Disclaimer:
I do not own The Maze Runner, but I do want to own The Fever Code because asdfghjkl
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We were staring at the Box. That's how Alby decided to start the Tour. I had expected him to at least start off by telling us how long they had been there, how they got their supplies, and everything else I had wanted to know. But instead, we were staring at the Box. How interesting.
It was closed at the moment, its double doors that lay flat on the ground covered in chipping white paint. Alby pointed to them. "This here's the Box. Once a month, we get a Newbie like you two. Once a week, we get supplies, clothes, some food. Ain't needin' a lot- pretty much run ourselves in the Glade."
"Wait," I interjected. "You said a Newbie. How come there's two of us?"
"I ain't answerin' any questions until the end, ya hear me, girl?" Alby said gruffly, sounding agitated.
"You know," I continued on, sick of being called anything else besides my name. "I didn't know my name was Girl. Last time I checked, it was Dylan. Not Newbie, not Greenie, not Greenbean. Dylan."
Thomas whistled lowly and raised his eyebrows, pulling his lips together. I was surprised Alby didn't explode on me right then and there. Instead he pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut.
"Well, you're going to have to get used to it," he replied. "That's what you'll be called till a new Greenie arrives."
He stared hard at me as if waiting for me to make a comment on that. When I stayed silent, he continued.
"We don't know jack about the Box, you get me?" he said. "Where it came from, how it got here, who's in charge. The shanks that sent us here ain't told us nothin'. We got all the electricity we need, grow and raise most of our food, get clothes and such. Tried to send a slinthead Greenie back in the Box one time- thing wouldn't move till we took him out."
I wondered if they had ever tried to jump down the hole when the Box was gone.
Alby kept talking, never bothering to look us in the eye. I supposed he was too annoyed to do so. "Glade's cut into four sections." He held up four fingers as he counted off the words. "Gardens, Blood House, Homestead, Deadheads. You got that?"
Thomas hesitated before shaking his head no. I didn't quite understand it, either. I didn't just want to know what they were called. I wanted to know what their purposes were, why they were named that. Alby wasn't giving us enough information to feed our empty minds.
Alby's eyelids fluttered in annoyance and he looked the exact opposite of what we probably did. He seemed like he'd rather be anywhere else than there, while Thomas and I would probably punch someone if they tried to stop the Tour before it was finished.
Alby pointed to the northeast corner, where the fruit trees and fields were. I shuddered, remembering that one Glader's words from yesterday.
"Gardens- where we grow the crops. Water's pumped through pipes in the ground- always has been, or we'd have starved to death a long time ago. Never rains here. Never." He pointed to the southeast corner, at the animal pens and barn. "Blood House- where we raise and slaughter animals." He pointed at the living quarters. "Homestead- stupid place is twice as big than when the first of us got here because we keep addin' onto it when they send us wood and klunk. Ain't pretty, but it works. Most of us sleep outside, anyway."
Thomas held his hand to his head like he was dizzy. I was about to ask him if he was all right, but Alby continued on, pointing to the southwest corner where the forest area was, fronted with pitiful trees and bushes. "Call that the Deadheads. Graveyard's back in that corner, in the thicker woods. Ain't much else. You can go there to sit and rest, hang out, whatever." He cleared his throat like he was interrupting himself so he could change the subject. "You'll spend the next two weeks working one day apiece for our different job Keepers- until we know what you're best at. Slopper, Bricknick, Bagger, Track-hoe- somethin'll stick, always does. Come on."
I didn't know what any of those last words meant, but I knew I definitely didn't want to be a Track-hoe.
Alby walked toward one of the doors, located between what was apparently called the Deadheads and Blood House. The horrible smell of dirt and blood filled the air. Why did they even need a Graveyard?
Wait. When Thomas and I first arrived, didn't Alby say something about someone dying? What was his name? Nick? It made me wonder how many could possibly have perished.
Alby pointed to the large barn in the back corner. "Back there's where the Slicers work. Nasty stuff, that. Nasty. If you like blood, you can be a Slicer."
Something inside of me cringed at those words.
We were lead to the South Door, which was open, but Alby stepped in front of it like he suspected we would take off into the Maze. "Out there's the Maze." Alby jabbed a thumb behind his back. "Two years, I've been here. Ain't none been here longer. The few before me are already dead." My face drained of color and my stomach dropped. Well, that answered my question about how many Gladers could possibly have died. "Two years we've tried to solve this thing, no luck. Shuckin' walls move out there at night just as much as these here doors. Mappin' it out ain't easy, ain't easy nohow." He nodded toward a concrete building.
