My watched beeped, letting me know it was time to wake up, but I had been awake for a while already. I don't need the alarm anymore, but it's habit now and if I don't have it on I panic. I finished getting lacing up my boots. The other girls liked to run in the sneakers that the Designers send, but I prefer my boots. Contrary to the opinions of others, I do change, I just wear black all the time, I pulled on a black short tank, and black fitted cargo pants, and shoved another pair of pants and a shirt into my backpack. 

It was all part of my daily morning routine, double check my backpack; one change of clothes, my notebook and pencil, water bottle, lunch, small first aid kit, small flashlight and batteries, a ziplock plastic bag with a few matches, flint and steal, a long line of thin rope, and the map of the maze, and of course the small little bag of my "girly" things; bottle of black nail polish, and the black eyeliner pence and mascara, (Some of the girls wore full faces of make up, why? Not sure, but when they started sending the designers notes requesting it and it was sent up, I snagged some for myself.) And the little container that contained the cup for that fun time once a month and of course chocolate. 

Now that my backpack was packed and I picked up my leather hip harness and buckled it up tight. I picked up the long knife from the bedside table and sliding it into the harness, and all my other little knives. I picked up my backpack and took one last look around, my room meticulously clean, the bed made, and everything put back in its spot. The only thing different was the tally of days on the wall.

The little lines on the wall had almost doubled. It had now been two years. I knew now there was no escaping the maze. There was no hope of leaving this hell hole. Harriet, Sonya and I decided to keep that to ourselves. No need to cause chaos in the girls. It was Newbie day. I hated these days, so I was going into the Maze early. 

I swung by the kitchen. Cookie was already up, her wild red curls pulled into a big messy knot on top of her head.  She gave me a small smile, and handed me breakfast. Taking it with a nod I headed to the far table in the back. The only girls who were up was Cookie, and my self. We always were. But I heard the other Mappers and Leaders starting to get up. 

I had finished eating and was refilling my coffee when Sonya slid up beside me.

"Morning Jess." She said brightly. I just hummed. I was always up early, but didn't like talking. 

"So, you're okay to go out alone today? Newbies lately have been a handful. Rachel especial last month..yeish! We will see what's gonna happen today!" 

"Trust me I remember." I grumbled. The stupid girl had taken off running for the Maze. 

"She's still scared of you!" Sonya laughed. 

"Good." 

"Well, the choke hold was a little excessive." Sonya gave me a cheeky smile. 

"Well she shoulda listened when I said to stop fighting." I shrugged. 

Sonya laughed and rolled her eyes. More girls were up now. I was ready to go get ready in the Map room when the Newbie alarm went off. 

"The shuck?" I yelled over the noise. "This isn't supposed to happen until the afternoon! Why now?" 

Sonya looked as lost as me. I got up, knowing I would now have to help, something was off. The designers were screwing with us. Again. Grievers were spotted almost every other day now in the Maze. With a growl I got up and followed Sonya and now Harriet to the Cage. The loud alarm had stopped, the girls were running towards the middle of the Meadow, where the Cage was. The tension between the girls was high, we all knew that this meant something new...a change in their routine. Unlike the the girls who usually came up from the box screaming, it was silent inside. Jillian and I pulled the cage doors opened. Sonya hoped down inside. 

"What's going on down there, Sonya?" 

Sonya looked up at us, shock on her face, her big brown eyes wide. 

"What is it?"
"Some tiny little dolly?"
"She'll definitely be a helper!"
"She probably needs a diaper!" 

"SLIMM IT YOU STICKS!" Harriet screamed. The wild chatter cut off. The tension was back. I knew something was wrong, especially with how Sonya was acting. 

"Guys...it's...it's a boy!" 

Screams and squeals  erupted from the girls. It made me wince. 

"What does he look like?"
"Is he hot?"
"I call dibs!" 
"I bet he's tall and handsome!"  
"I wonder if were supposed to...have cute little babies with him!" 

I rolled my eyes. Why in his right mind would he want 50 plus girlfriends and that many babies, it would be a full on concubine feel in this hell hole. 

Though...then I'd go and Mary a griever...

"ENOUGH GIRLS!" Harriet screamed again. She crouched down by the edge of the Cage, I followed. 

"That's not the bloody half of it! I think he's dead!" 

"Dammit!" I cursed. 

