Maze Runner - Relentless

II

Me...

"How is he?"

"Just resting."

"Alright, watch him closely Chuck."

Voices fade in and out as I slowly come to. My nose picks up the smell of burning wood and something that reminds me of food, which makes my stomach growl. I can feel the soft cushion of whatever it is I'm laying on and I blink a few times before getting a good look around. 

I'm in a tent, held up by four wooden posts and covered by a big green tarp. I look down at what I'm laying on and identify it as a cot. Before I can notice anything else a voice scares the living daylights out of me.

"Nice to see you're awake!"

I whip my head in the direction of the voice, and the room spins a little. Standing before me is a young boy. He has to be at least 12. He looks at me with big brown eyes and a mop of curly hair. He offers me a toothy grin and I return it as best as I can. 

"Where am I?" I ask, in need of some kind of answer to calm me down.

The chubby boy points to the land around us which I remember hearing people call "the glade". 

"You're in the glade." The boy answers as I expected. "It's our safe haven."

"From what?" I can't help but feel unsatisfied with the answers I've been given so far. I do sorta feel bad to demand answers, but in my defense, I have no memory of literally anything, and a 12-year-old kid is currently acting as supervision and medical care towards me.  There are many things wrong with this situation. 

"It's not important." The boy answers my question with a statement that sounds like utter bullshit to me. "Point is you're safe." 

The idea of being safe right now is neither convincing nor helpful or calming. 

My thoughts of misery and anxiety are interrupted by the boy's hand which pulls a bandage that I hadn't noticed, off my head. I must've hit my head pretty hard because I notice a small stain of blood on the cloth. 

The boy places the bandage to the side and studies what must be a cut on my forehead. "You know Newt thought maybe you had the chops to be a runner... till you face-planted." 

"What's a runner?" 

"Nothin'," the boy says simply.

I sigh. "Well, who brought me here?"

The boy shrugs cluelessly, " No one knows. The box comes up once every other week with supplies, then once a month." He pauses and looks me up and down "With a new greenie."

I remember hearing someone call me that when I got here. At the time I was busy freaking out to pay attention or care, but now I'm slightly curious. 

"So are all the people here boys?" I ask having noticed the group of boys when I arrived and the occasional one walking by the tent. 

The freckled boy shrugs. "Pretty much. There's only one girl here. But you probably won't meet her till later." 

I want to ask more but decide to give it a rest. "So, what's your name?" I decide to ask instead.

The boy smiles. "Chuck. How bout' you?"

"Um..." I go to answer but realize that I can't remember my own name. I awkwardly laugh and rub the back of my neck. 

"What, you forgot?" Chuck laughs. 

I sigh "Would you believe me if I said yes?" 

"Yeah. It happens a lot actually. I was just messing with you." Chuck grins widely.