He opened his eyes to darkness.

His cheek was pressed against cold metal, and his body throbbed as though bruised. He preached with his hand out, the fingertips numb and clumsy from the icy temperature. He was sure that were it light he'd be able to see his breath misting.

He swatted in the pitch black a few times, panic building, before he dragged himself into a sitting position. The floor was metal; smooth, cold, and hard.

Where was he?

Taking a shaking breath, he closed his eyes- there was no point having them open in the first place. He tried to remember how he's come to be there, what had happened- why he was hurting so bad.

But he couldn't.

He breathed in and out, and apart from the hoarseness of laborious breaths, there was only silence. There was nothing but a black hole in his mind. It fused with the darkness surrounding him, and he found himself questioning whether he was really there at all.

Except, of course, as he pressed his palms to the icy floor, the cold bringing him back to his surreal reality, he was. (Im not even a page in yet and my hands alr hurt :sob:)

A sudden shaking made him cry out in surprise. The previously stable ground beneath him seemed to tip sideways, and he slid. Tears sprung to his eyes as his head collided with another solid, metal surface. 

He huddled in what felt like a corner as the movement began in full force. He was sobbing now- his head hurt. Everything hurt, really, and he was scared, lost, and alone.

He tried to speak but he couldn't, and he choked on his tears as his head hit the wall again. He pounded on the floor, screaming. as if maybe someone would answer his cries that way.

All he got was a rattling groan of acceleration.

His breath hitched. It was too fast. Too fast. what would happen when it stopped, what if-

There was a terrifying sound of metal hitting metal, and he found himself flying forward, hitting what appeared to be the other side of the massive box he was in.

And just like that, the moving stopped.

Heart pounding, he slowly stood, leaning against the wall for support. He was blind in the darkness, and he kept a hand firmly on the side of the box as he took several harsh breaths.

Then, there was more noise, but this time voices, and scuffling, and hinges, and then-

Light.

There was sky and fresh air, and a grassy smell; and peering down at him were the source of the voices.

There were people standing above him. All men- or perhaps more accurately, boys, for none looked a day over twenty-two. A fresh sheen of tears sprung behind his eyes, and though he battled them valiantly, exhaustion and fear won out. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it, backing as far away as he could from the group of strangers.

The confusion on his face was mirrored by the men.

"It's a kid," Someone whispered. "Why did they send a kid?"
"I don't understand."
"What the shuck is this?"
"We should send him back down the shaft."
"He won't be able to work-"
"Everyone can it!"

The last speaker was dark-skinned, his hair cropped short and his face clean shaven. He had an authoritative air around him, and those around him fell silent. He appeared to be one of the oldest- early twenties at best guess.

"Newt," The man spoke again. "Go down and collect the Greenie, will you? He looks shucking tiny."

Another man- similarly aged, but slighter and blonde- nodded his head, climbing over the edge and slowly lowering himself down so that he was hanging by his fingertips, before letting go and dropping the last few feet. He knelt, his face open and kind as he faced the child.

"Hey there," Newt said, his voice soothing. "Do you want to get out of here?"

The Greenie nodded, though he made no move towards the older boy, and he finally spoke, in a voice still unbroken. "Where am I?" His face was still covered in tears, and he sniffled noisily- his head was stuffy, and his face was burning.

Newt shook his head. "There's time for that later. We need to get out of this box." He stood, still bent slightly as he offered a hand. "Come on." He spoke calmly, as though he were used to this kind of situation. His eyes, however, seemed to flicker anxiously. "You can do it. Please."

The Greenie reached out a trembling hand and let himself be pulled towards a rope that was dangling over the edge. Newt helped him pull his feet in the right holds, and he clutched the rope as he was jerkily hauled up. 

Several different hands seemed to grab hold of different parts of him, and he found himself standing on fresh green grass. He froze, feeling the many eye bore into him and more tears bubbled up beneath his eyelids. He was vaguely aware of Newt being pulled up beside him.

Someone put a hand on his shoulder. "Let's move away from the drop, huh?"

He let himself be lead away, and when they were a significant distance from the box, the hand fell.

"So, Greenie," The first man, the leader as it seemed, spoke to him. There was a foot and a bit in height difference between them. "How old are you?"

"He's not gonna know, Alby." Newt said from somewhere to the side. "Not yet, anyway."

"This is wrong." The man called Alby replied. "He's a child. They've never sent a child before," He scowled, before muttering, "What are we gonna do with a child?"

"Is Greenie my name?" Greenie asked hesitantly.

"No," Alby looked down, and his eyes softened slightly. "You don't remember your name?"

Greenie shook his head. "I'm sorry." He didn't know. He didn't know anything.

The blonde man, Newt, put his hand on Greenie's shoulder. He seemed kinder than Alb, and Greenie unconsciously moved towards him. "Don't be sorry, kiddo," He said gently, "And don't worry either. You'll get it. S'the one thing they let us keep," He sighed. "Alby's right though- would be nice to know how old you are."

"How old do you think I am?" Greenie asked. He was still trembling and he couldn't seem to quell it.

Newt shrugged. "Ten, maybe eleven? I don't know Greenie, I'm not good with age. But you're young for sure."

