"Hey, girl shank, it's time to go on the tour." Alby walked up beside Newt, who was now slowly chewing bacon.

I looked up at the leader, then back down at my food. "But...I'm not done with my bacon yet..."

Chuck sniggered from beside me as Alby rolled his eyes, obviously not caring about my lack of food. He gave me a cold stare and cocked his head towards the Glade, making me give up on trying to make him let me finish my breakfast first.

I groaned. "Fine. Chuck, you can finish my bacon, but have a sandwich waiting for me at lunch." He nodded, and I turned to Newt. "And you...don't forget to wipe your hands on the napkin and not your pants."

Newt gave me a small smile and watched as I followed Alby. He led me into the full madness of the Glade, the boys were starting to finish their breakfast and get to their jobs. A handful of boys moved to the north side, all holding gardening tools and buckets of what looked like dirt. Some guys headed off to an unfinished building, carrying stacks of wood, hammers, and nails. Others just walked to their place with nothing in hand, for the tools were already probably there. But no matter where I looked, there was someone doing something. Nobody was slacking.

"As you've already heard." Alby started to walk backward, facing me. "This is the Glade. We do everything here. Eat, sleep, anything you can imagine."

He pointed over to the boys who were standing by what looked like the garden. "We grow our own food." He pointed over to the unfinished building. "And we build our own shelter. Everything we need, the Box provides."

"Like the Box I—"

"Save the questions for after the tour." He interrupted me, making me clamp my mouth shut immediately. When he turned around again, I made a weird face at his back, secretly mocking him.

"Over there is the Blood House." He pointed to a small shack near the East doors. The animals outside of it were sharing the noises they could make with all of us, goats, chickens, and pigs. Disgusting, pigs laying in the mud.

I cocked my eyebrow at the sight of a small boy chasing a chicken around the pen, calling it names and occasionally tripping over the other birds that were stuffed in there as well. The poor kid eventually caught the animal and he tucked it tightly into the crook of his arm, smirking like he had just won a prize. As he walked back into the shack, I couldn't help but wonder if the animal was going to come out alive. I had a feeling that it wasn't. They don't call it a blood house for no reason.

"It's where the Slicers work." He mumbled, scrunching his face up as if he were disgusted that the name was even falling off of his tongue. "Nasty job, but one of the most needed. Without them, we wouldn't have any food."

Well, that answers one of my many questions.

He then motioned towards the gardens I was eyeing earlier, seeming more content with the subject of that job than the Slicers. "Over there are the gardens where we grow most of our vegetables. Track-Hoes work over there."

I followed his point to the patch of vines and tall grass, maybe it was corn. There was a boy in a dark blue hoodie who was already wiping sweat off of his forehead as he plowed a tool into the dirt, pulling it back, and repeating the action. I felt bad that he had to be hunched over on his knees all day. If I had to do that, I would probably just take out my backbone. I wasn't in the mood to be suffering from back pain. Or any pain of all for that matter.

Despite the millions of questions swarming in my mind, I kept quiet, not wanting to get yelled at again by Alby. He explained the rest of the Glade and where everything was, being brief but detailed enough so that at least half of my questions were answered by his long rant. I learned that the box comes up once a week with new supplies, and I already knew that it came up with a new Greenie—or whatever they call it—every month. He told me the importance of each job and told me that if they didn't have a specific system that they went by every day, this whole place would be a mess.

When I thought he had finished, I opened my mouth, only to be cut off once again when he turned his body completely from me. I furrowed my eyebrows, wondering if I was that annoying... But I followed again, needing some answers now that the tour was finally over with.

"Alby." I started as we made our way over to a large tower...it looked almost like a lookout spot or a treehouse. "Can you tell me about—"

"Wait until we get up here." He mumbled. I widened my mouth and bit my fist in annoyance as he began to climb up the wooden ladder. If I wasn't completely sure that I would be reprimanded for talking back to him, I would have totally done it. I wanted to yell at him for being so annoying. Rude, even.

We both made our way to the top of the lookout area, and for the first time, I saw how big this place was. For a moment, I was speechless. I could see everything from up here. The Homestead, the gardens, the blood house, the new structure that the Builders were building—I wondered if Gally was among those few big guys. I could see Chuck as he opened up the door to the outhouse, holding a bucket and a rag of cleaning supplies. He took one step in the small room and stepped back out almost immediately. I watched as he grabbed a clothespin from his pocket, stuck it over his nose, and walked back in to clean. The only thing I couldn't see was what lurked beyond the two openings in the marvelous walls.

"Newt showed me what was out there this morning." I nodded towards the doors, as Alby turned towards me. "Freaked me the hell out."

