Chapter Text
He woke up to a metal screeching sound in a dark place. He was confused, didn't know where he was or how he got there. He could feel the cold metal underneath him. He opened his eyes to observe but it was quite dark with red light coming and disappearing. He realised he was moving up very fast. He got up and looked around trying to make sense of what was happening. To say he was confused and scared would be an understatement at this point.
When the box suddenly stopped with a loud noise he fell back to the floor again. The box opened slowly and a disturbing amount of sunlight fell onto him. It took a couple of seconds for him to open his eyes to look up. There were a lot of faces right outside of the box, looking down and laughing at him. Right when he tried to get up again someone jumped down into the box.
“ Welcome home Newbie.” the boy said, grinning at him.
He had no idea what was happening but slowly got up from the floor. Guys around the box were all talking to each other, laughing and even pointing at him. He looked at everyone one by one until a pair of green eyes locked with him. The guy came one step closer to the box and held his hand out to help him out. He took the hand and came out of the box, looked around for a second and started running away from the boys circling him.
“Oh we got a runner this time!” shouted one of the guys behind. He ran for maybe twenty seconds when someone tackled him to the ground. Two guys held him by his arms and dragged him to a cage. It was a pitt with a door made out of wood which, they probably made themselves. They threw him inside and closed the door to his face when he tried to get out.
He didn't know where he was or who any of these people were. Hell, he didn't even know who he was. He didn't remember anything, not even his name. He slowly crouched on the corner of the cage. Tried so hard to remember something but failed miserably. He could feel his eyes tearing up slowly so he shaked his head to stop it. He was hyperventilating and didn't know how to stop it. He didn't know anything. How can someone not remember who they are? How can that even be possible? His mind was flooding with questions he didn't have answers for.
He didn't know how long he sat there but he was a little bit calmer when he heard someone coming closer to the cage.
“Did you calm down now, Newbie?” asked the guy. He saw him when he first got out of the box. The guy had warm brown hair and brown eyes that seemed sincere. He looked a little older than most of the boys he saw when he first arrived.
“Yes.”
“Good. My name is Jonathan, I am in charge of this place. What’s your name?”
“I don't know.” he answered, choking on his own words. Even saying it out loud was hard.
“It’s fine. Do you remember anything? Like where you came from or how you ended up here?” asked Jonathan but all he could do was shake his head as a ‘no’. “It’s okay kid, look at me. It happened to all of us. You saw everyone outside, every one of us came up in that box just like you did. Your name will come back to you in a couple of days. It’s the only thing they let us keep.”
“What do you mean? Who-”
“It’s not important right now. I’ll get you out but you are not gonna run away again, okay?” asked Jonathan. He nodded and got out of the cage with Jonathan's help. He seemed okay. He was soft spoken and had that brotherly energy that made him look genuine. It was obvious that he was keeping some things out but still he felt like he could trust him.
When he got out of the cage he took a look around. There were cabins probably built by other boys. They were a decent shelter for them to sleep. Jonathan guided him through the living quarters.
“This is where we sleep. Everyone gets a hammock to themselves, not much privacy i know but this is the best we can come up with.” he gestured inside and kept walking. “This is our kitchen area. Everyone has their own job around here so this is our cooks kingdom. They cook for all of us everyday.” He was explaining as they kept walking. “Over there are our gardens. We grow our own vegetables and fruits. Right next to that is a little barn area for the animals.” Jonathan pointed for him to see. “And at the back over there is our little forest. There is a fresh water supply so you don't need to worry about that either.” Jonathan said as he concluded the little tour.
Everything was good and well but the question he had in mind still wasn't answered by Jonathan. He was still confused as to why he was here or what this place is. As he looked around he could see the big walls surrounding them. He felt like he got out of one box into another one and the way Jonathan explained everything like its normal was making him even more anxious. Who put them in here? And why did all of these boys just accept it? He turned around to face Jonathan again.
“I get everything you just said, it's all good but what is this place exactly? Why are we here? And what the fuck is going on with these walls?” he said angrily. Jonathan looked very understanding of his questions and as he was about to speak he was interrupted by one of the boys.
“Hey Jonathan, are you giving a tour to our Newbie?” the boy asked. It was the one with green eyes, he recognised. This boy was the one who helped him out of the box. He had caramel hair and tan skin.
“Oh, hi Wil! Yeah I was explaining some stuff. Newbie this is Will, he is in charge of everything when I am not around so if you can't find me you can always go to him.” Jonathan explained. Will looked at him with a kind smile on his face.
“Well, it's a good thing you're always around Jon. But yeah if you need anything just find me Newbie. I will help you anyway I can, you are one of us now.” said Will. He didn't really know what to say to him so he just nodded in response.
