You struggled twice as hard against the restraints that held you to the long surgery table as Janson approached. You knew that W.I.C.K.E.D's chairman had a terrible plot in mind for your punishment. Why do you need to be punished, you may ask?
You had rallied each and every subject who had yet to be sent into the trials and led a revolt against W.I.C.K.E.D., which had almost worked. Unfortunately, W.I.C.K.E.D. called for backup, and soon had you and the rest of your small army tranquilized. Although you weren't successful, you had caused over a hundred deaths on W.I.C.K.E.D.'s end, and that made it all worth it.
You didn't only do it for yourself. You did it for all of your closest allies who had been sent to the maze trials, some over two years ago.
Minho. That sassy, hilarious piece of garbage who could always bring a smile to your face. Alby, who served as an icon of bravery and badassery in your mind. Playful, innocent Chuck, who was the last one sent up, only a month ago. And Newt.. oh, Newt... your best friend who you wished could be something closer to you than that. Of course there was a sort of romantic tension between the two of you, despite the fact that neither of you have made a move.
"I think it's safe to say that you are officially out of the picture, Y/N," Janson cooed. He leaned over you, his gray, hateful eyes boring into yours, and he ran his long, bony fingers through your messy hair. You trembled as his hands pulled through your locks.
"Cut to the chase, Janson. Why am I here?" You asked, trying to hide the tremble in your voice in vain. Janson chuckled, and he tore his attention from you and gestured for a man to come to the table. The man grabbed the side of your face and pressed your left cheek against the table beneath you, exposing your neck.
"You caused us a great deal of trouble, so I'm going to make this as bad as possible for you. You're going to be put into the maze, and after a single week, you are going to be stung by a griever and die. However, not before undergoing more pain that you could've ever possibly imagined," he said. He ran his cold fingers down the skin on your neck in a search for a vein. You shivered, but still tried to stay calm. Your punishment was far more brutal than you had expected.
"J-Janson, please... anything else..." you begged, closing your eyes. A tear squeezed through your eyelids, and Janson actually laughed at the sight.
"I'm sorry, Y/N. You should've considered the consequences when you pulled this stunt." A sharp object was pressed into your neck, just above the vein. Upon feeling the contents being pressed into your system, you grunted with frustration and pain. After a moment, he pulled the syringe back out and the other man let go of your head.
You looked up at Janson through the tears that threatened to spill onto your face. He chuckled, seeing your desperate conditions, and reached over and grabbed a cup.
"Drink," he demanded. Seeing that struggling would have no effect, you lifted your head and drank the contents of the cup. After swallowing the last of the drink, you felt... wrong. Tired. Your eyelids felt heavier than ever before, and you struggled to bring air into your lungs. Maybe if you just closed your eyes for one second...
Janson's malicious, victorious smirk was the last thing you saw before your vision went black.
"Guys, it's a girl!" Minho shouted to the other gladers, who gasped and immediately ran to the box at the news. Never before has there been a female arrival.
Gally was first to reach the box, so he jumped down into the cage/elevator to get a closer look. The other gladers watched from the top.
Upon seeing you, Gally recognized your face from the changing. You were Newt's closest ally and companion, and you were known for standing against the creators at every opportunity you got.
"What's that on her chest?" Newt asked, gazing down at you. The other boys seemed to be in shock, but Newt had an entirely different perspective on the situation: you were the most beautiful girl he's ever seen.
Gally picked up the note and read it in his head.
This is Y/N. On the last day of her first week in the glade, she will die. Let her know of this and we'll end you all.
"Uh..." Gally stuttered, nervous about the letter. "It's just the shucking list of supplies that are in here this week." He swallowed down all of his nervousness and tried to act like himself until he could tell another glader. Not Newt, of course. He would be heartbroken, especially since he obviously still loves her.
Gally propped you up to thick ropes and the gladers pulled you back up from above. He anxiously awaited for a time to talk with Minho and Alby about you and your predestined fate.
"Gally, what the shuck is this about? We got work to do," Alby said as he stepped into the room where Gally sat against a chair, arms crossed.
"Cut the klunky attitude, Alby. This is important," He snarled. Alby frowned at the keeper, but sat down anyway.
Minho storm d in next, clearly pissed off for whatever reason.
"Who do you think you are, makin' us stop our work for some stupid shuckin..."
"It's the greenbean! She's gonna die!" Gally shouted, a little too loudly. His face was red and twisted with rage. "I won't give ya the full details until you sit your klunkhole down and let me explain."
Alby and Minho exchanged nervous yet agitated glances before they sat on the chairs, looking spiteful and done with Gally entirely.
"Get talkin, Gally. This kinda thing needs plenty of explanation," Alby remarked, leaning forward.
