Chapter Text
The sunlight burned. That's the first thing she thought when the metal bin finally opened its top to let her out. The next was where the hell was she, and how exactly did she get in this place to begin with? She could hear voices above her, but the light hurt too much for her to focus in on anything, and she just ended up backing up into one of the corners.
“Hey, it’s another girl!” A thick british accent called out, and it took a minute to realize that someone had jumped down into the bin with her.
“Who are you? How’d I get here?” The girl answered back, stopping at two questions so there was time to answer them.
“Names Newt. Do you remember yours? Your name, I mean.”
“Yeah... I’m Audrey. Why wouldn’t I remember my own name?”
“Can you remember anything else?” Newt asked, stepping towards her and holding out a hand.
“Ye-- no. Why is that? How’d I get here?”
“We can answer more questions once we get you out of the box, c’mon.” He offered his hand again and waited for her to take it. “Nothing to be scared of anymore. The glade is safe.”
“The what now?” Audrey asked, her eyes finally adjusting to the light as she takes his hand.
“The Glade. It’s what we call our home.” He smiled before helping her out of the box, up to where everyone seemed to have gathered for the boxes arrival.
“I am so confused.” Audrey mumbled, looking around at the group of teenager staring at her. The group seemed to be composed of about seventy five percent boys, and none of them looked familiar. Audrey’s heart started to pound in her chest. What happened? Where was she? Who was she?
“Hey Greenie.”
“Another girl, finally!”
“I call dibs!”
“Enough.” A deep voice echoed to Audrey’s left, silencing the whole group. “She’s scared enough as it is, she don’t need you slintheads making her feel any more uncomfortable.” Audrey turned to see a broad, dark-skinned boy, around seventeen or eighteen, with kind eyes, but a strong grimace on his face.
“Sorry Alby.”
“Sorry Greenie.”
“Sorry.”
“Okay wait,” Audrey started, taking in her surroundings a little more. “Who the hell are you? What the hell is a Greenie, and why does pretty boy here have an accent and the rest of you don’t?”
“That’s a new one..” Newt chuckled, looking over at Alby. “We’ll answer all your questions, let's just go with Alby to the Homestead and talk there.”
“Homestead?” Audrey asked, before shaking her head and just following behind the boy everyone else seemed to listen to.
“I’m Alby, I kinda run things here. Pretty boy there is Newt, and second in command.” Alby started to explain on the walk, and Audrey tried to pay attention as they walked into a small building with a ton of mattresses. “And you're a Greenie. It’s what we call newbies.”
“Okay... And where are we? At first I though since.. Newt had an accent we must be in Europe somewhere..”
“No, well maybe.”
“You don't know where we are? How is that possible?”
“It’s easier if you don't ask too many questions. This is what we call the Glade, its home.”
“Yeah Accent there mentioned that. Why is it home?”
“This is where we live, sleep, eat… everything. We don't leave unless we’re runners, alright?”
“What?”
“Look, once you have a tour of the place and see what we do here everything will start to make a lot more sense. For now just hang back and stay out of the way while we finish up our day.” Alby sighed, as Newt chuckled.
“Alby hasn’t taken done explaining everything in a while, so you’ll have to excuse his rambling.”
“Shuck it, at least she can understand half the words I say.” Alby huffs, before patting Audrey on the back. “You’ll figure it all out Greenie, it just might take a bit.” And then he left the room, leaving just Newt and Audrey.
“What the hell?” Audrey mumbled, looking around a bit before focusing on Newt. “What am I supposed to do with that?”
“We’re having a bonfire tonight… actually we have them most nights. So why don't we just go back out and try to get you use to seeing the maze and glade in all its glory.”
“Sorry, Maze?”
“Bloody hell, I said too much.” Newt grumbled, before trying to take off outside.
“What the hell do you mean Maze?” Audrey followed behind him, finally noticing the sky high walls surrounding them. “What is this place?”
Newt chose to ignore her questions, and instead began to walk towards one of the huge stone walls surrounding the “Glade.” Audrey hadn't taken notice of the giant doorway that stood in the middle of the wall, but that was exactly where Newt was headed.
“I thought Alby said we couldn’t leave the maze. Unless we were... we were.... what did we have to be again?” Audrey asked, struggling to keep up with Newt’s quick pace.
“Runners.” Newt answered shortly, his brow furrowing as he made his way towards the doorway.
