Unintentional Subject - Book 1 In The Jessie Series

Chapter 1: The Meadow

I sat staring into the fire, absentmindedly twirling one of my knives. I really hated this place. The grey stone walls, the stupid wood buildings, the small cement room where I spent a good chunk of my time if i wasn't in the Meadow of or Maze. I growled. The blond beside me glanced at me and she smiled knowingly. It had been two and a half years and she was the only one who could detect my swinging moods, and she was one of the few I would have considered a friend. Sure I cared for the other girls. But she was closer than a friend, closer then a sister. Her and Harriet were the second ones to come after me. 

"Jess, get out of your bloody head." She laughed, elbowing me. She handed me her half finished jar of alcohol. 

"I'm not in my head. I'm stuck in this shucked prison." I growled back.  

"Yeah so are the rest of us, but we don't look like were trying to bloody murder the fire with our eyes." She rolled her eyes with a smile. 

"Sonya...zip it." I snapped. 

"Nah, your too much fun to needle. Come on Jess, just drink up. Loosen yourself up." She elbowed me again. 

I took a huge gulp. The burning down my throat into my stomach warmed me up. Jillian's secret recipe was nasty, but it was getting better.  Someone suggested adding flavor, or sweetener, definitely helped. It only took them about a year. I rolled my eyes as I took anther large gulp, finishing her jar. I handed it back empty. 

"Yeeish, Jess! I didn't mean for you to buggen' chug it!" Sonya chuckled rolling her eyes. 

"You told me to drink and loosen up. Make up your mind Sonya!" 

"Are you poking the wolf again Son?" A dark skinned girl with dreadlocks plunked down beside us. 

"Always." Sonya smiled at me. "Her growl is worse then her buggen' bite." Sonya teased.

"I hate you." I muttered. 

"Nah, you love me." Sonya threw an arm around me, knowing she was the only one who was aloud to touch me, without having a finger broken. 

"You have a shucken death wish." Harriet rolled her eyes, she took a long sip of her jar, "So what do you guys think of the Newbie?" 

I found the new girl in the crowd, and frowned. "She looks weak, she's gonna have a hard time."

"Wow, don't hold back, tell us what you really bloody think." Sonya chuckled. 

I just rolled my eyes, shifting to the ground, leaning against the log, I took up spinning my knife again. It was getting to the point where I needed to leave, I had enough social interacting for the night. Sonya slid off the log and sat beside me. She took the knife out of my hand and slammed it into the grass, sinking the point into the soft earth.  Harriet slid down too, so I was now stuck between the two girls. Sonya reached for my hand. I tried to fold my arms, but she grabbed my hand, she was really strong for a Stick. She pulled my arm into her lap, and pulled my glove off and then the leather strips I used as a cover. 

"You've been cutting again." She stated, with a frown.

I didn't say anything, just ground me teeth. Harriet sighed beside me. Sonya waited for me to explain. I yanked my hand back, wrapping up the fresh cuts.

"I hate this place. I've been here for two and a half years. I'm pretty sure the Maze is insolvable. I just had to pull another dead Stick from the Maze. Those shucken Grievers are relentless. They aren't satisfied to just sting us anymore, they want to rip us apart. Two more of my runners quite, when I pulled Georgia all bloody and dead from the Maze." 

"Yeah, I know Jess. It sucks. A whole buggen' lot." Sonya sighed. 

"Are the Grievers getting worse?" Harriet asked, she had taken a stick and was snapping it into smaller pieces and throwing it into the fire.