Sacrifice

Chapter Two

One Year Ago 

"Hello?" Newt called as he walked through the woods. "Are you there?" 

He felt a little ridiculous calling out for the girl when he didn't even know her name. 

It had been twenty minutes since Newt, Alby and Minho had decided to split up to look for the girl, hoping they would find her faster. Alby had given the other boys strict instructions to not look for her. If they did see the girl, though, they were to get either him, Newt or Minho. So far, no one had come to get Newt, so he assumed no one had found her yet. 

"Hello!" he called again. "Look, if you can hear me, I'm sorry about Gally. He's a bit of an arse, I know, but I promise we're here to help." 

"Newt." came a timid voice. 

"Yes." Newt looked around for the owner of the female voice. 

"Up here." 

Newt tilted his head back and saw that the girl had climbed up a tree and hidden herself among the branches. He felt tempted to laugh at his own stupidity. Why hadn't he thought she might hide up in a tree? 

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked. 

"I don't think so." 

"Do you want to come down?" 

"No." Newt heard a crack in her voice. It sounded like she was on the verge of tears. 

"Is it alright if I come up?" he asked. 

The girl hesitated, but for some reason chose to trust this boy that she didn't know. She nodded and gestured him to come up. Newt took a moment to mentally plan out how he was going to climb this tree. He hadn't climbed anything in a long while, not since his early days in the Maze. Once he climbed up, he seated himself on a strong looking branch that was across from the girl so they sat face-to-face. 

 Newt didn't know what to say. Something told him that asking her if she was okay again wouldn't suffice. Though sometimes, silence was the best you could give someone, as long as they knew you were there for them. 

"Why can't I remember anything?" the girl finally asked. 

"I don't know," Newt answered. "I wish I could tell you, but none of us remember anything before coming here. Can you tell me your name?" 

The girl shook her head. 

"That's alright," Newt assured. "Your name will come back to you in a day or two." 

"Really?" 

 "Yeah, it may take some time." Newt explained. "It took over a day for me to remember mine, but it'll happen. It's the one thing they let us keep." 

"They?" 

"The people who put us here." Newt answered. "Some of the boys call them 'Creators.'" 

"What is this place?" 

"Right here, we call this place the Glade." Newt explained. "It's where we live." 

"How long have you guys been here?" 

"Two years. We don't know how or why; all he know is that every month the Box delivers supplies and a new kid with no memories." 

"I'm guessing they're usually boys." 

"Yeah, this is the first time the Box has delivered...not a boy." 

"That guy Gally doesn't seem to like me." 

"Don't take it personally." Newt assured. "Gally means well, he's just not very good at adjusting to change. He'll warm up to you." 

Then they were silent again. Newt didn't push her to say anything, letting her have a moment to process everything that's happened to her. Then the girl couldn't contain her emotions anymore and finally began to cry. Newt let her; he learned over the years that it was best to let the Greenies deal with their emotions upon coming out of the Box. He reached over and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, letting her know that it was okay, and that he was here for her. 

A few moments later she got her breathing back under control and calmed herself down. She looked up at Newt, her eyes red. 

 "I'm sorry." she said, feeling embarrassed breaking down in front of a stranger. 

 "Don't be." Newt assured. "I'd be more worried if you didn't cry. To be honest, you're handling it a lot better than some of the other boys did. You haven't klunked yourself." 

 The girl gave him a confused look. 

"Never mind." Newt said, feeling slightly embarrassed. 

The girl smiled. 

"Listen, um, we can't very well stay up in this tree forever." Newt said. "I mean, it's a nice view, but sleeping arrangements might get a bit uncomfortable." 

 The girl laughed. 

"I suppose you're right." she said. "Then there's the added risk of accidentally rolling off the branches in our sleep and falling to our deaths." 

"That would be a rather rude awakening." Newt agreed. 

The two teens laughed and began descending from the tree. Newt intended to be a gentleman and help the girl down, only to realize she was a better climber and had to guide him down at one point. 

"There you are, you Shanks." Newt heard Minho say as soon as his feet touched ground. 

"This is Minho." Newt said, introducing them. "I promise that when he doesn't have his head up his arse he's half-decent." 

"Don't forget handsome." Minho added. 

"Debatable." Newt retorted. 

"Pleasure to meet you, Girly." Minho said, shaking the girl's hand. 

"Girly?" 

"Would you prefer Greenie?" Minho asked. 

"And who are you to call me Girly?" she replied. 

"The man you've been waiting for all your life." 

The girl replied by shoving Minho's shoulder. The boy gripped his shoulder and pretended to be in pain. 

"Alright, enough you two." Newt said, barely containing his laughter. 

Just then, Alby found the three teens as they stood in a circle laughing. 

"Hey guys." he greeted. Then he turned to the girl and shook her hand. "You must be the newbie. I'm Alby." 

"Hi." she replied. 

"I heard you had a difficult greeting." Alby continued. "I'm really sorry about that. I just want you to know that I've spoken with the others, no one's going to bother you. If any of them give you any trouble come to me, Newt, Minho, or any of the other Keepers." 

"Thank you." she said, feeling a thousand times better than when she first woke up. 

"Come on," Alby said. "Let me give you the tour." 

Despite the fact that the girl thought Alby was trustworthy, she still found herself turning to Newt for assurance. Newt nodded encouragingly before the girl turned to follow Alby. 

Minho raised an eyebrow. 

************* 

The girl cried herself to sleep that night in the private tent in the Homestead the boys have given her. But she was sure that if she made too much noise, it would wake some of the sleeping Gladers. Crying in front of Newt was enough for her. 

As she lay in the dark tent alone, she couldn't help but recall waking up in the Box. All alone, having no memories, feeling completely helpless. Screaming at the top of her lungs, hoping someone would hear her. 

Newt had been the one to pull her out of the darkness. He had offered her friendship and comfort. At the campfire she had stuck with him and Minho (Thanks to him, everyone had adopted the term Girly now). Newt had introduced her to the Keepers and some of the other Gladers, including Jack, a young boy who had arrived in the Glade the previous month. His age surprised her; he looked only about twelve-years-old. Most of the other boys were closer to sixteen or seventeen. Jack was a lively kid who made her feel more at ease. He even did his best at what sounded like a cheesy pick-up line. 

 Somehow sleep eventually found her. Thankfully there were no dreams to haunt her.