Disclaimer: I give James Dashner full credit for the Maze Runner Trilogy. The only character I own is Kelley.

The next month was rather solemn. No one, not even Gally, brought up what had happened that night. 

Gally and Newt spent nearly a week in the Slammer. Alby would have kept them in longer, but I begged him to let them out. It wouldn't have worked if I didn't start crying. I wasn't entirely sure why I had cried. I didn't have one specific reason. I wasn't that terribly upset that they were being punished for so long. I guess I was just so worn out from everything that was happening, everything that I was worried about. It finally caught up to me in one huge sweep of emotion.

Newt became very careful with how our physical relationship played out. It took him almost two weeks before he kissed me again, and I was fine with that. I wasn't even emotionally ready for the hug he gave me after he had been set free. 

It was hard to move on, but I got better. I pushed the experience into the back of my mind. I made it the last thing I would think about. I focused more on helping out the Gladers. I focused on others and what they needed. I solved problems that people needed help with when Alby wasn't there and Newt was being indignant. I made sure everyone was clean and eating well. I brightened up the Homestead with some decorations here and there. Alby was a bit upset with me fixing everything to my liking, but no one complained. Frankly, I made things look better. The Glade had been needing a woman's touch for a long time.

I became the "Glade Mother". Clint gave me that clever name and it soon caught on. The boys came to me with problems they had with other people or if they needed to talk about something. I was glad to help, and not to brag or anything, but I was very good at giving advice.

Chuck had issues sleeping through the night his first two weeks in the Glade. He had night terrors and cried a lot, so he spent most of the time sleeping on the floor at the foot of my bed. No one made fun of him for it. Everyone knew they couldn't or I'd be kicking their butt out into the maze, never to be seen again. I was very protective of Chuck. Probably too protective, but he was a sensitive kid. He ended up being put as a Slopper and this hurt his self-esteem very much. He wouldn't show it around the other boys, but at night when we would talk to each other to help him sleep, he told me that he felt like he didn't fit in with the people here. He said I was the only one who made him feel normal.

My heart ached when I heard this. I wanted him to feel special. I wanted him to know just how much he meant to me. That he was a talented boy who would grow into an astounding man one day. He would do so much for the world once we got out of this place. He had so much to offer.

Clint decided it was time for me to ditch the crutches and walk on my own. I was excited. I wanted to sprint across the Glade, jump, dance, do anything and everything that I hadn't been able to do with my leg before. 

I stumbled like a toddler for the first few days, but eventually, my muscles got used to being used every day again. It felt nice to be free and independent. Never again did I want to be so reliant on something.

Sadly, I hadn't healed the way Clint and Jeff had expected. I had a limp. Something was off with my leg and there was no way to fix it. It didn't hurt to walk, but it hurt to run more than it used to. It really wore down on my spirits.

Newt did little things for me each day to help me out. He would grab things for me: do part of my work in the Gardens before I woke up, give me extra time to relax my leg, leave letters for me on my bed each morning. I loved his letters. I kept them all under my pillow. I was sure that this was the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me in my entire life.

I tried to return the favor, but it didn't quite turn out as I had expected.

"You don't have to do things like this for me, Kelley." He said.

"But you're always so kind to me. You leave me the nicest letters and I can't let that go without recognition."

He laughed; something that caught me off guard and would have slightly offended me if it had not been so light-hearted. He gently grabbed my hands and held them close to his heart.

"I don't write you letters to get recognition. I write them because I love you and I don't want you to ever forget that."

A part of me wanted to slap him for not letting me be a kind girlfriend, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. His words melted my heart and I felt weak in the knees. I was probably blushing as red as a beet as I mumbled that I promised I wouldn't feel obligated to give him presents. He laughed once again and kissed me on the forehead before we went back to work on the Gardens. 

Nothing was really changing overall. Everything seemed to start smoothing out nicely. It was almost paradise. I was ready to settle here. I wondered if we would actually stay here long enough to the point where Newt and I would be old enough to get married. 

Marriage.

Whoa. Where did that come from? I was only about 17 years old. I couldn't possibly be old enough to even be thinking about marriage and having a family. Especially in a place like this. Yet the idea was still there and it didn't want to go away. I thought about it almost every day. It was becoming a problem for me. I started drifting off in a daydream about having children of my own and this caused some issues with my work. I would mess up every now and again and Newt got really worried about me. I told him it was just because I was tired. I was too embarrassed to tell him what I was really thinking about.

