The Huntress Descent

The Labyrinth: Chapter Three

Newt informed me the next morning that I would spend two weeks discovering which role suited me best. Then that was that. I would spend the rest of my life here doing the same job every day until... I dunno. He explained everything, mentioning all the jobs I would have to try and who the Keepers were that would be keeping an eye on me as I did this and so on and so forth.

The names for the jobs were simple but unusual. Mentally, I thought it made sense to call them that as well. Confusing, right?

I spent the first day with the Med-Jacks. I had officially been awake for only two days, so they were still concerned about everything I did.

Newt did not stay for long. As soon as he was finishing explaining how things were going to go down, he gave a quick goodbye and said he had jobs to finish. Chuck wasn't there either. Apparently, he had to finish his work before he could even think about having at least ten minutes off. Jeff was trusted enough to be left alone with me, as he mainly had been the only other person that I interacted with for the past two days.

Alby never came near me, nor did the rest of the boys. They were all too scared to break his strict rules. I predicted that my life here would become very lonely in just a few short weeks, with no one to talk to without fearing repercussions. The day with the Med-Jacks proved that.

They were a team of two that worked tirelessly to ensure that the Gladers didn't effectively die here. Jeff instructed that I couldn't stay in my room all day, so I was forced to sit in the medical room and do tasks that he instructed me to do.

The first thing that Jeff had me doing was do reorganise the medical supplies that they had. They had received a few new supplies in their last shipment from the Box and they needed spaces in the room to put all the new supplies in.

It was a very tedious, very boring job. There was no fun in doing it. When he first explained it, I believed that it would only be a few boxes that needed sorting. To my horror, I was greeted with a room jam-packed with piles and piles of boxes stacked high to the ceiling.

"Yeah," Jeff said. "We hadn't expected this much. Something must have gone wrong."

Jeff opened the first box and pulled out a large wad of cloth. He twisted it around in his hand as he inspected it. "These seem good," he said. He shot out his hand toward her with the wad of cloth still in it. "They go in the corner over there." He pointed with his index finger. I took the cloth from him and placed it where he said too. "Right, let's get these all stacked up."

We spent a few hours taking things out of the crates and placing them round the room. Every now and again someone would enter the room with an injury that Jeff had to take care of. I came to discover that boys were incredibly clumsy. They would cut themselves on whatever they were using and immediately start bleeding. I couldn't tell you how many times I opened plaster packets.

I lied. I could, but I don't want too.

To fill the time, Jeff talked at me. He told me about life in the Glade and what they did here. He explained that the first ones to arrive came roughly two years ago. At that point, there was nothing here apart from the building they found themselves in and the bare amenities they needed to survive. The Homestead had once been incredibly small, but thanks to the Builders, there was more to it now.

There were no adults in this place. The boys, the Gladers, had been left to fend for themselves, with only supplies coming up every week and a new Greenie once a month. It sounded... odd. There was no explanation as to why they found themselves here and why it was only boys that came up out of the Box. Until now, obviously. Jeff carried on telling me more stories about the Gladers (stories that have been forgotten) and things to be careful of as I ventured further out.