“What are those?” Audrey asked, surprised by the speed Newt moved at, despite the limp he move with. “What’s wrong with your leg? Why are you walking so fast?”
“Audrey, please. Just- I know this is hard, and you’re confused out of your bloody mind, but I need the questions to stop, for just ten minutes.” They reached the door, and Audrey blushed furiously.
“Sorry.” She whispered, bowing her head and taking a few steps back.
“Look, I’m sor-” Newt began, but was quickly cut off by the call of another boy running towards them from the box.
“No sign of ‘em yet?” The boy asked, his eyebrows furrowed almost as deeply as Newts. Audrey looked past the boy’s shoulder to see Alby jogging over to the group. She suddenly felt as if she were intruding on some sort of private matter.
“No, they’ve really been pushing it lately. Nick’s been insisting they spend as much time as possible in there. I’m going to kill the shuck-face, if the maze doesn’t get him first, that is.” Newt muttered, rubbing his hand over his face. “This is Gally, by the way Audrey.”
“Oh, hi.” Audrey squeaked, almost forgetting they were aware of her presence, and wasn’t just eavesdropping.
“Yeah, hey.” Gally huffed, looking at her for a fraction of a second before fixing his gaze back at the open part of the wall. “There! I can see Minho and Thao.”
“Thank shucking god.” Newt sighed in relief, and started to move closer to the door. Audrey looked around for somewhere else to go, but ending up following behind him instead. “You Shuck-faces are really bloody pushing it. There's buggin seconds to spare.” He yells at a group of three who run in from the other side of the wall.
“Calm down, we made it didn't we?”
“This time.” Gally huffed, crossing his arms and shaking his head. “What happens when one day you don't, huh?”
“Shuck it Gally, we always make it.” The girl of the group responded, but the conversation stopped there when the open part of the wall started to make a loud crunching and grinding sound making Audrey gasp quietly and take a step back.
“I know you said stop with the questions, but uhm, what the hell?” Audrey asked, turning to look at Newt.
“It’s just the walls closing for the night, nothing to worry about.” He called over the sound of the walls banging closed, locking everyone inside the Glade.
“Aw man, is she the new greenie? We missed it again?”
“I told you we should have come back sooner.” The new faces all started to banter with each other, making Audrey feel very out of place.
“What’s your name Greenie?” The girl asked, a curious twinkle in her eye. She leaned against the taller Asian boy she had run out beside.
“Audrey.” She responded, glancing between the two, and then back at the other boy who had run out behind them.
“I’m Thao.” She stuck out her hand for Audrey to shake. Audrey took her hand and smiled, this girl seemed nice. Audrey decided she liked Thao. “This guy,” Thao motioned to the muscular boy she was leaning against. “Is Minho, don’t talk to him though, he’s a slinthead. And this kid,” She pointed over her shoulder at the other boy, who was significantly scrawnier than Minho. “is Nick. He’s nice.”
“Hey.” Audrey smiled and nodded at the both of them. “Nice to meet you.”
“Guys, party is starting soon. Let's go!” Gally grinned, and Nick and him ran off towards what Audrey assumed was the kitchen.
“How you doing with everything so far?” Minho asked her, drawing her attention back towards the small group she was standing with.
“Not great. Hopefully not too awful either. Accent here really doesn't answer too many questions, and uhm I think his name was Alby? He told me he would answer my questions but then just took off... “ She rambled.
“Newt, love. Stop calling me Accent.” Newt shook his head, grinning a little. “And I think it's about time we take you to your party.”
“Oh no. That’s okay, uhm I’m good here. There's a lot going on over there…So here is probably a better place for me to-” She started before getting cut off by Alby himself, who had finally reached the group.
“You guys ready to show Greenie how to have a good time?” He asked in his deep voice, his mouth almost turning to a smile.
“You bet we are.” Minho cheered, throwing one arm over Audrey’s shoulder, and one over Thao’s.
“It’s fun, don’t worry about it.” Thao assured her, as they made their way towards the group of Gladers who were now forming around a giant fire.
“Are you sure it’s safe to have a fire that big? I mean, everything here is made of wood.” Audrey pointed out, not liking how close the flames were getting to the tree above.
“No.”
“Obviously not.”
