The Other Side

Chapter One

"There you go, now leave. I need my peace," I said to Miranda, who gave me a dirty look before slamming the door shut. Oh, how I hated working at the Dome. The Dome was a three-story building with a rounded roof. It didn't look half bad, besides the different color planks of wood, which made everything seem off. The Dome is used as a sort of care center, where you go if you are sick or hurt. I happen to be on shift as a nurse for two months. Two months! All because of a freakin' twisted ankle.

     Cara and I were running through the Maze, I'd say, about last week. I loved it out there, you can really feel the adrenaline. Well, we were running through Sector 7 when I accidentally tripped over some vines and twisted my right ankle, preventing me from being Co-Head Seeker. It really wasn't an accident in my opinion. Cara had been running in front of me, so she had obviously seen the fallen vines. Those green, snake-like things were pretty thick and it brought me down at the first touch.

     Cara had slowely stopped and turned around, her strawberry blonde hair bouncing. "Oh-no!" She had said in her little snobby sing-song voice that rang with sarcasm. She smirked. "I wanted to tell you about the vines, but it was too late."

     I had hobbled all the way to the entrance of the Maze until she finally placed her arm around my back and under my right arm for support. I silently thanked her, but soon regretted it. As the other Glenners had started coming over, it hit me. She was just trying to seem like Mr. Nice Guy. And now I'm stuck in this hell-hole treating infected wounds for 7 more weeks. Ugh.

     I cleaned up Miranda's now dry and sticky blood off the white tiled floor and headed out for lunch. She had had a pretty nasty cut on her leg. Being a Constructor and all, it was pretty normal for some cuts and bruises. Miranda's really had grossed me out and I couldn't get the image of it out of my mind. Discusting.

 Walking down the stairs, I looked for the other nurse that worked at the Dome. Probably already went out to lunch, I thought, shutting the door behind me. No more than a few seconds out of the Dome, the savory scent of lunch hit me.

     In the Glen we had two cooks, Sammy and Taylor. Sammy had straight, pink hair. It was a mystery to how she got it before the Maze. Taylor had beautiful pale skin with blue eyes, which contrasted perfectly. Although Sammy was insanley nice, Taylor, not so much. I mean, at times she could be wonderful, but when she was with Cara, the brunette was horrible. But, even with the little resources we had, the two very different people always impressed.

     I walked over to The Hut, where the delicious scent of chicken wafted out of the small kitchen.

"What'll it be, Emilee?" Asked Sammy in a chirpy voice. Her freckle-y skin glowed as she stuck her head out of the wide window.

"I'll have some chicken and beans, please," I replied. Sammy nodded and disapeared back into the kitchen.

     Waiting patiently, I stared at the beautiful cloudless sky. "Hey, Nobody-Likes-You." I heard someone say behind me. I turn on my heels and see Cara, devilish smile and all.

"Here you go, Emilee!" Taylor said, popping her head out of the window and holding a tray of food. Her pleasant smile turned cold and she tossed me my tray carelessly. My Seeker reflexes kicked in and I quickley caught the plate. They both broke out in a fit of giggles. I started to walk away, but I turned around and shot them a dirty look.

     Idiots, I told myself as a walked away, Idiots. Just idiots with an IQ of -10, don't listen to them. Cara was rubbing off on the sweet Taylor. The real Taylor I knew, the Taylor before there ever was a Cara. She came a few months after me. I remember helping her grow out of her shyness, we were all the same. Best friends. The word seemed distant since Cara had come along 3 months later.

     I sighed and told myself not to rely on the past, but the future. A phrase I could remember someone telling me, but whenever I tried to grasp the memory, it would fade away. The downside of living in the Glen, no memory. Only the things we learned and needed, nothing else. I cleared my mind, no pun intended, and sat down next to Chloe. Chloe was a quiet girl who didn't see anything but the facts. She was around average height, I would say. She had hazel eyes and long, curly dirty blonde hair. Seeing that she was the latest newbie in the Glen, I decided to befriend her.

"Hey......", I said awkwardly. I ran my hand through the dewdropped grass as I stared up at the sky. Being an outsider at the Glen, Chloe didn't sit with anyone. So, when I became her friend, I sat with her by ourselves.

     I took a huge, un-ladylike bite of the juicy chicken, while Chloe quietly nibbled on her ham sandwich.

"Hey...........", She replied. Everyone saw her as a quiet weirdo, but she was brilliant, and once you got to know her, she was a whole different person. But, in a good way. I could tell she wasnt in the mood for a talk right now. But conversation was better than silence, right?

"So, how-", I started, but was abrubtivley cut off by a blaring siren. Chloe and I stood up and cupped our hands over our ears, not caring for the food that fell off our laps to the ground.

"I forgot it was Initiate Day!" Chloe yelled over the deafening alarm. Her voice was muffled from the sound. I nodded and scanned the Glen. Dozens of girls were running toward the Cage, a mysterious box that shoots up every month with a new girl and every week with supplies.

"C'mon!" I shouted, motioning for Chloe to follow me toward the Cage. Oh how I wish I could run, I thought, silently scolding my ankle. Chloe took one hand off her ear and helped me over to the center of the Glen where a crowd was forming. We squeezed to the front, curses shooting at us for pushing and shoving. The wailing sirens suddenly ended. After minutes of silence, the Cage doors slid open and light poured into the dark box. Every girl leaned in for a closer look.

     A girl that looked around my age lay soaked and petrified on the Cage floor. She had short, brown hair that ended at her shoulders and her eyes glimmered a light green. "Well c'mon now. Get her out!" Yelled an unidentified voice.

     After heaving the new Initiate out of the Cage, they laid her on the grass. I took one look at her face and I remembered that feeling. The feeling of waking up in a new place.

     Miranda stepped forward to get a better look. Her bandage I had put on was already falling off, meaning she had tried to pick at it. The girl took one look at the blood soaked wrap and shot up, teetering on her heels after not having stood up in a while. She screamed bloody murder and punched Miranda hard in the face.

     Miranda screamed and fell to the ground. She leaned on her hands as blood dripped from her nose and when she looked up, it was disfigured. Broken, I thought, laughing to myself, This girl could not stay out of trouble.

     The strange girl cupped her hands over her mouth then let them fall to her side. Her expression turned scared and angry. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, then, barreled through the crowd and took off running.

     After running for a minute, she stopped suddenly. Something's wrong, I thought. But, I knew what was. She was staring at the deathley, vine-covered walls. I pushed my way to the front of the group that was now facing the East Wall.

     Even as far away as the Glenners were, we could see her hands slowley rise up to her head. She shakiley grasped her hair and pulled at it. Letting out another ear-splitting scream, she fell to the ground, hard.

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Hey!!! I have't updated in so long, I'm sorry. Well I'm back! I'll be writing ALOT next week and the week after! SPRING BREAK!!!!!!! Um..... as you can see, I need some ideas for the Glen Slang (I don't really want to copy James too much) Ideas are needed! Please share this with others . BYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE