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IT ALL HAPPENED SO FAST. His body jolted upward when the box came to a complete halt. He cried out in pain when his head slammed into the wall behind him, gasping for what felt like his first gulp of air in forever. He couldn't seem to recall how he'd ended up in this situation, and the darkness that engulfed him made it impossible to even tell wherever this was. It seemed like the walls were closing in on him. That was all he could comprehend. He was trapped.

A ray of sunlight suddenly exploded between the walls, blinding him momentarily. A tiny voice in his mind whispered to him, Perhaps this is the afterlife. Maybe you're dead. Faint chatter could be heard from above and he couldn't tell if those voices were in his head too, or if somebody was lurking beyond the light. He quickly backed up against one of the walls, squinting towards the silhouettes who began to gather around him, blocking the sun from his face. Laughter erupted from above him and he held his breath.

From there, he decided he had to make a choice. He could trust whoever was out there, call out for help and pray that they were good people. Or, he could resist. His eyes darted back and forth around the space. It was lined with wooden crates, bags and other supplies, but nothing to defend himself with. Forcing himself to think of something made him realize that it was all gone. All of his memories of everything were just faded and faint conceptions in his mind, things he could almost grasp like his home and his family, but nothing and no one he could name or picture clearly. He couldn't even think of his name. His own name. This brought tears to his eyes. He didn't know who he was, at least not anymore.

"Don't pick on the Greenie, now," a voice broke through the crowd suddenly, and all of the laughter quickly died down.

Sweat dripped from his forehead and he hugged his knees to his chest, waiting for Judgement Day. He wasn't even sure what that phrase meant exactly, but his mind associated it with something terrible. Something wicked.

One of the figures from above suddenly jumped down toward him and he gasped, locking eyes with a boy who bore a lingering smile. As he stepped into the light and crouched down in front of him, he was able to make out the boy's features. He had very short, dirty blond hair and cloudy eyes.

"Well, aren't you cute?" The boy snickered, cocking his head in an almost playful manner.

He could only gulp in response to the boy's comment, too nervous to reply.

"Hey, Alby?" the boy shouted, glancing back up at the light above them. "What do you want me to do with him?"

After a moment, someone else, who he could only assume was Alby, replied, "Well, it'd be great if you got him out of the Box, for starters, Gally,"

The circle of people above laughed, and he finally got the chance to scan the crowd, his hand hovering just above his eyebrows so that he could properly see. His eyes widened as he realized a dozen other boys, who all seemed to be about his age, stood before him. He blinked twice in disbelief at the scene. Where were the girls? The adults? The children? And more importantly, where was he?

The blond boy, Gally, crouched down next to him. Gally turned back around, holding his hand out for him to take. His eyes darted back and forth between the boys above him and the hand in front of him.

Gally rolled his eyes. "Dude, I'm just offering to help you up, not asking for your hand in marriage."

He quickly collected himself and took Gally's hand firmly, pushing himself up on his feet. He shook his head in an attempt to shake off the dizziness that suddenly came over him and followed Gally forward as he began to climb the walls of the box.

Gally reached the top first and offered his hand to him again, pulling him up onto green grass. He planted his feet on the ground and took a couple of steps forward so he didn't fall back into the box again and then finally, forced himself to look up at the scene in front of him.

It was all acres of field that went on for what seemed like miles. Little huts were built up and scattered all around the area, as well as fences that held cows, chickens and goats. Towering around all that land, were large grey walls that almost scraped the sky. Green ivy grew all the way up to the top. An entryway divided the walls, but what lied beyond them was unknowable from where he stood. Just the look of the walls was enough to intimidate him. He couldn't even begin to imagine what he'd find inside, if going inside those walls was a possibility.

"Welcome to the Glade, Greenie," Gally said, startling him. He hadn't realized Gally had been standing next to him until then.

He snapped out of his daze and turned to Gally, not understanding a word of what he'd just said. In fact, as he scanned the Glade, as Gally had called it, everything just became more and more confusing for him. He didn't understand how or why he was even there in the first place. And more importantly, where all of his memories were.

"Do you remember your name?" Gally asked.