A month had officially passed since Chuck's arrival. It was the day for the next Greenie to arrive. My previous worries about the next Greenie being a girl started to bubble up inside of me again. I wanted a girl friend, but how likely was that going to be? Chuck hadn't been a girl. What guaranteed that this one would be a girl too? Was I really doomed to be the only girl here?

Newt could tell I was anxious during breakfast.

"What's bothering you, love?"

"Just the Greenie. I don't know if it's gonna be a girl. I want it to be a girl so bad. I love you guys and all, but it's really hard being the only female around here. There's too much testosterone. I'm slowly going insane."

He laughed, "We wouldn't want that now would we?" 

I laughed and smacked his arm, "No, we wouldn't. Unless you'd like having a girlfriend with klunk for brains."

He scrunched his nose.

"I think I'll pass on that."

"I thought so."

Something was off. I had an odd feeling inside of me. It felt weird. I couldn't tell what it was. Newt looked at his watch for the fifteenth time in the past three minutes.

"Is everything okay?" I asked.

"The Box is late."

I turned to look at him.

"What?"

"The alarm should have gone off 20 minutes ago. It never does this. The only other time it did this was when..." He stared off into the Glade.

"When?"

"Well, when you came."

My heart skipped a beat. Did this mean there was going to be another girl? Was she going to come in through the maze like I had? Was that just how girls entered the maze? That seemed kind of sexist, but I didn't really care at the moment. We might be getting another girl.

I stood up, "Did the Runners already leave?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Shuck. The Runners need to find her. She might be out there."

"She?"

"Our next Greenie. Another girl. The person I've been waiting for these past two months, that I've been begging the creators for. She could be coming and the Runners won't even know to look for her."

I looked past the doors and into the maze. A crazy thought ran through my head. It was too crazy, but I was getting a little desperate.

"Kelley, what's running through that head of yours?"

"I want to go out into the maze to find her. I had to spend the night in the maze because of how confused I was. I don't want her to go through the same thing I did. She might not make it."

I started walking away. Newt quickly got up and stopped me in my tracks.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You're not going out there."

"Newt, I know this sounds crazy. I know you don't want me out in the maze. But what if she's out there all alone? I managed to stay sane, but what if she can't? What if she needs my help?"

"I understand you're worried, love, but there's no sense in going out there after her if the Runners have already left. Your leg can't handle that much physical activity."

I looked at Newt and then back out into the maze. I had a strong urge to go out there. To run and find her. But Newt was right. I shouldn't and I couldn't. I'd have to trust the Runners to find her. If she was even out there.

"Okay. I'll stay here, but only because I know I'd end up hurting myself. Let's pray you're faith in the Runners holds true."

He smiled, "You're so headstrong sometimes."

"I'll take that as a compliment," I smiled back at him.

The day dragged on slowly and the alarm never rang. Everyone was anxious. They all remembered the last time this had happened. I knew they were all hoping for another girl.

I talked with Alby for a while. He was just as confused as the rest of us.

"I don't know what the shuck this means, Kelley. I've been asked the same question by nearly 27 other slintheads. Go back to work." He stomped off in one of his usual temper tantrums.

"Yes, sir," I stuck my tongue out at the back of his head.

Hours passed. I couldn't stay focused on my task and eventually, Zart let me have a short break. I didn't know what was wrong with me. Sure, I wanted another girl, but was that really why I was so worried? There was something wrong here. I couldn't tell what it was. Something at the back of my brain nagging away like an old housewife. Newt came over and sat next to me.

"You're really starting to worry me, Kelley. What's wrong?"

"I don't know."

"Is it still the Greenie?"

"I think so?" I looked at him and sighed. "Honestly, nothing about today felt right. There's something that's been bothering me, but I don't know what it is. It's just my gut feeling. I feel like I need to brace myself...like I need to go out and do something."

"Well, that's bloody confusing."

"You could say that again."

He reached out and held my hand.

"It'll be okay. Things will make sense in their own time."

That didn't sit well with me.

"I'm not sure about that."

He didn't respond. I bet he felt it too. The awkward tension in the air that steadily grew as the day moved on and as the alarm ceased to go off. The Runners would come back within the next four hours and if they didn't have a Greenie in tow... I wasn't sure what I was going to do, but I was going to do something.