"The paper wasn't a list of supplies. Read it yourself." Gally pulled the note out of his pocket and handed it to Alby, who mumbled it to himself as he read. Minho's eyebrows raised at the message. "Dang" was all he managed to get out.
"So, what? We keep this a secret? Just let her die?" Alby wondered, scratching the back of his head.
"I dunno, Alby. Aren't you the shuckin leader to figure this kinda thing out?" He asked, frowning.
Minho raised his hand like a little kid in a classroom.
"Minho," Gally said with an eye roll, clearly not in the mood for Minho's games.
"Why am I here? Let's go get Newt. He's better at this," Minho suggested. He got up to leave, but Gally stopped him.
"No one tells Newt," Gally said, shaking his head. "I remeber from the changing that the two of them were inseparable. Not to mention that he obviously still likes her. This'll be too tough on him. Not to mention that we've all seen how Newt gets when he's depressed." Each of them remembered Newt's suicide attempt in silence for a moment.
"So, what do we do?" Alby asked, scratching the back of his head.
"Protect her, I guess. Maybe we can save her." Minho says with a shrug.
"Okay, here's the shuck plan: this little secret stays between us, ok? We keep her within our field of vision at all times until this shucking curse is over," Gally explained. "One of us has to have an eye on her at all times."
"Good that," Minho said, getting up.
"Hey, where you goin?" Alby asked.
"Well, we gotta watch out for her, right? I'm gonna go introduce ourselves as her new bodyguards."
You strolled through the forest the next day, after successfully losing your "bodyguards." Boy, were they good at their job. Gally, the keeper of the builders, was always watching you out of the corner of his eye as he did his work. Alby, the head glader who was blessed with infinite free time, checked on you constantly. Because Minho, the keeper of the runners, was never able to watch over you during the day, he took the night shift and slept on a chair right outside of your room in the homestead. The second all of their jobs were over, they'd band together and escort you to dinner, then to the homestead to hang out.
You pondered a dream you had last night, in which you found yourself in a long corridor, a tall, handsome boy with shoulder length blonde hair and striking blue eyes holding your hand, his eyes filled with worry, telling you that everything would be alright.
"No matter how many memories they take," He said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
That boy was your true love and you knew it.
As you continued daydreaming about your lover, a voice from behind you called to you.
"Hello, greenie," He purred with a thick British accent.
You turned and you gasped at who you find yourself staring at. It was him, somehow. Same shoulder length blonde hair, same dreamy blue eyes, same attractive features.
"Did I scare you?" He wondered, taking a step closer.
"Umm... no. Well, a little," You stuttered, rubbing the back of your neck.
"Sorry 'bout that. Name's Newt, by the way," He said, extending his hand into your direction.
"Y/N," You replied. You shook his hand, but after the shake was over, he held on and pulled you an inch closer to him.
"I know. You're the talk of the whole bloody glade. Made quite the entrance, showin up unconscious. I was terrified you'd be gone before I got to meet ya," He said with a smile.
"Umm... thanks?" You smiled, slowly growing more comfortable and less anxious. He was so cute, and he had something about him that made your heart flutter.
As he took a few steps, pulling you along with him, you noticed for the first time the severe limp that he had.
"How'd ya get that?" You wondered, gesturing to his bad ankle.
"Oh, uh, nothing," He stuttered, clearly uncomfortable about the subject. "It'll never be an issue again, with you in my life."
"Newt, what do you mean?" You asked, more desperate to discover the source of his limp.
"This whole thing was too much for me. I couldn't bloody take it anymore," He said, eyes watering up. You decided not to press the issue any further, seeing where his explanation was going.
You stood up on your tip-toes and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Well, no need to dwell on past mistakes."
Minho watched from the distance as you helped Gally out with his work. You were quick and efficient with the tasks you were given, despite the fact that even Gally struggled with similar tasks. He smiled to himself, thinking that you were stronger than the keeper of the builders.
Being a builder was the second most challenging job, the only one more challenging was running. Would the others consider allowing you to be a runner? It was clearly the job you were meant for.
I'll nominate her for the job. She'll be safe with me, Minho thought as he jogged past you.
Thomas walked over to the lab, where the griever was being created. Workers huddled around a jar of red liquid, pouring in toxins. Thomas knew that those toxins would go into the griever that will be the end of you. They were making sure that the sting cannot be cured with the Grief Serum, and that upon being stung, you would be in more pain than you ever would've imagined.
He sighed. Your death was so unnecessary, yet W.I.C.K.E.D. was going to great lengths to ensure that the scheme to murder you would be successful. They'd even implanted the idea into Minho's head to make you a runner.
Thomas couldn't take it anymore. You were so kind, brave, and innocent... why did it have to be you?
