"Addy. Addy!"

I'm shaken awake. Out of reflex, I throw a fist at the attacker.

"Argh!" Tommy cries as my punch hits him right in the eye. "Chill! It's just me!"

I gasp and sit up as I realize what I've done. "I'm so sorry, Tommy!" I giggle. "I didn't know it was you! Reflex, I swear!"

"Gosh, Addy. What sort of reflex is that?" Tommy complains, rubbing his face.

I shrug sheepishly. "Never wake a girl."

"Newt was smart to make me come get you," my brother mutters.

"Newt?" I inhale sharply out of instinct.

"Yeah..." Tommy trails off, eyeing me suspiciously. "He's showing us something, remember?"

"Oh." I'm disappointed that that's the only reason he came. "Right."

Tommy shrugs my strange behavior off. "He figured it'd be more appropriate to come get you since we're siblings. When did you tell him that?"

"Last night." I glance outside, rubbing sleep from my eyes. "What time is it?"

"Too early." Tommy leads me outside to where Newt, sure enough, is waiting.

"Get used to it," Newt says, overhearing my question. My face flushes. "Only let you sleep in yesterday to be nice. Wake-up is bright an early so you'll have to get used to it. Let's go." Newt breaks into a run, it's surprisingly steady considering his limp. Thomas and I match his pace. I'm surprised to find it easy to keep up with them. I shouldn't be able to run so effortlessly, but my body falls into a rhythm immediately. I wonder if I ran in my old life. Sure feels like it.

Newt stops at the West Wall and Thomas, being himself, immediately starts asking questions. "What are those?" He refers to blinking red lights on the wall's face.

"When you bloody need to know, you'll know, Greenie." Newt seems just as irritated to be up so early as I feel.

Surprising me, and evidently himself, Thomas blurts, "Well, it's kind of stupid to send me to a place where nothing makes sense and not answer my questions. Shank." The word sounds as out of place and unfamiliar in his mouth as it is in mine.

Newt chuckles. "I like you, Greenie."

I smile into the night. Tommy and Newt are so important in my life. I'm glad they're getting along. I blush, realizing what I just thought. Newt can't be important in my life. I barely know him. I shake my head at myself, grateful for the cover of darkness.

Several minutes pass with nothing but Thomas' impatient comments and questions, but finally an eerie light shines through the window.

"This," Newt says. "This is why you should never go out into the Maze."

A huge, blubbery creature seethes along the corridor. Silver spikes protrude from it's moist body. It climbs the wall and throws it's disgusting body at the window. Thomas shrieks and we both fall backwards. I stumble into Newt and he drops the ivy he held back to help me up. I blush and mutter my thanks, angry at myself for getting flustered like this at such a serious moment.

"Now you know what bloody lurks in the Maze," Newt says seriously. "You've been sent to the Glade and we'll be expecting you to survive and help us solve the buggin' Maze and find our way home."

---

Newt plops down at one of the various picnic tables at breakfast and Thomas and I follow him like scared puppies. Most of the boys are still asleep, but after what I'd seen, I didn't bother to try. The table is quiet aside from the occasional scrape of fork against plate as I shove my food around, lost in thought. Why would someone send a bunch of teenagers to a place so dangerous? What did we do to deserve this?

The loud stomping of a yawning, black haired boy startles me out of my thoughts. He grabs his food and plops down next to Newt and across from me.

"You're Minho," I say. "You're a Runner."

Minho nods inattentively and shovels his food into his mouth. "And you're a girl." He mutters sarcastically.

Thomas perks up at the sound of Runner and immediately starts bombarding him with questions. "You're a Runner? So you got out into the Maze every day? What's it like out there? What do you do?"

Minho glances up, rolling his eyes. "We run, slinthead. Why do you Greenies always come in here asking really stupid questions?"

"What do you expect us to do?" Thomas says, subconsciously pulling away in offense.

"Do what you're told," Minho says without missing a beat. "Keep your mouth shut. That's what I expect."

Thomas looks intimidated, but he doesn't back down. "Yeah, I'm sure that's exactly what you did as a Newbie." Newt raises his eyebrows and glances up in interest at this.

Minho scoffs, staring Thomas in the eyes. "I was one of the first Gladers, slinthead. Shut your hole unless you know what you're talking about." He rolls his eyes again but behind his sarcastic, Alpha dog facade, I see a flicker of kindness mingling with his humorous nature.

Before my brother can say anything else, I interject. "Have you ever found anything out there? Something to help find a way out of this place?"

Minho studies me, as if noticing for the first time that I'm there. "So you're the shank that beat up old Newtie?" Minho grins and Thomas shoots me a questioning look but I just look down, cheeks flushing. Newt's reaction is similar to my own. "To answer your question, Greenie, we haven't found anything until this Griever. Hopefully it's still there." Minho grumbles, obviously worried it might have moved while the Maze changed.

Finally, Newt joins into the conversation. "Well, Alby didn't want to go out so late. You might've been locked out there if you hadn't gotten back in time. A dead Griever or whatever klunk you find out there ain't much use to us if the messenger ends up dead."

Minho grumbles but doesn't argue, knowing Newt has a point.

"Ready to go, Minho?" A voice asks. Alby approaches, slinging a backpack over his shoulder.

Minho scrapes the remnants of his breakfast from his plate and into his mouth, throwing Alby a thumbs up.

