It's Never Too Late

Normally, Newt would be focused on working, but he knew today was the day that they were supposed to get a new Greenie. It was usually Alby or himself that would show Greenies around, depending on the workload that either of them had. But, there was also the matter of whether they would even manage to get along with the Greenie - some shanks weren't exactly the easiest to be around, after all. Hopefully, that wouldn't be the case with this, but there was never a guarantee.

---

All Alice really wanted to do today was relax; that wasn't going to be possible, though, considering everybody was preparing to welcome a Greenie. Eyes scanning the fields of the Glade, it was easy to sense just how tense, curious, and expectant everybody was. She was certain everybody was either wondering whether the Greenie would be a boy or girl or wondering where the Greenie would fit in, what their job would eventually become. Mostly, she was just curious to see how everything ended up playing out. Before long, the siren blared and she stayed back while most others went to the box that was lifting up.

Leah was standing around with everyone else waiting for the box to come up and show who the new Greenie was. She was just as curious as everyone else on if it'd be a girl or a boy. And she she wonder if whoever it was would would fit in, she was curious as to what job they'd have, and if maybe they'd be the key to finding a way out. After all she hadn't given up hope that they'd find a way out. Yea she didn't know what was outside of the maze, and it could be something awful, but at this point was there really anything worse than this? Living trapped here in the maze with no idea what was happening outside of it.

---

Thomas was scared to say the least. He had no idea where he was or what was happening, he didn't know where he was being taken, or how he'd even gotten into the elevator that was going up so fast he felt like he was gonna throw up. And he was pretty sure what made everything about this dark ride to who knew where worse was that he couldn't remember a damn thing. He had no idea about anything. No clue where he was going, or where he'd been, no idea how he'd gotten into the box. He didn't even remember who he was. When it finally stopped though he couldn't help but hold his hands up to block out the sun. He was about to find out where he was.

Seeing that the box had arrived, Newt moved to help open it, though it was Gally who jumped down to greet the Greenie - a boy, Newt noticed. Though Newt didn't really hear what Gally said to the boy, he waited to see what the boy's reaction would be. It always varied, he had noticed, depending on the amount of panic and confusion that the Greenies felt.

---

Looking towards the box and the group surrounding, Alice leaned back against a tree. She was a bit reluctant to join the others in greeting the Greenie. What was the point in welcoming the Greenie to their... well, whatever this confined space was that was surrounded by walls, almost like a cage. Calling it the Glade didn't suit it, in her opinion.

(Sorry this reply sucks so much. D: )

Leah watched as Gally and Newt jumped down to help the Greenie out of the box and bring him up to the glade. Clearly the kid was scared and confused, and well she could relate. Honestly they could all relate to that seeing as how that's how everyone felt at first. What happened next thought wasn't what always happened. This was part that was different with everyone. Some people just backed away from everyone and looked around before asking what was happening and where they were. Some people had actually blacked out and then were still totally confused when they came to, and then this kid he stumbled at first but took off running pushing anyone and everything out of his way. Leah included, which was why she was picking herself up off the ground dusting herself off shaking her head while the others yelled about him being a runner.

---

"Looks like we've got a runner!" Thomas heard someone yell behind him, but he didn't even care. He had no idea what the kid was talking about, and honestly he didn't want to find out. He just kept running. His legs were starting to hurt, and he was sure he hadn't even ran that far, but all he could think about was how he wanted to run and get away from this place. There had to be a way out, and he wanted to find it. Of course that might've been an option, or he'd thought it would've been a option if he hadn't stumbled and landed on the hard ground. He did look up though once he'd pretty much face planted. And all he saw were walls surrounding the place, and a bunch of green. "Where the hell am I?" He asked not really expecting an answer.

