It has been nearly six days since I entered the Glade. I have finished all the job trials with the Keepers, and am now waiting outside while the Keepers have a Gathering.

I haven't heard from the boy named Thomas since that night. Why has he stopped talking? Each night since then, I would try to talk to him again, but nothing would happen. He never answered.

My thoughts are interrupted by someone walking out. I look up to see Minho, leaning against the door frame.

"Let's go shank. Time to get ya a job" He smirks.

I stand up and wipe dirt, which I don't believe was actually there, from my pants. As I walk through the door, I see all the Keepers looking towards the door, waiting for me. I take a seat in front of the crescent of Keepers, quiet as I wait for them to talk.

"So, Lori, we are here to assign you your job within the Glade" Alby begins. "Will the Keeper of the chosen job please come forward and accept the Greenbean."

After a second or two, Clint stands up and smiles, "Welcome to the Med-Jacks Lori" he smiles. "By orders of Alby, you start tomorrow." I nod and wait to see if anyone has anything else to say. When no one says anything, I stand up and begin to walk out the door.

Just as I have stepped outside of the room, I hear Minho call "Wait up! I need to talk to you."

"What about?" I ask with confusion.

"This is a conversation you may want to have in private" he whispers so that no one else will hear.

He holds his arm outwards as my cue to begin walking. We walk until we are in the Deadheads; alone within the trees. I take a seat underneath the leafy limbs of a tall tree. Minho sits down in front of me and sighs. I expect him to begin talking, but he says nothing.

"Minho? Can you say something please?" He still doesn't talk, just starts playing with the laces on his shoes. "Minho, you're making me nervous. What's wrong?"

He does not raise his head, but I see his eyes lift from his shoes. "What happened the other night?" I tilt my head to the side, unsure of what he is talking about. "I heard you yelling from Newt's room; so what happened?"

My heart drops. Thomas. He's talking about when Thomas communicated with me.

"I- I don't know what you're talking about?" I attempt, raising my eyebrows slightly.

"Seriously shuck-face? I heard you, so tell me what happened that night?"

"Look, Minho, it's complicated."

"Would you rather I ask Alby to ask you?" He smirks.

"Okay, fine. You're such a slinthead" I mutter. "I was just sitting in bed, when I thought I heard something. Next thing I knew, someone was talking to me. It took me a moment to realize, but the person wasn't talking to me out loud" I take a moment to look at Minho, to see if he's still with me.

"What d'ya mean shank?" He questions, his eyebrows pulling together in such a concentrated manner.

"Okay. Um." I try to think of the simplest way to explain it. "Okay. Okay. Um, I'm pretty sure he was talking in my head, but it wasn't me talking to myself - though I do happen to do that sometimes - it was another person. I don't know how, but I know it was another person somewhere, somehow" I spit out.

Minho holds his hands up, just in case I start to talk again. As he lowers his hands his says "Slim it and let me get this straight. You" he points to me "have a random shank talkin' in your head and you don't know who it is?"

"Well, I don't know how or anything, but I do have a name. Thomas. Is there any guys named Thomas in the Glade?" Minho takes a moment to think, before shaking his head. I feel my stomach drop and ice run through my veins. No Thomas! No Thomas means that either I am going crazy, or someone is communicating with me from outside of the Glade and the Maze.

"What are we going to do?" He asks. "We can't keep this from everyone. This is important, you've spoken to someone outside of this prison, everyone needs to-"

I cut him off right there, "No, no one finds out. Not yet at least." Minho is about to talk again, but I continue before he has the chance "No Minho. No one. I don't need to be interrogated; it's not fun."

"I get that Lori, I do. But we have been here for two years, and have found nothing. You haven't even gone into the Maze and you've probably already found more than us" Minho insists.

"Okay, I'll tell them. Eventually. Maybe. Some day." I stutter slightly. Minho just sits there looking at me, eyebrows raised expectantly. I don't do anything, just sit there looking straight back. "Please" I beg. He doesn't say anything, I just sit there quietly, leaning to the side slightly waiting for his reply.

"Three days. The new Greenie comes in three days. If you haven't told 'em by the end of that day, I'll be telling 'em. Got it shank?" He instructs. I nod my head up and down really quickly.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I roll onto my knees, lean forward, and wrap Minho in a tight hug. "Thank you so much Minho!" I let him go and fall back onto my butt. "Three days will definitely be enough time for me to figure something out."

