The Glader

Rescued?

 I was swept up in the crowd of Gladers as we were herded outside. 

Grief and exhaustion made my thoughts short and sluggish, the effects of my adrenaline beginning to fade.

Rain was pouring down from the sky, slicking our shirts to our bodies.

Rain...

I vaguely remembered rain, but I had never been in it before. It wasn't as nice as I expected.

I held my hands over my head and ran forwards, nearly blind. Were those tears or raindrops on my face?

Ahead of us, a bus was waiting, it's lights shining through the darkness of the storm.

A bus.

I hadn't ridden one before.

A bus?

This was somehow an escape, yet not.

Freedom, but not.

We were ushered towards the bus.

I found a seat near the back and pressed my face against the window.

Outside, Thomas was struggling with a woman. She didn't look like a Creator.

Words were yelled, and then she was forced off of Thomas by two of our "Rescuers". I shuddered, feeling sick to my stomach again. 

What was this place? 

Tommy and Teresa staggered on, taking a seat at the front of the bus. At least they  were both safe. 

"Wait!" Thomas yelled, as the driver gunned the engine.

I didn't know why until there was a sickening thump.

Then I realized.

We had hit the woman.

I resisted the urge to be sick and curled up tighter next in my seat, feeling cold, wet, and miserable.

How could the Outside be so unlike what I expected?

Where were the parents?

The People?

The Schools?

Normalcy?

Why did my life have to be filled with gunfights, blood, death, and tears? Couldn't I have a normal life?

What could I do when all of my dreams were becoming reality and it hadn't satisfied me?

My stomach convulsed with a silent sob. I just wanted to sleep. I wanted to forget all of this.

Still shaky, I closed my eyes and let the bus carry me onwards.