I lay awake in bed, newts figure beside me, his arm wrapped around my waist. I could feel his chest heave with steady breaths, signaling his slumber. My eyes stared up, into the rickety ceiling, consumed by darkness. The silence that settled the glade was deafening, only interrupted by the occasional griever.

Their calls sent jolts through my bones, as if they were mocking me. Reminding me every single night, that they had taken someone I loved. There had been a burial for adam, body or not. We had crowded around his grave, and I have to say, I wasn't the only one who shed tears.

The night after we laid him to rest, the Grievers had been extra loud, their shrieks echoing throughout the glade, causing gladers to huddle together, out of fear and mourning.

But what had me awake was what Thomas had said. It was impossible that he'd been here before. Maybe, in his past life he was an outdoors person, thus seemingly relating to his new lifestyle. His new personality merged with his own. But something told me that wasn't true.

Something told me that Thomas had spoken the truth, surprising me, and I believe himself. I tried to revisit the memories that I had been having, but I noticed that most of names I ever hear, seem to disappear from my mind. Like when you load a website, it's there for a second, but then something might redirect you.

And there it was again. My knowing of how the world worked, yet couldn't place exactly how I knew. Had it been that I was at the library, doing a research paper for the history teacher everyone hated? Or could a friend and I be trying to illegally watch the latest movie online?

Then again, did I have friends? A family before all this? Well my memories explained as such. I knew Adam before, and Gally was my brother. But something tells me I didn't exactly agree with having my memory wiped, and being sent to hell.

Someone must've kidnapped me. Someone must've kidnapped all of us. Shouldn't there be a government or something to stop that? Anyway, it shouldn't be that hard to detect a stupid giant sized maze. Where are they gonna hide it, in the basement?

That made me think of greater possibilities, what we were hear for. What if we were all criminals, and this was the only prison for teenagers. The grievers outside make us stay inside, like prison guards. And perhaps its a maze, everything about this place a puzzle so we don't go brain dead as we fulfill the rest of our worthless lives.

People like chuck, though. I hardly think he could kill a rabbit, let alone perhaps murder someone in cold blood. But the memories, if I remember correctly, Adam and I could talk with our heads.

Maybe I had imagined that part, in my longing for him. The memories seemed to wink out of my head as soon as I awoke. The most probable option is that we were in an experiment.

Maybe all these kids were geniuses, and were being tested to their limits, to see if they could survive. If they won, maybe they were the new human species, like a forced way of evolution.

But that didn't seem to explain why all boys, and why I'm the only girl. Perhaps, instead of mixing all girls in boys, I was a guinea pig. I way to see if they'd interact or poke me with a stick. And I have to say, they did both.

Still, all my thoughts returned to Thomas. I remembered the dream of Adam and I. We said names, a girl and a boys. Something about, cooperating. But it couldn't be Thomas. No offense to the kid, but he looked as ordinary as any other glader.

The only one out of ordinary, was me. Maybe I was a mistake. Maybe they hoped as soon as I set foot in this contraption all the boys would think of me as a danger, and kill me.

Maybe... Maybe that was it! That I was a problem for the creators, thinking the boys would act differently at my arrival, thought that death by the gladers would solve all their problems and keep their conscious's clear!

"Joanie?"

I blinked, startled, wondering where the voice had come from. "You okay?" The voice said again. Shaking my head out of my imagination, I turned, facing a certain blonde. "Huh? Yeah I'm fine," I mumbled, looking into newts eyes.

"You looked like you were gonna explode," he chuckled. I rolled my eyes, "I was thinking," I said. This made him laugh some more, "didn't look to good for you,"

I mockingly smiled, then began to get up, "that's it I'm out,"

"No!" He grabbed hold of me. "Uh yeah. Not to mention your insults, the realization that you noticed me being awake, meant you were staring at me in the middle of the night, you little creep," I laughed, squirming in his grasp. He leaped up off the bed, pushing me back down onto the bed, as it made creaking sounds.

"You need more sleep,"he started, gazing out the window, "and I need to start getting ready,"

I stood up, "are you crazy? It's the middle of the night?" I exclaimed. "Actually..." He started, "last night, when you came into bed after collecting your spoons, " he said, gesturing to the pile on the dresser, "you got into bed, accidentally waking me. I didn't say anything, but after bloody five minutes you fell asleep. I followed not to long after, until I woke up once more to see you intensely glaring at the poor ceiling," he laughed.

So I did sleep. I guess I didn't notice how exhausted I was. I put my hands in his after he had concluded getting ready. "You. Need. To. Sleep," he stated, trying to push me to the bed. "Gonna show the greenie the window?" I asked, sighing as I swing our hands.

He nodded, before smiling widely. "Don't scare him too much, Alright?" I asked, followed by a wink. "Only if you get some bloody well needed rest," he explained.

