THE TOUR AROUND THE GLADE DIDN'T TAKE TOO LONG, there wasn't much left for Nick to show Oscar around the Glade, or tell him anything as other Gladers have pretty much told him most of everything of what they learnt so far about this place. The sun had peeked over the wall's horizon, lighting at least a quarter of the Glade, there was hardly any birds around, Oscar doesn't think he has seen at least one besides the chickens in the barn they call the Bloodhouse, he couldn't recall seeing any birds flying above the Glade which he found it odd for some reason.

          Oscar noticed how bad his bones ached, especially his one arm and one leg, like he had been pricked by a needle recently. It felt like there was a big bruise on his thigh, it ached when he squeezed lightly. He felt the need to rest more.

          "You sure you're up for work? But still, if the answer is no, you still gotta work" Nick said

          Why did he even ask anyway? Oscar was slightly annoyed, "Obviously no," he mumbled, "I don't have a choice, do I?" He has to, he has to follow the rules like everyone else.

          "To tell you the truth, you're the first ever Greenbean who hasn't started on Slicers on their first Trial, consider yourself lucky you ain't spending your first trial by slaughtering an animal"

          "I don't think I'm lucky enough, I ended up here with you guys— no offense"

          Nick snorted, "Oscar, you have no clue how lucky you are, you could've been torn to shreds by Grievers in the Maze, or you could've bled out and died if the Runners never found you. You— my friend, are the luckiest shank in the Glade"

          Oscar should feel grateful to be alive, he wasn't feeling it at all, maybe he was supposed to die in that maze . . . Like fate wanted him to die. He can't help but to feel like he should've.

          When they arrived the Med-jacks' hut, Oscar was greeted by Jeff who was waiting for him outside. "He's all yours, Jeff" Nick said, heading to a different direction and left Oscar to the Keeper of Med-jacks.

          "Come on" Jeff gestured the boy into the hut, inside were Teddy and Clint, Teddy was sitting on the cot. "Oh hey, I heard you remembered your name"

          Oscar nodded, "Yeah, it's uhm—Oscar" he said it with no confidence as if he hated his own name.

          The Med-jacks made no response at all, they just stared at him, as if they were baffled. "Are you sure?" Teddy laughed.

          Seeing how they responded, they didn't expected the name, as if the name was ridiculous, "Unfortunately" he answered.

          "Hey, come on now, it's not as bad as Zart, Zart the fart," Jeff fended, "and nothing funny rhymes with Oscar, right?"

          "It's not that we find the name stupid or anything, it's just you don't look like an Oscar, that's all" Teddy added.

          "All right, why don't we get your first trial started?"

          Oscar wasn't enthusiastic or anything, he just felt he didn't want to do it or anything at all, maybe it's the aching all over his body that made him feel less energetic . . . lazy, to be precise. Even though, this is his first trial, and he was already dreading it. Despite feeling extremely tired, he didn't want to be useless boy in the Glade who doesn't do anything and just sitting around.

          He was given a satchel that was basically a first-aid kit, he spent most of the morning strolling around the Glade with Jeff and Teddy meanwhile Clint stayed put in the hut. They'd go back and forth from Builders to Slicers because they were mostly the ones who needed tending. They'd take ten minute break from walking then proceed. Oscar only tended a minor injury from one of the Builders who had a gash on his arm, Oscar didn't really need guidance or help from Jeff and Teddy, he watched Jeff tending a Slicer and learned from that. It was as if when he watched Jeff tending the Slicer, it clicked Oscar to remember how to treat a wound and he knew what he was doing. Jeff and Teddy weren't the only ones who were surprised, Oscar was as well.

          "Okay, how the shuck did you learn that fast?" Teddy asked, it was lunch break in the Glade and most of them were at the picnic area. Oscar stuck with Teddy, Jeff and Clint, and they were joined by Art and Winston.

          Oscar shrugged, "I don't know, I just watched what you guys were doing and—I don't know, I guess my mind clicked or something. I mean, it seemed easy, just simple, didn't it?"

          "Sure, but it took Jeff an entire textbook to learn, I had to read it twice, first few weeks, I still needed it to remember what I was doing" Clint explained.

          "How'd you even become the Med-jack then if you guys didn't know what you were doing?" Oscar wondered, and Art burst out a cackle at the response, both Jeff and Clint glared at the kid. Oscar didn't mean it as an insult or anything.

