𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙡𝙖𝙙𝙚

𝘽𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 her emerald green eyes open, the girl gasps, her lungs quickly burning from the lack of oxygen as she draws deep breaths. The girl quickly pushes herself up as her eyes widen and blink rapidly at the bright artificial lights flashing and flickering around her.

As the cage floor beneath the girl starts shaking and rattling, the cold and rough metal beneath her fingers makes her flinch. The sensation of the vibrations passing through the bars of the cage sends shivers down her spine, and she can feel her heart racing with fear and uncertainty.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭? The girl wonders, trying to search through her fuzzy memory for any clues as to why and how she is in this situation.

The girl's chest heaves as she takes a deep breath, attempting to calm her racing heart. She struggles to steady herself as she slowly rises to her feet, feeling the uneven and unstable ground beneath her feet. Her legs shake uncontrollably as she tries to maintain her balance. Desperately seeking support, she stretches out her hands and grasps the metal of the cage.

The cold, hard surface of the cage sends shivers down her spine, but she clings to the fence, trying to steady herself and overcome the trembling in her legs.

"Hey!" She screams out, hoping for someone to answer.

Snapping her head above her at a sudden loud humming, air blows from the ascending platform onto her face, blowing loose strands of hair in front of her eyes as she stares above her in wonder. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘮 𝘐? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯?

"Hello?" She shouts in a squeak, "What is happening?!"

The brunette's hands raise above her head to clutch onto her hair out of stress as her other hand quickly glides down to her stomach out of nausea. Swallowing thickly, the girl bends over to try to look down but only wishes she hadn't when all she can see is the dark abyss below. Fear surges through her small body as she feels the box rapidly accelerating, getting closer and closer to the top.

Just as the small girl tries to pull herself together and get a handle on the situation, an obnoxiously loud horn blares throughout the small tunnel, making the girl's eyes widen as the lights quickly flash from red to green.

Suddenly, all the lights cut off, surrounding the girl in complete darkness. 𝘖𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘥. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘦.

Just as the girl adverts her gaze from above, a harsh stop sends the girl off balance—throwing the terrified teenager on her side with a loud crack echoing throughout the thick air.

Letting out a cry of agony at the sharp pain shooting through her wrist, the small brunette tries to suck in a breath, practically begging her burning lungs to pull in as much oxygen as she can.

Slowly lifting her wrist to examine, she uses her uninjured hand to push her body to sit up. 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵.

Winded from the fear, panic, and the now pain coursing through her wrist, the small girl tries to fight back the salty tears burning her terrified eyes.

Suddenly, a bright white light sears through the cage, catching the small girl off guard. Light burns in the girl's eyes as she quickly seals them shut. Fluttering her eyes back open, she squints as she hears a crack from the top of the metal above her.

As the girl raised her arm above her head to shield herself from the harsh light, her eyes slowly adjust to the environment around her.

"What the hell?"

"It-It's a girl.."

"Is she hot?"

"I call dibs!"

The girl winces at her throbbing wrist as she tries to piece together what is happening. As her eyes finally adjust to the light, she blinks in shock when she is met with numerous pairs of eyes staring down at her.

All being teenage boys.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬...

The girl's eyes widen as two boys suddenly leaned down and unlocked the top of the cage, pulling it back.

Feeling a thump hit the bottom of the cage, the metallic clatter echoing, the brunette's emeralds widen as her eyes lock onto another pair of green. A tall, brawny guy with a dark brown buzz cut and —weird eyebrows? The girl thinks to herself.

"Day one, greenie" the boy grins, his hands reaching out to gasp her upper arms, roughly pulling her up to stand.

Feeling the anger bubbling inside her chest, the small girl quickly jolts forward, causing the boy to drop her just as quickly. The boy stumbles back, letting out a groan of pain as the girl shakes her own pain out of her hand, glaring daggers at the boy.

Snickers from above the box catch the girl's attention, making her eyes travel above her. Her emerald eyes widen in shock and disbelief as she gazes above her—a small group of teenage boys surround the edge of the pit, all staring back down at her.

"Hit him again!" One of the boys laugh

𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵. 𝘔𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘦. 𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘴.

"Alright, you little shank!" 'Eyebrows' huffs out as he beelines toward the girl, clearly irritated. But a hand reaches out, stopping him short—separating the two as they glare at one another. "Gally, I've got this." A British voice interrupts.

The girl's emerald eyes flicker toward the lanky yet muscular blond boy. As she observes his appearance, her eyes wander over his fair skin, dark brown eyes, and sharp jawline. She can't help but notice the way his hair falls effortlessly over his forehead, adding to the boyish charm that he carries with him. As he notices her gaze, he offers her a warm smile.

After a moment, the blond cautiously approaches the girl and stretches a hand out in hopes of calming her down. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you, love. I'm just trying to get you out of the box." The blond coaxes her with a small, warm smile.