“Of course not.” They answered at the same time, all laughing. Minho broke into a run, pulling the two girls with him. “Come on, Gramps,” He called over his shoulder to Newt, who was limping quickly behind them. “last one there has to muck out all the Pee Pots!”
Newt broke out into a sprint, despite his limp, and Audrey was once again surprised at how quickly the boy could move. Minho released the girls’ hands, and took off after Newt, Thao following close behind. When Audrey, Gally, and Alby finally arrived at the bonfire, the other three were laying on the ground, eyes closed, heads back, laughing their butts off.
“Remind me how I used to do that all day, every day?” Newt gasped, moving his leg painfully. He threw his hands over his head, squeezing his eyes tighter, and taking in another sharp breath. The bottom of his shirt pulled up with his arms, exposing his lower stomach. Audrey’s breath hitched, he was fit.
“You’re out of shape, shank, need to work out more.” Minho laughed, sitting up on his elbows. “Hey Audrey, don’t you think Newt’s out of shape? Not very fit, eh?” He smirked, glancing from Audrey, to Newt’s exposed stomach, and back to Audrey.
“I think he’s in good shape, actually.” She managed, tearing her eyes away from Newt. Instead she decided to focus on the other events going on around her.
“Aww, hear that Newt? Looks like someone thinks your fit after all.” Gally teased, before reaching over for a bottle someone had left nearby.
“Slim it, the both of ya.” Newt huffed, snatching the bottle away from Gally and instead passing it to Alby.
“Here Greenie, try this.” Alby smiled, holding the bottle out for Audrey now.
“What is it?”
“Just try a sip first, it won’t hurt you. Promise.” Alby insisted as Audrey took the bottle from him and inspected it. Then she took a small sip before coughing and shoving the bottle back at Alby.
“What the hell is that? It tastes awful.” She mumbled, wiping at her mouth to try and get rid of the taste.
“Gally made it. Not too sure what he puts in it though.” Alby laughed, taking a sip himself. “Ya get used to it after awhile.”
“Yeah, I’ll pass. Thanks though.” Audrey shook her head and took a seat across from where Minho, Thao and Newt were laying down. “So, when do I finally get to know more about this place? How’d we all get here? And why is it I can’t remember anything but my name?” She started, meaning to only ask the one question, but the others just slipped out.
“I thought we were done with questions for today...” Alby sighed, shaking his head before watching two gladers on the other side of the fire start to goof off. “”Hey!” He got up and started to make his way over, Gally following behind him.
“Okay, but seriously? The more you don't answer my questions the more I have.” Audrey sighed, looking over at the other three for answers.
“We don’t have many answers. We came up the same way as you, it’s not like there was anyone here to explain it all to us.” Thao replied, walking over to the fire, where there was a barrel of bottles. She grabbed three before glancing back at Audrey. “You sure you don’t want one?”
“No, I don’t want one, that’s gross. How long have you guys been here?” Audrey asked, directing the question towards Minho, trying to make it a conversation rather than a slew of inquiries.
“Newt, Alby and I have been here since day one, almost two years ago.” Minho explained, patting Newt on his good leg. “Thao’s been here ten months now. We get a new one every month, ya
see.”
“A new what?” Audrey asked, wondering how the boys had survived that long, without anything to do.
“A new greenbean, like you. In a month, we’ll get a new one. A month after that, another new one.” Newt explained, finally sitting up, and scooting backwards so his back was against a nearby log. He patted the space next to him. “Might as well get comfy greenie, ya aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.”
She sighed and sat down next to him. He was right, she had no idea how she was going to get out of this place, and every idea she had, they had probably already tried. “How many different jobs are there?”
“About ten.” Minho explained, resting his head on Thao’s lap, who had scooted back to sit against the log as well. “Runners are the best by far.”
“Yeah, if ya want to die!” Newt laughed, taking a swig from the bottle Thao had brought him.
“I don’t think I want to be a runner.” Audrey whispered.
“Don’t worry, you’ll probably end up being a slicer.” Minho explained with a laugh. Audrey had no idea what a slicer was, but it didn’t sound good.
“My money’s on chef.” Newt guessed, throwing his arm over Audrey’s shoulders.
“No, she’ll be a med-jack.” Thao argued, taking a long swig from her bottle.
“Wait, whats a slicer?” Audrey asked, almost scared to know the answer.
