Stolen [The Maze Runner Fanfiction]

XXXVI. Different

A loud screech fills the air, echoing off the map room walls. Startled, I snap my head up as the siren continues to blare. The greenie alarm. But why now? I had assumed the greenie was already here.

"The alarms late." I comment, looking up to Minho.

"It's not the first time." He answers shrugging. He's been here for two years now, and knows a lot more about the maze than I do, has seen a lot more greenies, so apparently this isn't unusual.

I finish my map and jog out to the box, excited to finally be here when a greenie comes up. Minho soon joins me, and Newt was already there. We wait impatiently for the box to arrive, pointlessly trying to guess whether it will be a boy or a girl, what job he or she will get, ect.

Finally the box arrives with a loud bang, followed by a set of clicks as the doors unlock themselves. Newt steps forward to open the doors. I suck in a breath waiting anxiously to see who's inside. Suddenly the doors are flung open, revealing the greenie inside. It's a boy, tall, with dark hair and brown eyes. I stifle a laugh as I catch the expression on his face, total confusion. I'm sure I looked similar when I came up, but it's still funny.

Newt and Alby lower the rope, as we all wait eagerly to help the newbie over the edge. Without hesitation he puts in his foot and is yanked up and onto the ground. He stands quickly, turning in circles as he looks around the glade.

"Gonna break his shuck neck checking out the new digs." Gally sneers, he looks angry. I mean Gally always looks angry, but right now he looks Furious.

"Slim it, shuck-face." Alby snaps.

"Welcome to the glade greenie." Alby says, extending his hand for the greenie to shake. He ignores him, choosing instead to head for a near by tree, similar to what I did when I first arrived.

"Where am I?" The newbie asks, crossing his arms in defiance.

"It's a long story." Alby answers making his way towards the tree.

"Tell me the long story." The greenie begs, throwing up his hands. He gives up his show of bravery, his fear showing clearly on his face.

"First of all, if you ain't scared you ain't human, act any different and I'll throw you off the shuck cliff." Alby says taking a seat in front of the newbie. The greenie's face pales considerably when Alby mentions the cliff. Alby seems to notice too because he quickly apologizes. "Sorry greenie, there ain't no good way to start this, I ain't been no good at it since nick died." Good job Alby, the newbie looks even more terrified. I think, shaking my head. Not to mention the fact that Nick died before I even got here, and alby still hadn't figured it out.

"You're giving him a buggin heart attack." Newt says stepping forward and lightly slapping Alby on the back of the head. "Name's Newt greenie, sorry about our klunk-for-brains leader." He says extending his hand for the newbie. This time the greenie takes it without hesitation.

"Thomas, my name is Thomas." The greenie says. I'm not surprised that he shook Newt's hand and not Alby's. This brings a question back to mind that's been bothering me for a while. Why Alby is in charge and not Newt? Newt is clearly better at it, and if everyone was honest, we all consider him the actual leader. Sure Alby holds the title, but who do we go to when there's a problem? Newt. Who handles the greenies? Newt. Who does most of the work at gatherings? Newt.

"But wh-"

"I said I'll give ya the tour tomorrow." Newt says putting a stop to Thomas' stream of endless questions.

"Chuck will take care of ya." Alby says motioning for the boy to come forward. Poor greenie, Chuck will annoy him to death by tomorrow. Chuck runs off to find Thomas a bed, overly happy about his new assignment.

Looking at Thomas, I remember how it felt, having a thousand questions that no one will answer, so I decide to answer some. I wait until Newt and Alby leave before approaching him.

"Hey Thomas." I say using his real name instead of greenie, knowing how much I hated it. "I'm Skylar."

"What do you want?" He grumbles, not looking up. I don't take it personally, the first day really sucks.

"To answer some of your questions." I answer calmly, crouching down in front of him. This gets his attention, his head snapping up to look at me. When he doesn't answer, I see him glance to my knife, which, without thinking, I was using to keep my balance. "Oh sorry." I say slipping it back into my belt. "So what do you want to know?"

"Why am I here?" He asks

"Unfortunately, I can't answer that, no one knows, we all woke up with no memory just like you."

"Ok who sent me here?"

"The creators, they go by the name of WICKED but that's about all we know. It's printed on our supplies and on the walls."

"What's out there?" Thomas asks, pointing to the opening in the walls. Hesitating, I try to decide how much to tell him. He looks down, assuming I'm not going to answer his question. I study him before deciding that he can handle the truth.

"The maze." I answer finally. He looks up in surprise, then looks back into the maze, realizing what I mean.

"A maze." He says flatly, shaking his head in disbelief. I nod, knowing how that realization felt. Awful.

Suddenly I feel someone shove me, causing me to lose my balance and fall on my butt. "Oh sorry Sky, that's where you went." Minho snickers, helping me to my feet. I glare at him, not believing for a second that it was an accident.

"Seriously? Are you really that jealous?" I tease, giving him a sideways glance. I expect him to say no, that he's not jealous, or get mad at me, but he doesn't.

"Hmm.." He says pretending to think about it, delaying for a minute before answering.

"Yes." He answers breaking into a smile. I roll my eyes at him, and shake my head, he never ceases to surprise me.

"Sorry about that." I say turning back to Thomas, who sits awkwardly next to the tree, looking unsure of what to do. Just then Chuck comes trotting over, sleeping bag and pillow in hand.

"Hey greenie, hey Sky!" He yells, way too loudly. I like Chuck, but I can only take so much of him.

"Well I guess I'll leave you alone." I say waving goodbye as I walk away. "See ya Thomas."

"Hey, thanks for the answers." Thomas shouts, a half smile forming on his lips.

"No problem, I wish I knew more, but it will get better." I reply with a smile of my own, before jogging off to find my friends.

Suddenly a scream errupts from the med-jack room, making my blood run cold. Poor Ben, the changing is an awful thing. After getting stung yesterday, he has been screaming almost none stop. I'm glad I was in the maze for most of the day, and didn't have to hear it. I glance back at Thomas to see his face go pale white. He's a had quite a first day, and I don't blame him for being terrified. As I walk, I decide Thomas will fit in fine, he's brave, and smart, qualities that will be extremely helpful for life in the glade. He looks to be in good shape too, who knows, maybe he'll even be a runner.