Meant to be | A maze runner story

Chapter 2 - Greenie (part 1)

I wake up at the bright of dawn, grab my stuff and meet Minho and Ben at the entrance of the maze.
- "Oh my word." Says Minho when he sees me.
- "What?" I say.
- "You didn't sleep much did you?"
I look down.
- "Y/N! You know how important it is to get some rest every night. You know this better than anyone." He looks at Ben worried.
- "I know, I know. But like I tell you every month, I get stressed because of the new greenie."
He takes a deep breath.
- "If you get tired whatsoever, you go back. Understood?"
I nod. The doors slowly open and we all take a deep breath.
- "Let's go!" Minho yells.
Ben and I look at each other smiling. We both start running following Minho. Being a runner is honestly the only thing that isn't making me completely lose my mind. I don't remember how life was before the glade, but I definitely know it wasn't like this. If I wasn't able to run, I don't quite know what I would do with myself. It's the only way I get to clear my head and actually do some type of exercise. Today, section 5 is open and so we go there first. We all slow down.
- "The pattern still hasn't changed." Ben says.
- "And it never will." Minho responds. "That is the only thing that is stable in this maze, is the order in which the sections open."
We look around, but once again we have no success in finding a way out.
- "We should start heading back it's getting late and the new greenie should be here by now. I am excited to see what he's like." Minho says.
- "Or she!" I say.
They both look at me and chuckle.
- "You know, just for you, I wish it's a girl." Ben says. "In order for you to not have to live with a bunch of men."
We all chuckle and Minho starts running. We both follow. We finally reach the glade and I see Chuck and this new guy talking. He seems to be about my age. His hair is dark brown, he's quite tall and from afar, he seems very handsome.
- "How's the promotion going Chuck?" Minho says running next to him.
- "Great! Thanks Minho."
I run next the new guy and we lock into each other's eyes. My heart stops for a moment. "Holy sh!t" I tell myself, "that is a very attractive guy". I stare at him from head to toe and even though I only look at him for a few seconds, it seems as if the world stopped. I finally run past him, and my heart is beating quickly.
- "I'll catch you guys later." I wave goodbye to Minho and Ben.
I run as fast as I can trying to find Newt. I finally see him. He is chopping some wood.
- "There you are!" I yell.
I go up to him.
- "You alright?" He asks.
- "Have you met the new greenie?"
- "Yeah I did, why?"
- "What do you think of him."
- "Well he's definitely not a runner." He giggles.
I look at him confused.
- "He ran away. Started pretty well actually, but then face planted."
I look at him not knowing whether to believe him or not. He stares at me signaling he isn't joking. I start laughing my heart out but we then hear Gally yelling. A few boys are running to the entrance of the maze, where Gally, Chuck and the greenie on the ground are. Newt and I stare at each other and start running towards them.
- "What in the bloody hell is happening here." Newt asks.
- "He tried to enter the maze." Gally says.
Newt looks at me.
- "Why are you guys keeping me here?! Why can't I just leave." The greenie says, almost about to cry.
- "Hey." Alby walks towards him. "Calm down greenie."
And just as Alby says this the sound of the doors closing happens. The greenie turns around to face the entrance of the maze, confused. The doors slowly start to close and he takes a step back.
- "Welcome to the glade." Alby says while putting his hand on the greenie's shoulder.
The doors close and everyone walks away. I walk next to Newt.
- "He reminds me of someone." Newt says.
- "Oh shut up."
He giggles.
- "You did the exact same thing when you came here."
I roll my eyes.
- "I saw that."
I punch him in his arm. Time passes by, as I'm helping Alby with the preparations for the celebration tonight. Every month, when the box comes up with a new greenie and the supply of food, we have some sort of party, in order to not only celebrate the past month, but also celebrate the arrival of the new greenie. We have a bonfire and eat a very special meal Fry made next to it. For drinks, we have Gally's secret recipe. It's completely disgusting, but it's definitely a must. The guys usually play games and the night is just very fun overall.
- "All right everything is set in place." Alby says smiling. "I'll go tell Fry to bring the food here, we're gonna lit the fire soon."
I stay next to the fire and Newt comes towards me.
- "This is my favorite time of the month." He says.
- "How's the greenie doing."
- "I don't know honestly."
I nod. The other boys join us. Some of us grab sticks and lit them up and throw them into the major bonfire. Everyone screams of joy.

Everyone is eating their food and laughing. I am with the runners, since usually everyone mostly hangs out with their little groups. Minho and I are sitting, quietly eating our food. As much as I love Minho, he isn't really a talker, which is the complete opposite of me. He is very secretive and unless you're a runner, Alby, Gally, Fry, or Chuck, he will not talk to you. I am very lucky though, since I am the person he talks to the most. I look around trying to find Newt but I cant see him anywhere. I finally see two guys sitting far away from the group, facing the entrance of the maze.
- "I'll be right back." I tell Minho.
I get up and slowly make my way to them. I sit next to the greenie. They both don't notice I am sitting next to them. They turn around to face the others.
- "You see those guys there? By the fire." Newt says, while pointing to Minho and the other runners. "Those are the runners. And that guy in the middle there. That's Minho. He's the leader of the runners. And...?" Newt looks confused.
- "And what?" The greenie ask curiously.
- "There's another runner, but I don't know where she is."
- "Well maybe if you looked a little closer you would find her." I say.
They both turn around to me.
- "Y/N? What. How long have you been there?" Newt asks confused.
- "A couple of minutes. Not to long."
I look at the greenie who is staring at me.
- "What?" I ask him.
- "What's a runner?" He asks.
I take a deep breath and look at Newt.
- "Every morning, we run into the maze and map it in order to try to find a way out."
- "How long have you guys been looking?" He asks.
I take a deep breath.
- "3 years." Newt says.
- "And you haven't found anything?!"
I scoff.
- "It's not easier said than done." I lie.
We hear the sound of the maze changing.
- "Listen." I say. We stay quiet for a couple of seconds, listening to the maze changing. "You hear that? That's the maze...changing. It changes every night."
- "How is that even possible?" The greenie asks.
- "You can ask the people who put us here if you ever get to meet the bastards." Newt says.
I let out a nervous laugh.
- "Look. The runners, including Y/N, they are the only ones who truly knows what's out there. They are the fastest of us all, and that is the most important thing, because if they don't make it back before the doors closes, then they are stuck in the maze for the night, and no one has ever survived a night in the maze."
- "What happens to them?" The greenies asks worriedly.
Newt and I take a deep breath.
- "We call them grievers." I say.
- "Of course no one has ever seen one before and lived to tell the tale about it, but they are definitely out there." Newt adds.
The greenie looks at Newt then at me. He has a worried look, the exact same one I had when I first entered the maze.
- "Alright, well that's enough questions for one night." Newt says while getting up. "The party is for you! Come on you're our guest of honor."
I get up and stare at him.
- "You don't want your guests to keep you waiting, do you?" I say.
He gets up and follows Newt and I.