The Link // Maze Runner Fanfiction // Book 1

chapter one

I woke up in a metal cage. I was panting like I had just run a mile. My shirt was soaked, from water or sweat I didn't know. Panicked, I looked around. I was in a metal cage and it was accelerating upwards. Red lights flashed around me, but they did not provide enough light to see my surroundings. I felt around me, trying desperately to get a grip on my situation. The metal grates that formed some kind of floor dug into my palms and I could feel the sharp corners of crates piled up around me.

I tried to stand up, but fell back abruptly as the box slammed to a stop. The force of it sent me flying into the floor where my head collided with something sharp. I hissed in pain and clutched my forehead with one hand. The other was used to shield my eyes, as grates above me opened up and sunlight poured into the box.

A face popped into my view. His wide, white-toothed smile contrasted against his black skin, a perfect balance of black and white. His face was square and muscular and I could feel muscles ripple in his arm as he extended a hand down to me. I took it and let him pull me out onto the grass.

"Where am I?" I asked, watching him suspiciously as he hopped down into the box and lifted wooden crates out onto the grass.

"I call this The Glade. You are the second person to come. Don't ask too many questions, it gives me a headache and I don't have any answers. Name's Alby. You are?"

I raised my eyebrow and winced at the pain it caused my forehead. Now that I had time to think, I realized that I didn't have any memories. I could only remember basic things, like how the world works or how to function. Anything specific was unknown, locked in a muddled part of the brain that I could not reach. Except my name. Only one came to mind. Ellie.

Alby noticed my confusion and laughed. "Don't worry, it's normal. I woke up here a month ago with no memories, just like you."

His statement provided an odd comfort. I eased up a bit and told him my name. Alby noticed the gash on my temple and bandaged it for me. I noticed he was like an older brother, especially when he gave me a little introduction of the Glade. It was always the perfect temperature here and it never rained or had any weather other than sunny. Supplies came up once a week, new Gladers should come up every month, and the floor provided electricity and water. Walls a hundred feet high surrounded the Glade and shifted daily, closing at night and opening in the morning.

Since there was so much work to do and not many people to do it, Alby and I devised daily lists of chores. Our days went a little like this. Wake up, shower, eat breakfast, work, eat lunch, work some more, eat dinner, train, and go back to bed. The busy schedule allowed for very little, or sometimes no, leisure time. Before bed, I made a habit to at least run a lap around the Glade. It was a good run, about half a mile total.

"Al, why do you think we were put here?" I pondered one day.

Alby chuckled and stopped digging a hole for the new pea plants. "I don't have a shuck clue. Quit wondering, it distracts you from work that needs to be done. Wondering only disrupts order."

There it was again. Order. Alby was always preaching that we needed order to keep the Glade running and after spending 3 weeks here, I agree with him. Still, order didn't change that I laid awake and thought about why or who. I chuckled and wrenched up a stubborn weed that seemed intent on strangling a tomato plant.

"Alright, whatever you say shuckface. Can I move my bunk next to yours?"

Alby raised a dark eyebrow and gave me a suspicious look. "Course you can. Is it because of the Grievers?"

I shuddered and wordlessly nodded. Ever since Alby had showed me one of the horrid creatures through the window hidden by ivy, I had been utterly terrified of them. Alby didn't press on and we finished working on the garden in silence. Alby shot me a reassuring smile before he went off to work with the animals in the Bloodhouse. The small gesture spoke volumes and I found myself worrying less about the walls and focusing more on my work.

**

For the first time, I got to witness the next Greenie coming up in that damned box. As Alby prepared dinner and I finished up scrubbing the showers, deafening alarms began to blare. As soon as I heard them, I dropped my sponge and jogged over to the box.

The grates cranked open about half an hour after the alarms sounded. I anxiously peered down at the dark square as the doors finished sliding open and the box came into view. When the box stopped and it was safe, I hopped down into the box and extended a hand to the new Greenie. He was about 5 foot 7 inches tall with a rounded baby face and straw-blond hair. His outfit was similar to mine and Alby's. I was wearing a white blouse with blue jeans, soft brown leather boots, and a light gray tank top. The Greenie was wearing a tan sweatshirt, brown jeans, a tan tank top, and canvas sneakers.

"Where am I? Who are you?" he demanded.

"Same thing I wanna know," I muttered. Alby snickered overhead and jumped down to retrieve the supply crates. "I'm Ellie and that's Alby. Quit your crying and get out."

The boy looked offended and climbed out of the box behind me. Alby led the way to the kitchen, where he would serve us all dinner. Only when we were all served ham and cheese sandwiches that I started explaining things to the poor Greenie.

"Remember anything?" I asked. He shook his head. "We don't have any memories either. It's normal. Now, let me introduce you to the Glade. That's the Bloodhouse, where we slaughter and care for animals. That's the garden where we grow our food. This is the Homestead where we cook meals, shower, and sleep. That's the Deadheads. Those walls close at night and open every morning, but we don't worry about them. Anything else?"

The boy swallowed the last bite of his sandwich and cleared his throat. "Yeah. My name's Newt. What do you guys do around here anyways?"

"Well, we kind of do everything. I don't mind the animals and I'm the best cook, so I mainly work in the Bloodhouse or in the kitchen. Ellie's the better sewer, so she's kind of like our doctor. She works in the garden alot, too. Since there are only two of us, we fill in and do what is needed. It's too late now, but you get to try out the different jobs tomorrow," Alby explained.

Before it got too dark, I cleared off my plate and re-laced my boots. I heard the crunch of footsteps and looked up.

"What are you doing?" Newt asked as I finished tying my shoes. I explained that I was going on a run and asked if he wanted to come. He nodded and followed me to the starting point, the opening of the walls.

Newt kept up pretty nicely and I found myself enjoying his company. I had purposefully done an extra lap so that I could spend more time with him. After running about a mile, I plopped down on the soft grass in front of the Homestead and laid down.

"Ya know, Newt, you aren't so bad," I murmured. "Stay with me."

Instead of moving to go sleep in the Homestead, he laid down next to me and grabbed my hand. I fell asleep clutching his hand tightly and, surprisingly, no nightmares about the Grievers came.