The sky was dimming. Darkness fell over the Glade in an hour.

"Where are we going?"

"Tonight's special event."

Newt and the girl followed the rest of the Gladers as they crowded around what seemed to be a firepit: long sticks assembled into a teepee-looking shape. The boys were carrying long sticks that were sparking with flames.

"Light 'em up!" Nick leaded them, and they tossed their torches into the pit making a big fire. They cheered and repeatedly shouted "Gladers!"

Newt was with them, leaving the girl by her lonesome sitting on a log as she watched everyone. She sighed as they all said cheers to their glasses of whatever they were drinking. Minutes later, Newt came back and plopped next to her. "You're not a fan of parties?"

The girl gave a shrug. "What's there to party about," she said with no emotion in her voice.

"Supposed to be a celebration. Every Greenie gets one their First Day."

The girl propped her elbow on her leg and held her head. It was quiet for a moment. "I'm trapped here now, aren't I? Why would I want to celebrate that?"
Newt exhaled deeply. "Well, it beats sitting here alone."

She avoided eye contact and said grouchily, "Thanks, but I'd rather be alone. I already am alone. I'm the only girl here, and it'll be like this forever until God knows how long." There was a long pause, and then she slowly shifted her eyes to see Newt's face. "How long have you guys been here, anyway?"

Newt pursed his lips in thought. "Two years."

"Two years?" the girl repeated, stunned. "And you haven't found a way out?"

"Hey, shut up and I'll tell you something." Newt pointed to four or five guys sitting in the far left corner across from them. "See those guys over there? They're the Runners."

"Runners . . . . what—"

"They run"—Newt interrupted her, pointing to the nearest closed passageway of the walls—"what's out there. Mapping it. Memorizing. Try and find a way out."

"Well what's taking them so long to find an exit?" the girl asked impatiently.

"It's not that easy," Newt said. "The maze changes every night."

"Maze?"

"What?"

"You just said maze."

Newt didn't say anything for a moment.

The girl perked up. "So that's what's out there? Just a dumb ol' maze?"

Newt stared at her with all seriousness. "If I were you, I wouldn't talk about the Maze in vain . . . see, the walls change overnight. New maze every day. Harder to find a way outta here."

Processing the information, the girl swallowed hard. "How unfortunate are we?"

"Quite a bit, for the moment," Newt forced a laugh. "But those guys haven't given up yet. Every morning when the Doors open, they run the Maze, and they return here just before the Doors close. The only catch is—if those guys are in there and the doors close, then they're stuck out there for the night."

Newt looked deadly serious again. The girl lifted up her eyebrows. "So?"

"No one has ever survived a night in the Maze."

She froze. A stuttered "oh" was all she could manage.

"How . . . how do the walls change?" the girl asked, trying to change the subject.

"I don't exactly know, but if we bust outta this joint anytime soon and meet the bastards who decided it'd be fun to put us here, you can go right ahead and ask them."

The girl smiled, but it quickly faded. "People? What people?"

Newt sighed. "We call 'em the Creators."

She stammered, "Why would people send us here?"

Newt only shrugged. "As Nick says, don't question it; accept the change. We may've been put here for a reason, and whatever that reason may be, our best bet is to just live our lives the way it is now."

The girl bit her lip and looked away. She could only think about how dreadful her new life was going to be.

Newt patted her back. "Well Greenie, that's the end of discussion. We're not gonna let that ruin the fun tonight, now are we? C'mon, you're the guest of honor!" He stood up and offered his hand to stand her up. She reluctantly took it.

As they were swerving through packs of boys, the girl kept losing track of where she was going because of all the excitement in the air and rapid movement. While squeezing past a group of boys, sudden loud chanting disrupted her concentration, and when she circled around to find where the noises were coming from, a pair of guys robustly stumbled into her. In a swift second, she was knocked off her feet, slipped, and fell backward, plopping right onto her bottom.

Just as Newt and a few other guys helped her back up, she scolded, "Watch where you're going, moron!"

The guys who hit into the girl had been brawling. The taller guy gave the other guy one last shove and watched his victim stagger to the ground. Then he turned in the direction of the girl and smirked, "Sorry Greenie, didn't see you there." His voice was familiar, as she had heard it earlier that day.