Whatever it was that Newt was expecting from the Greenie, it definitely hadn't been this. He watched as the others chased after the Greenie, everybody calling out to him, but he busied himself with checking on Leah. "Are you alright?" he asked as he made his way over to her, eyeing her carefully for any injuries. Of course, he doubted that she was actually injured, but some people did occasionally have bad luck if they fell and ended up with sprained and twisted ankles or sprained wrists. At least she was lucky enough that those who had started chasing after the Greenie hadn't stomped on her in their attempt to get to him. "That was a first, I'd say." He had been there long enough to see several different reactions, but he couldn't remember one like that.

---

It was only when the Greenie took off at a run that Alice pushed herself off the tree and made her way over - mostly out of curiosity, because that definitely wasn't how most people reacted to waking up with no memories. She was closer to where he had fallen than the others were, so she got to him in time to hear his question and she tried not to sigh. Same questions as usual, even if his reaction to being here was different. "Well, we call it the Glade," she answered as she knelt down in front of him, tilting her head as she eyed the boy. "Some call it home." She didn't include herself in that group, at all. "Do you have a name yet, Greenie?" Because some people remembered their names at different times; nobody really knew why, but they got used to it.

Leah smiled at Newt and nodded her head. "Yea I'm fine. Just a little fall, at least I wasn't trampled or anything. And I mean I know that whoever he is didn't intend on knocking me over. He's just a little freaked out, and I can't really say I blame him." She said looking over where everyone was starting to hover around. She was guessing he'd fallen or something and stopped running so they'd all been able to catch up. "Do you think we'll ever make it out of here?" She asked him just as a wondering question. She knew he knew more about what the runners were looking for or doing out in the maze in general than she did. Sure he wasn't a runner and she wasn't a runner, but well Newt was basically Alby's second in command and the runners told Alby everything right? Which surely would mean Alby told Newt everything too. Or at least that's how she'd always imagined things worked with them.

---

Thomas shook his head and sent this girl a confused look. "I- I can't remember anything." He said wishing he knew something, or could remember anything. Hell he wish he knew what was going on. Why was he in this glade place? Why did it have giant stone walls all around it. What was going on. Whoever had put him here could surely take him back. They couldn't just keep him here like a prisoner or something. It wasn't right. And what made it worse was whoever put him here had apparently wiped his memories because he couldn't remember anything. None of this was right, and he just wanted to go home. Wherever the hell that was he didn't know, but it was where he wanted to go.

(I'm so sorry these are so short. I'm on my phone and holding my niece, so it's a bit difficult to type. D: )

Newt nodded, a bit relieved to hear that she was okay. If she had gotten injured just because of some Greenie and the shanks running after him, he wasn't entirely sure what he would have done. He, however, was fairly stumped to hear her question. Blinking, he thought over how to answer and he eventually let out a sigh. "I'm sure we will," he told her, offering a small smile, "We have to, right?" He hoped he was right. Sure, he knew the secrets about the map, that it was done, but they weren't allowed to tell anybody, according to Alby's orders. "We just have to keep trying."

---

"That's okay," Alice assured him with a nod. "The name always comes back, but the timing varies." That was something they all knew, it was the only thing that they always remembered, even if they wished to remember other things. They just had to get used to it, though. "My name's Alice. I'd say welcome to the Glade, but I'm pretty sure the others already covered that. Alby will probably show you around and tell you everything we know about this place." Or he'd have somebody else do it.

[ oh you're fine! I'm sorry my replies are a little scattered! ]

Leah looked over to Newt and away from everyone who was clearly surrounding the new guy, "right." She said not really sure what else to say honestly. She wanted to believe that they'd make it out of the glade eventually, that sooner or later they'd be part of the normal world again and that maybe they could have normal lives. Even if that wasn't really what was waiting on the other side she wanted to believe that it could be. "Do you ever think about what'll happen if we do get out of here though?" She asked him knowing she was asking an awful lot of questions that she didn't usually bring to anyone attention but there was something about now that made her want to ask them. "I mean what if when we get out of here it isn't what we expect, and I don't mean in a good way?" She said wishing she knew why all these things popped into her head every time there was a new Greenie, and kind of wishing she could think of happier things rather than the future that honestly seemed kind of scary.

