୨⎯chapter three, bonfire.⎯୧
⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅
𝐀𝐒 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐃𝐄𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐃 𝐎𝐍 the glade, casting a warm glow from the flickering campfire, the girl emerged from the homestead and wandered out into the crisp evening air. she admired how beautiful the glade looked as she approached a crowd of boys surrounding a huge pile of logs and sticks, they all were holding large sticks alight with flames.
she arrived at the group of boys and was approached by alby, who handed her an alight stick, she hesitantly took it from his grip as he strided back to his position. the girl placed herself in between two boys she hadn't met before as she glanced around nervously.
"alright, light it up boys!" albys voice called, earning an offended glare from the girl. "oh and girl." he quickly corrected himself, causing laughter to echo from the crowd. the circle of boys tossed their sticks into the pile, lighting it up immediately with a fierce flame. cheers erupted from the boys surrounding her, she backed away slightly to avoid getting knocked over by the rowdy crowd.
her eyes darted around the crowd before her gaze met a certain blonde boy, he stood next to alby a wide smile sat on his face as the two laughed together, a slight twinkle in his eyes. the girl found herself admiring the boy, almost forgetting her surroundings as she watched from afar.
she found herself wandering over to a fallen log not far from the flames, and placed herself down on it, her gaze drifting over the gathering of gladers surrounding the fire. some were engaged in lively conversation, while others simply lounged in comfortable silence.
the girl was broken out of her daze by a gentle hand being placed on her shoulder, causing her to jump slightly at the unexpected touch. she turned her head to the unknown presence behind her. "oh, hey." she smiled weakly up at the familiar face of newt.
"hey." he kept his lingering touch on the girl's shoulder as he climbed over the log, plopping himself down beside the girl. "so, how are you finding your first day?" he asked as he watched the girl intently, feeling rather intrigued by her.
"it was okay, i haven't really spoken to anyone." she mumbled as she gazed down at the floor, not knowing whether it was normal to feel so out of place.
"don't worry, i'll introduce you to everyone in a minute, but for now let's have some fun." a playful grin pulled on newt's lips as he handed her a glass jar.
the girl took the jar from his grip and peered into the unknown drink cautiously, it looked disgusting, but she didn't care. she brung the jar to her lips and took a large swig before immediately screwing her face up in pure disgust.
"what the fuck is that!" the girl spluttered, coughing as newt patted her on the back. laughter erupting from him, finding the girls reaction amusing.
"that, is gallys secret recipe." he informed her as his laughter died down. "no one knows what's in it."
she took a few more sips of the drink before returning it back to newt who took the jar from her hands before standing up straight again, holding his hand out to the girl who still sat on the log. "come on, let me introduce you to everyone." the girls eyes flickered from the boys hand to his face as she sighed and took his hand before he pulled her up from her seat. the boys warm touch sent a shivering feeling down her, though it might've been from the cold evening air.
newt began to lead the girl over to a group of boys sitting in a circle on a few logs, laughter echoed from them as they held the same drink in their hands. the girl noticed minho sat with them, a wide grin on his face. "these are the runners." newt explained as they approached the group.
"ah greenie!" minho exclaimed as he jumped up from his seat and strided over to the girl, wrapping his broad arm around her shoulders. "having fun? had a drink yet?" he questioned the girl, looking like he'd definitely had a few.
"yeah i have actually minho, it was disgusting." she screwed up her face at the thought of the horrible taste, sticking her tongue out.
"pussy." minho joked with a daring smirk on his face, causing the girl under his arm to scoff. newt watched carefully from the side, his eyes following the boys every move.
suddenly a tall blonde boy stood up from one of the logs and approached the three. "ben! this is our newest greenie." minho introduced her with a wide grin.
a friendly smile formed on the boy's face. "hey greenie, i'm ben." he stuck his hand out.
the girl shook it gratefully. "nice to meet you." she spoke shyly, a little intimidated by her current situation.
"i saw you with newt earlier." ben remarked, a playful glint in his eyes. "getting the grand tour, huh?"
the girl nodded with a small smile at the mention of the boy's name. "yeah."
ben leaned forward slightly. "hey, not that it's a problem or anything, but as you can see we don't get many girls around here." he spoke, his tone gentle. "why did they bring you here?"
the girl hesitated, her mind racing as she searched for an answer." i don't know." she admitted honestly. "i woke up in that box, and i don't remember anything before that."
ben nodded sympathetically, his expression understanding.
minho nodded as he peered down at the girl. "well, your not alone in that one." he remarked. "none of us remember anything before the glade either."
"why do you think that is?" the girl asked, looking from ben to minho, searching for answers.
"maybe we are all part of some giant science experiment." minho joked sarcastically, a smirk laying on his lips.
