[the maze runner] [book 1 of the survivors trilogy]
Rae was the first. Being the only girl in the maze for so long has made her build her walls up high around her heart in hopes that she and the rest of the Gladers can escape. But Newt wants a way i...
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GREENIE
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"We got a new greenie!" a plump young boy chirped as he ran toward the red-haired girl, his arms flailing in all directions. He stopped next to the girl, panting, just as she placed the tools into a metal bin for cleaning. Rae couldn't believe that she missed the arrival of yet another greenie. At least the alarm would've reminded her, but she was too busy to have heard it anyway. Thanking the boy, Rae ran off to the slammer. Rae noticed two glistening light brown eyes staring out into the field when she neared the wooden cage. The shadows concealed most of the Greenie's face, but Rae knew it was another boy. She wasn't that lucky. However, the boy's strikingly light brown eyes seemed vaguely familiar to the redhead, almost as if she'd seen them before.
This new Greenie was curious, unlike the other newcomers, and Rae was sure he had many questions. She quickly crouched down, startling the boy to duck into the corner.
"Hey, Green Bean," Rae greeted, opening the door. "I'm Rae. Can you tell me anything about yourself? Anything at all?" Rae knew the answers to those questions, but she had to make sure he was like the rest.
The boy looked around the slammer, shaking his head in confusion. He had no idea where he was. The girl's fierce green eyes that were staring him down wasn't helping his train of thought. He racked his brain for answers to her question, but nothing surfaced. "No," he whimpered at last.
"Can you tell me your name?"
The boy fumbled with his shaky fingers, his shoulder's shuddering from the fear of not being able to recite on his memories. "I, uh, I can't remember anything. Why can't I remember anything?"
"It's okay," Rae assured the boy. "It's normal. It happens to us all. You'll get your name back in a few days. It's the one thing they let us keep."
What Rae said caught the scared boy's attention. One thing they let us keep. "What is this place?"
Extending her hand to the boy, Rae said, "Let me show you." After a few seconds of hesitation, the boy took her hand, and Rae heaved him out of the slammer. They both walked out into the open field, the sun hitting their face. The boy couldn't remember anything, but the warm rays of heat shining on him seemed... unfamiliar. As if he was longing for it.
"We eat here," the girl pointed to a ring of logs circling a fire pit. "We sleep here. It's called the Homestead." She then pointed to a worn-down two-story building. Hammocks were strung up outside the entrance. Before the boy could take a look at the rest of the Homestead, Rae was already moving on to the next section of the tour: the Garden. Different kinds of plants and herbs climbed and weaved in between the wooden stilts of the pergola. A couple of people cut the plants and added new soil, but Rae was interested in one person. Rae approached a lanky blonde boy. His square jaw and pale complexion brought out his dark brown eyes. The skinny boy noticed the Greenie and the leader come to him.
"We grow our own food here. This is Newt," Rae introduced the newbie to one of the oldest Gladers.
Newt shook the Greenie's hand with a grin and then turned to Rae. "Showing me off to the Greenie, now?"
A small smile crept up on Rae's face. The blonde always knew how to make Rae smile, even when she didn't want to. "Something like that," she teased before turning her attention back to the Greenie. "You two will have time to chat later. Let's keep going. See ya, Newt."
"Nice meeting you, Greenie."
As the two continued walking, Rae continued her tour. "We build our own shelter. Whatever we need, the Box provides. The rest is up to us."
"The Box?" the boy questioned, immediately turning to the area where the Gladers had pulled him out.
"It's sent up once a month with fresh supplies and a new Greenie. This month, that's you."
"Sent up? By who, though? Who put us here?"
"That's the real question, isn't it?"
"Hey, are you all right, Rae?" A dark-skinned boy ran up to the two of them.
"Meet Alby. When I'm not around, he's in charge," Rae said, clapping her hand on Alby's shoulder.
"What you tried to pull earlier was interesting. For a second, I thought you had the skills to be a runner," said Alby.
"A runner?" Rae smirked. She couldn't imagine this skinny boy running through the maze, but people were always full of surprises.
"Well, until he face-planted."
"Wait, a 'runner'?" The Greenie questioned.
"Alby, do me a favor. Find Chuck. Alright. Thanks." Rae turned her attention back to the newbie once Alby jogged away. "I'm sorry to rush this. You came up a little late, and there's a lot to do. We got something special planned tonight."
The two of them reached a wooden structure. It was about 15 feet high and entirely made of wood. There were three tiers to this treehouse. "I hope you're not afraid of heights," Rae called as she started up the ladder. The boy was hesitant, but he followed her to the top tier. The view from the top amazed the boy. He could see the entire layout: the Homestead, the Garden, the slammer. As impressive as it was, the Glade was nothing compared to the massive slabs of concrete and metal meshed together to form the walls that surrounded it.
Rae squinted as she surveyed the Glade. "This is all we got. We've worked hard for it. You just have to respect this place."
The boy glanced at the opening between the concrete walls. "What's out there?"
Just like she had with every other Greenie, Rae wasn't going to scare him just yet. It was the boy's first day. "We only have three rules. First, do your part. And then do more. Second, never harm another Glader. We have trust here. Most importantly, never go beyond those walls. You get it?"
"Hey, Rae!" Someone called from the ground. Rae peered over the side of the railing where the chubby, curly-haired boy was waving his hands at her.
"Hey, Chuck. I need you to show the Greenie to his hammock." Rae urged the Greenie to go down and she followed after him. Minho and Ben would be back soon, so Rae headed to the Map Room to wait for them.
~~~
(a/n)
hey guys, i hope you all like this story so far. i had fun making this chapter. make sure to vote, comment, and follow. also, the gif at the beginning of the chapter means that it's been edited.
