~Y/N's POV~
"Yeah, maybe going in there isn't the brightest idea." Lacking the desire to talk to anyone, I gave the boy a quick shoulder pat before making my way to the hammocks.
To be honest, I didn't really have my own hammock—at least not yet. The boy was given a tour of the area and told that he would have a place to sleep close to Chuck, but nobody, not even Alby, mentioned anything about my sleeping arrangements. Which I didn't mind, but since I figured Chuck wouldn't care either, I was stuck hanging out near his hammock.
As I felt the cool breeze against my Y/S/C skin, I sighed and moved the few strands of Y/H/C hair that were blocking my vision.
"Hey, is everything alright?" Since I didn't anticipate being followed, much less having anyone's company, the voice with the recognizable British accent that came from behind me honestly caught me off guard and made me jump a little.
When I turned to face him, I noticed that he was carrying a soft smile that made me feel significantly more at comfort.
"Yeah, I'm good. Thanks for asking." I grinned back, although I didn't really know why he had come to check on me in the first place.
"Sorry, I didn't want to startle you or anything. I became a little concerned when I noticed you and Greenie back there approaching the maze."
'That's why, then, huh? I suppose now I can finally get some real answers to my questions.'
"What's out there?" I asked, intrigued.
He sighed, "Those sounds you heard earlier coming from outside those walls? That, my friend, is called a Griever, they run around the maze. But don't worry, nothing goes through those walls."
As I took it all in, I nodded.
"My name's Newt, which I suppose you already knew that from earlier, but this is most likely a much better way to introduce myself."
I smiled, "It's nice to meet you, and thanks."
"For what?"
"Despite treating me like I was from another planet, everyone looks at me like their next meal."
Nodding, he understood, "You won't need to worry, love. Nothing will happen to you, and because Alby and I talked it over we agreed that your sleeping quarters would be at the Homestead. Because you are the only girl, we thought it would be best for you to sleep somewhere else with more privacy. It'll be much safer and more comfortable for you, plus no one will try and pull anything on you there."
I was a bit thrown off, 'Love?'
"You still there?" He noticed that I had lost focus and chuckled a little.
I quickly returned to reality and dismissed my thoughts, "Huh? Oh yeah, thanks. But I'm fine with sleeping somewhere here, I don't want to cause any trouble."
"Really, there's no problem, I promise," He said.
I chose to merely nod in agreement because I trusted his judgment.
"Come on, we were planning something special for you and the new Greenie tonight. You can't miss it." He extended his hand for me to take so he could lead me to where he was talking to. After some hesitation, I chose to take his hand and follow him.
A fire was being lit, and others were eating and laughing nearby. Everyone merely appeared to be having a great time.
"What's all this for?" I asked Newt, scoping out the area for a certain boy.
"Every time a new Greenie appears, we follow this tradition to essentially boost their sense of belonging in the Glade. You're one of us now." With genuine joy in his voice, he turned to face me.
I was going to say something before Newt excused himself, something about getting some of Gally's alleged special beverage.
Suddenly, I saw the brunette boy I had been looking for when someone yelled, "Welcome to the Glade!" I went toward him to see how he was doing and to check up on him as well.
Before I could even get to him, someone crashed into me from the side. I wasn't sure whether it was an accident, but it annoyed me anyway.
"Hey, watch where you're going next time!"
"Oooo, the she-bean's feisty." Some of the boys obnoxiously exclaimed, obviously just trying to cause a scene and draw attention.
"Sorry Greenie, didn't see you there. I guess you're just too short to watch out for." It was Gally. It was obvious that it was him because he was the biggest jerk I had ever encountered in the Glade so far.
I made the decision to ignore their little game and simply tell them to, "Piss off." as I turned away from them and headed to the boy I had intended to sit next to.
"You okay?" He looked at me, I couldn't tell if he was concerned or just tired.
"I was just about to ask you the same thing, but yeah, I'm good." I smiled at him slightly, hoping he'd drop the subject.
"Any progress on remembering what your name is?" He asked, getting the memo.
"No, you?"
"No." He sighed, "It's on the tip of my tongue, but I can't seem to get it out."
