Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own the Maze Runner series, but James Dashner does. All rights belong to him.

I'm changing it so Alby shows Thomas the Griever's insted of Newt.

•not edited•

Thomas

Someone shook me awake. I opened my eyes to see the leader Alby shushing me. "Shhh, follow me." I looked around to see all the other boys asleep on the ground. Alby gestured impatiently for me to follow.

"What are we doing?" Alby shot me a glare before replying. "I need to show ya something." I nodded and stepped over the sleeping gladers on the ground as Alby led me towards the east maze door. On the way, we passed Victoria and Newt who were cuddled together in a sleeping bag. I tried to hold back an awe that threatened to come out.

"I thought keepers slept in the homestead?" I was still confused about where I was and what was going on, but Chuck is trying to kept me up to date. Alby shot me a look but still answered, "They do. But Victoria likes to sleep outside to the sight of the stars. And Newt doesn't want her sleeping outside alone with those Shanks." I allowed a small smile to appear on my face at Newt's overprotective side. Those two were perfect for each other.

A leg kicked my shin, making me stumble forward. I glanced behind me to see the boy roll over, grumbling in his sleep. I rolled my eyes and ran to catch up with Alby who was way ahead of me. "Stay close and don't wander." I nodded my head again but kept silent knowing Alby was already annoyed.

Alby stopped in front of the towering wall. It cast a shadow on the glade, making it seem almost depressing. Ivy covered most of the wall and red lights flashed. "What are those?" I asked curiously. Alby spared me a glance before looking back at the wall. "When you need to know, you'll know, Greenie."

Annoyed at being left in the dark, I couldn't stop myself from talking. "Well, it's kind of stupid to send me to a place where nothing makes sense and not answer my questions." For effect, I put as much sarcasm as I could and added, "Shank."

Alby laughed quietly before cutting his laughter off. "I like you, Greenie. Now shut it and let me show ya somethin'. " He grabbed onto the ivy in front of him and pushed it to the side. He managed to uncover a dust-frosted window. He looked in before gesturing for me to come closer. "What are we looking for?" Alby pushed me towards the window telling me to look.

"Hold your undies, boy. One'll be comin' along soon enough." As if on cue, something came lurking from the shadows. It was huge, around the size of a cow. It was a mixture between animal and machine, with it's body resembling a spider, a very slimy spider. It's legs looked to be mechanical and it had many tools protuding from it's disgusting body; a blade, a set of shears, and long rods. It's purpose could only be guessed.

"Out there's the Maze," Alby whispered. "Everything we do- our whole life, Greenie- revolves around the Maze. Every lovin' second of every lovin' day we spend in honor of Maze, tryin' to solve somethin' that's not shown us it has a solution, ya know? And we want to show ya that it's not to be messed with. Show ya why them buggin' walls close shut every night. Show ya why you should never, never find your butt out there." The thing froze and looked in the direction of the window before leaping. I screamed in shock and stumbled back, grabbing onto Alby to steady myself.

"What is that thing?" I asked once I found my voice. Alby's eyes hardened as he spoke, "We call 'em Grievers. Just be glad those things only come out at night. Be glad for the shucking walls!" My desire to be a runner lessened, but my curiousity didn't. I want to know what's out there. I need to know.

"Now you know what lurks in the Maze, my friend. Now you know this isn't joke time. You've been sent to the Glade, Greenie, an we'll be expectin' ya to survive and help us do what we've been sent here to do." "And what's that?" I was almost afraid of the answer. Alby stared him dead in the eye, his form tense, eyes narrowed. "Find our way out, Greenie. Solve the buggin' Maze and find our way home."

After a couple hours, Victoria came and forced me to sit with her at a worn out picnic table. Together we watched the doors rumble and open. I watched a group of boys run in and knew they were the runners. The Griever wouldn't get out of my mind. I wondered what happened when the Griever got you. "Eat up, Greenie. You'll need all the energy you can get." Victoria said while eating her own bacon and eggs. Newt sat beside her with his arm wrapped around her waist while Chuck sat beside me. His futile attempt of getting me to talk had worn him out.