Zart put me back to work. I was able to focus a little better. I worked as hard as I could. I needed this to pass the time, to help myself relax. I felt tense and I couldn't shake the feeling no matter what I did.

Then I heard shouting. Shouting from one of the maze entrances. My head perked up like a prairie dog and I turned to the Southern Door. I could see Minho pulling a body into the Glade. My heart was racing. Was it her? Had they found her?

I stood up and ran over. 

Ran was a generous term. I hobbled, more or less.

When I was within 30 feet of Minho, I could definitely tell that the body he was dragging was in fact not a female, but a Glader. It was Ben and he was thrashing around like a madman.

I turned around and shouted at Newt.

"Get the Med-jacks!"

Newt pivoted and ran for the Homestead. I came up to Minho and reached for Ben's legs. 

I had to stop for a second to gather myself and not lose my lunch. I had never seen someone look so repulsive. Ben's skin was sickly pale which harshly contrasted to the red and purple blotches that must have been bruises. There were cuts all over, tearing through his clothes and skin. His veins were enlarged and green, webbing all over his body like spiderwebs, thick enough that they could have been used as ropes. His eyes....dear goodness his eyes would give me nightmares for the next week. They were wild and bloodshot, darting from side to side like a madman. It seemed like he was hardly human anymore.

I shook my head and grabbed his legs. He was heavier than I had expected, but there wasn't time to waste. I was almost kicked in the face about five times before other Gladers started running over to help. Alby took Ben's legs from me, but I kept following. I was confused as to what was happening. I hadn't seen anything like this before.

"Did he get stung?" Alby asked Minho.

"Yeah, I found him like this. Screaming his shuck head off. I don't know how long he had been stung before I got there."

Stung. I knew what that was, I just hadn't ever seen it...So this is what it looked like. This is the terror I had been told about. The fate I had almost suffered from if I hadn't been so lucky in the maze. I shuddered.

Ben started convulsing violently again and his leg shot out, nailing Alby in the face.

"Shuck!" Alby almost dropped Ben, but he soon got a hold of the poor boy with help from Gally.

We got to the Homestead and Clint, Jeff, and Newt met us at the door.

"Shuck, not Ben," Clint said and helped the boys take Ben upstairs to give him the grief serum.

Most of the boys that had followed to watch the scene stopped at the base of the stairs and slowly went back to their day. I, however, tagged along. I was slightly disgusted by how much this occurrence intrigued me, but I couldn't bridle my curiosity. Something about this felt strangely familiar. 

They brought him to the second floor, into an empty room and practically threw him onto the bed. Alby, Newt, Minho, and Gally tied down his limbs to keep him somewhat still and Clint grabbed a syringe filled with a strange liquid. The grief serum. Clint sat next to Ben and injected the serum into one of the veins bulging on Ben's arm. Slowly, but surely, the convulsions ceased. Ben laid there on the bed, his breaths shaky and slow.

No one said anything for the longest time. Then Minho turned away.

"I'm getting food."

He left the room and so did Gally. I looked at Clint and Alby.

"This is the changing?" I asked.

Alby nodded, "And you won't want to be around for long. I suggest you get out and leave Clint and Jeff to take care of the poor shank."

I looked back at Ben. He'd be getting his memories. He'd remember the life before, but would be too scared to tell anyone. It was another thing about this place I couldn't understand. Was the world out there really that bad? Worse than what was in here?

Newt gently grabbed my arm and lead me out of the room.

"Can this day get any weirder?" 

Newt shrugged, "You never know with this place."

There was a blood-curdling screech from Ben's room as we left the Homestead. I covered my ears until it was over.

"He's going to be okay, right?"

"Hard to tell, Minho wasn't sure how long he had been stung before he got to him. If we gave him the grief serum too late..."

Newt went silent. I decided that I shouldn't ask any more questions. 

It seemed odd to carry on with the day as if nothing had happened. As if one of our own had not just been assaulted by a griever. As if he weren't going through pain worse than we could imagine. As if there wasn't the chance we would lose him.

Hours passed.

I hated this feeling.

All the waiting. 

Waiting for something and getting nothing in return.

I wanted to punch something, but instead, I just kicked my shovel into the dirt as hard as I could and left it there, sticking out like another one of the plants.

Then an alarm went off. The alarm went off. 

I jumped. It had startled me. I quickly looked over at Newt who looked just as confused as everyone else. The Box had decided to come after all, just late. All my previous worry about the Greenie being stuck in the maze had been unnecessary, but I didn't have time to be embarrassed.