"With time, you'll remember. Both of us will." I responded as I put my hand on his shoulder in an attempt to make him feel better.
Newt suddenly sat down next to the boy, greeted us both, and then gave me a sympathetic glance. I could only presume that was his way of expressing concern for the behavior of Gally, he must have noticed when it occurred.
"Hell of a first day, Greenie. Here, put some hair on your chest." Newt handed him a cup of what I assumed was Gally's special drink.
He took a taste of it before asking, "What is that?" while coughing up some of it.
"It's Gally's recipe. It's a trade secret." He laughed a bit, amused by his reaction.
"Yeah, well, he's still an asshole." I said as I took the cup from the boys hand, taking a sip myself.
...
What the hell?!
...
While everything was black, I could just make out a voice in the distance. Despite the fact that I couldn't see anything, I had the impression that I was moving closer to the speaker.
...
"Y/N. Your name is Y/N."
...
"Hello? You there?" I could just make out Newt's British accent, and I could tell he sounded worried.
Then, being back in the Glade with the two boys I felt most comfortable trusting, I felt as though I suddenly snapped back to reality.
Afterward, it finally clicked for me.
I remembered my name.
"Y/N." I said quietly to myself. I repeated, "My name is Y/N," before any of the two boys could question what I was talking about. I let out a small sigh of relief that I could recall something about myself.
Somebody else must have heard me talk since there was some cheering going on.
"Y/N! Her name's Y/N!"
"She has a name!"
I grinned a little to myself as I noticed the boy and Newt both had dazzling smiles on their faces.
"Looks like Gally's drink really helped you there, huh?" Newt said.
"I stand by what I said."
"You know, he saved both of your lives today. Trust me, the maze is a dangerous place."
Then, out of nowhere, "We're trapped in here, aren't we?"
Even if we were safe, nobody was certain how long that would stay, so the boy was right, I realized as I stared at him.
Newt sighed, "For the moment. But, you see those guys over there? There, by the fire?"
We turned to look, and when we did, I immediately recognized two of them—they were the two boys who had earlier emerged from the maze, along with a few others. The majority of them were having fun and laughing, but the one with the black hair in particular appeared cranky.
"Looks like one of them hasn't gotten their beauty sleep quite yet." I chuckled a little.
"The guy in the middle? That's Minho. He's the Keeper of the Runners. Every morning when those doors open, they run the maze, mapping it, memorizing it, trying to find a way out."
"How long have they been looking?" The boy listened intently.
"Three years." Newt's mood seemed to falter.
"And they haven't found anything yet?" I said, a bit surprised.
"It's a lot easier said than done. Listen."
Since it was right outside the stone walls enclosing us from the Grievers, it was much less evident but still audible that there was movement.
"Hear that? It's the maze, changing. It changes every night."
The remainder of their chat slipped my attention as I focused on what I would do next. I was going to talk to Minho because I wanted to learn more about the maze. I yearned to go out there and personally encounter things in the hopes that maybe—just maybe—I might be fortunate enough to find us a way out of this predicament.
I stood up and headed over to the Runners' leader.
"You're in charge of the runners, then." As I stood in front of him, I crossed my arms. I could hear some of the guys laughing, but I chose to ignore them. If they continued to annoy me, I would scowl at them and tell them to stop.
"Who's asking?" He gave me a questioning look as to why I was even speaking to him.
"Tell me what you know about the maze." I sat down next to him.
"Are you kidding?" He seemed bored, which only irritated me.
"If you won't, I'll just go find out myself."
He smirked, "Oh we're going to get along just fine."
I realized that he wasn't all that horrible after talking to him for a while. He was actually kind—sassy, but nice. We also included some jokes in the conversation, which just helped it feel more natural.
But after hearing some disturbance approaching the Builders—which Minho also informed me about—all of it came to an end.
"What do you say, Greenie? Wanna see what you're made of?" You could tell by his idiotic voice that it was Gally.
Some people began chanting, urging the unfortunate boy to fall for Gally's tricks, "The rules are simple, Greenie. I try to push you out of the circle...you try to last more than five seconds."