"Tuck me in?" I asked, and he nodded. I walked over to the bed, jumping in as he pulled the covers till my chin. "Goodnight, sleep tight, don't let the beetle blades bite," he joked, before I chuckled, "you're so corny,"

He leaned over towards me, "see you in a while," he whispered, before placing a kiss on my lips. I mumbled an agreement before I started slipping into slumber. I kept one eye open long enough to see Newt silently slip out the door way.

*****

I woke up to an empty room, and sun light pouring in through the window. Hobbling out of bed, I got dressed. My usual, some navy blue sneakers, which on the back were labeled all star, black pants, and a darkish blue shirt. I put my hair up in a messy bun, then went down strairs to see myself in the mirror. Everyone had basically gotten used to it. Thomas had seen it before the party, he seemed slightly shocked with himself.

I noticed Alby talking to chuck and Thomas at a bench, so I went to join them. I got there as soon as Alby had tweaked chucks ear, causing a yelp of pain. "Aye! Slim it Alby!" I called. He rolled his eyes, and grunted. "Just getting Thomas here ready for the shuck tour,"

Chuck turned to Thomas, "have fun,"

Thomas sighed, "I'll try,"

They walked off, leaving chuck and I. I munched on an apple, it's crispy juiciness filling my mouth, exploding my taste buds, energizing me.

Chuck raised his eyebrows, "you seem to be really enjoying that Apple,"
I closed my eyes and nodded, replying with an,"mhhm,"

He burst out laughing, teetering back and forth on the seat. I rolled my eyes, pushing him. I guess I didn't realize how hard he was laughing, because he fell over onto his back with an oomph.

That caused me to start laughing. The giggles escaped my body, making me gasp for breath. Chuck stood up, brushing himself off. "Haha, very funny,"

I held in the last few laughs, because if not, I don't think I could stop. "Hey, I got stuff to do but-" he was cut off by a shrill alarm which reverberated throughout the glade. Boys around us seemed to stop, and rush towards the box. "It's the greenie alarm," I whispered, astonished.
"But that's-"

"-not possible," I whispered, finishing chucks sentence as his mouth gaped open. We rushed to the box, where Alby and Thomas were just arriving. The confusion was placidly placed on Thomas's face. I saw Newt, and walked over, silently holding his hand.

"Newt! What's going on?" Alby yelled. "Means a bloody Newbie's comin' up in the Box." Newt shouted, then paused. "Right now."
"So?" Thomas asked, and as I looked at newt, I realized that what I'd mistaken for calm was actually disbelief-maybe even excitement.
"So?" Newt replied, his jaw dropping slightly. "Greenie, we've never had two Newbies show up in the same month, much less two days in a row."

And with that, he let go of my hand and ran off toward the Homestead.

I separated myself from the group, sitting down. It was thirty minutes till Newt returned. I stood up once more, turning to Newt. I did not like what was happening.

"Careful," I said, worry eminent in my voice. He just kissed me, before turning towards Alby.

I watched in anticipation as Newt and Alby took positions on opposite sides of the shaft doors-a crack split the metal square right down the middle. Simple hook-handles were attached on both sides, and together they yanked them apart. With a metallic scrape the doors were opened, and a puff of dust from the surrounding stone rose into the air.
Complete silence settled over the Gladers. As Newt leaned over to get a better look into the Box, the faint bleating of a goat in the distance echoed across the courtyard.

I leaned forward, trying to see what was inside.

With a sudden jerk, Newt pushed himself back into an upright position, and stared straight at me. "Holy ...," he breathed, still looking me dead in the eye.

By this time, Alby had gotten a good look as well, with a similar reaction. "No way," he murmured, almost in a trance.

"Hold on!" Alby yelled, silencing everyone. "Just hold on!"
"Well, what's wrong?" someone yelled back.

Alby stood up. "Two Newbies in two days," he said, almost in a whisper. "Now this. Two years, nothing different, now this." Then, for some reason, he looked straight at Thomas. "What's goin' on here, Greenie?"

Thomas tumbled slightly back, before Alby also fixed his gaze on me. "Joanie, what's going on?"

I was at a lost for words. I didn't even know what was in there.

"How am I supposed to know?" Thomas answered bitterly.

"Why don't you just tell us what the shuck is down there, Alby?" Gally called out. There were more murmurs and another surge forward.

"You shanks shut up!" Alby yelled. "Tell 'em, Newt."
Newt looked down in the Box one more time, then faced me again, with what looked like surprise and sadness.

"It's a girl," he said.
Everyone started talking at once; I could only pin point a few statements.

"A girl?"

"I got dibs!"

"What's she look like?"

"How old is she?"

"Is she like Joanie,"

"You mean is she as hot!"

"Newt ain't special anymore!"

Newt shushed them again.

"That's not bloody half of it," he said, then said something unbelievable. Once again, a glader said something that changed everything.

He pointed down into the box, and looked away from me, as if he felt some pity.

"I think she's dead."