If Jina thought telling them they got two Blondies was bad, when she mentioned one was a boy...it was like she announced the end of the world.

Sonya jumped down into the cage now. "Well I'll be damned."

"Wh- what's going on?" The girl in the corner whimpered.

"Hey, girly, we ain't gonna hurt you. We've all been here. Wanna get out the buggen' cage? It's not pleasant."

"I...I can't remember anything."

"None of us can." Jina explained, "Don't worry, your name will come back-"

"Rachel." The girl said.

"What?" Sonya and Jina said in unison.

"My name. My name is Rachel...."

Jina and Sonya caught each other's eye and looked back down at the girl. Jina pulled her lips into a frown, thinking, while Sonya smiled. Jina felt a weird itch in her skull, and her stomach dropped like she missed a step.

"Well see, then ya' a step ahead of mos' Blondies when they come up."

"Is the boy okay? He's not moving." Jina asked taking a cautious step forward.

"He tried to feel his way around. It was dark, he tripped and slammed his head." She explained.

Jina turned, "Jill?" She called up, "We need you."

Jill hopped down, with her medic bag. The girl tightened her grip on the boy.

"Hey, she's our medic. If he's hurt, she'll help. I promise. We ain't here to hurt ya. Come on..." Sonya coaxed the girl. She slowly loosened her grip.

He had a pretty good bloody gash on his forehead. Jill got to work, while Sonya convinced the Blondie, Rachel, to climb out of the box. Jill got the bleeding under control. And now, it was a matter of getting him out of the box. It took some manoeuvring and a board and some rope, but they did manage to get him up and carried him off to the Healers hut.

"Where're they taking him?"

"Jill and Kendra are our medics, like we explained." Jina said. "They're taking him to the Healers hut, make sure he's okay. After I give you a tour, we can take a stop."

Harriet and Sonya gave Jina a look, usually Jina avoided the Blondies. But there was something familiar about the two and Jina wanted to talk to her. The girl was about her age and had short brown hair, amber eyes that looked scared and haunted, like she had seen way too much and a cute button nose.

Rachel clenched her jaw and opened and closed her hands a few times. She swallowed her fear and nodded. Her eyes landed on Jina again.

"Come on Blondie," Jina waved a hand. "I'll show ya around, explain everything."

The girl followed. Jina walked away from the Cage and started to explain.

"So, we're inside the Glenn, it's where we eat, sleep, and live, basically. No idea why we're here, or where here is. I'm gonna give it to ya straight, were surrounded by a maze. Yes you heard me, a maze. A full extra large, life size maze. And no we haven't found a way out. Yet."

"A...maze?"

Jina nodded. Rachel furrowed her eyebrows.

"That's...why is that familiar?" She looked at Jina hoping for an explanation.

"It is?" Jina asked, her eyebrows shooting up. She felt a sudden excitement and nervousness swirl in the pit of her stomach.

Rachel slowly nodded. Her eyes flicked around, taking in everything, she didn't look as scared as she did in the cage.

"Ya...ya I have this like... feeling...that I've been here before. I remember nothing! But it's not as... overwhelming as I first thought. Does that even make sense? I can't remember where I was before that...that..." She looked frustrated waving her hands.

"The word you're looking for is finching." Jina said, with a small smile. "you can't remember where you were before that finich' cage."

Rachel paused and shrugged, "good as any, I guess. But ya, that finich' cage."

Jina was looking hard at Rachel. There was something, something in Jina's mind that was trying to push through the barriers around her memories. Was this girl part of her past? She felt a sharp pain in her head, right at the back and sliced to the front, like a knife through butter, it sliced through her mind to right behind her eyes. She yelped and grabbed her head, almost doubling over.

Rachel cried out in surprise. "Whoa...whoa Jina are you okay?"

Just as sudden as the pain hit it was gone just as fast. She felt shaky and feverish, but the pain was gone. Jina straighted up.

"Ya...ya sorry. I've had some head trauma..." Jina waved a hand brushing it off. But the truth was, as the pain stabbed her mind, words slipped through, like her mind pushed something through the crack in the memory's walls. Experiment. Killzones. Variables.

"Wait...how did you know my name?" Jina suddenly realized.

Rachel looked shocked, she opened her mouth a few times but each time nothing came out. She frowned and furrowed her eyebrows. "I...I don't know. It was just there. Like one second it wasn't and then it was. Like my name. Like I know I've been here. And I know your name is Jina. And I know this isn't home. And...the boys name is-"

"Aris." Jina whispered. At the same time Rachel said his name too. The Blondie's eyes if possible went even bigger.

"How did...?"

"I dunno." Jina shrugged, "like you said. One second it wasn't there. And the next it was..."

"So...are we the only ones like this?" Rachel asked.

"Umm...ya. As far as I know. I haven't told anyone...but ya, I feel the same way about this place. It's familiar. No idea how. Or why. But ya... I came with three names. My name and I remembered two boys names. No idea who they are or what they mean to me."

