Trials Together (Book One): The Maze Runner

Chapter 2

Cheers went up around them, Thomas still didn't quite understand what was going on but the people seemed nice.
Everyone started to disperse, some shaking his or Rachel's hands. Eventually leaving Thomas and Rachel with Alby, Harriet and another boy and girl.

"Shall we get Chuck and Flo to show 'em the ropes?" The new girl asked, she was very pale with long reddish blond hair, "medis are having a bit of trouble with Ben and Rosa so we can't stay long."
As if on cue there was an incoherent scream from the ramshackle building in one corner of the Glade, he thought he had heard someone call it the Homestead.

"Can't they look after them for five minutes?" The boy wondered aloud, he was taller than everyone else despite limping and had blonde hair brushing his shoulders, he spoke with a strange accent Thomas didn't recognise. The two of them definitely resembled each other, siblings perhaps?
"Apparently not." Harriet sighed, turning to Thomas and Rachel, "you two go find Chuck and Flo and say we said they are going to find you a place to sleep. They're the two twelve year olds."
She waved them off and they hurried away, this place was weird.

After a few minutes of walking there was another scream, even worse than the last, again coming from the same building.

"Should we go check that out?" Thomas asked Rachel, she was staring around their surroundings with intense concentration, as if attempting to commit it all to memory.

"I'm not sure..." She trailed off, Thomas wasn't sure if she was entirely listening to him. He set off in the direction of the Homestead, filled with a morbid curiosity to learn who was screaming and why.

Walking inside the place was decrepit, Thomas could hear Rachel following him and wondered why she had bothered, maybe she needed to know too. Halfway to the stairs the black-haired boy from earlier jumped in front of him, the same look of hatred on his face.

"You ain't allowed up there Greenie, newbies aren't allowed to see someone who's been taken."

"Oh, let 'em up Gally," it was the same girl who had been with the boy - Gally earlier, "they'll only do it once and it's their own fault if Alby gets mad at 'em."

Gally gave a smile that for some reason made Thomas think of a crocodile but stepped aside, he started up the stairs, conscious of dozens of eyes on him.

"Thomas maybe we shouldn't go up there." Rachel warned as Thomas approached the only door with light coming from underneath, he held a finger to his lips and pushed it open.

Newt and Alby were leaning over one of two beds, the girl on the other was still, blankets pulled up to her chin, asleep or dead, Thomas couldn't tell.

He leaned closer to the other bed caught sight of a sickly pale boy writhing in agony, his veins green and skin bruised.

Alby jumped up, blocking Thomas's view and shoving him out of the room, Rachel had already gone back down.

"What're you doing here Greenie?" Alby demanded, looking livid, "I wanted to see what's going on." It was a feeble excuse and Thomas knew it but couldn't come up with better.

"Get back downstairs, if I see you before tomorrow I'll throw you off the Cliff. D'you hear me?" Thomas retreated to the end of the hallway.

"Yes." He conceded.

"Good, and go find that girl you came up with, she seems to have the common sense outta the pair of you." Alby slammed back into the room and Thomas took a deep breath. He went down the stairs and out the door, ignoring all the stares and a chuckle that probably came from Gally. Rachel was waiting outside.

He hated all these people, Thomas decided, except for Rachel.

"Come on," she held out a hand that he didn't take, "let's go find those kids like they told us."

Thomas followed Rachel across the field, not talking, he wanted desperately to wake up from this terrible dream.
"What do you think that is?" Rachel asked Thomas, pointing to the gigantic walls, as they got closer to one of the openings there were poles sticking out of one side and round holes on the other, probably used to close them but what could move something so big?
"No idea, looks like a very big door through to a very big corridor."
"Funny Thomas," Rachel smiled. Yes, she was the only one he didn't hate.

Thomas studied her profile in the sunlight, she wasn't familiar to him but something told him she should be, like a tune that you could not match with a song. It was frustrating.

She seemed kind and he already liked her, felt that he could trust her with anything, despite having only just met her.

Two kids came over to them, a boy and a girl who both looked about twelve, probably the same ones Harriet had told them to look for.
"You can't go through there," The girl said, "only runners are allowed in the maze."
"Maze?" Rachel asked, how could the gigantic walls be a maze?
"Yeah a maze," the boy said, "come on you two, you go through there and Newt and Sonya will have us in the Slammer for not working properly."

"Who are Newt and Sonya?" Thomas asked, Harriet had said some of them had weird names but he was pretty sure a newt was a type of lizard. Sonya was a normal name at least.
"The boy and girl talking to you with Harriet and Alby." The boy explained, holding out his hand. "I'm Chuck, this is Flo." He pointed to the girl. "We were new last month, it gets easier, though you two are doing way better than most." Thomas shook the boy's hand.

"I'm Thomas, that's Rachel, Harriet said you two needed to find us somewhere to sleep." Thomas introduced himself, he had a lot of questions but didn't ask them quite yet, curiosity didn't seem to end well.
"Okay then." Flo said, "beds first or food first? Your choice."
"I pick food," Rachel said then turned to Thomas, "what about you?"
"Food is fine," Thomas answered. It seemed waking up in a lift with no memories gave you an appetite.
"Come on then, kitchen is that way." Chuck said, pointing to another smaller wooden building and walking in its direction with the other three following.

A/N: Opinion poll for if anyone is actually reading this: Should I kill Rachel or not, I can write both endings, and if you could vote on non-slash pairings you would like to see it would be much appreciated.

I also remembered to write the changing scene this time around, success!