The First Glader

13

She could feel George's eyes from across the field.
She didn't look.
She couldn't.

She walked to the towering stone doors, tracing the seam down the middle. The sun was just starting its rise—too early for the Maze to shift.

But the moment her fingers touched the stone, the ground trembled under her boots.

Ada froze.

"No..."

The tremor deepened—low, grinding, metallic and ancient. Birds scattered from the trees. Chickens clucked in alarm. The boys straightened across the Glade, heads snapping toward the Maze.

The doors didn't move.

But the walls inside did.

A deep, thunderous shift rolled through the passages—louder than any shift they'd ever heard.

Nick reached her first, breath fast. "Ada. What is that?"

"I don't know," she whispered.

George reached her next—not touching her, but close enough she could feel his heat at her back. He wasn't joking. He wasn't flustered. He looked scared.

"Ada," he said cautiously, "that wasn't normal."

The ground trembled again.

Harder.

This time Ada grabbed the door frame for balance. Newt stumbled into Nick, and Alby steadied himself against a tree.

The shift echoed again—closer.

Like the Maze was... waking.

No one breathed.

Ada forced her voice steady. "Everyone away from the doors."

The boys listened instantly, backing up across the grass, clustering near one another. George stayed closest to her.

"Ada," he murmured, "come with us."

But she didn't move. She stared into the darkness beyond the seam of stone, heart pounding, scar throbbing down her arm like a warning.

"Ada," George repeated, voice rough. "Please."

She stepped back at last.

The shaking stopped.

Silence cracked over the Glade.

Nick exhaled shakily. "What the hell was that?"

Alby's jaw clenched. "Nothing good."

George looked at Ada, fear and something else mixing in his eyes. "We don't know what's happening, do we?"

Ada shook her head slowly.

"No," she whispered. "And whatever it is... it's starting early."

George swallowed. "Then we stay close. All of us."

Ada met his eyes.

And for once, she didn't look away.

The Glade felt restless the next morning.

The Maze shift had rattled everyone, even if no one wanted to say so directly. George tried to hide his worry behind jokes. Newt hovered closer than usual. Even the pigs were skittish.

But Ada needed a break from the tension.

She found Alby and Nick near the forest edge, sorting through a pile of wooden planks they planned to use for reinforcing the shelter walls. It wasn't necessary yet—nothing threatened them inside the Glade—but Alby had insisted on being prepared.