They Don't Own Me

Chapter 8

Ivy walked to an open area in the Glade and sat down in the grass. Bringing her knees to her chest, she sat in silence, worried about her friend. Her mind was trying to process what she had seen and was trying to figure out how he could have gotten so badly hurt.

"Mind if I join you?"

The girl looked up to see the Greenie standing a few feet away. She shrugged in response.

"Why not?" she replied. "Have a seat, Greenie."

The boy sat down beside her. A silence overtook them, the only sounds being heard were those of the Gladers working and talking.

"Minho."

Ivy jumped in surprise and looked at the dark haired boy beside her.

"What?" she asked.

"My name. It's Minho. I remembered earlier today."

Ivy smiled and patted him on the back.

"Congratulations, Minho." She paused and glanced back at the Maze wall. The doors were closed now but she could faintly see the writing on the wall. "Did Alby take you to write your name in the wall?"

"Not yet. I had been working when I remembered. I was too busy to tell him."

Ivy got up and smiled down at the boy, extending her hand to him. He grabbed it, allowing Ivy to pull him to his feet. As they approached the Maze wall, Ivy pulled out the knife that she always carried when she went running. She handed Minho the knife, motioning to the wall. Minho nodded and stepped forward. Ivy couldn't help but smile a little as he carved his name in the wall, not far from her own.

"Welcome to the Glade, Minho," she said, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"What, no more 'Greenie?'" he asked with a chuckle.

"I only use Greenie until the shank remembers their name. After that, I find no point in using it."

"Good that."

Ivy stared at him for a second before laughing.

"You're going to get along real well around here, shank," she said. She glanced at her watch. "How about we grab some dinner from Frypan? We can talk and I'll see if I can answer any questions you have."

~

After the two had finished dinner, Ivy led Minho back outside. She led him to the Watchtower so they could talk.

"So," Minho started. "How long have you been here?"

"A long time. I was one of the firsts, along with Alby."

"And how was that?"

Ivy sighed.

"Rough at first. But we pushed through and managed to make a sort of system here in the Glade. Once others starting coming, the system stayed in place and now everyone one follows it."

"So you're the leader?"

"Hardly. That's Alby's job. I'm not around enough to be leader anyway."

"You mean with the running?" Ivy nodded. "What was it like when you first came up here?"

"Terrifying. Couldn't remember anything. Luckily Alby was there to calm me down or else I probably would have lost it completely. For the first couple of days, we didn't know what to do with ourselves other than eat and sleep. We eventually settled for building a couple of shelters, along with a garden. Then, a month after I came up, we got another Greenie. It was weird though since there were two of them in the Box. For the next several months, two Greenies came up each month and only a few months ago that pattern went back to one."

Minho nodded in understanding. The two sat in silence for several minutes before Ivy stood up.

"I should be heading to bed," she said, running a hand through her hair. "I have to be up early tomorrow."

"I should probably go to bed too," the Greenie stated.

"It was nice talking with you, Minho."

"You too, Ivy." With one last smile, Ivy turned away from him, heading towards the woods. "Where are you going?" Minho called after her.

"Newt's staying in my hut," she told him. "I'm sleeping in the Map Room tonight." She gave him another smile before walking away, disappearing among the trees.