What If | tmr, newt ✓

Chapter 1

I scream.

I scream again, retching a mouthful of water onto the shuddering floor beneath my hands and knees.

And I'll keep screaming if I don't get out of here now.

Another sudden movement throws me to the frozen metal floor; the cage I'm in keeps lurching and groaning, rising upwards for what feels like eternity. I try to collect myself, draw back from the centre until I'm sitting with my back to the wall, hands braced against it in case it decides to throw another tantrum.

Before the panic starts to rise too much, I take a deep breath. I try to push down the thoughts that - well, what thoughts? My mind seems drained of memories. A let a few exasperated tears fall, and attempt to calm myself as I wait in a frenzied state of mental exhaustion.

I jerk as the lift pulls to a stop. Whoever put me in here could emerge at any second, so I ready myself for any one of the walls to open up and reveal my imprisoners. What takes me by surprise, however, is that no mystery door opens at all. Instead, two sections of the roof slowly pull apart, revealing a blinding slit of light above my head.

And that's not all that shocks me. Standing above, around the outside of my little cage, is a group of teenage boys, all peering down at me like I'm some sort of animal at a zoo. They start whispering, and I hear a few throw-out comments.

"Wonder who the Shank is this time."

"Enjoy the trip?"

"'Fraid there's no ticket back."

I let out a breath of disgust at their words and appearance. Even as my eyes are still adjusting to the light, I can still see how they couldn't be less put-together if they tried; unwashed, clothes dirty, random tools in hand. Suddenly, one of the boys jumps down into the lift, and - confused, wary, and on instinct - I stand up, and punch him. In the face.

I immediately regret it. My hands fly to my face as I apologise profusely, but the pained and bewildered expression on the boy's face isn't the only thing I notice. It's the silence. All previous whisperings cease, leaving the focus on me and my gradual panicking.

The boy who I hit rubs his jaw, and I flinch, feeling terrible at the bruise already forming. Eventually though, he drops his hand and stares at me. "Well shucks. Looks like we got ourselves a bloody girl."

I roll my eyes. "Thanks for pointing out something I definitely didn't know already. Now, where am I?" I demand.

He puts his hands up in mock surrender, and I hear a few chuckles from above. "This is the Glade, your new home."

"Don't lie," I hiss.

"Trust me, I'm not," he says, unable to wipe the smile of his face. "Let me help you out."

"I got it," I say pointedly, jumping up and lifting myself out of this prison.

What I didn't know was that I had just entered another one, even worse than the first.

I had barely got words out of my mouth before I was interrupted. The boy who jumped down into the lift had quickly followed me out. "I know what you're about to ask," he says quickly, in a heavily British accent. "What is this place, why can't I remember anything, why don't I know my name...believe it or not, that's all normal."

He had got it pretty much right, so I nodded, but just added one extra question to the list.

"Okay, if that's so normal, I'll try not to panic... but why the hell am I the only girl here?"

It's as if the 'Glade' - as I recall it - froze in time. The boys went temporarily still, before nervously looking at each other, their feet - anywhere but me.

"Hello?" I snap. "Do you guys just not answer to the opposite sex or something? Why aren't there any other girls?"

After a pause, the British guy answers. "We don't know."

"What do you mean?"

"We're just as bloody shocked as you are!"

I curse. "Who the hell are you people?!"

"Calm yourself, Greenie."

Fuming, I just stare, dumbfounded, my sub-conscience taking in the massive walls looming over this courtyard. What is this place?

After a few elongated moments of silence, I am startled into reality when the boy shouts. "Alright, ya shanks, get back to work!"

As I watch, the group grumble quietly as they trudge back to wherever they came from; a small building, a forest, allotments. The vast majority of the place is a green field, but with areas such as these dotted around. It seems to be like a sort of farm, except these boys live here.

"Newt," the boy says, holding out his hand that I shake tentatively, still eyeing him suspiciously. He's tall, but maybe only a couple centimetres taller than me, with mesmerising dark brown eyes. I try not to stare at his jawline - and the bruise now forming there.

"Uh..." I falter, not knowing what to say, since I don't know my name. He just laughs.

"I'm second-in-command here, after Alby. But he's busy, so I'm on Greenie duty this month. And don't worry, your name should come back to you soon enough."

I feel useless just standing there, worry rising in my chest again. I nod, but nevertheless can feel frustrated tears welling in my eyes.

"We'll give you the tour tomorrow, but for now there's just three rules we have that you need to know. One, do your part. Everyone is equal around here. Two, never harm another Glader. Yeah, I know, you already broke that one." Newt eyes me warily before saying rule three. "And three, never go beyond those walls."

He doesn't need to point to explain what walls he is talking about.

They must be a hundred metres tall, solid stone and towering over the glade. Each one is covered in patches of ivy, and I notice identical slits in the middle of each of the four walls, forming openings. Behind them, a corridor stretches on before turning off, leading into the unknown. I take a few small steps closer and attempt to peer around the corner, but before I can stray too far, Newt intervenes. "Weren't you listening to rule three?"

"I know, I'm sorry, but... what exactly's out there?"

A/N Hi! I know these authors notes can be annoying so I'll keep it short. I'd just like to say thank you so much for reading! If you are enjoying, please vote or leave feedback - I honestly love hearing your opinions and thoughts. Thank you, Kat x