So I had been right about there being more to the Maze. But what did he say about it- the walls moved? How could they possibly move? The science behind it-
My head spun and I suddenly knew why Thomas felt dizzy earlier. We had begged for information, and now Alby was giving it to us. He was giving it to us fast and with no breaks in between.
Thomas stepped forward toward the Maze, but Alby immediately pushed out a hand and stopped him. "Ain't no goin' out there, shank."
"Why not?" Thomas asked.
Because there are Grievers out there, stupid! My mind shouted. But wait. Newt said they only came out at night, so during the day, there shouldn't have been anything to fear. So why couldn't we go out and have a look, even for a second?
"You think I sent Newt to ya before the wake-up just for kicks? Freak, that's the Number One Rule you'll never be forgiven for breaking. Ain't nobody - nobody - allowed in the Maze except the Runners. Break that rule, and if you ain't get killed by the Grievers, we'll kill you ourselves, you get me?"
I was fed up with Alby's attitude. We were new. We were scared. We didn't understand anything. We just wanted to know. So why was he being so rude about it?
"Alby, I am about this close to slapping you in the face," I spat, holding up two fingers barely held apart. "We just want answers. We don't know anything. Surely you remember what that's like, right? When you got here, I'm positive you weren't implanted the knowledge of anything and everything all at once, right? So why don't you calm it down a bit? Maybe it would be best for everyone."
Alby frowned so deeply I was afraid he would have wrinkles right then and there. "Girl, another sassy, klunk-filled remark comes out of your shuck mouth, I'm having you thrown in the Slammer, you got me?"
"I'm not afraid of you," I snapped. "I think I pretty much have the gist of how things work. You can't do anything without all of the Keepers' - is that it? - consent, am I right? And I'm sure that most of them wouldn't have me thrown in the Slammer just because I stood up for myself and Thomas."
Alby's eyes narrowed and he suddenly lunged out, grabbing my wrist so tightly I cried out in pain. "That's it, I'm--"
He was cut off by a booming, ringing alarm that sounded from all directions. I clamped my free hand on my ears, trying to block out the sound. It was even worse than the walls moving.
Alby wasn't scared. He seemed...confused. The alarm clanged through the air, but Alby was still frozen.
"What's going on?" Thomas asked, and I noticed he too was covering his ears. He seemed just as frightened as me.
"That's weird," was all Alby said as he scanned through the Glade. I noticed people from the Blood House were looking around, just as confused.
"What's up with that?" a short boy called to Alby.
"I don't know," Alby murmured back.
I couldn't take it anymore. The ringing was driving me crazy. "What the hell is that?"
"The Box, shuck-face, the Box!" And then Alby took off, not remembering he was still holding onto my wrist. I was dragged along with him, almost face-planting on the ground before I managed to get my feet under me and run along with him.
"What about it?" Thomas questioned, running alongside us.
Dozens of kids were running around the courtyard. The whole Glade was swallowed up in a huge panic. Alby finally let go of my wrist, and I tripped and fell to the dirt, not expecting him to release me like that.
I noticed with dismay that there was a bright red mark in the shape of a clutched hand on my skin from how hard Alby was holding me. Someone helped me up and I noticed it was Thomas, picking me up by the underside of my arms and hoisting me up into a standing position.
"Newt, what's going on?" he called to the older boy. He turned to us and came over, calm in the middle of chaos.
"Means a bloody Newbie' comin' up in the Box." He paused as if waiting for us to be impressed. "Right now."
"So?" Thomas asked. I then noticed that what I had mistakened for calm was actually excitement. Newt's brown eyes were sparkling and his lips kept twitching into a grin.
"So?" Newt repeated, his jaw dropping slightly. "Greenie, we've never had three Newbies show up in the same month, much less two days in a row. It was a surprise to all of us when both you and Dylan showed up. Usually there's only one."
And without another word, he ran off to the Homestead.
gif is dylan when she's 100% done with alby's bs
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okay, unless you dont follow me, you probably know about my new updating shedule. if thats not the case and you have no idea what it is, here's the news:
i'll be updating weekly now; every wednesday, to be exact. it's going to be a big change for me, but i'll try to stick to it!
until next time,
-kristyn