... Holy shuck...the Greenie is a girl!"

Letting her hand fall off her face Y/n was met with a couple of new faces, all staring down at her like she was an exquisite animal in a cage.

"Need a hand, Greenie?" a blond boy asked the girl. She reluctantly nodded her head, wanting so desperately to get out of that box, longing for answers.

The boy easily pulled her out of the "cage" that brought her up there.

"Where am I?" she asked as soon as she got a look around, still holding the guys' hand.

"Welcome to hell, Greenie. You came in a little late, but nothing to worry about!" another man replied to her.

"No thanks, i wanna go home." and with that she jumped back into the lift.

Some dudes chucked at her actions while the other half facepalmed.

"This ain't gonna take me back home...is it?"

"Bingo. Now get out." the same blondie said, extending his hand yet again for her to take.

But this time she got herself out, climbing out using the hanging rope. After her legs hit the soft grass she started running.

And she ran.

She ran.

And she ran as quickly as she could.

That until she found herself plunging face-first into the grass, hitting her head harshly.

While she winced in pain, clutching the part of her head that got hurt, the guys caught up to her.

"Where do you think you're going, Greenie?"

"It's not Greenie..."

"Hm?"

"It's...it's..."

"Come here. Hello, Greenie. My name's Alby. I'm in charge of this place...welcome to The Glade. This is your new home starting today."

"No... it's not Greenie...its...its Y/n!"

"That was quicker than I thought. Well then, welcome to the Glade, Y/n."

"I almost thought we've got another runner." a black-haired Asian boy said from behind Alby. "Hey there, I'm Minho."

"How did I get here? What is this place? And why are there no girls?"

"Easy, easy. You were sent here by the creators, or at least that's what we call them. We do not know much about them or why we were chosen to be sent here, but we do know that everyone arrived here in the same manner. We all found ourselves in that metal box one day with no memories whatsoever. This place is surrounded by what we suppose is a maze. We have yet to explore it." Alby trailed off, explaining everything to the clueless girl who furrowed her brows, trying to take in all this information and process it.

"And about me being the only girl...?"

"That's just how it is. You're the first one. We get a new Greenie every month, so you're probably not the last...i hope."

"And how do we get out of here?"

"Good question. We don't." another guy with weird eyebrows spat out. "I'm Gally."

Every single one of the 35 boys introduced themselves to Y/n.

Y/n's pov:

I didn't pay that much attention to the guys who were introducing themselves. The only names I remembered were Alby, Minho and Newt.

The words the boy said earlier kept running through my head. We're not getting out of here...

Those words made me sick to my stomach.

"Y/n! Come here!" Alby called out to me while I was looking around.

"Yeah?"

"Newt here will give you a tour of the place, but before that you must know our rules."

"Go on."

"Bet ya she'll be a slopper." the guy with the squared jaw and weird eyebrows, Gally if I'm right, whispered to another boy.

"Shut it, shuck-face! She didn't even get the tour yet!"

"Shuck-face? That's a funny word." I giggled at their language. It's like they're inventing their own words. That was a bit disorienting.

"Well, rules are simple, never go inside the maze unless you're a runner, never hurt another Glader. We have to trust each other, and last, everyone does their part, no slackers." Alby instructed.

"Got it...so, what's my job?"

"We've got yet to find out."