HE KNEW HE CAN'T STAY IN THE HUT FOR THE REST OF THE DAY, he eventually got curious, curious to explore the Glade and maybe give a closer look at the walls. He had no intention of meeting more people, he had already forgotten some of the names he knew, he only remembered the leader and the very first guy who introduced himself as Gally who seems to have suspicions towards the boy. He wouldn't forget Clint and Teddy either.

          Clint and Teddy had clarify some information, he began to understand how the Glade works, not entirely. He figured out that every once a month, a new kid arrives, that has been going on for the past three years since the first group arrived. In the beginning, a batch of boys all woke up at once instantaneously in the middle of the field, all scattered around, approximately fifteen of them and they were the very first people who have arrived this place. Since then, a new kid is brought into the Glade every once a month, until the boy came. Apparently, the last Greenie arrived two weeks ago and the boy was two-three weeks too early, like every Greenie, they arrived through the Box but the new boy was found in the maze instead. They aren't sure if it was intentional or not.

          The boy finally stepped out of the hut, followed by Teddy and Clint. He continued to fall stun at the view of the entire Glade, the day was still gloomy and grey but with a bit of light rain, the giant walls trapping them all in, the Gladers strolled around, most of them working, some of them can be spotted working and gathering woods together near the middle of the field. It seemed they were building like a big pyre. They did mention that they're hosting a bonfire, the boy didn't know what to expect, to celebrate for his arrival seemed strange, while they're all in the middle of all this, not the best time to celebrate, especially not for him.

          Nearly every glance were on the new boy, staring in curious and suspicious and amuse. Amused to watch the boy's awe and shock at the place, curious whether the boy knows something and suspicious if the boy is lying.

         Three years, they said. Three years they've been living out here, the boy wondered how all of them have yet gone insane by now. He probably would've. To be trapped and nowhere else to go besides the maze, to desire for answers and desperate to remember.

          "It's not much, but it's home," Teddy said, standing behind the boy and following the boy's gaze around the Glade, "well, we try to make it feel like home"

          "Not everyone feels like it's home, we got no other choice but to live out here," Clint added. "a lot of us just . . . endure"

          "You got all the time in the world to explore this place, Greenie" Teddy pat the boy's shoulder, "except for the maze, take my advice serious; stay distant from the doors. You'll get in serious trouble if you do" with that, the young Med-jack walked away.

          "Well, Greenie, if you got any questions, I suggest you go find Nick. Kitchen's over there if you're hungry or thirsty, outhouses if you want to take a piss, I'm sure someone will come and get you soon. I'll see you around" Clint gave a soft nudge on the boy's arm as he walked by him and walked off toward the open field where Teddy had walked to.

          He was alone, for now. Free to explore the place, he wanted to explore the place, particularly the gap in the middle of one of the walls that he assumed is the doors. But Teddy warned him not to go near him, beyond the walls is the maze, he was genially curious to see the maze where he apparently was found and can't recall how he got there. How he survived the maze was something he was confused about, they kept wondering how he survived the maze, what was in the maze that was so dangerous? How he survived have hinted distrust towards the boy from that guy, Gally.

          The many gazes on the boy had made him feel uncomfortable with a hint of humiliation and timid. He started walking to his left, toward where an odd and crooked building stood. He kept walking until he saw a group of boys walking out of the building, he shifted his direction to the woods instead, the woods seemed to be the only best place to stay hidden and be alone where no one can see him.

          To be in the woods made him feel somewhat safe and comfortable, like he had found his own safe haven. There was no one around as he went further and further into the wood until he spotted a wall ahead, he shifted his direction again to the right. While walking, he looked at his arm, where 'don't trust wicked' was written, wondering who or what wicked is, Nick said that they assumed wicked was some sort of a brand, a company or an organization that put them all here, the word wicked was also on all over their supplies. If whoever wrote on his arm, warned him not to trust wicked. This pretty much tells that wicked are indeed a some sort of an organization. The words "don't trust wicked" was something he will have to remember. Maybe one day or sooner, he'll find answers. Hopefully.

          His feet were aching, so he decided to sit, he sat down by a tree and leaned his back against it. He could stay here at this very spot for as long as he can. He knew someone will come by and get him soon.

          He didn't have all the time in the world to be alone when he heard someone coming after long several moments had passed. He glanced to his right and saw two boys approaching, one of them being short and so young as a child who looked to be twelve and the other not tall who could be the same height as the Greenie.

          The little boy spotted him, "Ah! There he is, just the guy we're looking for!"

          The boy was slightly infuriated, it seemed it was impossible to be left alone around here, he got on his feet slowly. He showed bitterness in his look, hope that these two will take a hint.