The girl hesitates for a moment before reaching out to take the boy's hand with her uninjured one. She cradles her throbbing wrist to her stomach as she slowly gets to her feet.

"I'm Newt." The blond introduces himself as he guides her to the wall of the box. "I'm going to give you a lift, okay?"

Nodding her head in approval, the girl sends the boy a nervous smile as his hands glide down to her waist.

"one-two—"

The boy shoves her up and over the edge of the box as she feels another set of hands on her upper arms, pulling her up. Landing with a thud as she steadies herself on the ground beneath her, a small squeak escapes her lips as she lifts her eyes, ignoring the boys crowded around her.

What the-

In an instant, the small brunette begins to panic. Her chest rapidly rises and falls as she struggles to stand upright. The panic within her only grows stronger as she attempts to understand the situation and how she arrived there. She looks around frantically, searching for any familiar faces or landmarks to anchor her thoughts. Despite her attempts to calm herself down, her heart continues to race and her breaths come in short gasps. Adrenaline surges through her veins as she glances around at the group of boys, all staring back at her in amazement. Her body suddenly turns to jelly as her emerald eyes scan the massive structure looming before her.

Four large concrete walls surround a clearing, towering above her with a patch of green grass before her. Slowly spinning in a circle, the girl's emerald orbs widen when she notices the forest covering half of the property.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬?

As her gaze scans over the large structure, the small brunette's heart races in her chest and a sudden feeling of panic overwhelms her. Buzzing in her ears grows louder and louder as she desperately searches for a place to escape from the teenage boys all suffocating her, staring at her like they had never seen a girl before.

Suddenly, her hand juts out, pushing aside the boys who were crowding around her. A surge of panic stricken adrenaline rushes through her small frame as she instinctively does what any reasonable teenager would do in her position — RUN.

The girl sprints as fast as her legs can carry her to an opening in the concrete walls, Not caring as she hears voices shouting and cheering from behind her.

"We've got a runner!" A yell cuts through the air, making the girl only kick her small limbs faster.

Ignoring the voices shouting at her, the small brunette nears the exit, letting her trembling lips press together in slight relief.

Just as she thinks she is away from the boys, her body suddenly collides with something else, sending her roughly tumbling into the ground.

Groaning and wincing at the pain in her wrist, the small brunette rolls onto her back, trying to calm her breathing down as her throat feels like it's constricting. Tears start to blur her vision as she raises her head to glance at the boy who had tackled her.

Panting as he tries to regain the oxygen in his lungs, the boy pushes himself up to steady himself on all fours. "Geez...you're fast for a girl; I thought girls were supposed to be—"

The small brunette huffs in annoyance, rolling her eyes as she shoves past the boy, inching closer to the exit. She had to get out of here. There's no way she is going to stay in a place like this. Especially surrounded by hormonal teenage boys.

Looking into the concrete doors—leading into nothing but darkness with vines hanging from the slick concrete, the girl grits her teeth, instantly feeling the anger growing inside her chest as she peers through the two doors leading to nothing but a dead end.

"You can't go in there!" The boy quickly shouts, his throat stinging slightly as he tries to catch his breath.

"What the hell is this place?" The girl questions, flickering her eyes from the concrete hallway to the boy standing before her. Green orbs squint from the sun burning her eyes, gazing through the large grey walls through her thick lashes.

𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦? 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺—𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨?

"I can't remember.." The small girl's voice trails off as she swallows back a lump in her throat. "Why can't I remember anything?" Her voice raises and comes out as a squeak as her eyes flick over to the boy in front of her.

Glancing at the boy standing in front of her, who plants his hands on his hips, trying to catch his breath, the small brunette takes her eyes over his appearance, noting how his dark hair spikes at the front of his face. His deep brown eyes stare back at her in shock as the girl trails her eyes over his blue button-up T-shirt, clinging to his muscular, tanned arms.

"Look, we'll explain everything to you, okay? This is normal." The boy breathes out, wheezing, quickly turning his head over to the other boys making their way over.

Craning his head to glance at the boys, the teenager scans his exhausted gaze around the small group—searching for their first in command. "God. Where the hell is Alby?" The boy mutters, praying for some help.

"H-how—what's in there? Why are we here? Why can't I go in there??" The girl questions as she scrunches her face to frown in worry, not liking the idea of restraint.

"Look, we will tell you—once you relax, okay?" The boy lets out a sigh. "Can you remember your name?"

"Why would I be asking so many questions if I could remember? No. I can't remember anything.." The girl glares at the boy, growing more agitated as her eyes land on some of the boys jogging up.

"Jesus, you're sassy. Look, you'll remember your name in a few days, give or take...but for now— I'm Minho." The boy offers the girl a warm smile, hoping to calm the terrified girl down.