"Oh...what are they?"

"Thomas and Minho." Jina said. She didn't want to be hopeful, but a small sliver was hoping maybe Rachel would know, if she felt the same familiarity with the maze. She watched the Blondie's face for any sign of recognition. She shook her head slowly, her eyebrows pulled together.

"No. Sorry. I have nothing."

"That's okay. Aris is the first boy the Glenn has had since a group woke up here almost two years ago. Figured maybe..."

"Sorry."

"Not your fault, Blondie." Jina shrugged, trying not to feel sad or disappointed.

"Okay, what's with the name? What's with Blondie?" Rachel asked, they started to walk again. Jina led her to the Barn and leaned on the fence.

"First girl who was sent up, she was blond, and couldn't remember her name. The originals called her Blondie until she could remember. And it's been Blondie for each new girl, regardless of hair colour. And a lot of the time they come up confused, asking questions, no idea what's going on...like...a dumb blond."

"Oh...well makes sense... What about the other stuff." Rachel said waving her hand, gesturing to the general Glenn.

"You scared of heights?" Jina asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Ummm...dunno."

"Come on, I've gotta show ya something." Jina led the girl to the tree fort and they climbed the ladder that was nailed to the huge trunk of the tree. They climbed all the way to the top. It was well built. Jina loved coming up here. It had a great view of everything. She could see everyone and everything, she felt ontop of the world and free. Close enough to touch the stars. Jina leaned her elbows onto the railing.

"Is it safe?" Rachel asked hesitantly.

"Yep. Yelena is very particular in her work. They make sure no one will fall and die a painful death.

"Who's...who's that?"

"Yelena? She's in charge of the builders. Come here. I'll point them out." She waited for Rachel to be beside her. And Jina pointed to a group of girls all working together with pulleys and a big wall. "So those girls are our builders. Their amazing carpenters, building designing...anything like that. Yelena is their group Leader. Right now, they're adding more rooms to the Cabin."

Jina pointed to the next corner. "Thea is the Farmers or Gardeners group Leader. Anything that grows, anything garden related those are your girls. Amazing green thumbs, all of them. A little gossipy, but good girls."

"Next." Jina pointed to the big red barn and fenced pasture that took up another corner of the Glenn. "Butchers-"

"They tend to the animals and make the meat..." Rachel guessed.

"Yep. Kinda a gross job, but someone's gotta do it, but slicing up pigs to baccon isn't their only job... Hannah is their group Leader. She's a nice girl, quiet, doesn't say much, she's actually really good with the animals."

Jina pointed to the fancy shiny metal kitchen that glinted in the sun, "Flossie's kitchen. Flo is her sue chief. They make great cookies. You'll like Flossie. She's like...the Glenn grandma. Some of the younger girls call her Nana"

"That's sweet." Rachel smiled gently.

"Then under us is Haunted forest. It's not actually haunted, but the graveyard is there, in the corner where there's an open space and daisys grow. It's... hauntingly beautiful."

"Umm...a graveyard?" Rachel repeated, she looked a little pale all of a sudden.

"Yes. The Glenn is dangerous. It's harsh, and we can't afford to be soft. It's survival of the fittest out here, hunt or be hunted. Kill or be killed. Survive or die. I've been here almost a year and I've seen four girls die. All brutal. All my friends. And all preventable if the crackheads who sent us here would just stop watching us and help." Jina spat.

Rachel was quiet, mulling over what she said. She eyes jumped around, taking everything in. They landed again on the big open wall doors. She stared hard at the big black gloomy corridor.

"What's out there?" She pointed to the big walls.

"The Maze."

"The Maze..." Rachel repeated. Her eyes went distant as she looked at the walls.

"Yep." Jina said, popping her p. She hooked her thumbs into the small backpack or vest she wore for Mapping. "Only Mappers go out there. It's dangerous, and it's hard. We run those halls every damn day, all day, looking for a way out of here."

"We?" Rachel repeated, she blinked and looked around at Jina. "You're a...a what? A mapper?"

Jina hummed and nodded. "Sonya, the blond in the cage with me. She's the Leader of the Mappers. A girl named Taylor and myself are seconds, and Sonya and I also help Harriet run this place." Jina unhooked her thumbs, swept a hand over the Glenn and leaned back down on the railing.

"So...with all the group leaders is there like ... A...umm...what's the word..."

"We make a council. Yes. If there's issues in the Glenn that cannot be resolved by the group leaders it's brought before the council. Or any news or changes, its brought before the council. We discuss it and vote what's best for the whole group. It's functional. A few disagreements, girls will be girls." Jina shrugged, and then pushed off the railing and folded her arms across her chest. She looked hard at Rachel. "But we all work hard together. We don't have time for lazy Crackheads. See a need, fill a need. Listen to the rules, don't be a crackhead, no hurting other girls. And unless you're a mapper don't go wandering into the maze- unless very specific situations."

