𝙿𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚜 / 𝙽𝚎𝚠𝚝𝚡𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛

2

Y/n's pov:

"So...wanna have a good look around?" the blond English boy asks me.

"Sure I guess. Lead the way..."

"Well first of all there's the Homestead, where some of the boys sleep. It also contains the kitchen. The Gathering is held in a room in the Homestead. At the back of the Homestead is the Slammer, a place that functions as a jail. You should try not to get into any trouble. You get no food if you end up in the Slammer."

"Will I have to sleep with all of you?"

"For now, yes, but I'm sure we'll get you your own place to stay cause...you know, you're a girl."

"Don't worry, I'll manage."

"Great, up next there are the gardens. The crops are grown here. Some Gladers sleep here sometimes."

"By the way...what's your job?" I asked him, curious to know more about him.

"I'm the second in command of the Gladers, therefore I'm your boss." he replies with a slight smirk.

"You're not intimidating at all."

"I don't have to be. I'm respected either way. I can't wait to see of what use you'll end up being."

"Yeah, me too. What are all the jobs anyway?"

"Well, there's the first and second in command, the runners, builders, cooks, slicers, blood housers, track hoes, gardeners, med-jaks, sloppers, or as I'd like to say, pains in my ass, brickniks, baggers, and lastly map-makers."

"I didn't understand a word." I say . "But you can go on with the tour!"

"You'll get used to this eventually, moving on though! We have the Deadheads, that forest there that's like a graveyard, and the Blood House where the livestock's raised, got that?"

"Yup. So when do I get a job?"

"It will be determined for sure in about two weeks. You'll go through everything and end up with what you're best at."

"How come you're second in command?"

"Well I used to be a runner, when Alby was second, but then Nick died and Alby made me the second in command since we came up here together."

"Were you one of the first people to arrive here?"

"Correct, N/n."

"N/n...?"

"Nickname for you I just made up."

"Wait, wait, so you were a runner? That means you've been in the maze?"

"Well, yeah, a couple of times."

"What happened?"

"Hm?"

"Why aren't you a runner anymore?"

"That's a story for another day, shank."

"Shank?" I asked tilting my head. Even though I had no memories of my life before waking up in that metal box I knew for sure that that word did not exist. Well, at least not for everyone.

"Means friend, Greenie. You've got a long~ way to go."

"Who said we were friends...?"

"Oh, well, friends or not, you're still stuck with me and the rest of the guys."

"Right...so what's the maze-like? Why are only the runners allowed to go there?"

"I see you've taken quite an interest in it...it sucks that I can't provide you with much information. The maze opens and closes at the exact same time each day. Everyday. The runners are the ones who go into the maze right when it opens, run as much of it as they can, and then they come back. If they don't they get stuck there with the grievers."

"Grievers...?"

"Monsters. Hungry unusual beasts. No one has ever survived a night in the maze to provide us with more information."

"What stops them from coming here at daytime?"

"I...don't know. As long as they don't come here I don't care either."

"And at night, can't they climb up those walls?"

"They never have, so I suppose not..."

"Interesting."

"You're an odd one, Y/n."

"What makes you say that? Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I'm odd you prick!"

"That's not what I meant by it. Let's end the tour then, this here is the Box. Once a month, we get a Newbie like you, never fails. Once a week, we get supplies, clothes, and some food. Ain't needin' a lot- pretty much run ourselves in the Glade."

We both stared at the Box, which was closed at the moment. Double doors of metal lying flat on the ground, covered in white paint, faded and cracked.

"Ever tried staying in the box so that it will go down with you?"

"Tried to send a slinthead Greenie back in the
Box one time--thing wouldn't move till we took him out."

"Oh wow...then those creators must be keeping a close eye on us."

"Come on, I'll show ya something."

The boy gestures his hand for me to follow him. I go after him only to end up in the little forest they called the Deadheads. There were in fact quite a couple of gravestones around.

"Look closely at the tree," he tells me, pointing at one in front of me.

I moved closer to the tree and inspected it, waiting for something interesting to happen.

"There's nothing here..."

"Wait for it. It'll come around for sure."

"Come around?"

A metallic clicking sound from the branches above grabbed my attention, made me look up; a flash of silver and red light caught my eyes just before disappearing around the trunk to the other side. I walked over to where the thing went, craning my neck.

"There it is!

"Whoa, what is that?" I ask Newt looking bewildered at a little mechanical lizard-looking creature that was crawling down on the tree.

"That is a beetle blade. Small metal creatures created by the people who sent us here to spy on us."

"Can I touch it?"

"I suggest you do not. Won't hurt ya unless you're stupid enough to touch one of them."

"Quite freakish."

"I know, right? Incredible either way."

"I guess you can say that...after all, everything about this place seems incredible."

"I'd call it surreal. The whole losing your memory to the point where you only know your name is...unbelievable."

"Newt, is there really a way out of this place?"

"Our only hope is the maze. I see no point in creating that only for it to not have an exit."