Lifting his finger to point to the blonde guy from earlier, Minho says, "That's Newt—And that's Alby." The boy points to one of the guys standing beside 'Newt.'

Offering the girl a welcoming and warm smile, Newt slowly inches closer. "Come on, green bean. We will give you a tour and answer your questions, but for now—just stay away from the maze, okay?"

"Maze?" The girl questions, her eyebrows raising in shock and confusion as her head whips back to gaze at the concrete jungle.

"Shit" Newt mutters, pressing his lips together as he scolds himself.

"Good going, shuck face" Minho mutters as he slaps the back of Newt's head, making the blond mumble a soft at the slap.

"Sorry love, I wasn't supposed to tell you that yet, but...let's take a walk—shall we?" Newt nods for the girl to follow, still internally scolding himself for revealing the secret.

Reluctantly following behind the boy, the small brunette ignores the slight twist in her gut. Clearing his throat, Newt breaks through the awkward silence. "Well, this is the Glade... as I accidentally told you—we're trapped inside of a maze."

The girl's brows furrow as she peers back to the maze. "You're joking.." The girl mutters, glancing back and forth from the blonde to the concrete structure behind her.

"Alright, she-bean, time for the—" Newt pauses as he looks down at the girl, noticing the swollen hand she cradles to her stomach.

Sandy blond brows furrow in concern before the boy nods in the opposite direction. "Let's get you bandaged up first, and then I'll give you the tour."

Standing on top of the wooden platform, high above the ground, the girl gazes at the concrete barriers in front of her with wonder. Thousands of questions scatter her brain as she tries to think of anything before coming up from the box.

"This is all we have" Newt whispers, catching the small brunette's attention. Flickering her dazed emeralds over to the boy as he looks out over the glade, the small girl then turns her attention back down to her newly wrapped hand, busying herself by playing with the sides of the gauze as her arms rest in front of her, leaning her weight on the wooden beam.

"So—I'm guessing I'm the only girl here?" The girl's soft voice questions, her lips pressing into a thin line as her eyes flicker back over to the blond beside her.

Adverting his eyes from the glade to connect with the soft emeralds beside him, Newt smiles softly. "Yeah, but who knows—maybe next month they will send up another girl. You are the very first to come up."

"Really?" The girl's eyebrows furrow lightly, wondering why that is.

"You're the first and only in the glade."

Cheers erupt from around the girl as a soft orange glow makes the girl jump. Standing beside Newt, the greenie watches flames devour the massive pile of wood stacked before them.

Smiling as he steps next to the girl, Minho nudges the girl with his shoulder, catching her attention. "So, Greenie, remember your name yet?"

"N-no.. why does everyone keep calling me greenie?" The girl shakes her head, raising an eyebrow at the term 'greenie.'

What the hell is a greenie?

"It's what we call the newbies—you know, since nobody remembers their name...at first," Minho answers, raising a jar of liquid to his mouth to take a sip.

Furrowing her brows at the drink, the girl asks, "What is that?" The small brunette furrows her eyebrows, lifting her index finger to point at the mysterious liquid.

Not ruining the moment, Minho doesn't say a word and hands the jar over to the girl, nodding for her to take a sip as he ignores the annoyed glare the blond is shooting him.

Hesitantly raising the liquid to her lips, the girl slowly takes a sip—only to instantly spit the liquid back out as she begins to cough.

"Aaghh...god, that's disgusting—"

"Gally's secret recipe." Minho laughs, shooting the girl a wink as she sends him a glare.

Staring down at the dark liquid for a second, the girl shrugs before lifting the jar back up for another sip.

"There you go she-bean! That's the spirit!" Minho laughs as Newt's eyes widen at the large gulp the small girl takes.

"Thought you didn't like it?" Newt questions, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

"I don't." The girl says as she wipes her mouth with her wrist. "But if this helps me calm down, then it's the best option."

A little later into the night, the girl stumbles a bit, laughing with her new friends as they tell her stories about when they first arrived in the glade.

The three teenager's laughter dies down as they stand on the edge of the fire. Losing her footing as she goes to take a step to get closer to the warmth, the girl stumbles, quickly falling forward into the orange glow—but a sudden hand quickly catches her arms, stopping her fall.

"Woah there." Newt's eyes widen, keeping his hand out to steady the girl. Sandy blond eyebrows furrow in concern as the small girl stares at the fire in front of her, suddenly remembering something.

𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘬𝘦.

—𝘮𝘺 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘬𝘦.

The two boys watch as the girl stares off into space, slightly growing a little worried that they let her drink a little too much. Lifting his hand up to her shoulder to gain her attention, Minho lightly shakes her out of her daydream. "Hey Greenie....you okay?"

Minho and Newt share a worried glance before the small girl suddenly whips her head around to face them with a bright smile.

"Blake!"

"Wha-" Newt starts to ask, mirroring Minho's confused expression.

"My name is Blake!"