Survival of the Weakest

2

"20 sounds like a reasonable number, don't you think?" whispered a short girl with flowing, blonde hair. The people around her nodded.

I stared at everyone's faces. They all looked different; we had nothing in common. I didn't recognise anyone, either. So what I'd said to Bo earlier about maybe knowing someone else was pretty futile. They all wore the same backpacks as us as well.

The person who'd led us over smiled. "Ok, everyone, nice to meet you all. Since this is all of us, I hope, why don't we introduce ourselves?"

"Introduce ourselves?" Penn said. "Why don't we figure out what the hell's going on here first?"

"None of us have any idea what this is, or how we got here." A girl with a calming and soft voice stepped forward. "I agree. Let's move to the shade and introduce ourselves."

The 20 of us walked over to a small area of shade where we sat down in a lopsided circle. Everyone looked at each other, not sure where to start.

"I guess I'll start, and we'll go clockwise." The person who'd found us earlier sat up. "My name is Haruko Mizushima. I hope we can find out what has happened here."

Next to Haruko was a short, plump girl who wore a light blue hijab. She had a wide smile and an innocent face. "I'm Dana Rostami. I-um, I want to get along with everyone here." She smiled and turned to the boy beside her.

"Zach Daniels." The blond boy sitting next to Dana picked at his nails and didn't look up. He had a pretty face, but he clearly wasn't interested in talking.

The girl who had asked if 20 was a reasonable number sat cautiously in the grass. She wore a pure white dress and a silver cross necklace. Her green eyes were wide with apprehensiveness. "I'm... June Hawkins," she managed to stutter out.

"Nice to meet you, June," smiled the boy next to her. He had a kind, soft face which was framed with curly blond hair hidden under a blue beanie. He turned to the rest of us. "I'm Brycin Murphy."

Brycin turned to me. I hadn't even realised I was next. The group were looking at me with curious eyes.

"Oh- I'm Valerie Serres." I smiled meekly.

Bo, who was beside me, suddenly had a lot more energy than he previously had. "I'm Bo Sutton! Very nice to meet you all!"

"Penn Thompson." Their voice was blunt and to the point. Clearly, the meeting of new people put them on edge. Some people tried to force a smile at their introduction.

Next to Penn was a wide eyed boy with glasses and curly brown hair. "My name's Colin Hazelton." He talked softly, but his voice made me feel calm.

"I'm Ryley O'Conner." said a girl with bright pink hair. She seemed relaxed, like the situation wasn't even bothering her.

"I'm Florian Nowak," someone announced from behind Ryley. They had fluffy black hair which had been dyed blonde in a small section. They also work black makeup and donned multiple piercings. "Believe me, it's a pleasure."

A girl with short, thick dreadlocks had been sitting with her eyes closed during the duration of us talking. Florian tapped her on the shoulder and her eyes fluttered open.

"Huh? Oh, right. I'm Haydn Martinez." After introducing herself, Haydn went right back to sitting with her eyes closed.

"I'm Isaac Moreno." A boy wearing stylish clothing and makeup was next to Haydn. His brown fringe dropped into his eyes and he pushed it out of his face. He looked a lot older than all of us; he just radiated maturity.

The girl who had spoken before in a calming manner was next. She wore a maroon hijab and a green sweater. "My name is Pazia Banai." She had a caring face and smile, someone who could take charge and calm others down just with her presence.