---

Thomas was honestly becoming more and more confused as the seconds ticked by. He had no idea what was going on, or why there were suddenly a lot of people standing around him totally staring him down. He just wanted to know what was happening. And before he could stand up or ask another question, or could even try and figure out what was happening he was being grabbed and then thrown into some hole in the ground and locked in. Which honestly wasn't what he'd been expecting to happen. He did look out though through the makeshift gate that was keeping him in there, until someone was walking up and bending down in front of the thing and totally freaking him out. The guy was talking, called him a greenbean, which sounded like the weirdest thing you could call a person, then he was introducing himself and asking if Thomas could remember anything. And all he could do was shake his head and mutter no. Because he didn't remember a damn thing, and it really kind of sucked.

(Oh, no worries, haha~)

Newt wasn't too surprised with the questions she asked, because it wasn't the first time she had actually asked them. Every time they got a new Greenie, the same questions came from her and, even now, he didn't know how to answer. Still, he figured he could at least try, so he thought about it for a moment before speaking. "I've thought about it, yeah," he told her, though he hadn't been able to come up with any concrete ideas about what the world outside the Glade and the Maze was like. None of them could remember anything from how the world used to be and he wondered if there was a reason for that, if it were better that they didn't remember. "I guess we'll never know unless we actually get out of here, though. Whatever's out there can't be any worse than what's in here, though, can it?" Or, maybe it could. He wasn't sure. But he didn't want Leah to dwell on it.

---

Alice watched the scene unfold quietly before she sighed and rolled her eyes. Of course, she figured the others threw him in the hole because he ran and it was probably 'for his own protection, until he calmed down,' or something along the lines of that. She could hear Alby talking to the Greenie from where she was, asking the usual questions: whether the Greenie knew anything about himself, who he was, where he was from, the usual. She supposed the Greenie said the same thing to Alby that he had to her, because Alby simply said, "It's okay. It's normal." And, well, it was. It wasn't anything that any of them were surprised with at this point, honestly, and she wasn't entirely sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but she didn't want to think about it too much.

[ I did reply to the Teen Wolf roleplay too! Don't know if you saw it or not because I forgot to hit the reply button! ]

"I hope not." Leah said being honest. She really didn't want here to be better than whatever was out there because well honestly here sucked. Sure in here they didn't have to worry about certain thing but they were trapped and it sucked. There were rules that she didn't think were fair and honestly she kind of hated it in here. Plus what would they do if suddenly they just stopped sending up new people, or supplies? What would they do then? It wasn't like they'd make it long at all if that happened. It all just kind of sucked and she kind of hated it. "Sorry I'm always such a mess when we get new Greenies. It just gets me thinking about all these things and I like to know that I'm not the only one who thinks about these things." She told him tucking her hair behind her ear, it was kind of comforting to know that even though Newt couldn't answer her questions, not that she really expected him to, he thought about the same things sometimes.

---

Thomas wasn't really sure why he was being let out of the hole almost right after he'd been thrown in, but he was. The Alby kid was letting him out, of course it was only to show him around and tell him about everything but still. This whole place was just weird, and he honestly had no idea what was going on or why he was there. What he really didn't understand though was if there were so many people here then how long had they been here? And why were they still here? Surely with as many brains as there were they should've figured something out, so what did that mean for him. Was he was going to be here for a long time just what the hell was going on. Really who keeps people like this anyways because it didn't seem right to him.

(I saw it, no worries, haha! Thanks for telling me, though!)

Newt offered a reassuring smile and shook his head to her words. "You don't have to apologize," he told her, knowing that they probably all thought things about that. There had to be a reason that they were sent there, after all, and it wasn't too surprising for people to start wondering if it was better here than it was out there, wherever there was. What if there wasn't even a there, though, and this was all there was? He tried not to be too pessimistic about that thought, because hope was what drove them and he wasn't about to let himself lose that. "We all think about those kinds of things, I'm sure. It's just as normal as us not knowing our names when we first come up in the box."