Right on cue, a low grumbling alerts the opening of the doors. I watch as Alby and Minho head into the Maze in search of the dead Griever. Minho mutters that they shouldn't have waited and that it'd be gone by now while Alby argues back that it wouldn't have been safe to go right away and if the Griever was really dead it would stay that way. Not even outside the Glade and they're already arguing. I'm glad not to be going on that exersion.

A group of Gladers that I hadn't noticed before trudge past us, talking excitedly as they head to the Kitchens. Chuck pulls himself free from the crowd and slides into the spot previously occupied by Minho. "So they found a dead Griever, right?" The young boy begins.

"That's right, Chuckie," Newt replies.

"Who killed the stupid thing?" Chuck asks. Silence follows. None of us have a clue, but the question brings up a good point.

Finally, after a thoughtful silence, Newt pipes up. "Well shanks, we ain't got time to dawdle. There's work to be done." Newt acts confident but his eyes contain worry, fear even, probably towards his two fellow Gladers in the Maze.

Thomas is sent to work with Zart in the Gardens and I'm sent with Gally of the Builders. Chuck starts to follow me but Newt catches him and sends him back with the Sloppers. I feel bad for the kid, but I shouldn't have expected to get his company all the time.

I'm not good with Building as it turns out. Gally quickly decided that he didn't have the patience to tolerate me and hands me off to another boy about seventeen or eighteen, Alec.

Alec leads me to a small working station behind one of the Homestead's buildings, away from the prying eye, to teach me. After the fifth failed attempt at hammering the nail instead of my fingers, the boy wraps his arms around my body, guiding my hands. I tense up, but tell myself not to think much of it. I feel his body heat radiating off of him and onto my back, he's so close. Warm breath tickles my neck as he whispers, "Been quite a while since I've been this close to a girl. I'm not sure I've ever been this close." He chuckles to himself.

"Yeah," I mutter, trying to pull away. "Thanks. I think I've got it."

Instead of allowing me free, the boy wraps his arms tighter around me. Alec leans his head on my shoulder and I feel his buzzed blond hair brush against my cheek. His hands resting on my stomach sneak beneath my shirt.

"Please let me go," I say, ushering every ounce of command I have into the syllables. I push his hands back out of my shirt.

Alec ignores my request and I feel his face pull into a smile against my own. His fingers are relentless and creep upwards along my torso once again. I struggle against him, pushing his hands away.

"Get off me!" I say, louder. I hope he complies. I don't want to hurt anyone.

"Hush," Alec commands, pushing me against a wall and covering my mouth with his own.

I gasp and do all I can to shove the boy away but his strength over powers my own. I scream against him, his hands slide up and squeeze me. That's all I can take. I pull my knee up with all my might, hitting him right in the crotch. Alec stumbles back, groaning in pain.

"Don't touch me!" I scream, tears streaking down my face. I run away from the boy, watching him over my shoulder as he struggles to gather his bearings. A group of boys wanders over to the commotion and I run right into one. Newt.

"Woah, Addy, Addy," he says, worry oozing from every pore on his face. "What happened?" He wipes my tears and pulls my into an embrace.

"Newt!" I sob. I step away from the other boys and find a spot along the wall to sit, still crying hysterically, and pull my knees in to my chest. Newt sits next to me, confusion evident on his face. He rubs my back and waits for me to explain.

"Addy?" Thomas runs over to us, coated with sweat and dirt. "What happened?!"

I take deep, shuttering breaths. "H- He touched me." I moan. I bury my face in my hands to hide the embarassed redness that creeps over me even though I did nothing wrong.

Tommy stands up angrily and storms away, no doubt preparing to beat Alec up, but Newt stays at my side to comfort me, his face also contorting in anger.

I peek between my fingers and watch as Tommy pushes through the crowd shouting angrily, "Who did it?"

The boys disperse leaving Alec in plain view, still in pain. Thomas charges at him, pummeling the other boys face with his fists. The Gladers around call out and try to pull him off, but not before Tommy leaves Alec with a face full of blood and pain. My brother fights against the boys restraining his arms, breathing heavily.

Newt stands up and touches Tommy's shoulder commandingly. The boy's release him and he orders Tommy to take me somewhere safe. My brother fumes and pulls me into his arms, leading me towards my hut.

As soon as we've turned our backs, Newt starts ordering people around. "Take him to the Slammer. A week with nothing but bread and water." The Gladers erupt into mutterings at his words.

"A week?"

"That's harsh."

"Week?"

"What about the Greenie? He beat the guy up!"

"Shut. Up!" Newt commands. "I almost did the exact same thing. The Greenie goes unpunished." Newt pauses, as if daring someone to go against his words. No one does. "Yes, a week. I ought to make it more. Next time, if any of you try something like this, I won't be so bloody merciful so there better not be a 'next time!' If you touch her, even so much as lay a finger on her, you're getting Banished, no questions asked. You hear me? I don't think any of you slintheads would like to be cuddling up with buggin' Grievers anytime soon! Get back to work, you shanks!"

Alec is dragged past me and I catch a glimpse of his face. Blood covers everything and his eyes are sealed shut. I wonder if he's unconscious. He moans and I hear the Slammer doors clang shut.

Tommy takes me into my hut and I curl up on my bed, letting tears sink into my pillow freely.

Thomas paces the room muttering about how he only wished he'd had more time beat Alec's face. Finally when he's calmed down enough, he sits on the edge of my bed, rubbing my leg. "Anything I can get you?" He asks, his angry demeanor melting into sympathy.

I shake my head, wiping at my face. "I just need a minute. Alone."

My brother nods and let's himself out. The moment he's gone, the sobbing that had begun to calm starts right back up.