          The two of them stopped, the little boy looked at the new boy from head to toe before scrunching his nose as if in disgust, "You look terrible, Greenie. I don't know if that's how your face looks, but you look like like you just woken up from a hella long nap"

          The second boy next to him snorted, "He did just woke up from a coma, genius"

          "Aye," the little boy nodded then approached the boy, "anyway, I'm Art" when he was closer to the boy, he reached a hand out for the guy to shake. The boy was reluctant to take the little kid's hand, he did almost cautiously, "Relax, I'm not gonna bite . . . or I might" the little kid snickered as he was shaking the guy's hand almost harshly.

          "And I'm Winston" the other boy exchanged a weak wave, "Art here wanted to meet you and say hi while I just came along to babysit him"

          "Nah, he just thinks you're gonna stab me" Art said, "because you might be some crazy guy who has come to kill us all . . . dumb, right? But look at you, you look like some harmless little stray puppy, you're all right" he grinned, the little boy radiated enthusiasm and the Greenie sort of found it annoying.

          Why would they think he might be crazy who has come to kill them all? He should be the one worrying over that they'll kill him, there's twenty or more of them and they could easily apprehend him.

          "What are you doing all the way here?" Art asked. "I mean, I get it, all of this is a lot to take in"

          The boy didn't answer quickly, he decided to be honest, "I came here to be alone" hoping they'll leave him be.

          "I know it's nuts out around here, but you know you can't hide all the damn time and cooped up," Art said, he looked at his watch then glanced at the Greenie again, "You wanna see something cool?" he grinned.

          The boy was hesitant and skeptical, "I don't know"

          "It's gonna happen in like ten minutes, you really don't want to miss it . . . well, it'll happen again in the morning but you should see it to prepare yourself" the little boy advised.

          Curiosity coated the boy, but slightly skeptic that this kid might pull off some sort of stupid prank, he wasn't sure why that came to mind. He didn't answer, though he was curious to see what it is. "What is it?"

          "Come on, we're heading back" the little boy gestured him to follow. Art and Winston began walking ahead, exiting the forest and the boy reluctantly followed them.

          He followed the two boys out of the forest, ended up behind a building, he wondered what the building was for or if that's the place where the Gladers sleep in. It would be too crowded if they were, looking how small the building was and he assumed there has to be more of them than he thinks. He continually followed Art and Winston towards the middle of the wide open field, there were about ten boys building a pyre, there was a burnt spot that can be seen in a distant, where he presumed that a bonfire had taken place in many occasions before. He recognized one of them as Gally, Gally met with the boy's gaze and exchanged with a stern one, as if trying to look intimidating. The boy shifted his gaze around the Glade, he was near the middle of the Glade, near the heart of it, he was able to see the rest of it. The Gardens, a Barn, the forest that stretched on from the left to the right wall.

          "Oh yeah, I don't know if anyone has told you, but this right here, is the Box" Art pointed at the concrete ground that was in a perfect square, two metal doors right in the middle of it and closed shut. There were these two big gears that supports the two metal doors to open. The Box, one that is mentioned multiple times from the Gladers, where the new kids come out every once a month. But he didn't come from this Box, he came from the maze, out there beyond those walls. He can see why it's made quite a big fuss around here, someone being found in the maze was new to them,

          The boy cautiously stepped on one of the doors, he foolishly stomped on it, it made this muffled hollow sounds as if it is a massive empty shaft. "I'm sure Nick or anyone has mentioned about this Box, have they?" Winston asked.

          The boy nodded, "It's where a new kid comes through, every once a month . . . But I─" he halted his sentence, it was still strange to say that he came from the maze.

          "But you didn't come out this Box, you were found in the maze" Art finished the boy's sentence. "I mean, can you blame us for making a big fuss over you? But you're just a typical Greenie like any other, everyone is either disappointed or relieved."

          "And it's only been a few weeks since the Greenie arrived" Winston added. They hoped that the boy carried answers to the Gladers' questions, why they're so disappointed. He was just as disappointed as they were. Why would the rest of them be relieved? Do they not wish for answers and leave this place? Maybe they were just scared.

          "Is this what you wanted to show me?" the boy asked them, Art said it's supposedly be something cool, the Box thing was underwhelming.

          Art looked at his watch again, checking the time, "Give it a few minutes, you'll see" he grinned again, as if he's anticipating, seemingly waiting for the Greenie's reaction when something happens. The boy was a bit nervous for whatever it is that is about to happen in a few minutes. His glance shifted around, checking if something was coming and the two boys said nothing and waited.

          Then something happened.