"Most people get freaked." He assured me. I turned my head towards him, wondering if he was going to keep talking or just leave it at that. "He shows every new Greenie. Tries to do it before they run outta here looking for a way to escape. Some of the past Greenies that we've had just blew my mind with their stupidity."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Why?"

He sighed and dropped his head before picking it back up and meeting my eyes. "Even though the Glade is peaceful now, it wasn't always this way."

Alby fully turns his body towards me, his eyes looking like they were reminiscing an unpleasant past. I looked out at the Glade as he started to explain a brief history of the place that I was supposed to call my home. "We had dark days. Lost a lot of boys to fear, panic... we've come far since then. Established order. We all made peace. We run things a specific way for a reason, Greenie. We have rules."

I kept my mouth shut, trying to hang onto every word he said to me. "Rule one is to always do your part."

"Yeah." I agreed. "I'm betting that you guys don't have time for any slackers."

He nodded. "You're smart. Annoying, but smart. You catch on quickly. I heard about what happened at breakfast too...making Fry give everyone those napkins."

I chuckled and looked at the ground. "You guys eat like animals."

Alby was silent for a little while. I lifted my head again and noticed that he was turned back around, looking at something on the ground below us. I followed his gaze and saw that he was looking at someone who I had strangely grown fond of. Someone I recognized.

Newt was working with the boy in the blue hoodie, digging into the dirt with a small shovel. As if on cue, I watched as he looked up at us. He held his hand over his eyes to block the sun that was heating the Glade more and more as the minutes passed. Newt sent us a small wave, and politely, I waved back at him with a small smile, holding his gaze for a few moments. He looked at me, and I looked back at him. It was almost like he was staring into my soul, even if we were far apart from each other. His hair stuck to his sweaty forehead, and his white sweater was tied around his waist, making his lean muscles pulse out of his skin.

It's no lie... Newt was attractive. Anyone could see it. Well, maybe not the boys, but I wouldn't be surprised if one of them came running up to me saying that they had a crush on him. I would just pat his shoulder and say congratulations. But looking into his dark brown eyes, I noticed that I wouldn't mind staring into them for hours.

"He appreciates it, ya know." Alby spoke again. I jumped a little in my spot, remembering that the leader was still there. I was so focused on Newt that I completely forgot where I was and what I was doing.

I turned my head to Alby. "Appreciates what?"

"Laughing...I could hear him all the way from the shucking toilet. You must've said something really funny." A hint of a smile played at his lips. "Haven't seen him smile like that in a while."

At the memory of Newt rolling on the floor of the Homestead, laughing at something I had said, I smiled as well. I took pride in making others happy. Even if it was only for a few moments.

"He has a nice laugh." I muttered under my breath, almost hearing it again in my ears.

"Our second rule is to never harm another Glader." He continued with the rules unexpectedly. "The only way this place works is trust. If we don't have it, then everythin' falls apart. I ain't gonna pity someone when we banish them because they hurt one of our boys. That goes for you too..."

I nod as the morbid picture of someone being hurt by someone they called a friend entered my mind. Of course, I would never harm someone intentionally, the only exception for that rule should be self-defense. If we're being harmed by someone else, what does he expect us to do? Wait until they stop? If someone came up to me and did something that I wasn't okay with, I would not hesitate to put them in their place. Whether the consequence is a...banishing or not. Whatever that means.

Suddenly, I lifted my gaze from the boy on the ground, and up to the big openings in the walls. Curiosity flooded through my mind, and the vision of seeing eight people run through the doors as they opened this morning was enough to make me ask him about it. If I didn't get an answer about the Runners and exactly what their job was, I think I might just have to go out to see myself. No matter how stupid the idea was.

"Alby." I spoke. He hummed in response, and I pointed to where I was looking. "Newt showed me what was out there this morning. Why do the Runners get to go out, and we don't?"

He sighed and flicked his eyes between the two openings, staring into the depths of the Maze. "That's rule three, Greenie. The most important one. Never go beyond those walls. The Runners go out there because they're the best. They got endurance, strength, wits, everything a person needs to survive a day out there. If one of the boys went out into the Maze for a little jaunt, they ain't comin' back. They go out every day to look for a way out. We can't mess that up, do you understand me?"

I clenched my jaw, wanting to say no. But instead, I nodded my head, not wanting to cause trouble. I wanted to know what it was like out there, but as Alby and Newt said, I wasn't ready to die... I hardly knew what it was like to live. I wanted to have new memories if I couldn't remember any of my old ones. I wanted to know what it was like to feel happy. To feel in general. So far, all I've felt was the need to wake up, and fear. I think I felt a glimmer of happiness when I heard Newt laugh, or when I figured out my name. Possibly when I ate some food this morning. But other than that, I had no idea what it was like to truly live. I didn't want to waste that because of curiosity. But at the same time, I didn't want to feel alive in the Glade.