"alright, that's enough minho." newt finally spoke up as he removed the boy's arm from the girl's shoulder, shooting his intoxicated friend a warning glance. the girl sent ben and minho a small wave as she was led away by newt once again. "come on, i'll introduce you to the others."
the pair weaved in between groups of rowdy boys. "that over there is fry, you've already met him, and that is winston keeper of the slicers." he explained pointing over to the two boys who were in the midst of conversation whilst cooking something. "and that is clint and jeff, our two medjacks." newt stated as the two boys neared them.
"hey greenie, hey newt." they both spoke in unison as they walked past, earning a small smile from the girl in return.
the girl found her gaze drawn to a group huddled in a circle, cheers erupting from them. her legs carried her over to the group as curiosity filled her. the girls eyes glued to the scene unfolding before her. in the centre of the circle, two figures began fighting one another. one of them was the same guy who had helped her earlier, gally she recalled his name being.
cheers erupted from the crowd as the two figures squared off. the girl's heart raced with excitement as she watched the intense struggle unfold before her. she couldn't tear her eyes away, completely engrossed in the spectacle playing out in front of her. they seemed to be having fun fighting, and the girl couldn't understand why.
gally managed to push the other boy out of the circle. the other gladers erupted into applause, patting him on the back and congratulating him.
"nice one, gally!" one of them exclaimed, clapping him on the shoulder harshly.
as she observed him basking in the glory of his victory, she couldn't help but notice how different he seemed compared to when he had helped her earlier, earlier he seemed to be kind and gentle. but as she watched him fight with the boy, his expression was hardened. it was like he was a different person compared to the boy who had shown her kindness earlier. this change left her feeling uncertain and puzzled, unsure of what to make of him.
the celebration continued, and gallys eyes caught sight of the girl on the outskirts of the crowd. with a playful grin, he called out to her. "hey, you wanna give it a try?" he gestured towards the circle where the next contenders were already preparing to face off.
the girl hesitated, caught off guard by his invitation. she glanced around uncertainly, feeling the gaze of other gladers upon her. some were quietly observing her, and some were chuckling amongst themselves at the girl's terrified expression.
"leave her alone, gally." newt spoke with a small chuckle as he arrived by the girls side, he hadn't realised she had wandered off.
gally shot newt a playful grin before turning back to the girl, his eyes scanning her face once more before he sent her a warm smile and turned back to the boys, joining their banter once again.
"come on." newt mumbled breaking the girls daze away from gally, the pair wandered back over to minho and a few others that now joined him and ben. after sitting down on one of the uncomfortable logs another drink was handed to her by an unknown boy, she accepted it gratefully. mumbles of chatter and laughter could be heard as the girl sat quietly taking sips of her drink, observing the cheerful boys around her.
suddenly a question appeared in the girls mind, one no one else had answered. "newt." she tapped the boy beside hers shoulder lightly, he immediately turnt all his attention to her, nodding slightly showing he was listening. "what do runners do?"
newt sighed deeply, he knew the girl would have to find out one way or another, so he might as well tell her now. "you see those doors over there?" newt pointed over to the now closed doors, the same ones the girl had seen minho and ben emerge from earlier that day. she nodded in reply, sharpening her ears and blurring out the conversations around her, she didn't want to miss a word. "out those doors, is what we call the maze. the runners run the maze everyday, mapping it, memorising it, trying to find a way out."
"how long have they been looking?" she asked her voice laced with curiosity, if there was a way out of this place, she wanted to find it.
"almost three years." newt replied bluntly, a hint of sadness in his tone. the girls mouth dropped open, she realised that these boys had been here for years and she had only been here a day and wanted to leave already. the boy chuckled into his drink at her expression as he took a sip. "its alot easier said than done. the maze is a dangerous place."
"why? what's out there?" she questioned beginning to come very intrigued but not quite understanding what the boy was trying to say.
"the doors open and close at the exact same time every single day." newt paused as he swallowed. "and you best hope you make it back before those walls close because if you don't, your stuck out there for the night. and no one has ever survived a night in the maze."
a few moments of silence washed over the two as the girl attempted to process the new information, she still couldn't quite wrap her head around what was happening to her. "what happenes to them?" she finally got the courage to ask.
"well there's these things we call grievers, very nasty creatures, of course no ones ever seen one and lived to tell about it. but we know they're out there." he spoke his voice calm and steady as he studied the girls worried face, the light from the fire reflecting off it perfectly. something about the girl itched something in the back of his brain, whenever he heard her talk, whenever he saw her, it all felt like a distant memory he could only hope to retrieve one day.
the girl gaped at the boy in surprise, before taking a few more swigs of her drink, trying to distract herself from the war in her mind. she had lost track of how many drinks she had by now, she zoned out watching the fierce fire in front of her as the world seemed to spin. the sounds of conversations seemed only a distant echo in her head. her mind overflowed with thoughts, she wondered what she did to deserve this? it felt a part of her was missing, like an emptiness was eating at the prominent hold in her chest. all she wanted was one single memory. all she wanted was to know who she really was.
suddenly something snapped in her mind, a name echoing through her head. 'madelyn.'
