Gally Imagines

=ONE= Arrival to the Glade

You gasped for breath, coughing repeatedly, realizing that you have just immerged from very cold water. Lights flash as they whiz past, the only thing that allows you to see in this tormenting darkness. You are being rocked and jerked violently back and forth, and you realize that you are in a metal cage shooting upwards. You are flooded with adrenaline, heart pounding, breathing rapidly, gulping down air.

You try to stand, but are instead thrown against the cold, hard bars of the tricked-out elevator floor. You are aware of a horrifying shrieking that you can't quite place, and realize that whatever it is, is coming from one of the rough, wooden crates that surround you.

"Help!" you try to scream, but the words get caught in your throat like they do in nightmares.

What is going on?! Where are you?! What's happening?! Why can't you remember--

Your thoughts are interrupted as abruptly as the cage's motion. You are thrown against the metal floor once more with a painful yelp. It was pitch black now and deadly silent. You roll over onto your back, closing your eyes and trying to slow your thudding heart and exploding lungs.

Suddenly, an unbelievably bright strip of light opens in the ceiling above your head, and a chilling rush of cool makes you shiver in your wet clothes. You open your eyes only to close them once more, squinting and trying to allow time for them to adjust to the blazing white-light that rapidly increases until the entire cage is filled with white-light.

You slowly become aware of murmuring voices, and many faint silhouettes outlined by the staggering light. You finally realize that you are looking into the faces of at least twenty or so boys, all of different races and hairstyles. If this wasn't enough to startle you, their expressions did. They looked just as confused as you.

Their voices were distinguishable now, instead of a jumbled murmur, and what they said didn't help you figure out what was going on.

"What the--?"

"It's a..." Someone started, but let the sentence hang.

"Girl." You heard someone else finish for him.

They were all looking at you, then at each other, and then back at you.

"This isn't normal." Someone said.

"What's going on?" Asked someone else.

You didn't know what was going on or what to do. Suddenly in the midst of the crowd of teenagers, you locked on to a pair of deep green eyes that stared back into yours, and something inside of you clicked. It was as if you had been searching frantically for something, and you'd suddenly found it, without really knowing what that "it" was exactly. Everything just became peaceful, even though you had no idea where you were, who these boys were, or what was going on. You slowly let out the deep breath of air that you hadn't even realized that you'd been holding.

The eyes belonged to a tough-looking, broad-shouldered boy with red hair, and uniquely curved eyebrows. As you stared at him, the boy's eyes suddenly widened, as if he thought that you could see into his soul, and his shocked expression quickly morphed from surprise to anger.

"This isn't right!" He surprised you by yelling out suddenly, breaking eye contact with you as he did so. "Alby, what's going on? The Greenie's not supposed to be a she! This is all wrong!"

"Calm down, Gally, we'll figure this out," answered a level-headed looking, dark-skinned boy whom you assume is Alby.

"This isn't right," he said again, throwing you a quick glance, eyebrows furrowing, as he turned sharply and headed away from the other boys. From you. Then the horror and uncertainty came flooding back.

The metal cage lurched violently as a tall, blond boy landed heavily beside you, and you were almost thrown off balance once more, but he reached out a hand and caught and steadied you before you could fall.

"I'm Newt," he said with a kind smile and a thick, British accent. "Welcome to the Glade, Greenie!"