THANATOPHOBIA - newt [1]

~FOUR

"Welcome to the Glade." Alby announced to the greenie, stood around the unlit bonfire. "Light him up!"

The boys stood either side of the pile of sticks threw their lit torched into it, quickly making an effective fire for the party.

_____

A couple hours into the night, Lela and the greenie had based camp near a log, leaning against it as they laughed and spoke.

"Hell of a first day, Greenie." Newt appeared beside them.

Once again, the boy's accent went through lela like nails on a chalkboard.

"Here." Newt offered the greenie a drink, "Put some hair on your chest."

Thinking nothing of it, the boy took a large swig, before gagging and spitting it out on the grass.

"Oh! Oh, my God!" He cursed , "What is that?"

"I don't even know." Newt shrugged.

Lela took over, hoping that he would go away, "nobody knows. It's Gally's recipe. It's like a trade secret."

"Yeah, well, he's still an asshole." The greenie scoffed.

"He saved your life today." Newt told him, Trust me. The maze is a dangerous place."

Lela would've made a sly comment, but she knew what had happened in the maze, and why Newt wasn't a Runner anymore. And so, she let the conversation flow.

The greenie made peace with the facts, "We're trapped here, aren't we?"

"For the moment." Lela nodded, "But... you see those guys? There, by the fire? Those are the runners."

"That guy in the middle there, that's Minho." Newt pointed to the boy laughing, "He's the Keeper of the Runners. Every morning, when those doors open, they run the maze mapping it, memorizing it, trying to find a way out."

"How long have they been looking?"

Newt stayed silent, forcing lela to bear the bad news, "Three years." she muttered.

"And they haven't found anything?"

"It's a lot easier said than done." She told him. "Listen. Hear that?" A rumble came from outside the Glade. "It's the maze, changing. It changes every night."

"How is that even possible?" The greenie asked.

"You can ask the people who put us in here, if you ever meet the bastards." Newt scoffed, taking a drink.

"Listen, the truth is that the runners are the only ones who really know what's out there. They are the strongest and the fastest of us all." Lela told him, "And it's a good thing, too because if they don't make it
back before those doors close then they are stuck out there for the night."

Newt cut in, "And no one has ever survived a night in the maze."

"What happens to them?"

"Well, we call them Grievers." Lela told him, "Of course, no one's ever seen one and lived to tell about it. But they're out there."

"Right, that's enough questions for one night." Newt stood up, holding out his hand. His words slurred slightly in his tipsy state, "Come on. You're supposed to be the guest of honor. Let me show you around."

"That's my job." Lela stood up in protest.

"Then you can come with me." He groaned. "If you must. Come on."

_____

"There we got the builders." Lela pointed to a group, "They're very good with their hands but not a lot going on upstairs. And then we got Winston, he's the Keeper of the Slicers."