          "Somebody had to," Jeff answered, "I was one of the firsts here in the Glade, as soon Nick and others established the rules and all, we all had to pick a role, so I came up with Med-jacks and I had to learn . . . Requested a manual or something and they send me a book"

          "Jeff only needed a pair of hands," Clint said, "eight months later, I arrived and he told me he needed help so I volunteered to be a Med-jacks . . . of course, I had to go through the trials first and here I am"

          Oscar turned to Winston and Art, as he couldn't recall if they mentioned what their job is, "What's your roles?"

          "We're both Slicers," Art answered, "Winston is the Keeper, I've only been here for three months" Oscar recalled what Slicers do and they locate in the barn area that they call the Bloodhouse.

          "I hear you slaughter cows and chickens in the barn"

          "What?" Art baffled then scoffed, "Not cows and chickens, just boars. Ain't no way we will ever kill Roach, and Ruby and her children"

          Oscar furrowed her brows in confusion, "Roach and Ruby?"

          Teddy groaned, "Roach the Cow and Ruby the Chicken"

          Oscar's mouth was slightly open as he stared at Art strangely.

          "This is why you never should've been a Slicer," Teddy told Art, "you got attached to that precious pigeon of yours"

          "You're just jealous because I've find myself a lady before you could"

          "It's a bloody chicken!" Teddy uttered.

          Jeff, Clint and Winston were snickering, Oscar was even smiling, this might've been the first he had smiled since he woke up from a coma.

          He proceeded with his trial as a Med-jack for the rest of the day until work hours were done for the day. He made a lot of impressment from the Med-jacks, Jeff informed him that it was more than enough that he make a Med-jack, though the Keeper also said that they already have enough hands on the job, but if no other Keeper wants Oscar, Jeff will consider. He even said if he had the power to replace either Clint and Teddy with Oscar, he'd do it, it's something that has to be kept between the two.

          During his trial, he learned something about his wound, he removed the dressing on the wound all by himself and while no one knew and because he knew what he was doing. He examined the wound himself, it was stitched, it was a small wound, what he figured out is that he was stabbed, not with a knife definitely, but with something like a scalpel. Or maybe it was a scalpel. He'd probably able to tell if it was a scalpel if the wound wasn't stitched already. Who would do this to him and why?

          It will take a lot of time for Oscar to get used to the loud sounds of the Doors closing and opening everyday, he has to hear it twice a day, opening in the early morning and closing in the evening. After supper, he went to the same tower he was at this morning, he climbed to the top, found no one there, it was a relief, also a relief to be away from everyone for now. He sat on the edge, his legs dangling down, arms rested on the railing and gazed at the vast field of the Glade. As he rested his chin on the railing, dozed off for a moment until he heard a voice behind him. "What are you doing up here?" Oscar got startled that he flinched and his heart jumped, shifted his head around and see Newt climbing out of the threshold.

          "Jesus, you scared me" Oscar was holding his chest before letting out a huff and laughed softly.

          "Not Jesus, just Newt" the blonde boy joked, he sat down beside the brunette boy.

          Oscar scoffed, "Funny"

          "You really didn't hear me or saw me coming?"

          "I must've dozed off for a moment"

          "Long day, I reckon"

          "Yeah," Oscar sighed.

          "I hear you did well in Med-jacks, Jeff said you got potential" Newt pat Oscar's shoulder and gave a quick squeeze.

          He shrugged and said, "Probably just said it to make me feel better"

          "Don't be modest," Newt smiled, "least you won't end up in Sloppers"

          The stars made their appearances in the sky, the sky was beginning to darkened as the sun slowly disappeared in the horizon, leaving traces of late evening skies meanwhile the Gladers were lighting up the torches around the Glade. The evening was still warm despite the sun's absence but hints of slight winds, it was quite humid during the day.

          Several long moments have passed since Newt and Oscar started speaking, Newt was telling some stories that happened within the Glade, and even Newt's first day in the Glade, how horrible and overwhelming it was for him and the rest of the first Gladers, so much confusion and panic and terrifying it was for them. Half of them were already dead when the first month passed.

          Oscar wondered about Newt's leg, he noticed the guy limping, he wondered if that was recent and is still healing. So he asked, "What happened to your leg?"

