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The ground rumbled. A whimper wafted in the dark atmosphere, not even a single speck could be seen, only the cold steel ground that vibrated beneath his palms. He tried to get up, but a strong jolt pushed him down, colliding with solid objects that clanked from behind. His body ached. Where was he? And most of all, what happened?
The air was cold and everything felt tight even in the tremendous darkness. His breaths came rugged in his throat. He pushed himself on his feet this time and extended his hand as if to reach the ceiling, hoping he could touch something that would give him a hint of his location.
A sudden clash suddenly brought him back to the ground once again. This time, his head hit something in the objects around him. He grunted and clutched on the agonizing spot.
A broad, blinding light tore from above. He squinted his eyes, but as he began to adjust, he found blurry figures gathered from above. He realized these were people once his vision began to clear up. They were muttering among themselves. Then, two of them jumped down, and before he knew it, he was grabbed by the arms and was being hauled to the top.
He fought against them, but the grip was too firm for his weak body. They tossed him to the ground where the grass poked his hands. The people stared at him again. Adrenaline rising in fear, he quickly got up and sprinted to his feet; voices shouted after him as he kept running to the distance with every breath he had.
The wind grew thick against his face. His legs were acting on their own. But that was until a heavy impact shoved him off his balance and an arm went around his shoulders to keep him from moving further.
"You made quite an entertainment, Greenie," smirked the guy who had curly hair. "Already showing qualities of a runner, eh?"
"That's enough. The others can grab the supplies in the Box." Another chimed in. He had red hair and a pair of rectangular glasses that sat on the bridge of his nose. "If that guy makes any sudden movement, tie him up until he calms down."
"W— where. . . Where am I?" He asked.
"You're in the Glade, Greenie," answered the built guy who was the one who pushed him seconds ago. "I'm Yoon-ho. Do you remember your name?"
"Jin-woo." The name slipped out of his mouth without a thought.
The men's expressions changed. Jin-woo became perplexed by the looks they shared at one another. Was there something wrong with what he said?
"Don't you think this is strange, Jong-in? The Greenie already remembered his name within a daylight."
"We better not let this get to Dong-suk, otherwise that shucker will cause another mess just like when Hae-in came."
"Maybe WICKED is getting bored and decided to spice things up."
"We gotta discuss this later." Jong-in, the red-haired, said. He nudged his glasses. "Bring Jin-woo to the Med-jacks and check if he brings any disease."
"On it!" Jin-woo was forced to get on his feet, but fortunately, he wasn't being dragged. Except for the strong hands on his shoulders as the curly-haired man led him to the trees.
The place was vast and green as the sky was clear. And large walls stood around the Glade. Questions piled into his mind, but none he couldn't discern. Even the air felt odd to him. . . He didn't even know how in the world he found himself in that box.
He winced. Even trying to think about it hurts.
"Hey! We have a Greenie!" The one who had his hands on him, Tae-gyu, called out.
Two men were found inside a hut. A single makeshift bed was pressed against the wall. One of the Med-jacks walked closer and inspected him. "Huh, never thought we'd get a newbie again. I was hoping for something cool."
"Jong-in told us to bring him here," Yoon-ho threw a side glance at Jin-woo, "and see if he is normal."
Jin-woo widened his eyes. "Normal? What do you mean—"
"Who said you can speak?" The Med-jack scoffed. Then after a pause, he burst out a laugh. "I'm just kidding! You should've seen your face!" He snorted. "I'm Byung-gyu, Greenie."
"Jin-woo." He corrected him.
Unlike the previous three, Byung-gyu didn't flash him a foreign look. He just grinned. "Alright, Jin-woo." He shifted his weight. "So I'm gonna check your eyes first then your wrist. Sounds good?"
Jin-woo nodded.
So, Byung-gyu leaned forward and pried his eyelids to study each angle of his eyes. He did the same to the other. Afterward, Byung-gyu grabbed his wrist and pushed his sleeve to peer into his skin. Jin-woo watched the Med-jack in confusion until the process was done.
"Tell Jong-in that he's normal." Byung-gyu declared. He flashed him a grin. "Welcome to the Glade, Jin-woo. Have you gotten toured around?"
Jin-woo shook his head.
"Too bad, neither Yoon-ho nor I can do that task for ya," Tae-gyu snickered and patted his shoulder as he looked across the room. "Jin-ho!"
Jin-ho, whose face looked younger than the rest, looked up. "Yes?"
"Do us a favor and show this Shank around the Glade."
"Uh. . . Okay!" Jin-ho agreed.
Jin-woo found himself taking a little liking on the young man. Jin-ho exuded a different aura than the first four whom he had encountered.
They left the hut and parted ways with Tae-gyu and Yoon-ho. Jin-ho began pointing his finger at specific areas in the Glade. The Gardens where 'Gladers' plant and harvest crops, the Box where Jin-woo had come from, the Slaughterhouse where everyone get their meat, and the Homestead where everyone take shelter whenever it was raining or at night. However, most of them would rather stay under the trees since the materials in the Homestead couldn't hold a lot of weight.