It was a simple question. One he should have been able to answer instantly. But he couldn't. He couldn't remember. His lip began to quiver and he shook his head over and over.

"I--I don't understand," he croaked out, the sound of his voice surprising himself and Gally. He quickly cleared his throat, his heart beating a million miles per second in his chest.

"Hey, no worries, Greenie," Gally replied. Reluctantly, Gally tried to put an empathetic hand on his shoulder but he roughly shook him off, pushing Gally back.

"What the hell is going on?" he demanded, turning towards Gally, who seemed surprisingly calm.

"Not remembering anything is normal. None of us remember anything from before. The only thing you're gonna get back is your name, which will come back to you soon. We all came up in the Box, same as you, no memories. Just as scared." Gally's voice was softer now, but he observed him carefully.

Everything Gally had said only overwhelmed him even more. His hands shook violently so he balled them up into fists, desperately trying to shake the anger he was feeling. He wanted answers, and he wanted them now.

Gally leaned in closer to him and he tensed up, afraid he'd hurt Gally if he tried anything. "Let's go find Nick. Get all these eyes off of you, okay?"

He nodded in response, taking in a deep breath. He averted his eyes from the ones that were bleeding into him. As soon as they got out of their sight, he glanced up at Gally, who offered him a smile. He couldn't bring himself to return one.

"Nick will give ya' a tour of the Glade if he ain't busy. If he is, he'll get one of us to show you around," Gally started towards one of the little shacks in the distance and he followed, trying his best to keep up with Gally's quick steps.

He passed by the other boys and they'd stopped and stared for a moment, gawking at him, before eventually getting back to the work they were doing. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he associated the experience with that of being the new kid at school. But no matter how hard he racked his brain, he couldn't seem to remember ever being in that situation himself.

Gally led him to a group of boys that were all huddled around one of the shacks. A boy with long blonde locks waved the rest of the boys away from him and they all headed in different directions. A gray shirt hung loosely on his body and he clutched the strap of the brown satchel across his chest a little tighter as he approached him and Gally.

"My name is Nick," he nodded to him, stretching his hand out for him to shake. "Can you tell me anything about yourself, who you are? Where you came from?"

He furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head in response. "No, I--"

"I already told him why, Nick. He's alright," Gally interrupted, crossing his arms over his chest.

Nick nodded to Gally and motioned for him to leave. Gally saluted Nick and started in the other direction. Before he turned, Gally opened his mouth slightly as if he wanted to say something, but instead, he just lowered his head and stalked off.

As he watched Gally go, a feeling of anxiousness began to rise in his chest. Nick patted his shoulder and sighed. "Your first job here starts now."

He flipped around to face Nick, cocking his head.

"Find Newt, tell him I sent you, and tell him you need a tour," Nick smiled again. "When you're finished, meet me here, good that?"

He shook his head in disbelief. "I don't know who Newt is. How am I supposed to find him?"

Nick chuckled lowly. "You ask around, learn everyone's names in the process. It's a great way to break the ice,"

He stared back at Nick with wide eyes. The thought of opening up to anyone in this place, where he knew nothing and no one, terrified him. He figured getting acquainted with Gally had been enough for one day. But there seemed to be no way to back out of this task. Nick gave him a playful push forward, out into the field where most of the boys seemed to reside.

"Go on, Greenie!" Nick shouted as he began to back away from him, leaving him all on his own once again.

He took a deep breath and nodded to himself for reassurance. Although he didn't have his memories, surely he'd had friends before all of this. That meant he was perfectly capable of making friends. Slowly, but surely, he took his first step toward a garden and told himself that it was not a big deal. After all, these boys and this place were apparently all he had now

None of the boys seemed to notice he had approached them. For a moment, he watched them all carefully, shovelling dirt into wagons and hacking at weeds with spears. Eventually, he found the courage to clear his throat.

"I'm looking for Newt?" he asked as nonchalantly as he could, taking another step forward to assert his position. He swallowed hard when no one replied, lowering his head in shame.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched another boy come jogging out of the woods with a bag over his shoulder. The boy dropped the bag on the grass nearby and wiped the sweat off of his forehead, pushing his hair out of his eyes. He was tall but lanky and considering his thin arms and legs, his strength was surprising.