"Okay, but you need to try talkin' to this Thomas shank again, alright?" He asks as kindly as he can, though I can tell that he is slightly irritated. I nod, letting a small smile take on my features.

"Let's go get dinner" he smiles.

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I sit at a table with Minho, Newt and Chuck, eating a bowl of stew.

"So are ya excited to start tomorrow?" Newt wonders as he eats his dinner.

I nod my head, "Yeah, I am actually really excited. I can't wait to be able to help out around here. I feel like healing people is something I used to do before all this" They all look up at me, questioning looks crossing their face.

"I don't have any memories back, I just feel like helping was something that was important to me. I don't know" I shrug.

"Well that's good then. Anything else going on?" Newt asks. My gaze immediately pans to Minho, my eyes widening in an alerting fashion. He shakes his head slightly, indicating he kept the deal.

"Ah, um no much really, just been investigating the Glade" I stutter. "Not that the tour wasn't thorough, I just wanted a more in depth look at the place where I am most likely going to die" I smile awkwardly.

I look around the table, to see them all staring at me weirdly, and Chuck mouths 'wow' as his eyes grow wide.

"So, what's the plan for you guys tomorrow?" I attempt to recover.

"The usual for me. Sloppers don't really do much" Chuck mutters.

"Going to go out into the Maze, hopefully find something out there. Nearly the third year of searching is the charm, don't ya think?" Minho says with his signature smirk.

"Just the usual, making sure everything stays in bloody order around here" Newt smiles lightly.

For the rest of dinner, we eat in silence. Not one of those weird, awkward silences. It was one of those ones where you feel comfortable with the people you are with, and know that they also understand.

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After everyone finished dinner and we all helped clean up, I made my way towards my room. As I was half way across the Glade, I heard someone call my name. I turn to see Newt running towards me. Once he catches up, I start walking again, with him by my side.

"Hey, have you gotten used to life in the Glade yet?" Newt asks, looking towards me. I quickly drop my sight to the grass underfoot, nervous for some reason

"I've barely been here a week" I point out for some strange reason.

"Don't expect you to be bloody used to it yet anyway. We all still had that little hope at that point, that there was some way out of here" he laughs slightly. I stop in my tracks.

"You don't believe there's a way out?" I ask him.

He stops walking and turns around to face me. "Well Lori, you do understand that we have been here for two years, have searched the whole buggin' Maze, and have found nothing, don't you?"

"I do, but why lose faith? There might still be a way out"

He sighs "I hope you're right." He starts to walk towards the Homestead once more.

"I know I am. I have to be" I say under my breath.

I'm about to start walking, when I feel pain in my head. Like a hammer pounding from the inside, trying to escape. Then, at that moment, he speaks.

Lori? A masculine voice calls from the back of my mind.

Thomas. Thomas is talking to me again.

Lori, please answer me!

I blink a few times, to make sure I'm not dreaming, then respond. Thomas, I'm here. Why haven't you spoken to me since the first time?

He doesn't respond for a few seconds, I was unable to. You don't need to worry about that right now though. I have a more pressing issue to tell you about.

As I wait for him to continue, I hear Newt say my name in a confused tone, but it is as if I am listening to him from beneath the surface of water. His voice is fragmented, and if it weren't my own name, I may not have been able to recognize the words. It seems like a blur.

Thomas continues, WICKED are onto me. They know I spoke to you. In less than half an hour, they are taking me for something they called the 'Swipe', and I think we both know what that means. I won't remember any of my life, let alone this conversation. But you will, so if you ever find me, I need you to find some way to remind me or something. I think we can still speak like this anywhere I go, but I'm not sure.

So you're going to lose your memory like everyone in the Glade? I ask quickly.

I don't know for sure. I'm going to attempt to send a code through your Swipe, to give you some memories; that's the least I can do. But Lori, you need to be careful, they're watching you. They are watching you so closely right now.

I feel my limbs begin to go cold as a lump forms in my throat.

What? Why?

Because, Lori. You are one of the Variables of the Maze Trials.

I feel my skin turn to sheets of ice, and my body begin to crumple. But, just before I hit the ground, I black out; only Thomas' words floating in the dark void that is my mind.

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