“Yeah so Will can you go find Derek for me please. I didn't see him around.” requested Jonathan. Will just nodded and turned around and started walking towards the garden area. Jonathan looked at him and signaled him to follow as he started to walk again. After a couple of minutes they arrived on some kind of tower they built. He didn't ask anything and just followed Jonathan's lead upstairs. He felt numb all over. Kind of like he was beaten right before he got here but since he didn't remember anything before that box he wasn't sure. At least it didn't look like he had any external injuries.
When they reached the top of the tower he took a second to look around. He could see everything clearly from this spot. The living quarters, gardens, the forest and most importantly the wall. The wall went up so high that even after they climbed the tower they were maybe half as high as the wall. It surrounded them like a box. He felt like he couldn't breathe for a second. The more he saw the more scared he got. He was so confused and scared and didn't know what to do. He wanted to curl up and cry like a child. He turned his face to Jonathan waiting for an explanation.
“I know all of this is very scary and you are trying to understand. But to be honest with you Newbie, I also don't have the answers. We call this place The Abyss. It's our home. You remember the box you came in?” Jonathan asked and he nodded in response. “Every month that box comes with a new boy and supplies for us to use like seeds and animals and some tools. None of us remember anything about our life before The Abyss except our names.” Jonathan looked at him again to see if he's following. “We don't know who put us here or why but this is it, this is all we have. I wish I could give you more than this but I can't. We worked so hard to get where we are today. So we can't let anyone ruin this, you understand me right?”
“Yeah.”
“I know this is hard and scary and you are probably super confused but I promise you it will get better. Just follow the rules, find yourself something you are good at and try to fit in, okay?” asked Jonathan, putting one of his hands to his back as a comfort. He could see the sincerity in his eyes, he wanted to believe it could get better just like Jonathan said but it was really hard to believe right now. He could feel a knot stuck in his throat and couldn't find the words to answer Jonathan, so he just nodded and turned his eyes back to the wall. The mystery of it was eating him alive.
“Jonathan, hey! Will said you were looking for me!” said someone from below. He looked down to see who it was. It was a little boy probably a couple years younger than him. He was chubby and looked very cute. Jonathan patted his back once more before leaving the railing to go down. He looked up and took a couple of deep breaths and followed Jonathan.
Downstairs the boy was waiting for them excitedly with a big smile on his face.
“Hi Derek this is our Newbie and he needs a place to sleep. Can you help him with that?” asked Jonathan, putting one of his hands to Derek's shoulder. The boy nodded, looking very happy with the task he got.
“Of course! I'll set up his hammock. C'mon Newbie, let me show you how it's done.” said Derek and signaled him to follow. He turned to see Jonathan looking after Derek with a smile. Jonathan turned to him;
“You heard the boy Newbie, go learn how to do it.”
With no choice he started following Derek. The boy did not shut up for even a second. He kept talking about how scared he was when he first came here and he got used to it. Turns out Derek was the Newbie until he came along as he was last month's arrival. He felt a little dizzy with everything going on and listening to Derek keep talking nonstop was no help. The Abyss was hot, so bright and considering what he went through since he woke up he was getting more and more overwhelmed every second.
“Whats behind the walls?” he asked, interrupting Derek's story. Derek stopped and looked at him and then at the wall considering what to say.
“I am not really sure. I've never been to the maze, I mean most of us haven't-”
“Maze? What do you mean maze?”he asked spiraling.
“Look man, I don't know what to tell you. Jon already explained everything you need to know right now. The only thing I know is that we are not allowed to go behind the walls, okay?”
His head started spinning again. A fucking maze? What kind of a sick game is this?
He shaked his head at Derek and turned around to walk towards the wall. There was an entrance, he noticed that at the tower. He could hear Derek's footsteps behind him telling him to stop but he didn't really care at this point. He didn't know any of these people and he didn't have to listen to anything they said. Especially what a literal child says. He got very close to the entrance when Derek caught up to him.
“Hey Newbie, I'm serious, don't even think about going in there.” he said breathlessly. As he was trying to convince him two boys came out of the entrance. Running towards the cabins. They both smiled and waved to them before disappearing. He turned to Derek, raising his eyebrows.
“You said nobody is allowed to go in, Derek. What the fuck are they doing in there?”
“Okay I said ‘we’ are not allowed. Everybody has a job here they are the runners it's their job but you cant go in, please Newby lets go back.” Derek insisted but he wanted to see more so he didn't listen and continued to walk. He could hear some other people in the background telling him to stop from far away. As he got to the entrance he felt a harsh push from the side and he found himself on the floor. He hit his shoulder and turned to see who pushed him. He was the kid who jumped in the box with him. He was blonde and more muscular than most of the kids here.