Leah, the Leader of the Healers and I jumped down into the Cage with Sonya. He had sandy dirty blond hair, he was tall and slim, but had muscle. He definitely looked dead, he was pale and felt cold. He was hardly breathing. I had just crouched down beside him, when he sat bolt upright. His eyes flew open, like his heart was just jump started. 

"RACHEL!" He yelled, then his eyes rolled into his head and he slumped backwards. 

"What the shuck?" I cursed. 

We all fell backwards when he sat up. But now he was laying on the cage floor like he was sleeping. We all looked at Rachel. She looked thunderstruck. Her face was pale and she looked like she was going to pass out. I looked at Sonya and Harriet, who looked back at me their eyes wide in shock and confusion. 

"Well this is new." 

"Clearly." I rolled my eyes.

"Leah? What do you think? What's bloody wrong with him?" Sonya asked.

"Well...it looks like a coma. Whatever those shucken designers give us...made him look mostly dead, it must have worn off. Why he knew Rachel's name? No idea." She said, she was leaning over him now, checking his breathing and pulse. "Now he just seems to be sleeping...some kind of coma." 

"What the shuck...what kind of game are these designers playing at?" I growled. 

"Hey...what's that? In his hand?" Sonya asked, pointing. 

I took his hand and pried it open and pulled out a note. 

Have fun girls. Your token boy

"Umm... well that's sick." I wrinkled my nose. 

Sonya and Leah also nodded.

"We keep that note to ourselves." Harriet said, she had hopped down into the Cage as well now. The four of us all agreed. 

"Okay, lets get this kid out of this shuck cage and into the Healers Hut." I said. 

With the help of Leah, Jillian, Sonya and Harriet we got the guy out of the Cage. The Healers took him away into the Healers hut. 

"We gotta see if Rachel knows anything. Why else would he call for her?" I turned to Sonya and Harriet. They both nodded. Harriet waved the girl over. 

"Hey, come with us." Harriet indicated with her head, and she took the led over to the Healers hut, where the girls had set him up in one of the beds in the back of the room. 

We all stood around the boys bed, looking at him. 

"Do you recognize him?" Harriet asked. 

Rachel shook her head, she looked close to tears. "No!" She whispered, "I don't! Honest! If I did I would tell you!" 

"Okay, okay, it's okay, Love. We understand. We just wanted to double check. None of us know anything, were all in this together." Sonya soothed. Rachel looked pale and sweaty and shaky. 

"Hey, Katie? Can you take Rachel to Cookie, and get her some tea?" Sonya called to one of the Healers. 

Katie ushered Rachel out and it was the three of us again. 

"Okay, well that was a weird morning." Harriet sighed, running her hand down her face. 

"Agreed. Well, I've already lost a full morning in the maze. Son? You're staying here?"  I asked, impatiently looking down at my watch. 

"Yeah, you don't mind?" 

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll see you later." I shrugged and waved. 

I took off out the door and across the Meadow towards the West walls. I passed the walls and into dark cool corridors. This morning was a weird morning. The tension and unease made me feel sick. I didn't know what was going on. But two years of routines constantly being interrupted, nothing was status quo for long. It didn't surprise me when they sent a boy up, a few months ago they really did send a girl who was dead. Or maybe she was alive when they put her in the cage, but she was definitely dead when I pulled the cage doors open. 

I growled, and put my head down and ran. I wanted to check out that section 4 again, after  this morning I wanted to see if something was different. It would take me a few hours to get there, I was frustrated that I had waisted the morning in the Meadow. The walls on my way looked the same as ever, tall, grey, cold, covered in moss or ivy. The walls always had huge scratches or gashes in them. At first I had no idea what it was from, but after seeing what Grievers looked like and how they chanced you, it was from their long blade legs. Stabbing into the ground, or slashing into the stone like butter when they were trying to propell themselves forwards.

I involuntary shuddered. Those machine monsters were creepy and gross. They didn't scare me anymore. I had been cut, scratched, stabbed, stung chanced, almost bite, they didn't scare me anymore. It was still mostly machine, meaning it's easy to outsmart them.

I took another turn without even thinking. My ears were always on alert, I wasn't scared of Grievers, but I still didn't want to run into one. Without stopping my pace I reached into my bag for my water. I turnd the corner and was just about blown over. The wind in the maze was terrible. I growled with frustration. The Designers were messing with us again.

I slowed to a stop and pulled my backpack off and dug out my mask and hood, I pulled it on, knowing if have to now fight against the wind.

