Maze Runner: The Subject Experiment

4 ❀ Glade Rules

Alby watched as the new greenie climbed the last ladder up to the top of the watch tower. Her long hair gave out a golden glow as the sunlight passed through it.

She gazed upon her new leader. He was tall and dark-skinned, every attribute exuding confidence and control. No wonder the others saw him as a figure of authority.

"Hello, greenbean. I must say I'm impressed-"

Impressed? I did something impressive?

"-no one's ever taken that long to climb up here. Did you stop for a break halfway up?"

His face was serious. The girl stopped in her tracks. "...No?"

Alby's face turned smug. "You should see your terrified face."

The greenie mustered up all her courage and asked firmly, "You're Ably, the one in charge of this place, right?"

"That, I am. I see you've already met Newt. When I'm not around he's the one who's in charge." Alby folded his muscular arms. "Now, you might want to sit down. I'm going to need you to concentrate, hard." He proceeded to sit down on the wooden planks, holding his hand out to indicate where she should sit.

"Why do I need to concentrate?" she questioned after taking a seat, facing him.

"Because I'm going to ask you some questions. Take your time and don't rush your answers. Can you tell me anything about yourself? Who you are? Where you came from?"

"Of course I know who I am. It's you people I know nothing about."

Alby sat up in a flash, his eyes intent and staring into hers suspiciously. "Then, please, enlighten me. We need all the information you have. Anything you know is of value to us."

The girl opened her mouth to tell him everything, who she was and where she came from. It was easy, until she realised she had no idea. She began to panic. How could she be so stupid, of course she knew who she was. How could she not remember anything?

"I...I don't understand," she stuttered. "I...don't know! How can I not know who I am?"

Alby's face grew less interested and he sighed. "Just take it easy. Do you remember anything at all?"

She gasped, "No!" She was shouting now. How had she not noticed? She hadn't even realised until now. It hadn't occurred to her to think about who she was. Who you are is one of those things a person just knows. She'd just assumed she knew. And now all she knew was that she had forgotten her entire past, her entire identity. Her world was spinning.

"For a minute there I thought we might get something useful out of you. Turns out you're like the rest of us," Alby muttered with frustration. "What about your name?"

Panic set in. She was shaking and tears began to well up in her eyes. She shook her head.

"Hey, just relax okay. What you're experiencing right now, it's happened to all of us. You'll remember what your name is in a day or two...it's the one thing they let us keep."

"They? The people who put us here?"

"How do you know about that?"

"Newt mentioned them, but he didn't tell me about them. Who are they?"

"None of us know who they are, but they sent all of us here, up in the Box." He pointed to the metal square in the middle of the Glade. "It comes up every month with supplies and a new greenie," Alby spoke slowly, his voice was calm and collected. It was the only thing soothing the girl's utter confusion.

"Supplies? For what?"

"What do you think? We live here. That means we make our own food and we make our own shelter. The Box provides what we need to survive." Alby stood up and went to the edge of the tower. "You probably wondered why I made you climb all the way up here. I just wanted you to have a good view of where you'll be living from now on. We are standing on the watch tower. That there is the Council Hall, those are the gardens, that's the Bloodhouse over there and that forest over there, we call it the Deadheads..." Alby pointed to various locations below them and continued to name the different areas. The girl barely paid attention.

"We've worked hard for this place. It's all we've got. If you respect the Glade and my rules, we'll get on just fine."

"And what if I don't?"

"Then you and I are gonna have a problem. And trust me, you don't want that. Do you understand?"

"Yes.-"

"Good."

"-But I'll need to know the rules before I can respect them."

Alby smirked, "You're a smart one aren't you? Alright greenie, we only have 3 rules:

First - do your part, we've no time for freeloaders.

Second - never harm another Glader, we don't maintain order here unless we have trust.

And most importantly - never go beyond the walls.

Those rules alright with you?"

She stared at the walls. "We can't try to leave? So we're trapped here?"

"I'm not sure if you've noticed, but those walls are in fact preventing us from leaving. So yes, we are trapped. Do you think we'd be living here if we could get out?"

"But the doors are open. Haven't you tried leaving?"

"Of course we have, but those doors close at night. We send runners out every day and they come back before the doors close. They have yet to find anything out there but danger. No one survives a night outside those walls."

"Then how long have you been living here?"

"Three years."

The girl shuddered. Her heart sank like a rock in quicksand.

"Now I'm taking you to the Council Hall. The keepers and I have something important to discuss. It's vital that you're there."

"Why?"

"Because your existence will be the topic of discussion, and how to deal with you. You're presenting us with a lot of problems you know."

"How?"

"Because we've never had a girl here before."