Silence

Chapter 1

Darkness. That was the first thing I noticed when I woke. The second thing, water in my lungs. I rolled over to my side and coughed, almost choking in the progress. After a few more coughs, I could breathe again. Sudden red lights shot past me as I looked around. I could barely make out where I was, but it appeared to be no way out. I scanned my surroundings again, trying to fit the pieces together. Where was I? How did I get here? And where was here?

I sat down against one side of something cold. I couldn't remember what it was called, I couldn't even remember my name. I drew my knees to my chest and hugged them tightly. I looked around once again, trying to get a picture of my surroundings.

There where four cold walls and a cold floor. It almost looked like I was in some sort of box. Apart from me, there was different boxes in different sizes, some double my size. I pushed myself up from the floor to look closer. In the first box I looked into there was some clothes. I picked up one of the shirts and unfolded it. It was pretty big, with arms way longer than mine. I put it back and opened a smaller box, revealing a few knives and some rope.

I took out a small knife and carefully touched the blade. I winced and pulled my finger back, a thin line of red slowly growing and running down my hand. I decided to keep the knife anyhow, in case I might need it.

Suddenly, the box started to gain speed. I stumbled backwards, making sure to tuck away the knife. From above, the ceiling became visible and it was coming a lot closer. My breathing quickened and I couldn't move. The box then stopped before crashing with the ceiling, the force sending me up in the air before I got slammed down on the floor. A sharp signal sounded, and the ceiling above be started to open.

The light was blinding, and I raised my hand to shield my eyes. It took a few seconds before my eyes adjusted, but I removed my hand, blinking to make the final adjustments and I could see the blue sky. Before I could change my mind, I decided to climb out of the box and to whatever was above.

As I pulled myself up, I could feel the grass between my fingers. I gripped around it tighter and lifted myself so I was lying on the grass. I rolled around so that my back was against the grass and I looked up. The sky was even bluer than from inside the box, and the sun was almost blinding. I rose from my back, then slowly to my feet.

It was actually quite pretty, though I again appeared to be trapped in something big. Four stonewalls rose high into the sky. The green grass was covering the ground, and by one corner of the walls I could see trees, a small forest. What was this place?

"Hey!" My head snapped in the direction of the scream, my eyes stopping on a boy coming running in my direction. "I'm so glad that you are here, being all my myself made me think I was going crazy!" I was frozen, and didn't know what to do. When he was 10 meters from me, I pulled out my knife and held it in front of me.

He stopped and held out his hands in front of him. "I didn't mean to scare you" he said. I kept holding the knife at him, but my hand slowly fell down a bit. "What's your name?" He said, taking a step closer. I rose the knife again and took a step back. The boy stopped and slowly dropped his hands, letting them hang by his side. "I'm not going to hurt you" he said, looking into my eyes. I let my hand fall again, letting the knife fall on the ground in the progress.

The boy smiled, and held out a dark hand. I hesitantly took it, still not completely trusting him. "I'm Alby" he said as he shook it. I let go and started tugging at my long sleeve with my fingers. "Can you tell me your name?" Alby looked at me as I shook my head. "Do you remember your name?" He said, carefully placing a big hand on my shoulder. I looked up from the ground and shook my head.

Alby sighed and ran his free hand over his head. "Can you say something, please? Can you talk?" I looked at Alby, and my cheeks turned red as I shook my head yet again. Alby removed his hand from my shoulder and took one of mine instead. "Guess I'm gonna have to do all the talking then" he said, pulling me along as he started walking.

I found out that Alby had been up in the Glade, as he called it, all by himself. He had woken up in the box without any memories, with his name returning to him after a little while. I also learned that the walls had four openings, and that they would close every night and open every morning at the exact same time. Alby had gotten a watch sent up with him, so he knew how to keep track of time. Because he was alone, he hadn't dared to explore outside the walls but he told me that he had heard screeching noises from outside at night.

We continued talking, or rather he talked and I listened, as we emptied the box from all the different boxes and containers. Alby showed me where he had built himself a sort of home, a hammock hanging between two trees and a few boxes standing beside. "If you want some privacy I can hang your hammock in some other place" he said as we carried the last box to where the boxes where kept.

I shook my head and pointed towards two trees, pretty close to Alby's hammock. "You sure?" I nodded and started walking over there, my hammock in my hand. I knew there wouldn't be much talking between us, at least from my part, but I knew that Alby and I would become great friends.

A loud rumble echoed through the Glade, and the walls were slowly closing. Me and Alby had just finished eating, and now sat by a fire. Alby said that I had arrived about a month after him, and so if another girl or boy came up with the box in a month, we would light another big fire. "It's a bonfire. It'll be like a bonfire night. To celebrate another Glader joining us" he smiled at me and handed me a water bottle. I returned his smile and gratefully took the water bottle from his hand.

He continued talking, but I zoomed out looking out over the Glade. I still couldn't believe that he had been here alone for a whole month. "Hey" Alby slowly waved a hand in front of my face to get my attention. "Since you don't remember your name, can I call you Greenie?" I looked at him, and my face must have been puzzled, as he started to laugh. "I just mean, because you're the newest one here". I smiled at Alby and nodded my head.

Suddenly, a letter appeared in my head, E. I got so shocked that I dropped the water bottle, and Alby looked alarmed. "Are you okay?" I placed my hands over head as I rocked back and forward. Alby sat down next to me and ran his hand up and down my back. E.. En.. No, not that. Em.. Emelia? No, wrong again. Emi... Emily! Emily.

My eyes shot open and I grabbed a stick from the ground. I started writing in the sand, letter after letter. Alby leaned forward and looked at the dirt. "Emily" he said. Then he smiled. "Okay Emily, let's go to bed. We've got a lot to do tomorrow". Alby and I walked together over to the hammocks and lay down in our own. "Night" Alby said, not long before he started to snore. I rolled around until I was facing the sky. I looked up at the stars and started counting them. One by one, the stars was counted and my eyelids grew heavier. And before I knew it, I was sound asleep.