"What if I wanna be a Mapper?" She asked looking at the wide open maze doors again.

"Wait until the morning. Then we can talk to Sonya and Harriet and Taylor. Taylor will test you and see if you have what it takes. It's not just about running. Not many girls wanna be a Mapper. There's...monsters that roam the halls. There is unbelievable pressure on you, every girl in Glenn is counting on you to find a way out. You also have to make it back each night before those doors close or you're stuck out there. At night. No one has yet to survive a night."

"Whoa whoa whoa." Rachel said standing up straight. "Mon- monsters?"

"Yes. I told you it's a harsh place. Not many girls want to be a mapper."

The Blondie swallowed, she looked pretty pale. "No one's survived a night?"

"Nope." Jina popped her p again. She looked out over the Glenn, and out to the dark spooky halls of the maze. "No one. A few girls have been stuck out there that didn't make it back...never found 'em again... We've had to send a few girls out there...who were messed in the head. We only saw parts of em the next moment. It's not a present place, Blondie."

Jina could see the resolve, the stubborn side to Rachel. She saw a fire in her eyes, she was hungry. Rachel was curious, like she was. And Jina could see intelligence. And if she had a familiar feeling about this place, same as Jina, then maybe she was the help the voice mentioned last night.

"I wanna be a Mapper." She said firmly. "I have to be...it's...more than a want. It's a need. I need to be one." She added softly.

< • >

Jina and Rachel finished with the tour and as Jina promised went to the Healers hut to check on the boy named Aris. Jill had stitched his head and he now was just sleeping.

"How's he doing?"

"Well, all his vitals are good. He must have smacked his head pretty hard." Kendra answered.

Rachel sat down beside him and Jina stood at the foot of the bed and frowned, studying his face. Sandy blond hair, his face was thin and angular. He was built like a runner, thin yet strong. The door to the hut opened and Harriet and Sonya came in.

"Thought we saw ya come in here." Sonya smiled. "So, how was the tour?"

Rachel looked up, Jina could see the nervousness in her face. But she swallowed it and shrugged. "It was fine. I guess. You guys have a good system going."

"Took some time. And a few trial and errors... But ya, we have it runnin' smooth." Harriet answered, "we do our best with what the designers throw at us. We're a family, and we all rely on each other. There's no secrets between us..."

"Harriet." Jina said sharply. "She's not hiding anything. She doesn't remember anything more then the rest of us. Just 'cause she came up with the boy means nothing." She narrowed her eyes at the leader. Harriet glared back for a moment before she relented.

"Ya." She sighed. "Ya I know. It ain't their fault. The finchen' designers are messing with us again."

"I told you...help was on its way..." Jina said slowly, and gestured to the two Blondies. "Maybe this is the help!"

Sonya smiled. "That would be a buggen' welcome thought!"

Rachel was going to say something when the boy groaned in his sleep and his head shifted.

I CAN'T REMEMBER ANYTHING! WHAT THE HELL!

Rachel actually shrieked and fell off the bed. Jina jumped and stumbled into the wall. Her chest was rising and falling. Her heart rate suddenly spiked. It was like the head call from last night. But this presens was different. The voice was different. And yet it was familiar.

Still not sure how this whole mind talking worked, she yelled back. Are...are you my conscious?

It wasn't the smartest thing to yell back- Jina panicked and didn't know what to do. Harriet and Sonya and Jill were frowning and looking back and forth between them.

Yes. The new male voice said back, it was clearly dripping with sarcasm and accompanied with a clear eye roll. How that worked, Jina didn't know, but she understood. How have you been? The voice asked.

Jina blinked a few times. Staring at the boy. He was peaceful, minus the bloody stitches, but he lay unmoving. Then she had to work really hard not to snort and laugh at this kids ridiculous sense of humor. Hmm. Well...can't complain... Jina snarked back.

Jina felt another presence in her mind. It must have been Rachel, she turned her head and looked Jina in the eye. Well that's not true. We're trapped in a MAZE and you said there are monsters out there. Kids are dying! We all have no memories! And WE CAN TALK WITH OUR HEADS!

Well...when you put it that way... Jina mentally rolled her eyes. Jina shifted her eyes to Harriet and Sonya who were looking at the three of them with a strange look. Jina swallowed and chewed her lip.

"Umm...you umm know how I told you...I could hear that voice last nigh?"

Both girls eyes went wide in shock and bounced between Jina, Rachel and Aris.

"Umm ya," she gestured to Rachel and the boy, "umm...the same thing... apparently." Jina finished lamely. "Not the same one...but ya, we can talk with our finchen' minds!"

"Whoa. That's so weird."

"Wow. Thanks Harriet." Jina said dryly.

The boy on the bed stirred again and let out a groan. His eyes slowly fluttered open.

"Aris?" Rachel whispered. The boy's watery blue eyes slowly blinked a few times and then slid to Rachel and then to Jina.

"Where am I?" He whispered.

< • >