To Jin-woo, this must his first time seeing the world. He held not even the slightest memory except for his name. Jin-ho then revealed that everyone in this Glade had no memories with them before waking up in the Box, so Jin-woo wasn't the only one who was being weirded out by everything.
"Wanna know another thing?" Jin-ho said to him as they stepped into the forest, a few feet far from the field. "We came to this place without knowing our names as well. It took another day until each of us began to remember."
"Oh, now I understand," Jin-woo said. "What else are you guys going to do here?"
Jin-ho shrugged. "Survive. And hopefully crack the mystery of the Maze."
"The Maze?"
"The maze that surrounded the Glade. That is why we have Runners who will go into the maze and trace out the path towards the exit." Jin-ho explained. "Our leader, Jong-in, is a Runner. He sometimes run alongside Hae-in, who is the second-in-command, while other times, he runs with one of his most trusted Gladers."
Jin-woo nodded. "I see."
"I heard that you ran right after you got out of the Box. Is it true that you ran really fast?" Jin-ho asked.
"I'm not quite sure. It just. . . Happened."
Jin-ho's eyes glimmered in amusement. "Wow! You should try becoming a—" he paused. Jin-woo was about to ask when he heard a groan oozing in the air. He looked ahead and began to walk forward to inspect it and see if—
"What do you think you are doing??" Jin-ho tugged his jacket.
"Checking what noise could that be." Jin-woo replied.
"But— but, hyung!" Jin-ho became agitated, then sighed and decided to follow him.
His feet crunched the leaves underneath him, Jin-woo stared through the trees as he slowly moved the branches away. Jin-ho stuck close to him. His eyes peered around his surroundings until his gaze landed upon a person, who was on the ground and his hands were latching to his hair.
He. . . Groaned? Growled? Moaned? Jin-woo wasn't certain.
He stepped closer. The leaves rustled due to the jerking movements from the stranger. Jin-woo inched his hand over the man's broad shoulder. "Hey. . . Are you—"
The next thing he knew, he had his back pinned against the ground. A face hovered over him. The man was gritting his teeth viciously like a predator, his large pale hands grasped onto Jin-woo's neck, and small black veins snuck out of the corners of his eyes.
Jin-woo was stunned. He couldn't move. Fortunately, Jin-ho rushed in and smashed a piece of rock against the side of the man's head to shove him away. Jin-woo let out a cough while Jin-ho grabbed his arm to usher him to get on his feet.
The attacker quickly got up and chased after the two.
Jin-woo nudged Jin-ho forward as he looked over his shoulder. A beastly yell shook the air whilst the man kept racing after them. He caught the glimpse of the torn fabrics on the man's shirt and trousers as prominent veins appeared across his body under the sunlight.
It looked like a monster from the vaguest part of his mind. . .
Soon, he reached the field. But he did not stop running. He could hear Jin-ho shouting for help and that was until his legs surrendered and brought his weight to the grass. There wasn't even a second for him to turn or get back up as the man pounced at him and opened his mouth wide, but Jin-woo managed to grab the neck to prevent the man from sinking his teeth.
"LET HIM GO, DONG-SUK!" Yoon-ho bellowed and a spear struck the back.
Jin-woo took this chance to push Dong-suk away and saw several other Gladers had their spears pointed at the raging man. Suddenly, Dong-suk's face morphed into shock.
"Guys. . . Please, I—"
"Move, Dong-suk!" Tae-gyu exclaimed. "We don't want to kill anyone here on purpose. So just move."
Dong-suk turned to his back. Two large doors were opened, showing a darker place than the Glade. The spearmen walked closer and held their weapons at the stricken man.
"No. . . You can't do this—" he implored. "I beg of you— ack!"
It was Jong-in, who struck a knife at his shoulder.
Jin-woo watched the entire scene with wide eyes. The Gladers kept pushing Dong-suk into the double-doors, which started to close, and that only arose Dong-suk's helpless cry. The boys managed to shove him inside before the walls finally closed, but the last thing Jin-woo saw was the desperation from Dong-suk's complexion as he was drifted away.
Silence. . .
What just happened? — the first big question in his mind.
Jin-woo sighed and was about to turn his direction when he felt someone yank his collar, forcing him to meet none other than Jong-in's boiling gaze.
"You." The leader of the Glade seethed. "Talk. NOW!"
"Take it easy on him, Jong-in!" A female voice piped up this time. "The guy just got attacked! Didn't Byung-gyu say he was normal? Maybe Dong-suk had it all along. But the Greenie has nothing to do with this!"
It took a few moments for Jong-in to let her words dawn on him. His grip loosened and Jin-woo almost trembled once he let go. "You're coming with us to the Gathering, you Klunk." He stalked away.
"Are you alright?" The girl asked him. "I apologize for his actions just now. It was just that. . . The same thing happened to us last month."
"I understand." Jin-woo murmured. Even though his mind was in utter shambles.
So much had happened in one day. But Jin-woo could only hope everything would ease down the next day he would wake up.