          Newt chuckled softly and hesitated for a moment, "Uh yeah— I had an accident in the Maze, that was not too long ago, kinda recent . . . Dumb, reckless me fell when I was trying to climb on one of the Walls. Would've died that day if Minho never found me"

          Oscar didn't question further, instead he said "So, you were a Runner before"

          Newt nodded, "Yep . . . until that accident" there was a hint of sullenly in his voice. Could it be because he wasn't a Runner anymore? What else? "Anyway, we've been up here for quite sometime, don't you think?" Newt let out a somewhat nervous laugh.

          Oscar didn't realize how dark it was getting, maybe an hour had almost passed since he arrived the tower. "Yeah, not much view to look at now," he gaze around the Glade that is now filled with almost-darkness, parts of it illuminated by torches, "Probably time to head back down"

          He got on his feet and so did Newt. Both boys climbed down the tower with Oscar leading. When he reached the ground, he watched Newt climbing down the last ladder and all of sudden, Newt had a misstep on the last step. He nearly fell back until Oscar caught him from behind. Though, there was an impact on Oscar's wound when he caught the guy that he let out a grunt by the sharp pain.

          "Whoa . . . shit. Thanks" Newt laughed softly before turning to Oscar, then noticed his one hand over his ribcage as he winced. "Oh shuck, did I hurt you?"

          Oscar lifted a weak smile, it was more of a smile hiding the pain he was feeling, "Doesn't hurt much, it's fine"

          "I'm stupid, I'm sorry, this damn leg of mine—"

          "Oh no, it's totally fine, really. It's not like you ripped the stitches" he joked, Newt didn't laugh at the joke, instead he expressed guilt on his face. Oscar did check on the wound, he lift up his shirt, removed the bandage to see if the wound was bleeding and it wasn't, "See? It's fine" he stuck the bandage back over the wound.

          The two spend the rest of their night together, almost inseparable, until it was bedtime for everyone and the two finally parted ways.

          Again, he almost couldn't sleep, he spent a few hours trying while listening to the fainted sounds of the Maze shifting, colliding one another, he can't imagine what it's like or how they're changing. He just imagined those Walls surrounding the Glade, moving around in the Maze, falling to the grounds and getting back up.

          He listened long and kept his eyes closed for as long as he could until sleep finally came and fell into a dreamless rest.

          Oscar was woken up by a hand placed on his mouth, he was startled until he saw a familiar figure of a silhouette standing over him, it was the hair that gave away and that was Nick. Nick hushed him, "Don't wanna wake up these shanks, come on, follow me"

          Oscar was confused and also tired that he didn't want to go and he just wanted to go back to sleep. The sun wasn't even out yet, though the early light hinted it will soon, stars were still seen poking through the skies, some were coated by the rolling clouds. It was slight breezy that pricked against his skin and made him shiver a little, he put on his button-down shirt and followed Nick.

          They were the only ones up at this hour, the Runners; Minho and Ben were spotted near the kitchens and so was Alby, Oscar and Nick passed them, the leaders bid each other 'good morning'. Most of the torches around the Glade were burnt out and only a few were still lit but slowly dying out. Nick was guiding Oscar away from the kitchens, from the Med-jacks hut, from the Homestead, Oscar wasn't sure where Nick was taking him, though he remembered yesterday Nick told him he was going to show him something.

          "You always up this early?" Oscar yawned.

          Nick chuckled, "Gotta be prepared for the day, have been for the last three years. To tell you the truth, I haven't ever had a good night sleep since I arrived"

          "That must be so exhausting"

          "Oh you have no idea"

          When they were walking towards one of the giant walls, towards nothing but vines covering the wall, Oscar wasn't sure what Nick was showing him. He wasn't gonna lie, he was kind of nervous. When they reached the wall, Nick reached the vines on the side then moved them aside like a curtain, revealing a dark squared, dirty window. Oscar remembered Nick mentioning that they missed something, so this must be why he was woken up this early. The window revealed the other side of the wall. This window lets you see into the maze. Well, just a long, massive, dark corridor.