“What the hell man?” he asked angrily. More kids came to see what was happening and circled around him. As he tried to get up he heard a loud noise coming from the walls. He turned to see what was happening. The door to the entrance was closing slowly. Everyone watched it with knowing faces and turned back to go on with their work. The blonde guy looked at him with a pitying smirk.
“I just saved your life, I hope you know that. Never fucking ever try to go in there Newbie, I will not stop you next time.”
He got up slowly and went up to the wall. Put his hand on it. It was cold. Maybe this was a prison. Maybe he did something really bad and ended up here. Maybe all of them did. And whoever came up with the idea to punish them with this was so genius because this was hell. He couldn't think of anything worse than this place. It was killing him not to know anything. Like he literally lost everything. He had no idea even who he was. And it was terrifying. He thought he would probably rather be dead right now. He turned around when he felt a hand on his back. It was Derek. Everyone has left except him. He had a knowing look on his face. Big emotions for a kid this little, he thought.
“Jason is a bit harsh sometimes, are you hurt?” Derek asked.
“No, I am okay. Thanks Derek.”
“It’s fine. Look man, I know it's really hard to just accept all of this. I don't really have that much experience like others and I am still struggling with it. But look around, we really don't have another choice. Jonathan is a good person and he is doing his best to keep everything running. It's okay if you don't trust anyone else but just trust Jon.”
He didn't really know how to answer that so he landed on nodding and he walked towards the cabin. Derek was a good kid. He was here just for a month but it was obvious that he adapted easily. He also probably was the youngest one out of all of them. Even though he didn't really remember how old he was, most of the boys looked around 17-18 so he assumed he was around that age too. Jonathan and a couple of others looked a little older. Maybe around 20. Then he remembered Will. He was definitely around the same age as him. He didn't have any proof of that but that felt correct for some reason.
When he finally reached the cabin he went up to his own hammock. Derek put a little basket of personal items under it for him. He reached and looked inside. There was a couple of hygiene stuff like a bar of soap and a toothbrush made out of wood. There were also a couple of clothing items, as Derek mentioned there is a change of clothes in the box for whoever came that month. He also found a little comb made out of some wood.
He put the basket down to its original spot and sat on his hammock. He looked around. The sky was getting dark slowly. The kitchen area had a lot of movement. A couple of boys walking around, cooking. He spotted Derek with two boys sitting close to the kitchen having a conversation. Some boys were carrying out fresh water from the forest and some of them were carrying baskets of vegetables to the kitchen. Everyone seemed calm and collected. They had a purpose and moved around to achieve it.
He took a deep breath in. Somehow, he felt calm for the first time he opened his eyes in the morning. He felt like maybe he could also belong here. He still had so many questions but… Well he had all the time in the world to get answers and rushing it wouldn't do any good to him. As he sat there and watched other boys move around The Abyss so easily he felt like he could finally breathe a little bit. He started to think at least a little bit more rationally. When he turned his head to the other side of the cabin he catched Will's eyes on him. Suddenly he felt seen through. Like Will could see what he's thinking. He gave a little unsure smile to him and got a nod back.
…..
After a while when the darkness fell to The Abyss someone called him to the kitchen. They had a big bonfire right in front of it. A couple of kids were standing next to big pots and putting food on the plates, handing them out. Derek came up to him with two bowls in his hand, offering one.
“We eat together every night. I mean since it's the supply day we have the bonfire and everything. It's like a celebration we have. We don't do this everyday. You should eat.”
He took the bowl in his hand. It looked decent enough to eat. It's not like he remembered what he was eating before but with their situation the cooks did a pretty good job.
“Thank you Derek. I will enjoy this.” he said with a sincere smile. Derek was a cute kid. It gave him a brotherly instinct towards him for some reason.
When Derek left to sit with other people he went up to an empty corner to sit and eat. Even though he felt a little bit better he still wasn't sure if he's up to some company right now. He preferred sitting alone and observing people before he could feel more comfortable in this place.
He took a bite of the food and it was very good. Suddenly he realised how hungry he was and he devoured his plate quickly. Well he didn't know when was the last time he ate something so it was probably normal. He kind of wanted to get a second plate because he didn't feel full but he could see the kitchen guys already sitting down eating their own food. So he didn't want to bother anyone.
After a while everyone finished their food and started playing around. Some of them were playing some kind of game in a circle and some of them were wrestling each other. He could see Jonathan watching the wrestlers and cheering on them.
Then suddenly he felt a movement, Will came up and sat next to him. He had a bottle in his hands.