“You’ll see tomorrow on the tour. You’ll get introduced to all the Keepers, and they’ll tell ya about the jobs. Whichever one your best at is where ya stay.” Newt told her, nudging her a little with a smile.
“You never actually answer my questions, you realize that right?” Audrey huffed, wiggling out from under his arm. “You aren’t very good at this.”
“Excuse me?” Newt laughed, glancing over to see Minho and Thao’s reactions before looking back at Audrey.
“So far none of you are. I mean, okay sure you guys came out of that metal box hell too, but you’ve been up here for how long again? Don’t you think by now you should have worked out a system of how to deal with people like me, and gotten better at explaining this whole situation? Just shrugging off the questions and mumbling about tomorrow isn’t helping anyone.” Audrey argued, looking expectantly at the other three. “So, what is a slicer?”
“They take care of the livestock, and cut em up when it’s time to eat. Hope you aren’t a vegetarian, sweetheart.” Thao answered, sitting up slightly. “As for the box, we’ve told you all we know. It brings a newbie up once a month, and a supplies shipment up once a week. Won’t go back down till it’s completely empty.”
“I want to go home.” Audrey said defiantly, as if they would somehow listen to her, and take her back to...to wherever.
“Oh yeah greenie? Ya remember home? Why don’t ya tell us all about it.” Minho shot back at her, rolling his eyes.
That shut Audrey up real fast. The group sat in silence for a few minutes before Newt cleared his throat. “You must be bloody starving.” He said, looking straight at Audrey.
Until then, she hadn’t realised how hungry she actually was, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten. She couldn’t remember anything, actually. “Yeah, I am.” She agreed.
“I’ll go grab you something.” Newt muttered, and used the log to help push himself up. He limped off towards where Alby and Gally had disappeared.
“What happened to his leg?” She asked the other two.
“That’s his story. And he doesn’t like talking about it too much. I wouldn’t ask if I were ya.”
“Right... “ Audrey nodded, before letting out a sigh. “So, uh, what is it that Runners do? Besides the obvious.” She asked, switching topics rather quickly.
“We run through the Maze everyday and try to get information about the wall movements.”
“So the walls move?”
“Everyday. And the doors open every morning at sunrise, and shut at nightfall.”
“Why were Newt, Gally and Alby so worried about you guys earlier? What happens if you don't make it back in? And what was with Newt’s comment about likely dying?” Audrey asked, trying her best to pace the questions and not overwhelm the others or herself.
“The Maze isn’t safe okay? People who don’t make it back in before the walls close are gone. That’s why only Runners are allowed out.”
“Why isn’t it safe?” Audrey asked, scared of what the answer was going to be. “How can a Maze be dangerous? Because of the walls moving?”
“I wish the biggest problem out there was the walls moving.” Minho grunted, shaking his head. “Grievers are the issue, Greenie.”
“Grievers?”
“Slim it Minho, you’ll give her nightmares and then none of us will get any sleep.” Newt started from behind Audrey, plate of food in his hand. “It’s best we leave some issues for tomorrow anyways, or Ably won't be able to show off.”
“Oh c’mon, she’ll hear them soon anyways. Isn’t it best she knows before?” Thao argued, leaning over to snatch a carrot off of Audrey's plate before Newt handed it to her.
“Just tell me, you already started to. Plus if I’m going to hear whatever it is soon, I’d definitely prefer to know about it beforehand.”
“Right, well, it’s kind of hard to explain what they look like,” Thao began, pushing Minho off her lap so she could crawl over to where Audrey was sitting. “They’re part machine, part alive I guess. You probably won’t see one, so it doesn’t really matter what they look like. Basically, they are vicious, and have this stinger thing that makes you crazy, and then you die.”
“They shriek. Sound like someone’s being murdered. ‘ts why we call em Grievers.” Newt added, taking his spot beside her again.
“You’ll hear em tonight. And tomorrow night, and every other night. They screech all the time, it’s awful.”
“So they what, they try to sting you out there?” Audrey asked, a gruesome image of what the creatures could possibly look like, forming in her mind.
“Well, they try to kill ya, but if you get stung, they aren’t too upset.” Minho explained, showing off a couple long scars across his forearm. “They’re awful, but we think they’re there for a reason, so we gotta go out and try to figure out how to escape everyday.”
“Has anyone ever survived a sting?” Audrey asked. The others fell silent, looking between each other.