"Hey, Newt," a boy in the garden began, "Greenie's lookin' for you."

The one called Newt lifted his head, squinting as he scanned the area around him. He stood tall and crossed his arms over his rising chest. He was blond, but his hair was much shorter than Nick's. He found himself wondering if Newt gave himself haircuts. Or perhaps someone did it for him.

He waited awkwardly for Newt to find him amongst the crowd of boys. When they locked eyes, he adjusted his posture and took a deep breath as Newt began to make his way over to him.

"Are you, are you Newt?" he asked, receiving a sharp nod in response."Nick sent me, told me that uh--"

"What's wrong? Is Nick alright?" Newt said, cutting him off. He suddenly seemed uneasy and started heading towards the hut he'd just come from. From the few words he'd said to him, he thought he'd picked up an accent in Newt's voice.

As Newt began to get further and further away from him, he tried to keep up. Frustration getting the best of him, he stopped in his tracks and sighed.

"Hey! Can you hold up a minute?" he called after him, stunning not only Newt but himself by the way he had raised his voice. Newt spun back around towards him and he caught him rolling his eyes. "Nick just told me to find you, so you could give me a tour," he said, averting his eyes from Newt.

Newt put his hands on his hips and sighed. "Why me? I've got things to do," he grumbled.

He felt a small pang in his chest at Newt's words--it seemed that Newt wanted nothing to do with him, and for some reason that hurt. He nodded slowly, pressing his lips together in a tight line before deciding to step back from Newt and return to the hut that he and Nick had agreed to meet at. As he walked away, he tried to keep his head high and didn't look back. Nevertheless, he found himself wondering if Newt would follow him. A part of him hoped he didn't. After the way Newt had acted, he really didn't want him to give him a tour of the Glade anymore. A part of him wished Gally hadn't walked away from him so soon and that he had taken him on the tour instead. He shook his head quickly and picked up his pace, wiping his eyes as he felt the threatening sting of tears at the brim of his eyes. But despite everything that had been thrown on him in so little time, he wouldn't let himself cry. Not yet. Instead, he channelled that same anger he'd felt in his chest the moment he'd woken up in the Glade.

Newt began to call out to him, but he tried his best to block him out and continue for the hut. He could hear Newt telling him to wait and to listen to him, but he walked on, a mixture of rage and embarrassment willing him forward. He spotted Nick just ahead of him, standing with Alby.

A hand grabbed his shoulder from behind and spun him back the other way. He nearly crashed right into Newt as he was pulled forward by him. Reflexively, he tried to wriggle himself out of Newt's grasp and Newt's eyes widened, but neither of them dared to look at each other.

"Sorry, I'm sorry!" he gasped out quickly. "Listen. You just, you caught me at the wrong time. Zart and Tim were havin' a go at me right before you came along, so I'm just a little shaken up. I didn't mean to take it out on you, Greenie. I shouldn't have." Newt took his hand off of his shoulder and took a step back, licking his bottom lip. His eyes cleared and the two of them finally looked at each other.

He studied him for a moment, squinting intently at his brown eyes and then down at his exposed chest, but he didn't say anything. He broke the stare and swallowed the lump in his throat. Newt put his hands back on his hips and sighed.

"Can I give you your tour now?" Newt smiled.

He shook his head, holding back a scoff. "No, don't worry about it," he replied resentfully, watching the smile quickly fall from Newt's face. But before Newt could try and get another word in, he stormed off in the other direction, towards the woods, and this time, Newt did not follow him.

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author's note:

first chapter! let's go!

i hope this wasn't too confusing for you all, for starters. i realize it's kinda hard to tell who's speaking at times bc greenie doesn't have/know his name yet. for that reason, this was really challenging to write, but i tried my best to make it as distinctive as I could.

for my new readers, this story is a while before the arrival of chuck, thomas, and teresa. and nick is still alive, obviously.

on a side note: i am SO glad that i chose to revise this freakin series. my writing was so bad i don't know how you guys let me get away with some of those god awful descriptions oh my goshhh.

love always,

chloe