To The Shucking End

Chapter 2

"Light it up!" Tanya called as she and the rest of the Keepers threw flaming spears into the bottom of the bonfire as it erupted into flames, and they all cheered. Sometimes the only thing that got them through the month was waiting for the next Greenie to come up, so they'd get to throw a massive party.

Most people used it as an excuse to get drunk from Gally's secret moonshine recipe, which was a fair reason. He only ever made it for a bonfire seeing as the guys would find a way to get into any stash he had and then they wouldn't be able to do their jobs. A Slicer almost lost his hand once because he drank an entire jar of Gally's moonshine and Alby almost outright banned it until Tanya offered up the once-a-month solution.

Others liked the fact that they got let off work earlier and got time to relax and play stupid games or see if they could beat Gally in a fight.

The only reason Gally fought so often was because when he first got into a fight with Alby when he first came up in the Box, he'd hit his head on the ground and he'd remembered his name. Over and over again, the Greenies remembered their names after a little bump to the head or shove to the ground. They had yet to remember more than just their names but that was the excuse Gally used to keep fighting people once a month.

Tanya enjoyed dancing with Frypan and the Med-jacks around the fire as some of the boys beat on overturned buckets and bins. At least until they all started chanting her name because they wanted to see Gally put in his place. She may not have been as strong as the other boys, but she was damn fast and agile too, with a knack for building these little inventive solutions for whatever problems they ran into. Minho even asked her input for his construction of a model of the Maze, and the girl more than eager to help.

The second she learned of the Maze they were stuck in, she began wishing for a way out. Even more so when they lost their first Greenie to the Maze when he didn't make it back in time.

Minho volunteered to run, to map the Maze and find a way out. And anything Tanya could do to help him, she'd jump at.

But three years in and they were slowly starting to lose hope.

The rest of the Gladers made it easier, especially during the bonfire. They were fun and they made for a good distraction from worrying about the Maze or the monsters inside. They all followed Alby's philosophy where they had each other's backs. They were family.

Especially her, Newt, Minho, Gally and Alby.

They were the first five up in the Box.

They took care of each other.

Especially her and Gally, because that was the first thing he promised her.

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Fear was the first thing Tanya remembered feeling when she woke up in the Box.

Her heart was racing, and her chest was heaving as the Box raced upwards, her mind completely blank of any sort of memories as she saw the doors above her and the Box crashed to a stop, knocking her off her feet.

The light was blinding as the heavy doors opened and the metal grate of the Box was hard underneath her as she covered her eyes, too scared to look up as she cowered into the corner of the Box.

"It's a girl," she heard a voice say, a voice she would know to be Newt's.

"What are we going to do with a shucking girl? There ain't no mirrors or pretty dresses to keep her entertained round here," remarked the voice that belonged to Minho.

"Girl or not, she's one of us now. So, let's get her out of there," said Alby.

She remembered the sound of the doors creaking open as her eyes adjusted to the light and one of the boys jumped down into the Box, making her grab the first thing she could reach, which was the handle of a machete.