“Maybe we’ll wait for that explanation when the time comes.” Newt whispered, getting to his feet. “Let’s find you a place to kip.”
“Bedtime already? You just bought me dinner!” Audrey shook her head. “I’ve barely ate anything, no way am I sleeping yet.”
“If we don't find a place now, all the spots will be taken.” Newt sighed, but still sat back down with the others.
“Then I’ll just kick you out of your spot.” Audrey shrugged, before going back to focusing on eating whatever it is Newt brought her for dinner.
“We have rules you know. And stealing beds is one of them.”
“No, actually I don't know the rules. Because no one will tell me much with you around.”
“The rules are simple. Rule one; everyone does their part, no one is allowed to slack off. Rule two; never hurt another glader or kick them out of their beds, it's important we trust each other. and the last rule is to never leave the glade, unless you're a runner.” Newt explained, listing the three rules off on his fingers.
“I highly doubt you have a rule about stealing beds if it's so difficult to get a spot most the time.” Audrey rolled her eyes and looked over at Minho and Thao. “Is there a rule about beds, or is Newt just whiny about his sleeping arrangements?”
“He just wants to make sure he has a spot next to ya. And then he’ll sleep shirtless, which he never does. Maybe he’ll even take off his-” A hand slapped over Minho’s mouth, cutting him off.
“God, why do you have to be so vulgar?” Thao asked, then screamed and pulled her hand back. “Don’t lick me, I don’t want your spit all over me. You’re disgusting.”
“I am not.”
“You are disgusting,” Newt commented, crossing his arms. “For the record, I was not planning on sleeping next to Audrey, unless she asked me to. And, I sleep with my shirt off every night slinthead, and so do you.”
“Well, I sleep with my shirt on, because I’m decent, so feel free to sleep next to me.” Thao laughed, getting to her feet. “C’mon let’s go find a spot. Boys?”
The boys glared at her, and then each other, before rising to their feet, and making their way towards a shack that sat in the corner of the maze, not too far from where they were. “Honestly,if it makes you more comfortable, I can sleep with my shirt on. If you wanted to sleep by me- that is. You don’t have to. I mean, we kind of just sleep wherever, but most people just try to sleep by their friends. I expect we’re your friends, since you’ve only been-”
“Shuck. Newt. That’s not how ya get a girl.” Minho said with a bark of laughter. Himself and Thao started to laugh so hard, that they could barely support themselves.
“It’s fine.” Audrey told Newt, when he turned bright red and started to say something. “I’d rather sleep beside you than those two... whatever you call them... anyways.”
“Slintheads, shuck-faces, gross?” Newt laughed, staring at his two friends.
“So what’s the deal with romance here anyways. Anyone together? Any juicey breakup stories? Wait, what happens if you wanna, y’know, get it on, as the kids say? Do you have like, proper equipment?”
“Proper equipment? Ya mean condoms?” Newt laughed, his smile lighting up his whole face.
“Yeah. So, let me in on all the gossip.”
“What makes you think I have any gossip?”
“Alby said you were second in command, which means you probably had to deal with complications that people had whenever they were together. Plus, you were just hanging out with those two. What’s their whole deal?”
“Minho and Thao? Nothing.” Newt shrugged, walking around the Homestead to try and find some beds for everyone.
“Nothing? Oh c’mon, they were cuddling like half an hour ago.”
“Their good friends, and they run together in the maze. They’re close.”
“That’s bull. They obviously like each other.”
“And how would ya know that? You’ve spent an hour with them.”
“Because i'm not oblivious, like you obviously are. You’ve spent ten months with the two of them!”
“Yeah, and I can tell you that you dunno what you're talking about because of it.” Newt laughed, shaking his head. “If Minho liked someone, I would be the first to know.”
“Boys are idiots…” Audrey sighed, shaking her head and patting down on a bed she found. It was in the corner of the room, so not as many people could really get close to her yet and there was enough room for Newt, Minho and Thao all if they wanted. “How bout here?”
“Good that.” Newt smiled, moving to sit on the one next to her.
“Okay, first thing tomorrow I want to know what half the things you say mean. And then I’ll probably need a cheat sheet if you all expect me to start actually using the words on a daily basis.” Audrey laughed, sitting on her own bed.
“You’ll pick it up pretty quick after a few days, nothing to worry about.”
