Sanction -Minho-

Chapter 4

A few days later, Grace walked out of the Homestead. It was the place she slept. The building held the bathrooms but also several bedrooms. It was much too small for all the Gladers to sleep, and most slept either in sleeping bags outside or in hammocks. Alby thought it would be best if Grace took a room inside the building, much to Gally's displeasure. However, none of the others seemed to mind. Her room was in the back. The closest other room belonged to Newt.

Taking a step outside, she felt her body collide with another. The man dropped all of his belongings, and a few hit Grace's feet. "Ouch," she pulled her foot back.

"Oh, Shuck," the raven-haired boy said. "I'm sorry I didn't see you."

"My fault." Grace dropped to the ground next to him in an attempt to help pick up the items he dropped. They appeared to be tools and wood. "I wasn't paying attention."

He looked up at her, his smile wide. Grace noticed they were crooked, and his lips were chapped. "Hey, you're the girl." She simply stared at him. "Of course you are, sorry. I'm Aaron."

"Grace," she introduced herself. "Need help carrying this?"

"Yeah," he sighed. "Gally will have my sorry butt locked up if this isn't brought back before he leaves for lunch."

Her hands held a hammer, saw, and a piece of plywood. "You're a Builder?"

"Yeah," he huffed clutching the wood to his chest. "Wasn't my first choice, trust me. But they thought I was good with a hammer." That seemed to be how it was here. Anything you were good at meant you forever. It didn't matter if you liked it or not. Luckily Grace loved being a Med-jack. "Could be worse though," he shrugged as they began walking. "I could be a Slopper."

That caused her to chuckle. That was one job nobody wanted. "I agree. Being a Slopper is worse than being a Slicer." With every step, they got closer to the other Builders. Most were huddled around a small makeshift workspace they had. Gally was in the center. Upon seeing her, he stopped working. Crossing his arms over his chest, he glared at her. "Crap."

"What?" Aaron noticed the Keeper's intense stare. "Oh, Gally, right." They wandered around the workspace to the back. "He doesn't like you very much."

"So I've heard," Grace huffed and dropped the wood onto the ground. The sound was louder than expected.

"He's full of nonsense," he assured her. "Nobody really buys into what he says, for the most part. A few of the other Builders think he might be on to something, but we Shanks with common sense know it's a load of Klunk." Aaron tapped his head to show he had a brain. "I know you're just like the rest of us."

"Thanks." Grace was genuinely grateful for his words. It made her feel as if some of the Builders liked her. That was a victory in her book, and for now, that would have to do. "I know he thinks I remember more than I'm letting on, and I partly wish that was true. It would help get everyone out of here. I just," her shoulders fell, "don't,"

"Hey," Aaron offered her a soft smile. "We all wish we remembered more, but we don't. That's just the way it is." Grace knew that by now. "If it helps I-"

"Hey," Gally's voice boomed. "Don't you have a job to do, Slinthead?"

Grace turned towards him. "Which one of us are you talking to?"

"Both," his face was red. "No slacking, Greenie. Do you need to be reminded of the rules, or are you still going to act as if they don't exist?"

"Well, I was actually headed to lunch," she informed him. "Which is where I'm going to go now." Grace glanced at Aaron. "Nice meeting you. I'll see you around."

"Later, Greenie," he muttered under his breath.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Last day as a Greenie," Brandon muttered from his spot on the ground. "How does it feel?"

"I can't wait for you guys to stop calling me Greenie," Grace laughed. "And Newbie." Newt smiled at that. "Unfortunately, I think I'm stuck with She-Bean."

"Until I can come up with something more creative."

"You know," Grace stared at the tall blond in front of her. "Crazy idea. You could just call me Grace."

Newt, Brandon, and Jeff all eyed each other. "Never going to happen."

"Not a chance, Greenie."

"Nope."

She sighed, "worth a shot."

Jeff stared up at the night sky. "I wonder if we'll get another girl."

"Probably not."

"Could be possible," he argued. "We didn't think we would get one to begin with."

"Could be nice," Grace agreed with him. "Another girl would make Gally worry less, and the staring would die down." Plus, she would have someone else to keep her company and know what it felt like to be outnumbered. Having another girl come up tomorrow sounded incredible.

"Maybe we'll get lucky then." Newt wanted them to get lucky, but so far, luck was not something the Gladers had. They never got lucky. "I guess we'll see tomorrow."

Grace glanced up at the sky above her, the ghost of a smile on her face. She wondered what everything looked like from above. If the Maze stretched on forever, or if there was something more just out of sight. Maybe there was a family, her family looking up at the same sky, wondering where she was. "I'm going to turn in for the night," Brandon told the group. "See you Shanks tomorrow."

There was a chorus of goodbyes, but Grace never looked away from the sky. Jeff got up and followed after him. He was exhausted from the day and was ready to sleep. Newt stayed in his spot next to her, "what're you thinking about?"

"Why there aren't any stars," Grace muttered. "And why do I remember knowing what stars are."

"It could be fake."

"Maybe," that was also a possibility. "But it rains."

Newt hummed in agreement, having not really put much thought into the sky above them. He also knew what stars were, but not how he learned about them. There was so much knowledge in his head but no reason as to why. "Well, make sure to ask the people who put us here if you ever met them."

"I think if I were to meet them, I would have bigger questions." Grace finally looked away and back at Newt. "Like why they thought it was okay to put teenagers in a Maze." He smiled at her and let out a yawn. Grace couldn't lie. She was exhausted as well. "Want to head in?"

"You read my mind."