forever in my heart

chapter 2

"welcome to the glade." newt sat with the brown haired boy, eating some meat on a stick.

"hell of a first day, greenie." he teased, but when the teen didn't reply he offered the drink in his hand. "here. put some hair on your chest."

without thinking too much the boy drank some, before immediately spitting it out. "oh, my god! what is that?" newt chucked.

"i don't even know. it's gally's recipe. it's a trade secret." he advised, turning to see gally sparring with a younger boy.

"yeah, he's still an assh*le." he dragged on, glancing again when he saw aviana.

"he saved your life today. trust me. the maze is a dangerous place." newt drank the beverage with new reaction.

"we're trapped here, aren't we?" newt looked empty as the teen besides him said those words.

"for the moment. but," he turned around, "you see those guys? there, by the fire? those are the runners." the teen made eye contact with aviana who stood near the guy on the chair.

"that guy in the middle there, that's minho. he's the keeper of the runners. now every morning, when those doors open, they run the maze... mapping it, memorizing it, trying to find a way out." the teen beside him continued his stares at the group. before settling on newt.

"how long have they been looking?"

"three years." newt stated calmly.

"and they haven't found anything?" he said a bit too discouraged.

"it's a lot easier said than done. listen." they both went quiet, rumbling from the stone walls hit the brown haired teen's ears. "hear that? it's the maze, changing. it changes every night."

"how's is that even possible?" the teen lowly stated.

"you can ask the people who put us in here, if you ever meet the bastards. listen, the truth is... the runners are the only ones who really know what's out there. they are the strongest and the fastest of us all." newt said, praising the group. the boy looked down at his hands before glancing back once.

"what-what about the girl? is she a runner?" he asked, newt laughed lightly, slapping his arm.

"aviana? yeah, she's one of them. she is the smartest one out of us all. even alby. she was the third one here. the first one to remember her name straight out the box. she's also crazy talented in fighting. gally could never beat her." he let out a breath. just hearing about the girl who was seven feet away from him gave him goosebumps.

"she just doesn't really like showing how she feels. ever. it's a good thing she's a runner. it's a good thing they're all runners. because if they don't make it back before those doors close... then they are stuck out there for the night and no one has ever survived a night in the maze." they pause for a moment, as a feeling of dread washes over the teen.

"what happens to them?" he hesitantly asked, unsure if he wants to know the answer.

"we call them grievers. of course, no one's ever seen one and lived to tell about it. but they're out there." newt said certainly, "right, that's enough questions for one night. come on, you're suppose to be the guest of honor." he grumbled his protest.

"ah! no, no. let me show you around. come on, get up." before lifting thomas off the ground, with the drink in hand. they walked for a bit, as newt introduced the gladers. aviana walked up to them.

"newt have you introduced him to everyone?" she asked, the boy noticed how she didn't call him a greenie or anything what the others had been calling him.