Is That A Girl?

I use my hand to shield my eyes. I hear gasps and look up to see a huge group of boys looking down at me with expressions of shock. They look at me as if I've come from another planet. I see no girls in sight.

For fuck sake, I'm definitely going to die. There's nothing more frightening than being surrounded by boys, too many boys. There must be at least fifty fucking boys and I stand no fucking chance. My new pocket knife, i just found is ultimately useless. I should just accept my fate.

"Is that a girl?", one of the boys ask, curious.

"Oh no, I'm actually a rabbit. Obviously I'm a girl and clearly your not the sharpest tool in the shed", I know for a fact that insulting whoever that boy is, probably isn't the best idea but come on, how dense can you be?

I hear some boys snicker at my remark, causing him to blush in embarrassment. I hear a thud next to me and turn to see a blonde boy standing next to me.

"Don't mind them shanks. You're the first girl to be sent up here and it's a bit of a shock. I'm Newt, nice to meet you", the blonde boy, Newt, says and sends me a friendly smile.

Ok, so he seems alright and doesn't look like he wants to kill me, but I'm not letting my guard down that easy.

"Nice to meet you Newt, I'm-", I pause, hold on. What's my name? Wait, how can I not know my name? Fuck. Now I look more dense than that other guy.

"Don't worry greenie, no one remembers their name straight away, it normally takes a few days. Come on, let's get out of the box and we can give you the tour", Newt says, holding his hand out to help me out of the box. I'm hesitant but he seems genuine so I take it. We climb out of the box and the first thing I can see are the many boys staring at me.

This is making me very uncomfortable and I'm considering getting back in the box and jumping up and down until i plummet to my death. It sounds a lot better than this right now.

Newt must sense my discomfort because he shouts "Get back to work!".

I smile at him, grateful for sending them away. Clearly he has some sort of authority over them because even though they quietly protested as they left, they immediately obeyed him.

I discreetly slide the pocket knife into my trouser pocket. I'm confident Newt's not a threat, but I'm definitely keeping the weapon on me at all times.

Most of them boys were looking at me like I was a piece of meat. I'm in the lions den and I plan to keep an eye of them freaks.

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions but you can save them for later. First I'm going to introduce you to our leader", Newt says as he turns and begins to walk away.

I hesitate for a second. I could just run away and climb a tree in the woods I've seen in the distance, but that's a lot of effort and it would probably make things worse. After a small internal battle I decide to follow him.

I walk beside him, the silence between us is oddly comfortable even though I just met him.

"I thought you were the leader".

Newt turns to me looking slightly baffled "What gave you that idea?".

"The moment you ordered the others to leave, they immediately obeyed", I said matter of factly.

"Oh that's because I'm second in command. Believe me when I say that they find Alby a lot scarier than me", Newt replies with a small smile.

Our small conversation is cut short when a tall boy walks over to us. Each step he takes radiates authority. I think it's safe to say that this is Alby.

He comes to a stop in front of us, offering me a kind smile. "Welcome to the glade greenie. I'm Alby the leader. I'll be showing you around and answering any questions you might have about this place".

He holds his hand out to shake and I take it to be polite. I don't know how I feel about him yet but if Newt is his second in command and seems trustworthy, i doubt Alby is a threat.

"Nice to meet you Alby. I'd introduce myself, but at the moment I'm nameless", I say, slightly embarrassed, which I try to hide.

Even though I've been told everyone came up not knowing their name for a few days, it still makes me want to burst into flames from embarrassment.

"It'll come to you in a few days. Everyone came up in the box not remembering anything. Your name is the only thing they let you keep", he explains, his tone friendly.

"Who's they?", I ask, curiosity evident on my features.

"We call them the creators. They're the people who sent us up here in the first place. I'll leave you both so you can do the tour, see you around greenie", Newt adds, waving and departing to god knows where.

Alby and I walk around the glade. He shows me the gardens, the forest, the kitchens and the homestead. He shows me where everyone works and explains the different jobs that each have a keeper, whose job is to keep the other workers in line.

He explains the homestead is where only him, Newt and the keepers sleep, whilst the rest of the gladers sleep in hammocks, in a sheltered area near by.

We walk past the map room and he explains that the runners visit at the end of each day. He tells me about the maze that lies beyond the walls, surrounding the glade.

Only the runners are allowed in there to try and find an exit. They've been searching for a way out for three years, but they all still have hope that one day they can get out of this place.

He also explains that during my first week here, I have to try out every job. At the end of week, the keepers will hold a meeting to decide which job suits me best.

His tone is mostly friendly but goes completely serious when telling me the rules of the glade.

"There's only three rules in the glade that you must obey. Rule one, do your part, we don't want any freeloaders. Rule two, never harm another glader. Rule three and most importantly, never go beyond these walls into the maze unless your a runner. The maze is a dangerous place. If you break any of these rules you will be punished by spending nights in the pit or even banishment. Do you understand?" he says, looking at me intently, waiting for me to reply.

It's a lot to take in at once and even though I'm curious about the maze, I don't feel curious enough to find out why it's so dangerous.

As the only girl I need to prove that I'm tough enough to work hard in whatever job I'm given so doing my part will be something I'd do regardless of it being a rule or not.

Not harming others seems easy enough. I don't feel like I'm a violent person and I'll only harm as self defence. They won't punish me if I've been attacked first.

I understand. I don't want to cause any trouble Alby", I reply. I keep my tone serious and look him in the eye so he knows I'm being genuine.

He nods, looking satisfied with my answer.

"That's good to hear greenie. So, any questions left I haven't answered?", he sends me an encouraging smile that makes me feel at ease.

"Yeah, what the fuck does greenie mean? I feel like I'm getting insulted without even knowing", I say with a frown.

Alby chuckles a little before answering. "Don't worry it's not an insult, it's just another word for newbie we made up a while ago".

"That's a relief. Also since I'm the only girl is there any way I can sleep alone? And how will I shower if we all have to share?", I ask, feeling slightly worried.

I refuse to shower with the other boys. I can already imagine how unsafe it will be. There's no way all the boys are gonna leave me alone. There's gonna be one who tries to take a peak at me naked. Dirty scum.

"I've already been thinking about that. I'm gonna ask the builders to build you your own hut to sleep in, which will have a lock. You will also have a designated shower time, different to the boys. There's already a lock in the showers so no one can get in. I'm also going to call a meeting to make it clear that if any shanks try anything, the consequences will be severe" he assures me, patting my shoulders.

"I want you to feel safe like any other glader, and you have my word that i will make sure the glade will become home for you", Alby finishes with a kind smile.

I smile back. He seems genuine. I can say without a doubt that I trust him and Newt.

"Thank you Alby", I say.

"You don't need to thank me greenie. I've got to go talk to the builders about your hut. There's still a few hours until dinner so feel free to have a walk around the glade. When you hear a bell ringing, that's when you know dinner's ready", he explains before walking off.

Since I have time to kill, I head towards the woods to hide away from the stares I'm receiving. I need to process the information given to me.

Today has been a weird one so far, but atleast I know that I'm not going to get murdered. Well, not by Alby or Newt, the others I can't be too sure of yet.

Authors Note: I'm in Gally maze runner faze rn so I decided to write a fanfic. I'm new to writing it's not the best but oh well. Hope you like it xxx