She grimaced. "Yeah, good for you."

He cocked an eyebrow—damn, those were some eagle eyebrows he had!

"I don't think we met yet, Greenie. I'm Gally, but you can call me Captain Gally if you want." He winked, and the boys surrounding them chuckled.

Gally was tall with a stocky build and looked sixteen. He had short reddish-brown hair and menacing golden eyes, yet the only thing noteworthy about him were those eagle-wing eyebrows. Needless to say he was a little cute, but he had the attitude of an asshole that destroyed it.

The girl looked cautiously around her. She and Gally were together in the center of an expanding Glader circle.

"What's the matter Greenie," Gally said, "Not used to the new digs yet?"

Boys around them snickered. Uncomfortableness fell upon the girl. "Can you stop calling me Greenie?"

A wave of "ooh"s spilled from the crowd.

"Stop calling you that?" Gally sounded intimidating. "Well what do you want to be called? Shank?"

Laughter spreaded from the crowd.

She pursed her lips and crossed her arms. Gally noticed the annoyed glare she gave him. "No, I'm sorry. You definitely don't look like a shank"—Gally quickly eyed her up and down—"you're a shankette."

The boys roared in laughter. The girl's face reddened immediately.

"Doesn't she look like a shankette to you?" Gally encouraged the boys. They were all looking and pointing and repeating "shankette".

Someone must have noticed the way Gally had stared at her. "Who said Gally got the first shot at her?" they yelled from the crowd. Countless remarks fired back.

She huffed her breath angrily. She spat a little too loudly, "Excuse me! Haven't you guys seen a girl before?"

"Alright everyone, leave the girl alone," Nick announced. "Tuck it in for the night. Let's go. Come on."

On Nick's cue, the Gladers began to depart. Before leaving, Gally swiftly shortened the distance between him and the girl. "Sorry Greenie, we wouldn't wanna finish the night off on the wrong terms, so uhm . . . here." Trying to be a gentleman, he stretched out his hand.

She giggled sarcastically. "Oh, you wanna be my friend now? Well first of all, you better tell your minions over there to stop giving me nasty looks."

She motioned for Gally to turn around. He looked over his shoulder to see a group of boys making silly faces and taunting the duo from afar.

He simply rolled his eyes and jabbed a finger at the boys. "Alright shuck-faces, you gonna knock it off before I knock you all out? Get outta here!" It didn't take long for the boys to flee.

The girl smiled scornfully. "Thanks, Captain." Then she spun on her heel and left, as Gally scoffed after her.

She and Newt soon reunited. "Er, sorry about Gally—doesn't seem like he's fond of ya that much. You all right?"

She gave a careless shrug and shook it off. "That prick is the least of my concern."

"Touché. Let's get you into your sleeping arrangements."

"I know," she said. "I heard you all talking about it earlier. About me."

"You heard everything?" Newt asked raising his eyebrows.

"No, but enough."

She rubbed up and down her arms as a cold breeze came by. The air was cool and the walk was quiet to the Slammer. There was a row of four Slammers. Each was like a tiny shed; the roof was made of wood planks and hay, and the door was a set of prison bars composed of sticks and straw. It was a foot deep into the ground and the interior was painted concrete.

The girl stepped inside, careful not to trip. The concrete floor and back wall felt cold at the touch of her skin. Out of pity, she was offered a thin blanket and pillow. She set herself up just as Newt closed the gate from above.

Newt bent down at eye level. "You'll only be in here for a night. I'll make sure you're in better sleeping quarters tomorrow."

The girl pursed her lips. "Thanks."

"Just try and relax. See ya in the morning."

She watched him return to the forest and set himself a hammock. Exhausted and overwhelmed, the girl laid down, rested her head on the pillow, and lifted the blanket up to her chin. She squinted her eyes closed and tried to regulate her breathing. She kept contemplating her predicament, but thinking too much only worsened the anxiety she was feeling. She wanted to disappear by now. Her eyes soon quivered in hopelessness, leaving watery stains on her cheeks as she fell into a deep slumber.
__________

Hey guys!

This is by far my favorite chapter, probs because Gally's in it *crazy eyebrow dance* Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed!!

Amanda