"Besides." Alby continued. "It's not like you could be a Runner anyway."

My head whipped to him, and I felt a pang of hurt in my chest. "What makes you say that? Because I'm a girl?"

"No." He scoffed. "Clint told me about your little condition. Asthma, I think he called it. He gave me somethin' that came up in the Box. Apparently, it's supposed to help you if you ever have trouble breathin' like you did yesterday."

Yesterday? I haven't even been here for two days? It felt like I've been here for an entire lifetime.

"Well, what is it?" I asked, feeling annoyed at Alby's lack of faith in me.

He reached into the pocket of his brown cargo pants and pulled out a strange tool. I furrowed my eyebrows as I took the L shaped medical device from him. It felt like plastic. I looked back up at Alby, who had the same confused expression plastered on his face.

"What the hell is this thing?" I asked him, still frustrated.

Shrugging, he looked back down at the ground. "Clint said something about taking the cap off and pressing the top of it. Don't remember, all of it sounded like klunk to me, but it's supposed to help you."

I glared at him and did as he said. I took the white cap off of the front and curiously studied it. I placed my pointer finger on the top and got ready to press down on it before Alby suddenly stopped me.

"Wait." He interrupted. "Clint said to put it in your mouth."

"Why would I put it in my mouth if I don't know what it is?" I challenged.

He rolled his eyes and throws his arms into the air. "I don't shucking know! I'm not the one with breathing problems here!"

Groaning, I did as I was told, remembering what he said about trust. Alby wouldn't sabotage me or intentionally kill me... I don't think. So I placed the thing into my mouth, looking at him nervously before pushing down onto the top of it.

Immediately, I felt artificial air being pushed into my lungs. I jumped and gasped, accidentally breathing the chemical in. I dropped the tool and began coughing. My elbow flew up to cover my mouth, and Alby furrowed his eyebrows, having a panicked look in his eyes. He walked over to my side and started to harshly pat my back.

I glared up at him through my struggles, reminding myself to punch him later for being so stupid. What the hell is hitting me in the back supposed to do? Just as I started to wheeze, I remembered what Newt told me yesterday in the Box.

In through your nose, out through your mouth.

I considered that and closed my mouth, refraining from coughing. I took a struggled deep breath in through my nose, and when I felt as though I couldn't breathe anymore, I let it out through my mouth. I repeated the steps Newt had told me, with his voice in mind a few more times before I calmed myself down. I looked back down at the thing Alby gave me, which I held in my hand.

"Well..." Alby sighed. "That didn't work like it was supposed to."

I slowly turned my head to him. "No shit."

He frowned and winced as he looked down at the thing in my hand. "Maybe we should go see Clint and ask him what the big deal is. The tour's over Greenie. Let's go get you and your lungs figured out."

Rolling my eyes, I stood myself back up. "My name is Mae. Not Greenie."

"Sorry...Mae." He forced out. I scoffed at the attitude that was thrown into my name. He obviously wasn't the happiest of people right now. Either he was annoyed because of the thing he gave me didn't work, or he was upset that he had to spend extra time with me. I guessed that he didn't spend this much time on the other guys who came up in the Box. I wondered if he spent this much time on Chuck. He told me that he had been pretty freaked when he came.

Eventually, Alby and I made it back onto the grass and to the place he called the Med-Jack hut. I recognized it from the place Newt took me yesterday. The place where I first said his name, and where I heard those weird voices in my head. They told both of us that we had used it wrong and that I was supposed to hold the artificial air before breathing out. We tried it once more, and I breathed it in successfully. Almost immediately, I could feel the sting that had been developing in my chest disappear. My airways opened up, and I was able to take a breath without wheezing or coughing. My throat was starting to get scratchy.

"Take two puffs a day." Jeff told me. "About twelve hours apart. You should be good now. But you still can't do any physical activity..."

"No running." Alby muttered.

I nodded and rolled my eyes. "Yeah, Yeah, I know. I'll just play with dirt for the whole day, get a few splinters, and we all should be good. I'll be fine...just dandy."

Jeff chuckled while Alby groaned in annoyance. "I'm done with you. I'm done."

I watched him walk out and slam the door behind him. When I realized that Alby was now out of earshot, I turned back to Jeff, who was trying to hold back a smile.

"Do you think I upset him?" I asked in a high pitched voice.

Jeff squinted and held up his thumb and his pointer finger. "Just a little bit."

I slapped my forehead with the palm of my hand and sighed. "I swear, this place is gonna be the death of me. If Alby isn't first..."

"You and me both, lady shank." He responded. "You and me both."