“Newt? Minho smells like sweat, make him shower.” Thao complained, shoving her face into a pillow on the bed between Minho and Audrey. “Like he smells like Gally’s feet. It’s gross.”
“Minho go shower.” Newt said nonchalantly, leaning back on his bed and chucking a pillow under his hip.
“No.”
“Now.”
Audrey heard a shuffling sound from Minho’s bed, and watched as he stormed out of the room. “You probably smell just as bad” Newt muttered, trying to adjust himself on the bed.
“Excuse me, but I guess I’ll go shower with Minho.” Thao shot back, getting to her feet and following Minho outside.
“Good job Newt.” Audrey laughed, fluffing her pillow out a bit before laying down facing him.
“They’ll get over it when they smell better.” Newt shrugs.
“Says the one who is covered in dirt and something else that smells awful.”
“Hey!” Newt protested “I don’t smell half as bad as they did.”
“If you say so... “ Audrey rolled her eyes and flipped over to her other side. A few seconds later she heard what she thought was Newt moving to get up, but the next thing she knew, a dirt covered shirt was covering her face. “What.. Ew, Newt!”
“See, it's not so bad.”
“You don't just.. take this back, that’s gross.” She mumbled, chucking it back at him. “I can’t believe you just did that.”
“What? It was proof I didn’t smell like Klunk.” Newt laughed, stuffing the shirt under his pillow.
“You didn’t have to throw your gross, sweaty, dirt covered shirt at me to prove that.” Audrey shook her head and flipped back to face him. “We could’ve done without that bit.”
“But it was fun, and got you to keep talking to me instead of falling asleep.”
“I thought the point of coming in here was to sleep?” Audrey raised her eyebrows, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at him.
“Yeah, but you haven’t heard them yet. The grievers. And you’ll want to before you try to sleep.” Newt pointed out, reminding Audrey of his earlier warnings.
“Alright, good point.” Audrey sighed, before continuing with “So, I didn’t ask you earlier … I mean with the whole relationship discussion, what about you?”
“Me? Like, romantic relationship wise?” Newt asked, clearing his throat.
“Yeah, that's what I asked. Second in command means you must know everyone right?”
“Yeah, I mean I greet everyone into the glade and stuff..”
“Okay.. and?” Audrey asked, trying to get him to stop avoiding her question.
“And what?”
“And what about the ladies, don’t you have them draped all over you? I mean you have a british accent.” Audrey pointed out, smiling to herself.
“How many girls did you see draped over me today?” Newt laughed, running his fingers through his blonde hair.
“Twenty-three.”
“Yeah, sounds about right.” He laughed again. Audrey wondered how you could possibly have an accent while laughing. “Seriously though, I don’t have any romantic involvement. Not for a
long time anyways.”
“What happened?”
“Griever. Her name was Jen.” He said shortly, clearly not wanting to talk about it. “That ended about nine months ago.”
“Sorry.”
“She was a runner. Runners always die. Don’t fall for a runner. That’s rule number four. Rule five, don’t be a runner.” He said with complete seriousness.
“Gotcha, wasn't planning on it. Being a runner anyways.” Audrey laughed. “No promises on not falling for a runner though.”
“Got Minho on your mind?”
“Ew, no.” She laughed, turning on her side to look at him. “Tell me more about the people here.”
“What do you wanna know?” Newt asked, shifting his head to the side to meet her gaze.
“The happy bits, things that make you laugh. No more about grievers or how we’re stuck here.” Audrey decided, biting at her lip. “There has to be some good in this place, right? Tell me about the parts that aren’t bad.”
“Gally’s drink, as awful as it tastes, is actually something that he made up one day after we thought we’d figured a way out. He originally said he was going to make the best tasting juice in the world, and once we got out it's what we would drink to celebrate.” Newt started, scooting closer to Audrey as more people came inside.
“Okay, that clearly didn’t work out. How come you drink the awful stuff?”
“It was something that made us laugh once we realized we couldn’t leave. We opened it up and expected it to taste decent, and thought it would help us with the disappointment. Instead it wound up tasting bloody awful. Imagine if we had gotten out and that's what we had to celebrate.”
“It would’ve been some celebration.” Audrey shook her head. “Why still make it?”
“Give him something to do other then complain about life here. And it’s a reminder of our attempts of getting out.”
“But he wouldn’t be insulted if I choose water over it right?”
