If There Is A Light

Chapter 37

"Over there we've got the builders. Very good with their hands, but then not a lot goin' on upstairs. And then we got Winston, he's the keeper of the slicers, and we got two med-jacks: Clint and Jeff." Newt began pointing everyone out.

"Right here. What's up?"

"Yo, Newt." Clint and Jeff had impeccable timing. Newt gave them a quick nod and smile of acknowledgement as they walked past the two.

Newt turned back to the Greenie who was following him and trying to take in everything, "They spend most of their time bandaging up the slicers."

"What if I want to be a runner?"

Newt chuckled, "Have you listened to a word I just said? No... no one wants to be a runner. And besides, you got to get chosen."

"Get chosen by who?" He had been focused on taking in his surroundings and noting the people that Newt was pointing out that he really had not been paying attention to what had not been highlighted in the casual tour. Newt quickly backed away when the new kid was shoved forward by one of the gladers who had just been thrown around himself.

"Whoa!" He straightened himself out and then locked eyes with his least favorite new roommate, Gally.

"Huh? What do you say, Greenie? Want to see what you're made of?" Gally propositioned.

The Gladers (starting with Clint), began chanting 'Greenie!'. He really did not want to be thrown into the pointless wrestling, it was probably just a ploy for Gally to relieve some stress, but the thought of possibly of taking down the bully was a pleasant one.

All he did was take a small step forward, but that was all it took. Cheering erupted and the crowd of boys circled around them so they all had a good view and in the process creating a makeshift ring. He listened as Gally started to explain what was going to happen, "All right. The rules are simple, Greenie. I try and push you out of the circle and you try and last more than five seconds... Ready?" And with that the two started trying to out man each other.

Newt had kind of dazed out at that point. He was laughing and cheering along with the rest, but his mind was elsewhere. He was still on the fact that the new kid on the block wanted to take on not only Gally, but the maze as well. Newt had been able to tell almost immediately that he was going to be different, and thus far he had been right. Most of the Gladers that wrestled with Gally were either half-lit or good friends... most of the greenies that were told the horror story of the maze were immediately deterred from exploring and starting regarding the runners as the cool kids in the group. That had not been this Greenie's mindset.

"Thomas. Thomas. !" He immediately recovered from his head wound and scrambled to his feet, "I remember my name. I'm Thomas!"

Newt smiled at the outburst that brought him from his inner thoughts. Albby pointed and yelled the name, "Thomas!" The mood in the Glade changed from just being a party to a real welcoming. Newt cheered with them, remembering your name was a big thing in the Glade. He just barely heard the words 'Welcome home, Thomas' and his genuine smiled turned into a fake one... Those words should have brought him comfort in knowing that their new arrival had a place amongst his family and friends, but instead it was a bitter reminder of their damnation.