          He was startled by the sudden sound of howling, coming from one of the walls, one with the gap, followed by the sounds of stones crunching and grinding against each other. He had taken a few steps back in startle and panic until Winston gestured at the gap on the wall, "Don't panic, it's just the doors closing, look, see?"

          He saw the two walls between the gap beginning to meet each other halfway, slowly closing, massive gears were revealed on the sides, rotating, like they were the source of closing the doors. The boy felt the ground vibrating under his feet, the loud sounds of the stones grinding rattled his bones and the crunching made his skin to crawl. The doors were trapping the Gladers in the Glade. The boy wondered how this was all possible, how these walls were made to be, the maze and now these doors. No way that all of it were made by the hands of a man.

          After what it felt like several moments, the Glade fell into a near utter silence, with a faint bellow sounds of the doors sealing shut that faded away all across the Glade. It's like the world held a breath in the entire time before the Glade once again, came back into life. The boy didn't realize that the Gladers all over the Glade were watching, all of them halted from what they were doing before continuing.

          "Fascinating, right?" a familiar said behind the boy, he turned to see Nick standing behind him. "That's nothing, really . . . you'll get used to it, eventually you'll forget that they're there"

          Fascinating wasn't the right word he'd describe, there wasn't any at all, no word he can find to describe it all. How can he get used to what just happened and eventually get used to it?

          "Yeah . . . Welcome to the Glade" Nick said, same thing that Jeff said. Somehow it wasn't so welcoming, welcome to the Glade, rather it was somewhat haunting and unsettling.

          The night had fallen completely and the bonfire began. The Gladers gathered around the massive burning pyre, all of them cheering and laughing. Whatever shenanigans they began, there was a section of them where they wrestled one another, one where they socialize, one where they were picnicking, to watch all of this, seeing these boys smiling and laughing sent some sort of a comfort to the boy. The sight of the Gladers smiling eased him and telling him that everything's fine. Or will be fine. Maybe not. But seeing them all smiling was something.

          The boy was sitting on the grass, afar from the bonfire, alone and nervous as he watched the Gladers having their fun. There was a slight temptation that he wanted to join along, but he felt like an outsider. This day has been weird and overwhelming, a very strange day to wake up to and the way he started his new life.

          He found himself switching his gaze from the bonfire to the one of the walls, the rest of the Glade was almost entirely dark, torches scattered around the Glade, there were two torches that caught his attention, both stood by a wall, near the giant doors, both torches stood next to each other and there was a space between them, as if it was illuminating something on the wall. He had to see it for himself, so he got up and approached the torches.

          As he walked to the wall, the laughter from the bonfire was slightly faded and afar, glanced back once at the bonfire and no one seemed to notice him yet. When he got close to the wall, there a lot of carvings on it, but the closer he got, he realized the carvings were names. Lots of them, maybe over thirty of them, various and different, odd and familiar names. By familiar, he meant was like common names like Simon, Adam, David, William. He also noticed that some of the names were crossed out, which brought an unsettlement through him. It took a long moment to realize these are the list of Gladers, those that are living in the Glade.

          There was something else he noticed. The fainted noises besides the Gladers in the bonfire, those fainted noises coming from the other side of the walls, sounds of muffled and distant noises that sounded like massive buildings colliding or collapsing. Like something was alive beyond the walls. He was unable to imagine or theorize what it could be, what was making all that noises.

          "You're wondering what's all the noises out there," a voice said behind him, the voice startled him, made his heart jump as he twisted around to see a blonde boy he met back in the hut today. The blonde boy chuckled at the boy's jump, "sorry, did I startle you?"

          The boy's hand on was his chest, bringing a sharp breath in to calm. He didn't respond to the blonde boy's question, a little too bitter to answer. Newt, that's what the guy's name. "What's out there?" He asked.

          Newt approached closer to the wall and stood beside the boy. "It's the maze" he looked at the boy, "it's changing, it does that every night"

          The boy swears that this new life has gotten more crazier and it was making none of it sense. The Maze changes? How? How is that possible? He was picturing the massive walls moving around, shifting or tumbling down. He wasn't sure what it's like in the Maze and it was impossible to imagine. What came to mind was how he survived out here while the maze was changing, could that what they meant about how they were shock about he survived through that? The Maze changing is what made it so dangerous. "H—how is that even possible?"

          Newt shrugged, "That's one hell of a question" The two stood quietly, said nothing for a moment, the boy was listening on the fainted noises from the maze until Newt said, "What are you doing all the way here? Fun is that way, you know?"

