I woke up in something, that looked like a box. It was made of steel, and it was moving quickly upwards. I was really confused. What the hell was happening?! I tried to get on my feet, but then I realized, that the ceiling was getting closer. I panicked and fell on the ground.
"HEEELP!!! ANYBODY!!!" I yelled, but no sense. There was just me and some wooden boxes.
The ceiling was closer with each second and I thought to myself, it's gonna smash me against it. But suddenly, the box, some kind of lift, stopped. I saw some red light and then the ceiling opened itself. Or so I thought. Sudden rays of light hit my eyes with an unexpected strength, and I was blinded. My eyes needed to grow accustomed to the light, so I raised my hand to give them a little shade. When the light wasn't so bright, I let my hand lay down. Someone jumped down to the box, it was a boy with an evil grin on his face and very strange eyebrows.
"Day One, Greenie! Rise and shine!" he said with that grin and continued:
"Now get your ugly ass out of here, I need to take these boxes from here!" It really wasn't a nice welcome.
I saw some pairs of hands, that were ready to help me get out of the box, so I caught them, and climbed up. I felt like being sick, I had to breathe hard. There were about fifty boys standing around me, staring at me. A strong boy with dark skin came to me.
"Hi there, Greenie, my name is Alby and I'm in charge here. Let me guide you around here," he said with more pleasent voice.
I caught my breath and realized that I can talk. "Where am I? What is this place? Who am I???" I mumbled.
Alby took me away from the boys and said: "This is called The Glade. We live here. We're called Gladers. You can't remember your name, but it's normal. You will remember it later, trust me. Each one of us experienced it. Now follow me."
I followed him, but then I realized, where I was. A huge, square-shaped place with four giant walls, each one had a gap in the middle. I stopped where I was and watched in awe.
"What the-" I wasn't able to say a word and I just turned around to see nothing but those walls and the blue sky above.
"Relax, Greenie, you look like fainting. It's alright, you will grow accustomed to this place. Breathe the air and come with me, I want to introduce you to someone," said Alby.
The life in the Glade returned to its normal. There were boys around, everyone was doing something. Alby lead me to a place, which looked like a small garden.
"Greenie, meet Thomas and Newt. They are our Gardeners. They grow fruit and vegetables, they're great in it. Newt is in charge, when I'm not here."
Newt smiled and my stomach did a small somersault. I wasn't about to puke, but there was a strange feeling inside of me I couldn't describe. Newt was tall and skinny, but his muscles were telling, that he is a really good worker.
"Hi. Name's Newt, Greenie. This is Tommy, we're glad that you're here," said Newt with a wide smile, that made my knees weak. There was really something about him, that attracted me.
"Yeah, and I am glad, that I'm not a Greenie anymore," said Thomas, laughing.
I tried to smile, but could not resist looking at Newt. Alby took me by my shoulder. "Come on, let's move forward. You need something to eat, you look weak. And if you want to fight Gally this evening, you need to strengthen yourself." I stopped. "I will do WHAT??? Wait a minute, and who is Gally?" Alby stopped, too. "Get a grip, Greenie, you look like a bag of Bloppers. You will fight against Gally this evening, it's our Greenie ritual. Gally was first who spoke to you in the Box. And he is very competitive. You will fight together, he will kick your ass and you will be one of us. But I would suggest you kick his ass, because he has won several times in a row and he became a pain in the ass about it," Alby said with a grin. "OK, I will fight him then. But what happens, if I lose? Will you put me to the Box and back where I came from?" Alby laughed like crazy. "You're great, Greenie! Back to the box! Yes, we'll send you back, gift-wrapped, with a big pink ribbon on the top of your head, ha-ha!" Then he frowned suddenly. "Nothing like that will happen. You'll stay here whether you like it or not. This is your home now. But Gally can mock you, he didn't seem to like you." "I don't like him either," I said, frowning. "But don't make him your enemy, or he will give you hell. He is our best Builder, strong as a bull. You better show him your skills in the fight and try not to piss him off at any time. So, here we are. This is our Kitchen."
The Kitchen was in a small house made of wood and there was a long table and some stools outside. There was an open fire and a big, muscular boy with dark skin was preparing meal. "Greenie, this is Frypan, our Cook. He takes care of our stomachs. Fry, give this weak-looking shank some food, he will fight Gally this evening," said Alby. Frypan grinned. "Gally will tear him into little pieces." And he put a plate with an unidentified food on it. "It looks awful," I said with a disgust on my face. "Go to the Maze then, Greenie, kill a Griever and eat it with a mint sauce!" Frypan frowned. Alby warned me: "Show some respect, Greenie, or I'll make you clean up the whole kitchen. Fry's meal is the best thing we have, so don't offend him, or you will eat your own Bloppers forever." I was a bit ashamed. "I didn't mean that. Didn't want to offend him. Sorry, Frypan," I said and started to eat. It tasted much better than it looked like. I finished and said: "It was really good, Frypan. I feel much better with a full stomach." Frypan gave me a little smile and disappeared in the Kitchen. Alby looked satisfied. "Ok, now you'll be ready to face Gally, shank!"