Strange Atmosphere | Aris Jones [1]

2 || Sonya

After Harriet walked away from me, I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do or where I was supposed to go next. I was still trying to take everything in, overwhelmed by what I was looking at. I was also trying to process all the information that Harriet told me about the Glen.

I looked over at the Walls that Harriet talked about. One thing that I didn't notice before was that the Walls were open. If Harriet didn't want anyone to go beyond the Walls, then why were they open, anyway?

Curious, I walked over towards the Walls. I was hoping that no one would stop me. After all, I wasn't planning on going beyond the Walls. I wasn't trying to get on Harriet's bad side on my first day.

When I got in front of the Walls, I stopped right in front of the entrance. I looked in the distance, wondering what could be in there.

"Hey!" I heard someone yell from behind me. I turned around and saw a blonde-headed girl running towards me. "You must be the Newbie," she added in a cheery tone.

"Yeah, I am," I replied.

"I'm Sonya," she said, sticking her hand out for me to shake. "When Harriet's not around, I'm in charge."

I reluctantly took her hand and shook it. "I'm Piper."

Sonya smiled. "Nice to meet you."

I nodded my head, then pointed at the Walls. "So, what's this? Harriet said to never go beyond the Walls."

Sonya looked at the Walls and nodded her head. "She's right. No one is allowed to go beyond the Walls. Unless you're a Runner, of course."

"A Runner?" I repeated.

"I'll explain it all later. But right now, you've got a lot to learn about the Glen. Let me show you around."

Sonya and I walked back to the center of the Glen. Neither of us exchanged words with each other while we were walking. Once we finally stopped, she turned to me and began to talk.

"So, right here is the Box. Harriet probably already told you about the Box, right?" I nodded my head. "Good. Over there, you have the Homebase. That's where we eat and sleep. The Slammer is right behind the Homebase. It's kind of like our jail. If you follow the rules, you won't have to worry about the Slammer."

I looked over at the Homebase. It was the biggest building in the Glen. Esther sure did a good job on it.

"Next, there's the Gardens. It's where we grow our crops. Planters are the ones who work in the Gardens. Then, there's the Blood House. That's where we raise the livestock and then slaughter them for us to cook and eat. The Cutters deal with the animals, and the Cooks...well, you know what they do."

The Blood House was a small house with animal pens beside it. Only a couple of livestock were enclosed in the pens.

"Finally, there's the Deadheads. That's where we bury Glenners."

"Bury them?" I asked. "You mean, you've had Glenners die?"

Sonya nodded her head in sadness. "Unfortunately. We don't like it, but it just happens sometimes. Come on, let's get your hammock set up."

Sonya led me to the Homebase, her braid bouncing with each step. She got all of the things I needed to help me set up where I was going to sleep at. I decided to set my hammock up right in front of the Walls. As we were tying the ropes to the poles, I spotted two girls running back in the Glen.

"Hey, Sonya, are those two girls Runners?" I asked, pointing at the two girls who stopped running. "You said no one's allowed to go beyond the Walls unless you're a Runner."