"madelyn." she whispered to herself, testing the name on her lips, it felt familiar, like a long forgotten melody stirring in the depths of her memory. the girl shot up from her seat letting out an excited scream. "oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!" she exclaimed, earning a few weird glances from the gladers around her.
"what the shuck are you doing?" minho questioned the girl with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion and slight concern for the girl.
"my name! i remember my name!" she yelled out a wide grin plastered on her face.
"that's great, what is it?" newt asked eagerly, his eyes widened with interest, his gaze fixated on her.
she hesitated for a moment, savouring the feeling of finally knowing her own name. "madelyn." she spoke proudly, as she scanned the boys faces for their reactions.
"madelyn..i like it." newt spoke, a slight smile pulling on his lips as he spoke the name. the way her name rolled off his tongue felt natural to him.
"yeah its a nice name." minho agreed with a genuine smile on his face as he took another swig of his drink.
madelyn returned his smile, warmth spread through her chest at his reaction. it was comforting to have someone there who seemed genuinely happy for her. as the boys returned to their conversations, madelyn placed herself back down on the log, the excitement and the drink combined making her dizzy. she fell back into her thoughts once again as the adrenaline of remembering her name seemed to disappear. her eyes blurred as she stared out into the dark glade, all that could be seen was shadows and outlines of buildings and trees.
"madelyn."
"madelyn?"
"madelyn!"
minho's shove finally shook the girl out of her thoughts, she stared blankly at him, blinking a few times in surprise. "what the shuck are you doing slint-head?"
"what does it look like i'm doing?" she sassed back as she rolled her eyes at the boy, annoyed he had broken her out her thoughts.
"i think it's time you go to bed." newt spoke in a gentle tone as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "come on, let's get you up." he moved his gaze to minho who was staring at the girl in amusement and cocked his head. "minho help me."
"no newt i'm fine, i'm not tired-" but before she could finish her sentence she let out a small squeal as she was flung over minho's shoulder. her eyes grew wide in surprise as she flung her arms and legs around in protest. "minho! put me down!" she warned as she made an attempt to free herself from the strong boy's grip, but it was no good.
a few chuckles erupted from the boys surrounding them as they watched the girl get dragged away by minho, newt following closely behind. "minho that is not what i meant when i said help me." newt mumbled, his tone filled with annoyance as he stared into the boys back. the girl dangling over minho's shoulders finally stopped fidgeting and accepted her fate. she smiled innocently through her hair that dangled over her face at the boy behind them, only earning a scowl in return.
once they arrived at the homestead, the lighting got significantly darker, only a few torches lit their path down the hallway. the mumbles of chatter and laughter soon became distant echoes as they deepened into the homestead. they finally arrived at newts room, newt walked in front of the pair opening the squeaky door for them as minho made his way through the doorway still gripping onto madelyn.
"ow!" madelyn winced in pain as minho had accidentally hit her head on the doorframe, she rubbed her head, her hair tangling under her fingers.
"oh shuck, sorry." minho apologised as he temporarily forgot he had the girl on his shoulder. he lifted her down and placed her gently on the bed before straightening up again. newt sent the boy a warning glare, ashamed of the boys clumsiness. "okay okay! im sorry!" he exclaimed his hands thrown up in surrender.
the two turned back to madelyn who was now making an attempt to take her shoes off, though it wasn't easy as her vision was blurred. she fumbled with the laces between her fingers before letting out a deep groan of frustration. "take my shoes off, peasants." madelyn waved her hands at the two boys who watched in amusement as she held her feet in the air.
the two boys began untying her laces quickly before slipping her shoes off, enjoying hearing the sounds of the girls soft giggles as she watched them. they turned around to place her shoes on the chest of drawers, but as soon as they turned to madelyn again they were met with the sight of the girl fast asleep. her hair was a mess, her mouth slightly open as she lay in a crumpled position.
minho burst out laughing while newt slapped his hand over the boy's face trying to shush him. once minho's laughs quietened, newt pulled his hand away once again. "she's an ugly sleeper." minho remarked, causing newt to smack him round the head.
"don't say that minho!" newt stepped over to the sleeping girl before grabbing a blanket and gently placing it over her figure, taking a moment to admire her. "now lets get out of here before she wakes up." newt whispered as the two backed out the room quietly shutting the door behind them.
"i have a feeling that girl might cause some trouble." minho smirked, earning an eye roll from his friend.