Complicated

Chapter 1: The Cage

I woke with a jolt, like a horrible nightmare wakes you from a deep sleep. Except now that I'm awake I realize I'm actually in one! I turn my head, trying to see anything. Nothing. The darkness is thick and heavy. I can't even see my own hands. The silence is deafening. I can feel it weighing on me, it feels suffocating.  My chest hurts which causes pain to shoot through my shoulders into my arms. I don't know what to do. I can't see anything, I can't hear anything. I pull my knees up to my chest, and press my forehead into my knees, grasping my hair in my hands and sit huddled in the corner trying to control my breathing. 

Once my breathing slows down I feel a sharp pain in my head that makes me yelp in pain. Memories from my childhood flash through my mind. I can see men in black suits pulling me away from a crying woman. I can see white walls, and a lady with a tight blond perfect bun. I can see classrooms and blackboards, I can see trees and houses. I can see smiling faces of my friends beside me, and a hand holding mine. But the more I try and focus on who those people were the blurry they get. The voices in my memories go from being sharp clear and distinct, the more fuzzy and warbled they become. Only two voices stand out still. 

A woman's sharp voice saying, "WICKED is good." 

The other voice is deep and gravelly, yet strangely gentle. I can almost hear it being whispered by my ear, "I'll miss you too!" 

I sit with my head hiding in my knees. Trying to focus on something solid, but it gets harder and harder. With a sudden horrible realization I don't know my own name! Before I can panic a blinding red light flashes on, giving me a quick glimpse of where I am. It looks like a metal cage. Not quite big enough to stand up straight. There are big wooden crates stacked high. The red light shuts off just as abruptly as it came on, leaving me in complete darkness again. A grinding noise starts and the cage jerks, pulling me up. 

"Someone help!" I call desperately. 

The yell makes my dry throat hurt and throws me into a wild coughing fit. The jerking upwards motion and the coughing makes me gag, and then stomach bile makes its way up and I throw up. Letting myself throw up makes the queasiness settle a bit, but not totally. 

"Where the hell am I and where am I going?" I whisper. 

I glance up, trying to see the top. But nothing, I can't even see my hand again! I try to keep the panic inside. I can feel the hot burning of tears, I refuse to let them fall; crying isn't going to help me right now. I clamp my eyes closed, take a big shuddering breath, count to five. When I open my eyes, the tears and panic have been shoved back down. 

"I can't see, can't hear, I have no idea what's going on! What the actual hell?" I whisper again. 

As soon as I utter that there is another jerk in the cage and I can feel it moving faster. It's still jerky and the grinding noise is louder, making my head hurt, and my stomach heave again. I can feel air whipping through my hair. I have no idea where I'm being taken, but I'm sure it can't be good. The hair on the back of my neck is standing up, and I have goosebumps, not from being cold, but from the anticipation of the unknown.  

I have no idea how long I stayed huddled in the corner with the jerking metal cage rising higher and higher. A bright green light blared to life making me throw my hands up to shield my eyes, it was so bright. There was a loud shrill siren. The noise bounced around the cage, making it even louder. I slapped my hands over my ears. My eyes still stung from the bright green light. I clamped them shut again and pushed my forehead back into my knees;  taking big deep shuddering breaths, willing myself to calm down. My chest was still hurting, and my hands were cold and numb, they started to tremble. 

Even with my eyes clamped shut and head down, I noticed that the dark wasn't as dark. There was a loud grinding sliding noise, like metal sliding on metal. I took the chance to glance up, there was a crack in the ceiling, and there was bright sunlight seeping through. But with the sunlight there cam a loud rumbling noise. Like many voice talking over each other. 

I closed my eyes and tried to concentration what these rumbling voices were saying. It might give me a clue to where I was and what the heck was going on!  Once I heard some of the voices, I wish I hadn't tried to hear them. It made my confusion worse and it shot fear and panic through my veins like ice. 

"Day one Greenie!"

"Wonder what the poor shank looks like?" 

"Probably like a piece of klunk!"

"Dude I hate that shuck box!"

"Wonder if the poor shank is crying in the corner!" 

"He's probably klunkin' his pants!"

"He's probably going to end up a slopper!"

"I could use some more help in the kitchen!"

Why do the voices keep saying he? I'm not a guy...am I? No...Definity not! Absolutely, a girl!  

A loud voice cut through the rest, it was loud and demanding. "SLIM IT SHANKS!" 

The rumble of chatter and voices died down. 

"Gally! Help Newt open the doors, lets see this new Shank." The deep commanding voice yelled. 

The crack in the ceiling got bigger, and the horrible sound of metal on metal was heard again. Sunlight poured in. Making me throw my hands in front of my face again. My eyes stung and burnt, making me tear up. 

"Dammit that hurts!" I mutter to myself. 

I clamp my eyes shut again, trying not to hold my breath. I just want to curl up and hide. Fear and panic were battling to take over. My stomach hadn't stopped twisting and turning, my hands were cold and numb. 

There was a loud clang and the cage swung a little.

"Dammit!" I yelp. 

I wasn't expecting it to move. My hands fall from my face and I whip my head around, blinking rapidly, trying to see what happened. A blurry form of a person was standing inside the cage with me. Without hesitation I scramble to my feet, bringing my fists up, ready to swing if I need to defend myself. I can hear a sharp intake of breath in front of me. My stinging eyes finally came accustom to the bright sunlight, and I can finally see the person standing in front of me. 

"Newt? What's going on down there?" The deep voice yelled down. 

The boy looked up towards the deep voice, his eyes wide in wonder, and possibly fear. 

"It's..it's a girl! The creators sent us a Shucken GIRL!" He yelled back. 

He looked back down at me, his big brown eyes wide in shock. At the mention of the word girl, there was a instant chaos above me. 

"A GIRL?" 

"What does she look like?" 

"I bet she's hot!" 

"I call dibs! She's mine you shanks!" 

"She'll be a Slopper for sure!" 

I backed up into the wall, and tilted my head up just enough to see them, while still being able to see the boy in the cage with me. He hadn't moved, still staring at me with his eyes wide and mouth slightly open. The shock that went through my body almost made me drop. Standing all around the edge of the cage were boys. Each and every one of them were dirty, and sweaty, some were tall some were older then others, but all of them were boys. 

I stopped listening to the awful things they were saying about me, it made my skin crawl and my heart beat faster. I glanced back at the boy in the cage. He hadn't moved, his brown eyes still locked on me. 

"Close your mouth. And staring is rude." I snapped at him. I could feel my hands forming fists. 

He blinked and took a small step backwards. He closed his mouth, and blushed. He ran a hand through his long shaggy blond hair. 

"Umm, sorry 'bout that. Didn't mean to be bloody rude! Just...thing is, we ain't never had a girl show up here." He said. 

What the boy said hit me hard, like a punch in the gut. They never had a girl here? I was the only girl? 

This can't be good!