"Thomas, Eat." Victoria demanded and raised an eyebrow, threatening him to disobey. Wearily, I ate my eggs and bacon. Victoria watched me like a hawk, making sure I finished my whole plate. Eating actually made me feel slightly better but the sight of the Griever still wouldn't leave my mind. "What's got you so down, Greenie?" Victoria looked at me with her doe-like green eyes. I sighed, about to tell her, but Newt beat me to it.

"Alby showed him the bloody Griever window." Everyone at the table winced noticably. Chuck cast his eyes down and Victoria paled. Newt on the other hand, wouldn't look anyone in the eye. "I remember the first time I saw the Grievers, I had nightmares for weeks." It was Victoria who admitted that. I was surprised; she seemed like the brave, confident type. "Aren't the Runners scared to go out there with the Grievers?" I was curious but slightly scared for the answer. If I wanted to be a Runner, I needed to know everything.

"Terrified. But Grievers always come out at night." I noticed the way she avoided talking about Grievers during the day but didn't press on it. The rest of breakfast was spent in an awkward and tense silence until Newt smiled at me and told me that he would be giving me the tour. "The tour begins now. Ain't no questions till the end, got me?" "But...." Newt raised an eyebrow. "But tell me everything-I wanna know everything." Newt rolled his eyes and stood up, grabbing my arms. "I'll tell ya what I wanna tell ya, Greenie. C'mon let's go."

"How come we don't remember anything when we come here?" Newt shot me a look but answered anyway. "We don't bloody know. Maybe 'cause the creators don't want us remembering anything." Creators. That sparked my interest. Finally some answers. "Who are the creators?" "The people who sent us up. Now no more bloody questions till the end."

Newt led me to the box and explained it's purpose. "Once a month, we get a newbie. Once a week, we get supplies, clothes, food, anything we need to survive. Other than that we survive on our own." Newt noticed I was going to ask questions and continued. "We don't know anything, alright? We don't know who made it, who sends us supplies, or why. We got all the electricity we need and water. We've tried sending someone down through the box, the thing wouldn't move until we took the boy out." I sighed in defeat and followed Newt.

"The glades cut up into four sections; Gardens, Bloodhouse, Homestead, and Deadheads." He noticed the lost look on my face and explained further. "Gardens- where we grow crops. Waters pumped through the pipes, always been there. Never rains here. Bloodhouse- where we raise and slaughter animals. Homestead- where Keepers sleep and where the Med-jacks work. Deadheads- there's a grave in there. You can go in there to rest, hang out, whatever. Not much to do in there anyway."

"You'll spend the next two weeks trying out each job with the keeper-until we find what you're best at. Med-jack, Slopper, Bagger, Bricknick, Track-hoe-somethin'll stick, always does. Come on." He led me to the south door, between the Bloodhouse and the Deadheads. I wondered why they would need a grave in the glade. Oh wait, Grievers.

"Out there's the Maze. Two years I've been here. Two years trying to solve this bloody thing. Shuckin' walls move out there every night just as much as these here doors. Mappin' it out ain't easy nohow." He nodded toward the concrete building. "There are three rules you must follow if you want to survive here in the glade. Most important rule, never enter the maze. Second rule, do your part. Third rule, don't harm another glader." The sounds of shouting filled the air and Newt looked back to where the box was.

"The box! The box went down!" Newt looked at me before running, well limping, to a distressed Alby. I ran behind Newt and watched as the gladers freaked out. "What's wrong?" "Did you not hear? The box went down! Means another Greenie is coming up." Alby glared. "So what?" "So what! There's never been two Greenies in a month! Much less in two days!"

All of a sudden, a searing pain went through my head causing me to hold on to my head. My sight went away, but then a bright white light took over my vision. I heard voices shouting and cursing but couldn't make out anthing else. Then suddenly, I could see. In front of me were multiple figures, but they were blurred. I couldn't see their faces or any distinguishable features. But one figure turned around and looked right at me. Bright green eyes stared deep into my soul. Those green eyes were familiar. Those green eyes belonged to someone in the glade.

Those green eyes belonged to Victoria.

***

An: Sorry for the long wait. But I made this longer! I switched it up so Alby showed him the window and Newt gave him the tour.

Pic on the side is of a Griever. I was listening to that song while writing it so I put it up.

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