          The early morning sky illuminated the dark corridor enough for Oscar to see the detail within the Maze. "So . . . this is what you wanted to show me?" he mumbled, "I wanna go back to sleep now before the doors reopen"

          "Hold it, you shank, it'll come out any moment, just wait and see"

          Oscar did in fact forgot about the Grievers, he had just realized it, since he learned about the Grievers that roam the night in the Maze, he had been greatly curious of what they look like, how big are they, the Gladers always say how ugly the Grievers are. He then found his patience, looked into the window and waited for one to come out.

          After several moments, he began to grow impatient as he tapped his fingers against the concrete wall and kept his eyes on the maze. Nick was standing on the side, back against the wall and gazed at the compound of the Glade. Oscar didn't realize how much the light had brightened the sky.

          He had only taken his eyes out for a moment, looked at Nick, and when he glanced back at the window, the Maze went dark, Oscar was baffled for a second until he noticed the shadowy large figure moved away from the window. He felt his heart thumped against his chest as he was startled by it. It just came out of nowhere, he never noticed another corridor on the left by the window, that must've been where it strolled from.

          The further the Griever got, crawling away from the window, strolling down the long corridor. It had six legs made of metal, a massive-long tail that looked like a tentacle, it's body was large as a cow, seemingly slimy, it was something out of this world, alien-like, it was a nightmare.

          "What the hell—" Oscar stared in stun. There was no way this thing was the one that nicked him when he was in the maze. He doubt this thing was responsible for his injury.

          "What did we tell you? Ugly, ain't it?" Nick looked into the window as well.

          "That's an abomination" Oscar didn't even think to say that and it made Nick laugh. He kept staring at the Griever until it disappeared into the corner of the corridor.

          "Now you should be even more thankful for these walls keeping us from them . . . and how they only come out at night"

          When Nick said 'they', obviously there isn't only one Griever, there's more of them wandering around in the Maze. Why are Grievers around to begin with? What is their purpose? To kill a Glader who gets locked out of the Glade? The thought of being in the Glade, with those things in the Maze, was a lot worse for Oscar. What kind of a person sends kids like himself out here, with no memories, isolated in the Glade from the world, with lack of resources and the Grievers that want to kill them?

          Nick let go of the vines and the window was covered, he turned to Oscar and said "You might've not been sent out here for the same reason as me and the others, but you're here now, and you're gonna help us do one thing we were sent here for . . . "

          Oscar stared at him and expressed a questioning, "What's that?"

          "Getting us all out of here— solve the damn Maze" he shrugged as he smiled, it wasn't a big smile, just lifted one side of his lips as if there was a shred of hope he's been holding onto. He placed a hand on Oscar's shoulder, giving a light squeeze before guiding him away from the window, began their stroll towards the field of the Glade. "Now, there's something you gotta do before you continue your Trials. I almost forgot about it. Come on, follow me"

          Nick led the way towards the field and Oscar remained in his trail. The sun had peeked over one of the walls, brightening parts of the Glade, the place was slowly coming back alive from it's slumber as the half of the boys were up and walking. Most of them getting ready to start their day.

          Oscar didn't realize that Nick was taking him to a wall. A wall he was curious about, a wall with names carved, every Glader in this place had their names carved. Oscar had a hunch why Nick took him here. "It's a little overdue," said Nick as he reached a hunting knife from his belt. "It's been a week since you arrived this place. I don't know what happened to you in the Maze, how you ended up out there, but I have a feeling that you didn't want to be down there with them . . . with WICKED. Up here—we trust one another and we have to work together. You're maybe one of us now, but you gotta prove that we can trust you . . . starting with this—" he held up the knife, he spun it to hold it by the steel and the grip pointing at Oscar for him to take.

          Oscar reluctantly took the knife, he glanced down at it as Nick pat him on the shoulder, "I'll see you after breakfast" he said and left Oscar on the spot. He shifted his gaze up at the wall, scanned every name and even those that were crossed out. He almost hated the idea of carving his name on the wall, only because if he dies in this place, his name will be crossed out. He had to think of a silver-lining about leaving his name on the wall, like all of these names might still be there for decades or hundreds of years, and one of those days, maybe people will stumble upon this place and finds these names.

          The thought of that encouraged him to carve his name on the wall and this moment, apparently is the start of proving himself as one of the Gladers.

AUTHORS NOTE
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10 months later, finally an update XD... sorry for the wait, that's if anyone are still waiting or around since this fandom is kinda dead or silent ... anywayy, byee