The thing Pasty would always remember most about The Box was the unforgettable stench of socks. The Box was rising rapidly as Pasty desperately tried to remember something, anything, about herself. But no matter how hard she tried, all she could remember was her name. If Pasty is in fact my name she thought Who would honestly name their child after a type of crumbly bakery snack?

 What struck Pasty as strange was that she knew what things around her were. Metal. Clothes. Lift in the shape of a box. Yet she couldn’t for the life of her picture her parent’s faces. She didn’t even know what she looked like. Or how old she was. Or where The Box was taking her.

 She looked at every inch of The Box carefully, looking for any sign of an exit or something that would trigger memories, but she had no luck. She examined herself for clues about her. Tall. Long legged. Long dark brown hair, from what she could see. She hoped she might have blue eyes, which she did even though she didn’t know it. She was wearing khaki combat trousers, a black vest top and sturdy brown boots over walking socks, which suggested to her that she was on the way somewhere with hard work involved. Then she racked her brains further, trying to at least figure out what sort of a personality she had. From the angry, yet curious feeling burning inside her, she thought maybe she might be outgoing, confident. Before she could make any other presumptions, however, The Box came to a sudden halt, throwing her back against the wall and causing her to bang her head. Curiously, she carefully rose to her feet, just as the lid of The Box opened and intense sunlight blinded her. She shielded her eyes and squinted to see what was going on. A head peered over the edge of The Box, grinning. His face then turned to one of utter shock.

 “Alby! Alby! Check it out!” he cried.

 “Slim it, Newt. You acting like you never seen a Greenie before,” a stern voice responded.

 “But Alby! It’s a chick!”

 “You what?”

 “It’s a girl, Alby. A shuck faced girl!”

 “What the klunk…”

 Another face appeared next to Newt’s, of the guy named Alby. He didn’t look like the sort of guy who was easily scared or surprised, with a huge muscly physique and dark skin, yet his mouth gaped open gormlessly. Pasty folded her arms impatiently and glared up at them.

 “If you are quite finished staring at me, I would appreciate you helping me out this damn box!” she said huffily. Newt chuckled and Alby blinked as though waking himself up from a daydream. He obviously wasn’t used to people talking so sharply to him.

 “Someone get me a rope for the Newbie. Although shuck knows why it’s a shucking girl.”

 Newt and Alby hauled Pasty out the pit of The Box, and she felt a rush of freedom. Until she saw the walls. There were four towering walls of stone, ivy crawling up the sides like green arms, and spikes decorating the top like a lethal cake. People had begun to crowd around her, but she managed to glimpse some pigs and cows, some crops growing and a wooden shack that appeared to be falling down. Around forty boys now surrounded her, and it became apparent why it was odd for them to have a girl arrive.

 The boys had created a sort of circle around her and were all talking at once.

 “A girl?”

 “Is this some kind of trick?”

 “What’s your name, girl?”

 Pasty felt dizzy and sick, enclosed in the circle like the boys were predators catching her as their prey. Newt was suddenly at her side, steadying her.

 “Everyone slim it, nice and calm! You’re scarin’ her.”

 “Your face scares her,” someone cried, sending a quiet ripple of laughter through the crowd. Pasty located the boy who had spoken, and really wasn’t sure why he had insulted Newt, a good looking guy, when he looked the way he did. He had lank, greasy hair the colour of the night sky, and his tall skinny figure and deformed nose made him look quite monstrous. He grinned at Pasty, as though trying to impress her, revealing rows of greenish yellow teeth with blackened edges like they had been burned. Pasty wrinkled her nose at him, feeling confidence spreading through her body.

 “Dude. If anyone’s face is doing the scaring, it’s yours.” More people laughed even louder at her joke than they had at the boy’s. Even Newt smiled slightly. He snarled menacingly, but Pasty couldn’t have cared less. She winked at the boy with a sly smile.

 “Everyone shut your holes!” Alby shouted and silence fell. He was obviously the main man. “First things first. What do you remember?”

 “Just my name. I tried to figure things out for myself, or trigger some memories, but nothing seems to work.”

 “Normal. Don’t worry about that. Of course, we need to ask a lot of questions, though, and I’m sure you have things to ask us too.”

 “Alby. Shouldn’t we wait for Minho? We need to have a proper Gathering, and he’ll klunk one if he gets left out.”

 Alby sighed “Good that. Now get back to work everybody, you bunch of slint heads. Keepers, get in Homestead now.”

 Newt put his arm around Pasty, making a pathway through the crowd “You just follow me, now. What’s ya name?”

 “Pasty. I wonder which bugger landed me with such a duff name.”

 Newt chuckled. “Try being named after some small aquatic creature. I’m Newt, by the way.”

 “I think we’re equal on bad names, right Newty?”

 “Right you are Pasty Face.”

 Pasty decided she liked Newt. He was definitely the only person she liked so far. With his strong arms wrapped around her shoulder, his soft kind expression and his easy smile, he came across as friendly, which he was.

 “By the way expect Alby to make your life hell in the next few hours, Greenbean,” Newt warned. Pasty smiled.

 “I’d like to see him try.”

 “Oh, and Minho. Just to let you know, it’s likely he will make some dumb arse jokes at ya, but don’t listen to him. He has klunk for a brain.”

 “What’s klunk?”

 “I’m sure you can guess if you think hard enough.”

 “Is it what I think it is?”

 “Probably.”

 They both laughed immaturely, knowing they were both thinking of poo. By this time they had reached the shack like building. It was a strange building, built of twists and bits of wood, randomly attached together hastily with gnarled nails. The door was just about clinging on to its hinges, although it made a huge moan as Newt pushed it open for Pasty. Inside was just as mismatched. There were a few random pieces of wooden furniture scattered, and a winding wooden staircase which Newt began to climb. Pasty followed, feeling unstable with every creak of the stairs. When they reached the top, Alby was already waiting for them, rubbing his forehead as though under great stress.

 “Sit down. Minho should be back any minute, and then we can begin.”

 The room was empty other than a circle of chairs. Alby indicated that Pasty should sit on the one furthest from the door, with Alby opposite her and Newt next to her. Other boys came in in dribs and drabs, taking seats and whispering to each other, stealing glances at Pasty when they thought she wasn’t looking. The ugly guy she had mocked earlier was the last to enter the room, scowling at Pasty.

 By this time, only one seat was vacant. Alby shushed everybody and the room fell silent.

 “Alright everyone. The Gathering will start soon. But first, we need to fill you in on a couple of things, girl. What is your name, firstly?”

 “Pasty.”

 “Right, Pasty. This is what we call a Gathering. Each shuck faced guy here is important. Me, I’m the leader. Newt, my second in command. The others are Keepers, people in charge of certain jobs here. Got it?”

 “Sure.”

 “Good that. Everyone introduce your selves.”

 Pasty tried to make everyone’s names stick in her head. The ugly dude she met before was called Gally. A lad named Zart who was in charge of the Gardens. Frypan, who she assumed must be a cook of some sort. Winston, who slaughtered the animals that were kept. A guy named Jack. Then there was Alby and Newt. She couldn’t remember the others.

 “Alright, now we’ve got that out the way, I am pleased to welcome you to the Glade. We call ourselves Gladers. This could well be your worst nightmare, but ya don’t need to worry. In fact, at the moment, you in general are the biggest worry us shanks have.”

 Before he could continue, the door swung open, revealing the most gorgeous guy Pasty had ever seen.