"Stupid shucken bloody designers." I muttered. I stopped and frowned. "shuck sakes, I've been hanging out with Sonya too long." I smirked behind my hood and just to make myself feel better, I let out a long string of curses that would make Sonya blush.

Feeling better, I shouldered my bag and set off again, slower because of the string wind that whipped around me. The wind that came funneling down the narrow halls made the sweat on my skin, dry keeping me cool. And now with the big hood and mask, it was easier to see, it kept the dust and stuff out if my face and hair.

I skipped stopping for lunch. If I didn't make it to the section I might end up just staying in the maze for the night. I didn't understand what the big deal was. Everyone always freaked out about me staying. But honestly, the Grievers during the night were about the same during the day. I didn't understand what the problem was. But then again...everyone called me reckless, and scared of nothing. So there's that, maybe that was it. I just operated differently.

Shacking my head I finally turned the last corner that brought me into section four. Only another half an hour and I'd be at the wall section I wanted to explore. I had to now run with my arm held up, trying to see through the wild wind. It took me almost another hour, trying to fight the wind. It had now started to rain.

Great. These stupid Designer's really don't want me to make it to the wall. Ha. Jokes on them, I'm stubborn as shuck!

I did finally make it. Slowing to a stop I stood in front of the wall looking back and forth. It honestly didn't look any different then the other walls. There was a small patch of ivy a World in Catastrophe Killzone Experiment Department sigh hanging on the wall, but that was about it. The cliff stood at the end of the hall.

We had decided to call it the cliff because it looked like the end of the world, a wall of grey stone then nothing and then a wall of grey stone. It was weird. I looked away and back to the wall. I closed my eyes and tried to hear any kind of noise other than the wild wind and rain hitting the stone.

Suddenly over the whistling and howling of the wind and the beating of the raindrops the sound of muffled voices.

Clamping my eyes closed even more I concentrated, I swear I heard something. It cared with the howling of the wind. It was gone in an instant. Like someone was calling. With a growl, I stepped closer to the wall, looking up and down back and forth, running my hands along the walls trying to see a different crack or seam.

I looked over every inch as high as I could go. But there was nothing. I slammed my fist into the wall with a yell of frustration. The wind sent another wild gust and a piece of ivy smacked me.

I froze for a second, something in my brain clicked. Ivy. The ivy is stuck to the wall. I looked up.

"Ivy goes all the way to the top..." I muttered. With a triumphant smile I grabbed the ivy and started to hull myself up the vines. I used my feet to find foot holds in the cracks. It was slow going. Pulling myself up higher, and using my feet to push my body up.

Five feet.

Still higher, slowly inching higher.

Ten feet.

Still higher, inching higher, frowning and grinding my teeth, I could feel my muscles straining to pull myself.

Fifteen feet.

The wind buffed me back and forth. The rain made the stone slick. My foot slipped out of the precarious position. I tried grabbing the ivy. The rain made the vines slick and my hands slipped. With a wild scream I fell.

I landed with a sickening thud and crack. My head smacked the stone and my world went black.

•×•

I slowly came around, not fully though. I couldn't focus my eyes properly. Everything was dark, my limbs wouldn't move, my head was pounding and I felt like puking.

I closed my eyes and drifted off into nothingness again.

I came back around. It was cold, dark and I lay in a puddle of water and blood. Must be my own. I tried to move but pain shot through my head. I groaned softly and closed my eyes. I must have passed out again.

•×•

When I came to again, it was lighter out. And I felt like I was floating. There was a loud grinding noise right beside me. The ground was shaking. With every effort, I rolled myself over, and pushed up onto my hands and knees. The stone on stone grinding was louder now, more intense. I could feel the ground shaking so bad my arms shook and my teeth rattled. With a cry of stubbornness and defiance, I hulled myself onto my feet. My eyes still couldn't see properly, everything was fuzzy. There were shapes moving around me, but I couldn't figure out what was going on.

I knew enough to know the walls around me were changing, and if I didn't move I would probably be squished and flattened. With my hands grasping out in front of me I to whatever I could feel, I found ivy and held on tight. The wall slowly pulled me while it twisted, my legs wobbled and shook, I stumbled with the wall. It stopped moving and I let go of the ivy. When my head wasn't so sore I'd figure out where I was and I could get back to the Meadow. Or one of my Mappers would find me...if a Griever didn't get me. I groaned again when I felt my body slump into the wall, and slid back down, not very gently either. My head smacked the ground.

My eyes fluttered closed again and my mind went blank and I was carried off into nothingness.