ACT I SCENE III
CEDALIÔN

     THERE WAS a hand on her shoulder. "Hey. Hey, wake up."

She started, gasping, but the hand clamped shut against her mouth. Newt's face hovered inches above her own and he pressed a finger to his lips as she stared up at him in bewilderment. They needed to stop greeting each other like this.

Behind him, she could see Minho shift in his hammock. Newt slowly removed the hand from her mouth and gestured for her to get up. "Come on, hurry."

She glanced at Minho's back again then to Newt's retreating figure. Cassandra hurriedly got off her hammock and tiptoed after the blonde boy, dancing between outstretched limbs and heads lying on the grass. They crossed the empty expanse of the Glade towards a section of the wall covered with ivy and she could see a pane of glass underneath the leaves. Newt stopped in front of it, pushing some vines away to reveal a window covered in dirt and grime.

"What are we doing?" she asked carefully.

"You'll see," he replied simply. "Won't be long now."

Curiosity took hold of her and she moved closer towards the window to peer through. At first, she couldn't see anything then she managed to make out the stony interior of the Maze beyond. She looked up and down, left and right, examining every inch of it—there were long corridors that ended in turns or crossroads. They waited for another minute or two as she sat on her haunches.

"What are we waiting for?" she hissed over her shoulder with a tint of impatience in her voice.

Newt held a finger up to his lips. "There... you hear that?"

She turned back around and listened with strained senses, then she heard it. There was a mixture of mechanical whirring and a low hollow ringing, accompanied by the sound of something wet rolling across the ground. It was an eerily peculiar sound that made her hairs stand on end. Cassandra continued to peer through the window with bated breath and creased brows, feeling her pulse quicken in anticipation.

Then she saw it. Long metallic arms and spikes glinted palely under the waning moonlight, attached to the most hideous and repulsive body she could ever remember seeing. She ducked her head low and felt her heart jump up to her throat. Whatever it was, she just knew it was no good. She could hear the abomination through the glass panel as it stopped right in front of them before a soul-shattering shriek pierced through the air without remorse. It was the same scream she heard before.

Cassandra thought her heart had sputtered to a stop.

It was only until she heard the faint clicking of metal claws did she dare peek into the glass window again. The creature had gone off down the long corridor in front of them, its hideous backside oozing grossly as it went. The only way she could describe it was that it resembled a giant bulbous slug with gooey skin and mechanical spider-like limbs—a scientific experiment gone horribly wrong. She pressed her palms against her chest in an effort to calm her nerves, feeling relieved that it was going away from them.

"That's a Griever," Newt explained behind her. "They're the reason why we don't go out into the Maze... why we're safe here behind these Walls and why the Doors close every evening."

She swallowed the lump in her throat, too terrified and shocked to utter a single syllable.

"Get stung by one of those beasties and it's good shucking night unless you get a Grief Serum in time," he went on. "But you go through the Changing and it sucks."

She turned slowly to look at him and there was empathy in his eyes as he shrugged back. "Figured it was easier to show people what's out there. Stops 'em from running out, ya see."

Cassandra had absolutely no idea what to say, or how to even respond. Why would anyone want to run out there in the first place?

"It's why we stick to the rules," he continued. "Maintain order while the Runners map the place and try to figure a way out."

Her body felt cold as she desperately wished to get as far away from that place as she possibly could. She wanted to go back to the Homestead, curl up in her hammock and forget about what she had just seen.

"It's no joke out there."

"I get it," she spoke with an edge. "I get it, Newt."

"Good that," he replied with a nod. "It's almost time for the wake-up and Alby's gonna wanna talk to you."

She felt numb, the memory of the creature still seared into her retinas and brain cells. A weight of helplessness dropped down on her and even more questions ran through her head. Newt walked over and helped her back to her feet. He let her hold his hand for a few seconds to steady herself. It felt nice to have human contact; she felt like her soul had just about departed from her body.

Suddenly, there was a red beam of light and Cassandra started, immediately whirling her head in its direction. Something moved from behind the ivy that covered the wall, scuttling towards them as if to have a closer look at her. She grabbed Newt and hid behind his back while pointing at the creature. "There's something there!" she squeaked nervously.

Newt chuckled at her reaction as if he was used to it. "Don't worry, it's just a beetle blade."

"A what?"

"A beetle blade—the Creators use 'em to spy on us."

"They what?!" Already, she felt her privacy being invaded.