A foolproof idea flashed into Thomas's mind that couldn't fail. It was so simple, and it would save your life without a doubt. He snuck through the hallways of the headquarters to find Teresa, who would surely help him with his plan.
"Minho, are you losin' it?" Alby shouted. The three of them sat in the same room as the last meeting, discussing Minho's latest idea.
"We're trying to protect her. The maze will get her killed!" Gally said, wondering why on earth Minho would think such an idea would benefit you.
"Yeah, but think about it. I'll be right there beside her. I'd promise, I'll protect her with my life," Minho explains. He put his hand over his heart as a sign that he was telling the truth.
"Minho, you really have the brains of a-" Gally started, but was interrupted by Alby.
"Maybe he's right," Alby mumbled.
"What?!?" Gally asks. He turned to face the leader with furrowed eyebrows.
"Gally, Minho is the strongest one here. If anyone will protect her, it's him. Besides, there aren't many people around here who treat her so good anyway. It'll give her a confidence boost, and Minho will protect her," He said, leaning forward on his chair and resting his elbows on his knees.
"Wow. You guys are insane," Gally said, eyebrows raised in shock.
"Well, 2-1 vote. Y/N's gonna be a runner, whether or not you like it," Minho said, a smirk on his face. Pissing Gally off was an additional perk to him winning the argument.
"It's a gorgeous day, isnt it?" Newt said, wrapping his arm around your waist. You were sitting together on a bench near the kitchen, four days later, munching on sweet, crunchy apples during your breaks.
"Uh-huh. Absolutely perfect. Even more perfect with you next to me," You said, resting your head on Newt's shoulder. You took a bite out of your granny smith. A satisfied moan escaped your lips as the juice flowed into your mouth.
"Umm, Y/N, you don't have a job quite yet, do ya?"
"Not yet," You mumbled, your mouth filled with fruit.
"I think you should work in the gardens, with me. It would be great," Newt said, inspecting his apple, trying not to make eye contact.
"Really?" You asked, turning to him. You grabbed his chin and turned his head to face you so you were staring into his blue eyes.
"I don't see you a lot throughout the day. I think it would be perfect if we spent our days together," He explained, his cheeks now a rosy color.
"Of course! I'd love to," You said, wrapping your arms around him. He placed his hands on your back and pulls you closer to him. In that moment, life in the glade couldn't get much better.
The alarm went off, and Teresa watched from the storage closet as the scientists filed out of the laboratory. She smiled to herself, knowing that it was Thomas who had set off the alarm.
As the last worker left the room, Teresa came out from the closet and got to work.
Take the green one to the left, the blue one to the right.....
After grabbing the two vials, she hurried over to the toxins that the workers had just made. With Thomas's instructions seared into her brain, she carefully alternated between the two liquids as she poured them into the bubbling orange serum.
The puff of teal smoke means it's working...
She held her breath as the last drop fell into the serum, and to her surpise, the puff of smoke came out from the top. She relaxed, knowing that you were saved.
Teresa and Thomas both knew that there was no way to stop W.I.C.K.E.D.'s plan entirely. So they altered it: instead of dying when you are stung, all you have to do is get a kiss from someone who is not immune.
As she remembered that the workers would be coming back soon, Teresa left, her heart warming at the thought that you have been saved. She only hoped that the workers wouldn't notice the change when they put the serum into the griever's stinger.
"What the hell do you mean?" You shouted. Minho had woken you up moments earlier, before the rest of the glade. Only he, you, Alby, and Gally were up, standing beside the monsterous doors that would open in minutes.
They had just made the decision that you were to be a runner. A runner! Spending your days in the maze, running nonstop, mapping out the inside, almost all day.... whose great idea was that? And you would rarely see Newt! How much worse could it get?!?
"I mean that this is the best way to keep you safe. You have enemies out here, but in the maze, with Minho, you won't be harmed," Alby explained.
"What the hell is this obsession you guys have with my safety?!? I'm pretty sure you guys aren't my parents, so get out of my business!" You shouted, getting only inches away from Alby's face.
"Watch your mouth, greenie. We're trying to keep you alive, but I don't mind if you get a beating or two along the way," Gally said between clenched teeth.
"Guys, I wanna stay here, work with Newt in the gardens!" You moaned, begging them to understand. Your complaint was followed by the terrible grinding of stone on stone that signaled the beginning of the day in the glade.
"Sorry, Y/N. But you have to. Our choice, not yours," Minho said, crossing his arms and turning to the opening. "Now, you're coming for training. Let's go." He jogged through the opening, and you knew there was a smug look plastered on his face.
Despite the sadness washing over you, you ran through the doors and catch up to Minho.