“Hey, how are you holding up Newbie?” Will asked. Chugging down some of whatever that was in the bottle.
“Better, I guess. I mean I am still very confused and everything but… Yeah.” he answered, not knowing how to explain his feelings.
“Yeah, I know that feeling. Even after 3 years I still feel confused, still want answers but I think it's very normal in our situation. You'll get used to it eventually.” Will says casually. Like he didn't give one of the biggest pieces of information since he got here.
“You’ve been in here for 3 fucking years?” he asks, turning to Will. Will chuckles.
“Yeah, some of us even longer. I know it makes the whole situation a lot scarier but trust me we are doing everything we can to get the hell out of here.” Will says and points one of his fingers to a group of boys. “You see them? They are our runners. The one with the grey top is Lucas. He is the leader of the runners. They go inside the maze everyday to look for a way out.” he explains.
“They couldn't figure a way out in 3 whole years. Really?”
“Well it's not that easy. Listen.” Will says, signaling him to focus. He tries hard to catch it but eventually hears some sounds coming from behind the walls.
“What is it?”
“It's the maze. It changes every night and makes a whole new combination. They are trying their best to map it out but it's not easy. We have to be patient and do what we have to do.”
He turns his head towards the runners again to observe them. He can't imagine them going into that maze everyday for years and not being able to come up with anything. They must've been carrying a lot of responsibility. But still he felt like it was the only reasonable thing he can do around here.
“What if I want to be a runner too?” he asks. Will's face changes a little bit. It gets a little more serious with the question.
“Trust me Newbie, you don't want to be a runner.” Will sighs and continues: “We will have you try a couple of things out tomorrow to see which ones you are good at. Give yourself some time and after that if you still want to be one we can speak with Jon and Lucas. They are the ones who decide if you can be one or not.” Will says and takes a couple more sips from his drink and offers it to him. He takes and drinks it. The drink tastes kind of disgusting and it burns his throat. He laughs at himself when he spills a little onto his pants. Will laughs at him too.
“What is this, it tastes disgusting.”
“I don't really know. It's Dustin's recipe.” he points to a boy with a cap sitting next to the bonfire. “He’s the head chef and he likes to experiment with things. It doesn't taste good but it gets the job done so we can't really complain.” Will says with a smile. He kind of looks tipsy. His cheeks got rosy and after a whole day of work he looked a little tired. After a couple of sips Will gets up to his feet and reaches his hand out like he did in the morning. “Cmon, let's have a little bit of fun.”
He wasn't really enthusiastic about it but still didn't want to reject Will's hand. He got up and followed Will around. Will introduced him to some of the boys and explained some things about The Abyss as they walked around. He really liked Will's calm energy and was grateful that he took time to explain all of this stuff to him. It made him feel more relaxed about being here.
As they were walking around he came close to the wrestlers without noticing and when one of the boys crashed into him they both found themselves on the floor. When he looked up he saw Jason looking at him with a smirk on his face. He was the one wrestling the other boy and won the round as it seems. He got up to his feet quickly, still looking at Jason's eyes.
“What's up Newbie? Do you want to play too? I don't think you stand a chance against me.”
“Stop calling me that.”
“What? Newbie? What should I call you then?” Jason asked but he didn't have an answer to that. He still didn't know his own name. When he didn't say anything Jason continued: “Okay Newbie, if you win against me I will stop calling you a Newbie how that sounds? You see this circle? I will try to get you out of it and you will try to stay in it for more than 2 seconds.”
He tried to keep it cool because he didn't want to give another reason to Jason for him to joke around. He got inside the circle and watched Jason's movements. When one of the boys started the match Jason attacked immediately. He bent down to escape the attack and was successful. He turned around to face Jason immediately. Jason looked furious, he probably thought it would be over with one hit. When Jason attacked again he dodged it and moved to the side. After their back and forth Jason got even more angry and it gave him some confidence. When his eyes met Wills in the crowd he realised Will was shocked that he could go on this much. He was grinning at Will when he got a blow from his back and fell to the ground.
He hit his head and all of the cheering and voices blurred for a second. He closed his eyes to try and gather himself but he was unsuccessful. He could hear footsteps coming towards him and hear some people calling for him. And for a second everything stopped and the only thing he could think of was one word.
‘Mike’
He shaked his head and looked up. Took one of the hands that was offered to him and got on to his feet.
“Mike.” he shouted. People looked at him confused. “My name. I remember my name. I am Mike.” he said and the crowd started cheering. Everyone was shouting his name congratulating him. His eyes found Will who was looking at him with a big smile. Will walked up to him slowly and put one of his hands to his shoulder.
“Welcome home Mike.”