The new boy began his new life gasping for air, surrounded by cold darkness that seemed to go on. What's... What's going on...? Where am I...? he wondered, squinting through the darkness. Without any warning, the dark room he was in suddenly jerked upwards like an old lift in a mine shaft.

While the dark room continued its ascent, the boy was left alone with countless thoughts. Among them was his name — Thomas. That was the only thing he could remember. He didn't understand how it was possible to possess knowledge and details about how everything works, yet he couldn't remember anything about his past.

Who was he? Where did he come from? Did he have parents? Siblings? Where were they? And what's this dark room he was in? Was he a criminal or something? Is that why he's here and is being taken somewhere else? Such questions plagued his mind with no hope for answers.

Thomas didn't know how much time have passed, but he estimated it to be roughly half an hour. Eventually, the rising room halted, and everything fell silent. A minute or two passed, and nothing was happening which made Thomas uneasy. There's got to be a way out of here, he thought.

He scrambled to his feet, searching for a way out, only to find nothing. He groaned in frustration and began pounding his fists on the walls, screaming for help. Nothing. Thomas's chest squeezed with fear and anxiety. He screamed for help once more until his throat went raw. "Someone...! Help me...!"

Then, a loud clank rang out above him, startling Thomas. A straight line of light appeared across the ceiling of the dark room and it slowly expanded. Light shone through and Thomas had to cover his eyes with both hands from it. Then, he heard a bunch of whispers.

"Look at that shank."

"How old is he?"

"Looks like a klunk in a T-shirt."

"You're the klunk, shuck-face."

"Dude, it smells like feet down there!"

"Hope you enjoyed the one-way trip, Greenie."

"Ain't no ticket back, bro."

When Thomas's vision adjusted to the light, he saw several boys looking down and pointing at him. Some of them were young and some were older. Thomas was confused. They were just teenagers. Kids. So where were the adults? Were they the ones who placed them here? For what purpose? Thomas couldn't think of any reason. Maybe they know, he thought.

Someone lowered a rope from above, the end of it tied into a big loop. Thomas hesitated at first, then slowly stepped into it with his right foot and clutched the rope as he was yanked up. All the whispers around him died down when one of them stepped up to him. "Nice to meet ya, shank," the dark-skinned boy said. "Welcome to the Glade."