---

Alice only caught the tail-end of Alby explaining things to the Greenie and she was certain he would start explaining the rules that they had all agreed on soon. Not wanting to get involved in that awkward conversation, because it was always awkward to hear Alby talk about how they weren't allowed to fall for each other and let emotions take over, she moved to get back to work on the farm. Honestly, she preferred working with the animals over everything else and had even named a few, despite Alby warning her that she shouldn't because not all the animals lasted. Still, she enjoyed it and it was easier than most of the other jobs, in her opinion.

Leah smiled softly at Newt, he was probably right. It was probably just as normal as walking up in the box with no idea who you were or what was going on, and honestly it was just as scary to think about. Because she could remember waking up in the box, and it was terrifying. She could remember being taken out of the box and brought up into the glade and that was just as scary too. Just waking up with no idea who you are is scary, and what sucks even more is that remembering your name is the only thing you get back. There's so much about herself that she wants to know, or rather remember but she doesn't and it kind of sucks. "Well I guess I should probably get back to my job soon so Alby doesn't yell at me." She said laughing a little, there wasn't even that much for her to do really, but she knew how Alby was about things, plus she was sure her and Clint could find something to do like organize all the medical supplies they had.

---

Thomas listened to everything he was told, which was mostly all the different jobs everyone had. He was told about how they weren't allowed to leave, how you weren't to let your feelings get the better of you, and all the other rules about this place before he was leaving to find someone else and letting Thomas just kind of walk around and explore for a bit. Which he didn't mind at all. Really there was a lot to take in and he was okay with being left alone for a bit to try and take it all in. So he just kind of walked around wishing that his memories would come back to him, or whatever, because well not even knowing who he was really sucked. As he was walking though he ended up finding the girl from earlier that he'd seen. "So do you like this job?" He asked her looking at the animals and finding it slightly calming actually just being around her. Which he knew was like probably a bad thing or whatever but he was sure he could handle himself.

Newt was glad to see the smile that came to Leah's features, figuring that he must have eased her worries, even if only a little. The mere thought of that seemed to lighten his own heart, because if he was able to help Leah at all, he always seemed to feel a bit better. Not that he could ever really admit to that, due to the rules that they had come up with in the Glade, but he tried not to think about that. "Pretty sure he'll end up yelling at everybody by the end of the day, anyways," he mentioned calmly. Getting new Greenies always made Alby a bit on-edge, due to having to convince the Greenies that the Maze wasn't safe, having to tell the Greenies the rules, having to show them around and such. Newt supposed it was a bit stressful, which was generally why he tried to help when he could, to ease his friend's burden. They were all pretty much family, after all, so why should he let his friend take the entire weight of taking care of them all? "Once you're done, you can always come join me. I probably won't take long today."

---

Alice was only mildly surprised to hear the boy's voice, having only barely recognized it since she wasn't quite used to it yet. Glancing over, she busied herself with feeding the goat that she had named Billy, even though she wasn't really supposed to name the animals at all. "I do," she admitted before she ruffled Billy's coarse fur, being careful of the small horns before standing up straight. "It's not really the job that I like, I guess. It's just the animals. They calm me a bit, I suppose." She lifted her shoulders in a slight shrug before making her way over to the boy and letting out a sigh. "I don't know if I've always liked animals, before we came here, or if I just developed it when I got here, but it's really easy to just... Care about them, I guess. Cleaning up after them, though, is a bit gross." She grinned, the last bit being more to keep the topic light-hearted because she didn't want to think about what she was like before the Glade.