“Gally? Yeah he would, so the best way to go about that is to pretend you’ve drank some already.” Newt smiled.
“Noted. What else?” Audrey asked, excited to learn information that wouldn’t want to make her throw up dinner.
“Every other night we have bonfires like tonight. Sometimes they are this big huge event that keeps us up late, and other times they are small gatherings like tonight. It's just a chance for everyone to take a break from work and hang out with each other. Sometimes Alby hold contests and winner gets the extra clothes from the box.” Newt shrugs, repositioning himself on his bed. “Sometimes we act like idiots, drink too much Gally juice and dance around the fire.”
“That's something I expect to see from you, Thao and Minho in the future now.” Audrey laughed, trying to picture the blonde haired boy in front of her dancing around like an idiot.
“You’ll be joining in with us, just you wait.”
“Oh my god, Minho, Newt is naked.” Thao screeched from the door.
“I’m not naked, slinthead.” Newt laughed, throwing his sheet over his chest. “How was your lovely shower together?”
“Great, thanks.” Minho replied, straight faced as he walked into the room.
“Are they joking?” Audrey whispered, just loud enough for Newt to hear.
“Obviously.” He whispered back. “You two both heading out tomorrow?” He asked, raising his voice again so the others could hear.
“Yeah, with Ben. Nick’s going to Map tomorrow.” Thao explained, stripping her jeans and sliding under the covers. “I think the next day I might be staying. Unless we find something. Then
we’ll all be out.”
“Good that.” Newt muttered, rolling onto his side. “I’m knackered.”
“You’re the one who wouldn’t let me sleep until the grievers decide to come out, so don't even think about going to sleep right now.” Audrey warned, letting herself fall onto her back.
“Why? I already know that they sound like!” Newt huffed, and Audrey took her pillow to whack him gently.
“You kept me up, so you don't get to sleep until I do.”
“It shouldn’t be too long now anyways Newt, I think you can live until Greenie here hears what we’re fighting against out there.”
And just like that the group starts to hear clicking, whining and screeching come from outside the walls. It was loud, and sounded as painful as Newt had described it earlier. “Oh my gosh…”
Audrey mumbled, moving to cover her ears. “That’s an awful sound.”
“Get use to it, they do that most nights.”
“Great.” Audrey sighed, turning back on her side and tugging the sheets up to her shoulder. “How long do they do this for?”
“Only a few minutes every couple of hours…” Minho groaned, shutting his eyes and laying on his stomach. He flung his hand out and ‘accidentally’ smacked Thao’s arm.
“Slinthead.” She muttered, snuggling into her blankets like a small child. “Night Newt. Night Audrey. Night Minho.”
“Good night.”
“Night.”
“Shuck-face.”
“Night Audrey.” Newt whispered, opening his eyes to look at her. “Don’t be afraid to wake me up, if the grievers get too loud, or frightening.”
“I think i’ll be fine.” Audrey assured him, rolling her eyes.
“You keep telling yourself that.”
--------
Three hours later, Audrey lay wide awake. The grievers were bad. They haunted her, their screeches chilled her to the bone. How did they know they wouldn’t come into the glade?
“Newt.” She whispered, barely loud enough for herself to hear. He must have been awake, since his hand reached out and grabbed hers.
“Try to sleep.” He whispered back, squeezing her hand tightly.
“That's what I’ve been trying to do.” She sighed frustratedly, shifting in her bed to face his general direction again. “Why aren’t you asleep yet?”
“I had a feeling you weren’t going to be alright with the grievers.” He shrugged, his eyes still closed and pressed against his pillow. “Just think of something else.”
“Like what?”
“Something that makes you happy.” Newt mumbled, obviously on the verge of falling asleep now.
Audrey didn’t respond, not wanting to keep him from getting any more sleep. Instead she closed her eyes and focused most of her attention to her hand that was still wrapped up with Newt’s. This worked for about ten minutes, until the grievers started up again. “I don’t remember anything that makes me happy… all I have is tod-- yesterday's memories.” She whispered quietly again, almost hoping to have no answer so at least he was getting some sleep.
“You are gonna be fine, they don’t come in the glade. Ever.” Newt shushed her, struggling to stay awake anymore. “Trust me, just go to sleep.”
A few minutes later Audrey could hear Newt’s quiet snores, and knew he was finally asleep, which made her happy. And then a half an hour later, she finally fell asleep too.