I ran over to the Box. I stood there and stared at the doors, wondering how long these 30 minutes would take. My heart was pounding and I couldn't think straight.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked to see Newt with Chuck in tow.

"You alright, love?"

"I'll be alright once she's safe."

I looked back at the Box. The boys stood on either side of me, most likely waiting with me just to make sure I wasn't going crazy. It felt like hours before it was finally time to open the doors.

Alby and Newt pulled it open and I leaned over to get a look inside, nearly falling in because of the countless others around me doing the exact same thing.

What I saw crushed my spirits.

It was a boy, maybe 16, with dark brown hair and brown eyes. He was squinting at the light and covered his face with his hands. The Gladers shot comments and complaints at him, most of them relating to him not being female, but I didn't pay attention to what they were specifically. A wave of different emotions overcame me, blocking out all outside activity. All I could see was the boy.

I felt angry towards him. Angry for him being here when it should have been a girl to come. Angry that he would be just as confused as everyone else and wouldn't have answers. Angry that all he did was give me more questions that I couldn't figure out. 

Then I was angry at myself for getting mad so quickly. The poor guy was scared out of his mind. You could see it on his face as he was hoisted up out of the Box. He looked around, his head snapping back and forth so fast I thought he would snap his neck. Something about the way he moved seemed familiar.

We all stepped back to give him some space as he turned around, taking in every piece of the Glade. This made the boys laugh, and I have to admit if I hadn't been so bummed out I would have laughed at the poor shank too. 

"Look at the Greenbean," Gally said. "Gonna break his shuck neck checking out the new digs."

I rolled my eyes.

"Shut your hole, Gally," Alby said.

The Greenie finally turned his head towards us. Looking at each person. When he came to me, he paused for a while. His eyes looked familiar.

"Where am I?" He asked.

"Nowhere good," Alby said. "Just slim yourself nice and calm."

"Which Keeper he gonna get?" Someone asked from behind me.

"I told you, shuck-face. He's a klunk, so he'll be a Slopper. No doubt about it." The Glader giggled more than was necessary.

I shook my head and sighed. The poor Greenie was confused out of his mind and these boys were doing nothing but hurting instead of helping.

"Look at him. No way he could make it. He couldn't even do that much, bet my liver on it." Gally sniggered.

"I said shut your holes!" Alby boomed. "Keep yapping and next break will be cut in half!"

They all went quiet rather quickly. We all appreciated our break time. 

The Greenie looked around some more and I thought it strange how he wasn't talking to us, not asking questions, not looking scared. He seemed awfully calm. The only slightly normal thing was that he still looked thoroughly confused. Alby stepped forward.

"It's a long story shank. Piece by piece, you'll learn. I'll be taking you on the tour tomorrow. Until then... just don't break anything." Alby held his hand out towards the Greenie. "The name's Alby."

The boy stared at Alby and then his hand and back at Alby. Then the little shank walked off and sat down at the base of a tree. He started looking a little more scared.

"Then tell me. Tell me the long story."

Alby looked at Newt. Then at me. He rolled his eyes and I had to keep myself from laughing a little.

"Seriously," The boy's voice had become more confident. "Where am I?"

Alby walked over and I followed. So did the rest of the Gladers. I could tell Alby's patience was growing really thin with the klunk this Greenie was giving him. I began to count the seconds before he blew up. Alby sat down in front of the boy.

"If you ain't scared, you ain't human. Act any different and I'd throw you off the Cliff because it would mean you're a psycho."

The boy's eyes went wide. Alby was scaring the poor shank to death.

"The Cliff?"

Alby rubbed his face, "Shuck it. Ain't no way to start these conversations, you get me? We don't kill shanks like you here, I promise. Just try and avoid being killed, survive, whatever."

The color drained out of the Greenie's face. Alby ran his hands through his hair and sighed.

"Man, I ain't good at this."

I stepped closer and kicked Alby's leg gently.

"That's for darn sure."

Newt stepped up next to me, "Just wait for the bloody tour, Alby. The kid's gonna have a bugging heart attack and nothing has even been said yet." He bent down and held his hand out for a handshake as Alby had done earlier. "Name's Newt, Greenie, and we'd all be right cheery if you'd forgive our klunk-for-brains leader, here."

To my surprise, the kid shook Newt's hand.

"Pipe it shuck-face," Alby pulled Newt down to sit next to him. "At least he can understand half of my words."

