𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐍 & 𝐄𝐂𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐒𝐘-𝙜𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮

ONE

It was bright and smelt like wood and dirt. My thoughts were a jumbled mess and there was a great pressure in my head. I groaned and noise exploded around me. People spoke back and forth and I noticed that it was only deeper voices. I sat up, my eyes popping open and scared everyone in what seemed to be a hut.

I was breathing hard and sure that I looked like a rabid animal, but it didn't matter, because I didn't know where I was or even...who I was.

No, that was crazy. How could I not know who I was? How could it all be gone? I started breathing harder, panic closing in on me with a vise grip. 

The boys started speaking again, their voices overlapping each other. I couldn't make out what they were saying. They came closer to me and I felt like I was suffocating. I pushed myself to my feet quickly, causing the boys to jump away from me. Why were they scared? They had no reason to be scared.

"Where am I?" It was the first thing out of my mouth and my own voice scared me. It was so scratchy and I realized how dry my throat was.

"Greenie, we need you to relax." A dark skinned boy tried to step closer, but I backed away, my legs hitting the bed that I was just laying in.

My skin felt like it was being pricked by a thousand needles and I wanted nothing more than to be away from these boys.

I looked behind me and saw that just past the bed was a door that seemed to lead to the outside. Before they can say anything else or get any closer, I climbed over the bed and made a dash for the door.

If I thought the hut was bright, the outside was even worse. It was like walking out into the sun itself. I yelped and held a hand over my eyes, but the sound of the boys just behind me caused me to drop my hand and run aimlessly until my eyes adjusted to the sun.

I was aware there were more people here, just the sounds from them exclaiming as I passed them or even bumping into a few gave me the impression there were more than a dozen.

"Grab the bloody girl." I heard one of the boys yell. The other boys were slow to catch on and by the time that they understood what they were being told, I was too far from them.

All except one. Ahead of me was a massive gray wall with a split down the middle that opened into shadows. I couldn't see what was beyond the opening, but I knew it had to be better than this place. This place, that was full of just boys and I was, what seemed to be, the only girl.

As I was getting closer to the opening and a rush of achievement surged through me, I felt strong arms wrap around my middle and practically pull me off my feet. I kicked and pushed, screaming for whoever held me to let me go.

"Greenie, just calm down." He grunted in my ear.

"No, let me go you shithead. I don't want to be here." I hit my fists against his arms, but it seemed to do nothing to him.

"None of us want to be here, you Slinthead, but if you go out there, you'll be Griever feed."

I continued to hit him until I processed what he just said. I went slack and I felt him go unbalanced from my lack of fighting. "What the hell is a Griever?"

"Let's hope you never find out. Now can I put you down or are you going to run again?" He was panting.

I thought it through. I could play along and agree only to take off again, but I didn't know where to go. The path ahead of me was off limits, the boy's words scaring me. Besides, everyone was surrounding us now. There was no way I would make it past them without getting caught again. I sighed. "You can put me down." When he hesitated, I rolled my eyes. "I'm not gonna run. The odds are stacked against me."

"Okay." He said softly before letting me go.

When I was back on my own two feet, I situated myself, fixing my shirt where it had ridden up when the boy grabbed me. I looked out at the faces of the boys who only stared back at me. Each carried the same expression, curiosity and uneasiness. Wariness, even, like I might run again. Or even attack them. Again, I wouldn't do that, considering how bad my odds were.

Finally the group of boys that were in the hut with me had made it to the crowd, all gasping for air except two of them. Only one of them was smiling.

He was a tall asian boy who had black hair and even blacker eyes. He had sweat beading on his forehead, but not as much as the other boys. "That's some legs you got on you Greenie."

I made a face. "Thanks. Now does anyone want to tell me where the hell I am and why I can't remember anything? And why am I the only girl in this god forsaken place?"

"Only one of those we can answer." The dark skinned boy replied. "The other two are quite difficult." He was still finding his breath and had to pause in between.

Before anyone else could say anything a loud grinding sound filled the air and the ground shook like there was an earthquake. I covered my ears and looked around for what could be causing this. My eyes fell on the massive walls that I had just been running to.

What I saw confused me. The walls, no not walls–doors. They moved, slowly inching towards each other until they met in the middle with a resounding boom. Quiet overtook the space and I was left to only stare at the behemoth walls. "How the hell did they just move?"

"Welcome to the Glade." The boy who had caught me said, as if it was normal that they just closed.

I had a feeling that a lot of things would be a new normal for me here.