I heard him grunt and hit the ground, and when the people around them started to laugh, I decided to go over to see if he was okay.
"Come on, Greenie. We're not done yet." Gally smirked.
"Stop calling me Greenie."
"Stop calling you that? What do you want to be called? Shank?"
I was irritated by the fact that he was merely attempting to make the boy feel inferior, but I cheered when he successfully caused Gally to fall on his ass with a fast movement of his leg.
"Not bad for a Greenie, huh?" He then dropped to the ground and hard-smacked his head a few seconds later.
"Hey! That's enough, jackass!" When Gally attempted to respond, I shoved him hard before moving quickly to check on the boy on the ground.
"Thomas." I heard him whisper.
"Thomas, hey! Thomas!" He yelled out, excited.
"I'm Thomas!"
He was receiving applause and congratulations when I witnessed Gally and him extend their hands in what I assumed was a show of respect. The Grievers' shrieks, however, interrupted the roars in the Glade, and while they were left wondering what the disturbance was all about and decided to call it a night, I strayed away from the Gladers. I moved closer to the closed doors in an effort to gain access to the sound coming from the maze.
"Y/N! Hey Y/N, wait up!" When I heard Newt making his way, I turned around and looked at him.
"Where are you heading off to?" He smiled at me.
"Just wanted to get closer to the walls I guess, I don't know." Without knowing if he would warn me not to, I spoke quickly.
"Well, let me join you then."
I nodded as we continued walking in silence.
It wasn't awkward or anything, it was honestly quite nice.
"You genuinely want to know what's out there, don't you?"
"Yeah, I want to help. The Runners have now been looking for an exit for three years, as you stated yourself. We may discover something else and advance further if we look at the situation with fresh eyes."
He pondered for a while, but I interrupted his train of thought by saying, "Before you say anything, I know. You've all pretty much-done everything, Minho told me. The maze is the ideal place to find a way out, but I want to contribute. I do, really."
He chuckled, "Come on, let me show you something."
He directed me to what I thought of as the Deadheads, which was just a graveyard.
I then noticed all the names, some of which had been crossed out but others not.
"We've had some dark days. But you're one of us now." I was too busy looking at the names to notice when he went to get a knife. When he handed it to me, I assumed it was to add my name.
After giving it some thought, I decided to write my name next to his on the wall after turning to look at it one more time.
"I should have mentioned that your room should be finished by tomorrow evening. Sorry, I thought it was ready, but-"
"Newt, it's fine. I'll just sleep here."
"Here?" He asked, confused.
I looked up and smiled a little, "Yeah, I mean, I don't really remember anything about my past other than my name, but I have this weird sensation that before all of this I liked stargazing. Plus, since Thomas is probably asleep, only you will be aware I'm here. If you need me for anything, you know where to get me."
When I turned to face him again, I could see that he was holding back on saying something, "What is it?"
"If you'd like, I could stay here with you. You wouldn't have to be alone if I brought some of the sleeping bags. Unless you want to be." He spoke quickly.
"Yeah, I'd like that."
He gave me a friendly smile and promised to return fast, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
I sat down on the grass and crossed my legs over my chest, wrapping them with my arms.
...
"I swear I'll never stop loving you. Even if I can't remember!" A feeble voice that was audibly terrified and anxious said something to me.
Wait, what!?
The voice sounded so familiar, so far away yet so close, yet I couldn't make out a face.
"Y/N!"
It said, clearly audible to me. There was an accent there, but I couldn't identify it.
...
"Y/N!" I suddenly sprang up as I felt myself being shaken out of it.
"Hey, it's just me, you're okay." In an effort to calm me down, Newt spoke in a soothing tone with a gentle voice.
I apologized, "I must have closed my eyes for a moment and dozed off."
"No worries, love. We should get some rest, I brought the sleeping bags."
Before getting comfy, we spread out the sleeping bags a little distance apart.
"Hey, Newt?"
"Yeah?" After yawning, he spoke, making it obvious that he was about to fall asleep.
"Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Y/N."
I quickly felt myself go off into a nice, deep sleep.
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Thanks for the 30+ reads, I appreciate it very much. Please do not be shy to leave any comments, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter!
~D <3