I woke up to the sound of a rooster crowing.
Not wanting to open my eyes, I groaned and turned over in my sleeping bag. I'd been having a dream. A real strange one. People in white lab coats leaning over me, shackles restraining my wrists... Was it a dream, or something more, like... a memory? And the words. The same words, repeated in my head over and over. WICKED is good. What the heck?
Never mind that.
I relaxed, about to fall back into the Land of Sleep.
"Rise and shine, Greenie."
My eyes flew open.
Newt was leaning down in front of me, his face barely a few inches from mine. I stifled a strangled scream and shot into a sitting position. "Dude, what the crap? You can't do that? Why are you in my room?"
He laughed. "What, don't like seeing my face first thing in the morning?"
I scrambled out of my sleeping bag and got to my feet, glaring. "Not particularly, no." I looked him up and down. Thankfully, he'd put on a shirt. "Why are you here?"
He crossed his arms. "You're a Glader now. We have to work together, girl or not. Those things don't matter when you're here. So you have to slim it and bloody deal with it."
I mirrored his expression. "Fine."
"Did you sleep well?"
"I did until you woke me up." A half truth, at least. But, I supposed, if I wanted answers, I'd have to be up and ready for the Tour.
He frowned at me. "You did better than most Greenies, then. At least three-quarters of the guys here spent their first nights crying and klunking their pants." He folded his arms. "If you want answers, you'll need to get up for the Tour. You're already late."
"What? What time is it?" I ran to the window. The sun was just rising. I looked at Newt, furious. "You want me to get up this early every day? Is this how things work here?"
"Alby's waiting for you," was all he said.
I put on my shoes and ran downstairs.
It turned out that the Tour consisted mainly of Alby walking me around the Glade and pointing out everything. Oh, and him telling me that if I talked before he was done, he'd throw me off the Cliff. Real pleasant guy.
As long as I didn't get a job as a Slicer or a Bagger.
Near the end of the Tour, Alby dragged me around the walls. He showed me the four doors, then stopped at the East Door.
"You never, ever, go into the Maze, all right?"
I set my jaw. "Are you going to tell me why?"
"Because you'll be shucking dead before you can regret it!" Alby snapped. "Now promise me! You won't go into the Maze!"
"What about those guys--"
"They're Runners." Alby looked irritated at finally answering one of my questions. "They're the only ones who are allowed to go. They run the Maze and map it, try to figure out the way to escape this place. They're the strongest, fastest, smartest, and the best out of all of us."
"Oh." I wondered why Newt wasn't one, then. "Okay. I won't go into the Maze." Maybe.
"Good that." Alby looked slightly relieved. "All right. You can ask questions now. Just don't blame me if you die from overwhelment."
"Good that." I grinned. "So what's in the Maze?"
Alby looked as if he would have enjoyed punching me right then. "You crossed the line. You'll learn when you're ready."