Leah nodded her head. "Sounds good, I'll come find you when Clint and I are done. Shouldn't even really take long, there's not much we have to do today." She said, for the most part her and Clint had gotten everything done really the night before. And it wasn't like they were overflowing with patients or anything. Honestly usually the two of them stayed inside and talked, they cleaned a lot too, they just kind of found things to keep themselves busy. Like coming up with entirely new ways to organize their medicine cabinets. And not ever day was slow and boring, but most days weren't really fast paced or filled with saving someone's life. Leah did enjoy the fact though that she was good at helping people feel better and could potentially save someone's life.

---

Thomas made a face at the mention of cleaning up after the animals. "I can imagine that cleaning up after them isn't really that fun." He said pretty sure he wouldn't want to clean up after them. He could probably handle taking care of them though. He did wish he knew more about himself though, and that did include his name since it'd be nice to know who he was. Then maybe everyone would stop calling him greenie too. But it hadn't come back to him yet. He didn't even know how he could've lost all his memories and everything though. Why would someone do that? That his memories, put him in a box, then send him to live here? Why had they done the same thing to everyone else here too? It made no sense to him. And really if there was one thing Thomas wanted to know, it was who was doing this to them and why.

Newt nodded to her words, offering a smile. "Try not to work too much, yeah?" he said teasingly, though he knew they probably wouldn't have much to do. They'd probably do random things until it was time for the welcoming party, if that was even what anybody could call it. A welcoming party didn't seem fitting to him, considering it was pretty much like welcoming the greenie to their personal Hell. Why was that worth welcoming? But, then, the days that greenies came up meant that they didn't have to work as much because they got new supplies, new animals, and a new greenie. Sure, they got new supplies every week, but new greenies meant another new beginning, in the end. "I'll see you in a bit, Leah. If anybody bothers you, come find me," he told her (because he knew some of the shanks went against the rules and flirted with the girls) before he wandered off to get back to work.

---

Alice laughed, then, and nodded slightly. "Yeah, it really isn't fun. But, if those of us who work with the animals don't clean up after them, then everybody will be complaining when they step in the manure," she said honestly, offering a grin. But, then, she saw the way he looked and easily recognized the expression. He was far off, thinking, something that they all did, from the beginning all the way to the years they spent there. All of the thinking never really went away, because they never had all of the answers that they wanted and needed. "Try not to think too much," she told him after a moment, her grin having slipped away by now, before she let out a sigh. "It's just going to drive you crazy if you think too much at once. Besides, we wouldn't want to hurt that greenie head of yours so soon, right?"

"I'll try not to." Leah replied back with a small laugh. If there was one person in Glade that Leah felt closer to than anyone else if was Newt. Even though she knew according to the rules it was wrong. She couldn't really help that she felt closer to him than everyone else. Or that there'd been times she'd thought about him in a way she really probably she shouldn't. She was also pretty sure those nights she'd have a bad dream or wouldn't be able to sleep at all it wasn't right that all she could really think that maybe if Newt were there she'd feel better. "You know I will." She added knowing that if she did ever feel uncomfortable around one of the other guys she'd tell Newt. And maybe the relationship they had was getting a little too friendly, she honestly couldn't help but not want it to stop.

---

"I can imagine it isn't." Thomas told her pretty sure that'd be like the worst thing ever. She was right though about someone cleaning up after them. Not like they could really do that themselves, and if someone didn't do it then well he could only imagine what it might smell like, or how much everyone might complain. Two things didn't really ever want to know more about. "I mean I'll try not to. I can't make any promises though." He told her wishing that he could somehow promise he wouldn't try and think to much, but well that was something he couldn't promise. Because he was curious, and kind of convinced that he if he thought long enough then maybe he'd remember something. Even though that seemed very unlikely. And who knew maybe after a few days when things started to come back to him, like he supposed they were supposed to or whatever, then he wouldn't feel this need to think about everything so much.