I thumped the back of Alby's head with my hand.

"Be nice, Alby." 

The boys laughed and I sat down next to Newt. I looked at the Greenie and he stared back at me. There was something awkward in the air. I felt that nagging at the back of my mind again.

Alby gestured to all around us, "This place is called the Glade, all right? It's where we live, where we eat, where we sleep. We call ourselves the Gladers. That's all you-"

"Who sent me here?" The boy asked angrily. "How'd-"

Alby's hand shot out and grabbed the collar of the Greenie's shirt. 

"Get up shank! Get up!" Alby stood pulling the boy up with him

I stood up quickly after. Everyone was taken off guard by the sudden burst of rage. Alby was getting in the boy's face and I could tell the Greenie wanted to run away and hide. I put a hand on Alby's arm, trying to bring him back to reality.

"Alby, slim it. Be careful with him."

Alby didn't hear me.

"No interruptions, boy! Whacker, if we told you everything! You'd die on the spot right after you klunked your pants. Baggers would drag you off, and you ain't no good to us then, are you?"

"I don't even know what you're talking about." The boy's eyes were wider than I'd ever thought possible for a human, then again that's just what Alby does to you.

Newt grabbed both of Alby's shoulders, "Alby, lay off a bit. You're hurting more than helping, you know?"

Alby sighed and let go of the Greenie. I made sure to step a little closer to the boy to make sure I could stop another one of Alby's outbursts from hurting the poor kid again.

"Ain't got time to be nice, Greenbean. Old life's over, new life's begun. Learn the rules quick, listen, don't talk. You get me?"

The Greenie looked at Newt.

"Greenie, you get him, right?"

Then the boy looked at me and I nodded, hoping to get him to comply with Alby just for the moment. Luckily, the kid was smart.

"Yeah."

"Good that," Alby said. "First day. That is what today is for you, shank. Night's coming, the Runners will be back soon. The Box came late today, ain't got time for the tour. Tomorrow morning, right after the wake-up." He turned to me and Newt. "Get him a bed, get him to sleep."

"Good that," Newt said. 

Alby turned back to the Greenie, "A few weeks, you'll be happy, shank. You'll be happy and helping. None of us knew jack on the first day, you neither. New life begins tomorrow."

He turned away and pushed through the crowd of boys that had drawn to the scene like moths to a bright light. Then, slowly but surely, the boys left us alone and went back to their daily duties.

I faced the Greenie and noticed he had curled himself into a ball at the base of the tree once again. His eyes looked misty and I thought I saw his hands shaking a bit.

"What did I do? What did I do? Why'd they send me here?" His voice was a slightly hoarse whisper. The poor kid needed some water.

Newt squatted next to him and clapped him on the shoulder, "Greenie, what you're feeling, we've all felt it. We've all had our first day. We've all come out of that dark box. Things are bad. They are and they'll get much worse for you soon. That's the truth. But down the road a piece, you'll be fighting true and good. I can tell you're not a bloody sissy."

The boy looked at me and then to Newt, "Is this a prison?"

"Done asked four questions, haven't you? No good answers for you. Not yet, anyway. Better be quiet now, accept the change. Morning comes tomorrow." Newt said.

The boy's head slumped down and he didn't speak. I sat back down next to him and placed a hand gently on his arm.

"It'll be alright, kid. This place may be hell, but friends certainly make the load lighter..." A thought came to my mind. "You know what? I'll introduce you to Chuck. He may be a bit annoying at times, but his laughter could-"

Then Ben's scream ripped through the mood. I stumbled a little bit from the noise. It had been so sudden. 

"Shuck it," Newt said. "Can't the bloody Med-jacks handle the boy for ten minutes without needing my help?"

"Go," I told him. "I'll make sure the Greenie here gets settled in."

Newt nodded and held my hand for a while before getting up and heading towards the Homestead. I looked back at the Greenie and sat there for a good five minutes, letting him have time to calm down and understand I wasn't there to grill him like Alby.

"What's your name, Greenie?"

He looked up at me slowly.

"If you don't mind me asking, I suppose."

"Thomas," He croaked.

Thomas...interesting name.

"Well, Thomas," I held out my hand and he shook it. "I'm Kelley, and it sounds to me that you could really use a glass of water. Would you want one?"

He nodded.

"Alright, I'll be back soon. Don't move. Just sit here and relax. Trust me, it'll help."