Greenie scrubbed at his eyes turning a full circle. He couldn't stop crying, the tears just kept coming. His chest heaves in a heavy panic. The crowd had dissipated- at some point Alby had told them to shove off- and it was just the three of them now. Grass was all he could see for miles in one direction, and in another a dense, leafy forest grew tall and proud. In the distance were walls, taller than he's ever seen before (than he thought he'd ever seen before, anyway). They were gray, perhaps stone or concrete, and even from so far away, he could see they were covered in thick vines. He couldn't help the sudden sick feeling he got when he looked at them.

Alby followed his gaze. "Don't go near those walls, Greenie." His voice was firm, but laced with a touch of fear. 

Greenie wondered what could put that much fear into a guy like Alby. Alby seemed strong, unmovable.

"What's past the walls?" He asked, turning his face up to Alby again. He could see conflicting emotions on the other's face, before sorrow took over.

It was Newt who answered him. "The maze, kiddo. You don't wanna go in there, alright? It's not allowed- 'cept for the Runners."

"Who are the runners?"

"Enough questions," Alby cut in. "You'll learn stuff later- or you can ask around. But if we do this now, we'll be doing it together tomorrow morning." He shook his head. "Shuckin' creators. A shuckin' child." He caught Greenie's eye. "It's probably past your bedtime or some crap."

It was still light out, but the sky had a reddish glow to it.

Alby looked at Newt. "Deal with him." He spoke. "Maybe find Chuck? They're the closest in age. Try and stop the blubbering, will you? He doesn't look like he's feeling too good."

Newt nodded, and then turned to Greenie. He leant over, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Okay, kiddo," He frowned at the tears still covering the child's face. "You're gonna be okay. It just takes a while to get used to." He scrubbed a hand over his face. "Shuck, I don't know how to do this."

"I don't know anything," Greenie whispered. "I don't even know my name" There was something about Newt that he trusted. Perhaps the intense calm he projected.

Newt reached out and pulled the boy into a half hug. "You'll be okay." he said softly. "It's scary at first. 'Specially with Alby runnin' around like he's some sort of general. You get used to him after a bit- he's a softy really. And you come to see it's necessary."

Greenie nodded. "Okay." He sniffled and pulled up his sleeve over his hand to swipe at his face. 

"There are two rules you have to follow here. You don't have a choice with these, understand?"

He nodded again.

Newt's voice was suddenly stern. "Never go in the maze. That's what's beyond those walls. You don't go there, understand." He paused. "And you never harm another Glader. Although in self-defense, you can do what you need to keep yourself alive." He watched Greenie for a sign of comprehension. "You got that?"

Greenie's mouth was suddenly dry. "I got it." His lips trembled and he closed his eyes against another sheen of tears.

"Shuck, Greenie," Newt suddenly looked worried. "I didn't mean to scare you." He shook his head. "It won't happen to you, you know. It hardly ever does. And nobody's gonna go around picking fights with a little boy."

Greenie just sobbed, and suddenly, he was wailing the way a frightened child would if they were alone and lost in a strange place full of strange people. His cries were heart-wrenching- high pitched and panicked, and his chest rasped and heaved in a worrying way. He felt like he was choking on air.

He was suddenly pulled against someone. They brought their arms around him and shushed him. "It's okay," Newt's voice whispered. "Please don't cry, kiddie. You're going to be okay."

He wasn't sure he was getting Newt's t-shirt damp, but the older boy didn't seem to mind.

"Breathe, Greenbean." Newt sounded properly worried. "Like me, see? In and out. There you go."

Greenie felt his gasps slowly even out, as he copied Newt's overexaggerated breathing. "I'm sorry." He choked out.

"Don't be." Newt rubbed his back. "You thing that's the first panic attack I've had to deal with? Besides, you're handling it a lot better than most Gladers first do, especially at your age."

"I remember my age," Greenie said suddenly. He didn't know how he knew, but he did. "I think-" He hesitated. It was like some sort of mental block but- "I think I know my name, too."

Newt pulled away so he could look the child in the eyes. "Yeah?" He sounded almost excited. "It doesn't always come this quickly."

Greenie nodded. "I think- I think my name is Thomas." His voice was shaking, and he didn't even know why. "I'm twelve."

"Okay," Newt pulled the trembling child into another hug. "Okay, that's good. You remember. that's really good." He stood to his full height and held out a hand. "Come on now, I need to introduce you to Chuck. He's a good kid, he'll help to sort you out."

Thomas- Thomas was his name now- let himself be lead toward a group of wooden huts. One of the men started to walk toward the two of them, and as they got closer, it became apparent that he wasn't a man, but a boy, perhaps mid-teens.

"Hey," He grinned. He was kind of chubby, and only half a foot taller than Thomas. "I'm Chuck."

Thomas found himself liking the boy immediately.

Newt squeezed Thomas' shoulder. "You'll be alright, won't you? I need to help with-"

A high-pitched keening filled the air around them.

Newt's face went white. "Look after him, Chuck." He managed, before he ran towards the furthest hut. It was larger than the others, and it looked like it had two stories.

Thomas felt cold. The atmosphere had changed in a few seconds- all the Gladers around them stopped, their faces just as pale as Newt's.

Chuck reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. His face was just as kind as Newt's has been. "Why don't we have a look at where you're sleeping, Thomas?"

He let himself be pulled away, the screaming still ringing across the Glade. His head felt heavy from crying and confusion, and he just wanted to lie down.

"That sounds good."

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2137 Words

BAM. First chapter written out, and it only took me two days- my fingers hurt now.

ANYWAYS- please tell me you like this.

~Eatmysmoke :]