"C'mon, let's mosey along now. It's exactly time for wake-up," Newt said, turning her around without so much as a care in the world for the creepy red light that followed their footsteps. But Cassandra continued to suspiciously eye the beetle blade over her shoulder.

When they reached the Homestead, Newt gave a little two-finger wave as he parted ways with her. "See ya later, Greenbean," he said and made his way to the kitchen. Cassandra watched him leave for a few seconds before spinning on her heel. She blindly took a step forward before slamming her face against something hard. A pair of arms reached out to grab hold of her and she heard a familiar voice snicker.

"What's up, Greenbean?"

Minho. She grumbled something unintelligible under her breath and rubbed her nose. The boy looked over her head at Newt's retreating figure and managed to put two and two together. He crossed his thick arms, flexing his muscles somehow as he did so.

"So you got the view," he stated. "That's what I got to deal with every single day. No biggie, dude."

She wasn't sure whether he was trying to reassure her or if he was just plain boasting but she let out a sigh nevertheless and rolled her eyes. All she wanted to do was to forget about the big creepy monster in the big creepy maze.

"Please, I just want to go back to sleep," she grumbled. His lips twitched in amusement.

"C'mon, Greenie, let's put some food in you," he said, leading her back to the Homestead.

They grabbed some breakfast from Frypan and sat at a bench together. She could feel Minho's gaze on the top of her head as she ate and she lifted her eyes to look at him. "What is it?" she asked with a raised brow.

"Hold out your left arm," he requested.

Cassandra shot him a look of bewilderment before obliging. He reached out to guide her arm out at an angle before pointing towards the underside. "There. I thought I was just seeing things at first but there's something in your arm."

She twisted her arm a little more towards herself and finally saw it. There was something implanted beneath her skin, measuring about five centimeters like a matchstick. Her finger reached up to prod it and she could make out the outline of a thin scar on her skin where an incision was made. Something came back to her about the female anatomy and she widened her eyes in astonishment. Well, at least there was one problem she didn't have to deal with.

"Maybe you should get the Med-jacks to check it out," Minho suggested.

"N-no, I think that's meant to be there," she replied.

"Ya sure? That doesn't look natural to me." Minho raised a dubious eyebrow in her direction.

She nodded vigorously. "Trust me, it's necessary."

When they were almost done with breakfast, Alby came over saying that he needed to talk to her and gave Minho a dismissing look. From the moment they met, she did not like Alby all that much.

"See you later, Greenbean." Minho cocked his head, stood up and made his way to one of the Doors.

"You, let's go."

Cassandra turned to scowl at Alby, who was already walking off towards the east side of the Glade and thought about flipping him off. Then decided not to. She hurriedly followed after him, almost tripping over herself on the way. The sun still hung low in the blue dawn and dew kissed the skin of her ankles. Alby started talking as soon as she caught up to pace with him.

"We only got three rules," he started. "One: Everyone does their part. No slackers. Two: Never hurt another Glader. We have to trust each other. Three: Never go outside the Glade, unless you're a Runner."

"Sounds fine by me," she responded.

"Newt told me you put in a request to work in the garden or kitchen." He stopped and looked at her with hands on his hips. "That won't do. I don't care if you're a girl, no exceptions. You're gonna work to earn your place here just like the rest of us, Greenie."

She thought he looked like a drill captain about to sentence a new recruit to scullery duty. "Alright, fine." She sighed in defeat. "You're the boss."

"Good that." He nodded satisfactorily. "Now you need to answer me truthfully." Her senses perked up and she was staring at him with alert eyes in a mixture of dread and anticipation. "You said you remember stuff, right?" She nodded. "You still remembering them?"

She nodded once more, waiting to know where this conversation was leading to.

"Right. We want you to be a Runner."

She almost blanched. "What? But Newt said I wouldn't last a minute out there with the Grievers," she blurted out in a rush. The Grievers. Her mind reeled.

"Minho'll train you," he told her with a sigh as if he knew and didn't approve as well. "You can be his partner. We want you to look around the Maze, see if you start remembering anything. Anything at all. And technically, only Runners are allowed in the Maze."

She stopped and saw the reasoning behind the decision. It was true; she might be able to recall something about the Maze that could help them get out of this wretched place. It was a long shot but it couldn't hurt to try. Alby could see her coming around to the idea.

But it was the Maze.

"'Course, we're not gonna throw you in just like that," he reassured her. "It usually takes a few months until we think you're ready. Until then, you're stuck in here like the rest of us."

As if that was any better.

Each vote and comment is used to fling at the beetle blades because the government is always watching ✨️