          The boy glanced at where the bonfire was, he shrugged awkwardly, then looked up at the wall where the names were carved. "Wanted to see what was so special about this wall"

          Newt let out a soft laugh, "Ah, yeah. This . . . I don't know what's the point of it really, besides crossing them out when they—" Newt paused and took a long and slow sigh, not wanting to finish the sentence and didn't want to scare the boy. "To be remembered, I suppose"

          The boy had a hunch on what Newt was about to say. They mentioned before, wondering how the boy survived in the maze, this hinted that Gladers die out there or here. So those names that have been crossed out are likely dead. "You're not at the bonfire with them" he said, it was sort of a way asking what he was doing all the way here.

          "Couldn't help to notice you all the way here, this night is supposed to be about you"

          "I just—" the boy wasn't sure what to say, how he feels like he's an outsider, he was in fact the boy who was found in the maze, one who didn't come out of the Box as he was supposed to or he wasn't supposed to be here at all, "you know, it's been a really weird day and I'm still processing"

          Newt laughed softly, "Of course, maybe you should give that confused little brain of yours a break, take your mind off for now. Now, come on," Newt nudged the boy's shoulder to come along and the boy hesitantly followed him. The two walked side by side to the bonfire "Look, if you're worried about these guys, don't be . . . besides, we have a few rules, very important to keep in mind; first, never harm another Glader, we all have to trust each other. Second, everyone has a role, everyone must do their jobs and no slackin'. And lastly, never go into the Maze, unless you're a Runner"

          Nick mentioned about Minho and Ben being Runners and they were the ones who found the boy. "Runner?" the boy muttered in slight confusion.

          "Minho's the Runner, you've met him back in the hut earlier, he and Ben were the ones who found you, they're Runners, Runner is one of the jobs, not really that simple to get, and they're the only ones who are the allowed into the maze" Newt explained.

          "How come?" the boy questioned.

          "We've lost too many Gladers in the Maze, they got lost and locked out of there and were never seen again. Can't risk of sending more out there"

          The boy can understand that. Do the Runners go into the maze by choice or do they have to? When he and Newt arrived the bonfire, Newt guided the boy around, he didn't expect that he'd be greeted multiple times, he's met with mostly, "Welcome to the Glade, Greenie" by most of them and with shaking hands. He didn't expect how a lot of the Gladers gave him a warm and friendly welcome. Newt introduced the boy to a group of Gladers that are in separate based on their jobs like Builders, Slicers, Bricknicks, Cooks, Track-hoes, Sloppers and Baggers, and explained their jobs but didn't introduce every guy's name. He met with some Gladers who insisted on introducing themselves to the Greenie, like the cook, Frypan and one of the Track-hoes named Zart.

          The bonfire ended with every Glader watching Gally and Nick wrestling in a ring, the fight was intense for the Gladers while the Greenie watched on with zero excitement and everyone else was screaming with cheers. The fight ended with Gally winning. That's when Nick called it for the night and it was time for a night's rest.

          In the end, the boy was met by Nick, "I had the Greenie, the Greenie before you, had your hammock readied for you," Nick gestured him to follow and he did. He followed the guy to where most Gladers headed to, there was a camp, a camp filled with hammocks and cots, scattered around the area. Nick showed the boy where he'll be sleeping, his hammock was near Teddy's. "It'll take time to get used to it" Nick assured him.

          "Easy for you to say, Nick" said Teddy, who was ready to settle in on his hammock, "you got a VIP cot of your own"

          "Well, I am in charge around here, am I?" Nick was somewhat cocky. "Anyway, sleep tight, big day tomorrow"

          The boy wanted to ask what was happening tomorrow but Nick already left. "You'll never really get used to it," Teddy told the boy, the boy sat down on his hammock, barely keeping still while Teddy laid down "Unless you got back issues like me . . . Anyway, good night, Greenie"

          The boy wanted to ask Teddy about what's happening tomorrow, but the guy was already making himself comfortable and didn't want to disturb him out of his comfort zone. The boy struggled with his own hammock, especially with the wound on his ribcage, he hardly tolerate the pain. By the time he managed his hammock and laid down, everyone and everything went silent, like he was the only person awake. He wasn't sure how he can sleep after this day.

          He wished this was all just a bad dream, a nightmare, he hoped to wake up in the morning someplace else where everything is okay and he just had a strangest and realistic dream.

          Eventually, it was only him awake, everyone else sleeping, just himself and his thoughts while listening to the sounds of the maze changing behind the walls.

          Then something happened while he was closing his eyes, about to fall asleep, while his thoughts were running, as if his brain had dug down into the abyss of memories and had found one lost memory. Somehow he can hear a girl from this blank memory, like it was merely an audio, a girl's voice saying a name.

          Oscar.

          It clicked him. He knew.

          My name is Oscar.

AUTHORS NOTE

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well, there you go, our boy finally remembers his name! :)