Newt smiled, then, and nodded. "Good. Wouldn't want them to bother you, after all," he told her quietly, though it was honestly more than that. A part of him, a big part, was always jealous when the others could flirt with Leah. It was something that he wished he could do, but he respected the rules better than that - the rules were there for a reason, after all, like the possibility that getting too close would only end in heartbreak, because somebody always dies. It was understandable that they had put the rules in place, but they dealt with them and he didn't want to think too much about it, especially when it just made him want to spend more time with Leah and make the others leave her alone. "I'll see you at the welcoming party - unless there's nothing for you to do, in which case, you can just come give me company while I work." He grinned, then, before wandering off.

---

Alice stared at him for a moment before she made her way over. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked, offering a small smile. "Whatever you're thinking, I'm sure I've probably had the same thoughts. It's something we all share when we're dubbed greenies. All of our thoughts seem to be centered around the usual things in the beginning, like who we are, why we're here, who sent us here, when the hell are we going to get to leave, things like that. That's pretty much the gist of what you've been thinking, right?" She arched an eyebrow, then, assuming that she was probably right - mostly because she was telling the truth. It was something that seemed to always pass through their minds when they first got to the Glade - not that they got any answers, aside from who they were.

[ just a heads up I did reply to the Student/Teacher roleplay too. Don't know if you saw, or if I hit reply so I'm just letting you know ]

Leah laughed a little as she walked away nodding her head. She supposed he was right, though honestly she didn't usually mind if the other guys talked to her. Yea sometimes she wished they didn't blatantly try and convince her to break the rules with them or anything given she didn't really want to. At least not with them, but what could she really do about it? Yea she could tell Alby or Newt, but Newt would probably just get himself in trouble which was something else she didn't want, and well there was no telling what Alby would do. So she often just left it alone. She made her way back into the infirmary though and smiled at Clint before taking a seat next to him and looking around. "So I guess now we figure out what we can do here." She said pretty sure she'd be done in no time and she'd more than likely take Newt up on the offer to keep him company while he worked.

---

Thomas nodded his head given that everything she'd just said was well exactly what he'd been thinking. "I'm sure you've all had the same thoughts I have right now." He said wishing that it wasn't true. Or that maybe it was possibly for him to get answers, at the least the ones he wanted. But honestly he was pretty sure that wasn't going to happen. And well that really sucked. "So do you ever do anything other than work?" He asked wondering if that was honestly how every day was spent, just doing the same ole' job day in and day out or if there were days when they didn't really have to work. Like special occasions or something. Though given where they were and all he was entirely sure if there were any special occasions. He supposed it didn't hurt to ask though.

(I saw! Sorry it took so long to get to it and the others! Also, if you want, we can skip to the little celebratory party?)

Newt watched Leah walk away before he returned his attention to his work. In honesty, he wanted to make sure that nobody tried to bother her, but he trusted Clint to be able to handle that, for now, while he was busy with work. It was more than a little annoying to see others try to flirt with her, trying to get her to go against the rules and ruin everything that they had built there. But, more than that, it was annoying because he didn't think any of them deserved her. Even he probably wouldn't deserve her, but, well, he did care about her. Most of the other guys didn't actually like any of the girls they tried to get with, they just wanted some fun, whether because of rebellion or their teenage hormones. Nothing ever happened, though, because he was pretty sure most people were afraid of the consequences that would follow.

---

Alice smiled, then, and nodded. "I'm sure we have, too," she agreed before she lifted her shoulders in a slight shrug. "And, I know it might not really be easy to talk to anybody about what's on your mind, but, trust me, it's better to talk about it. Besides, it's not like we'll judge you. We're all going through and have been through the same thought processes." Well, pretty much, anyways. There were the occasional differences, there were people with different personalities who were more curious and asked more in-depth questions. That didn't matter much, though; she was merely trying to make a point. She blinked, though, at hearing his question, and grinned. "Well, it's great that you've asked that. We'll actually be starting a party soon - we have one each time we get a Greenie. So, you'll basically be the guest of honor."