chapter two
The Maze

"Elizabeth." a voice whispered to the sleeping blond. "Elizabeth."

The sleeping girl felt someone shake her but she chose to ignore it. She was happily wrapped in blankets that seemed to love her. That was before she felt something missing. Which were probably the navy blue blanket that Newt took off her body.

"This better be good Newt." Elizabeth sleepily rubbed her eyes.

"I'm going to show you why we don't go into the bloody maze unless you're a Runner," Newt told his sister. Not only was he doing his job but he wanted to protect his twin. Other than the Gladers, Elizabeth was the only family he had. The same DNA, traits, habits, etc were all important to him. The only thing that he could hold onto from his past life.

"Can you show me in five minutes?" Elizabeth asked the boy, trying to fall back to sleep.

"Yes, we can do that." Newt replied. He watched as his sister snuggled her head into her pillow before he picked her up.

"Newt!" Elizabeth whined. "I can walk myself."

Newt set his sister down before they both headed towards a specific spot. Elizabeth lazily rubbed her eyes before Newt pulled back a curtain of ivy vines from a dirty window.

"What am I looking at?" Elizabeth asked. Newt kept his eyes on the window, his eyes deep in trance.

"Out there's the Maze. Everything we do - our whole life, Lizzy - revolves around the Maze. Every lovin' second of every lovin' day we spend in honor of the Maze, tryin' to solve somethin' that's not shown us it has a bloody solution, ya know? And we want to show ya why it's not to be messed with. Show ya why them buggin' walls close shut every night. Show ya why you should never, never find your butt out there."

Newt stepped back, holding onto the ivy vines curtain. He didn't have to tell Elizabeth anything when she stepped up to look through the window. Her face was almost touching the window but she had to stop herself. Elizabeth had to focus for minutes to see pass the dirty window, which she wanted to clean.

She caught the glimpses of something moving. Elizabeth froze in her spot, her blood turned cold, her throat was being strained from letting out a small scream. Because in front of her was a large, bulbous creature the size of a cow but with no district, shape twisted and see them along the ground in the corridor outside. It climbed the opposite wall, then leaped at the thick-glassed window with a loud thump. Elizabeth let out a shriek before she tried to move back to fall on her butt. She purposely fell on her back to look at the sky instead of that monstrosity. Her breaths were uneven before Newt appeared in her perspective vision.

"What the bloody hell was that thing?" Elizabeth asked. Newt extended an arm for Elizabeth to take. She gladly accepted before she was brought on her feet.

"That bloody thing was a Grievers. That's what we call 'em. Nasty bugger, eh? Just be glad the Grievers only come out at night. Be thankful for these walls." Newt told his twin. Elizabeth's desire to against Newt's word was destroyed when she saw the Grievers. But when he mentioned that they came out at night, the desire came back. The desire to go against what Newt told her and to go into the maze. To run through every twist and turn and to find a way out. The thought of running made her feel a bit jumpy. Newt looked at the window. "Now you know what's in the bloody maze. This isn't a joking matter, Lizzy. You've been sent to the Glade, Greenie, and we'll be expecting' ya to survive and help us do what we've been sent here to do. All because you're the first girl, don't expect a special treatment."

"I know it's not a bloody joke, Newt. And I don't expect a bloody treatment, all I know and feel is that I work for what I want."

***

Elizabeth sat under a tree she grew used too. She was waiting under the tree, waiting for the bloody doors to open. She wanted to see the Runners leave the Glade and enter the maze. The one area that Newt forbid her to go other than a few other areas.

Elizabeth stood up and stretched before she decided to run a couple of laps. She can't just sit there for two hours and not do something proactive. Especially since she gets bored very easily. Elizabeth ran at a decent pace and continued running for an hour before she got distracted by the animals in the pens.  She stood there, petting the only dog there and smiling at the pigs. She would occasionally run from the chickens from time to time when they chased her.

"Don't worry chickens. I'll make sure to enjoy eating you when they serve chicken." Elizabeth promised the chickens that chased her for the tenth time. It wasn't her fault that she was trying to get an egg. Elizabeth shook her head since she was talking to chickens.  She turned on her heels and walked towards the kitchen, she felt like help was needed.

"I saw you running." An Asian looking boy told the blond girl. Elizabeth raised her eyebrow at the statement.

"Are you an admirer, a stalker or a pervert?" Elizabeth asked. She somehow ended up getting plenty of those within the short amount of time she was in the glade.

"I am my own admirer." the boy said.

"What's there to admire?" Elizabeth sassed. The boy's face fell.

"I've been beaten at my own game." He mumbled. "Who are you?"

"Same goes to you." Elizabeth rudely told the boy.

"I asked first, Greenie."

"Why would you like to know?" Elizabeth asked.

"Greenie. Girl." He said in two words. Those were good reasons for Elizabeth to tell the boy her name but she wouldn't admit defeat easily.

"Minho, Elizabeth," Newt said, suddenly joining the conversation.

"Your name is Liz," Minho stated with a victorious face. Elizabeth's face fell, she only let one person so far to give her a nickname and that was Newt. "Wait. No. Beth. Your nickname is Beth!"

"That's almost as bad as Minho!" Elizabeth whined.

"Come on, Lizzy. You know it's actually a pretty good nickname." Newt added in, defending his friend.

"The two of you are lucky that your name is already short!"