It began in darkness. Cold darkness that stank of death and dust and the stagnant scent of stale air. He wrinkled his nose as he stirred, and seemingly on que there was a grinding of metal. It sent a shock through the man and he lurched up attempting to stand only to slam his head off of a low steel roof he hadn't known was there and just as quickly as he had risen, he was bowed down on the ground holding the back of his head in pain. He took a moment before he began to look around and he noted he seemed to be in some sort of steel cage. He could see bodies around him, and as the lights flew past as his cage moved upward. He couldn't see below, the ground was made of some kind of sheet metal and the sealing of the cage was built the same, however the sides were more like a cage, and the dank air that moved into the cage from the walls made him feel ill. It was such a strong smell. He looked around the cage as his vision adjusted and saw a couple of crates and things like chain and rope, and a rusted barrel. He looked around wondering where he was, and what was happening.

My name is Derek, He thought to himself as he sat there quietly, back against the side of the cage. The only good thing was that the air rushing past felt good on his warm sweat soaked back. As he tried to think he realized, this was the only thing he could remember. His brows furrowed in irritation and confusion as he tried to think, only getting pieces of information, all seemingly irrelevant. He could recall running through thick trees and brush, he could recall learning to ride a bike he knew what the snow that blanketed the trees Knowledge flooded into his mind like a river as memories raced about in his head though not a sinlge thing made sense. He could remember things, cars, buildings, the sun and the moon, the moon in particular, and he recalled in awe at the beauty it held. He recalled eating burgers with faceless people, nameless people, and though he knew that they were important to him, he was completely lost in his memory. He recalled swimming in a lake with these same people, and how he so carefully watched over them.

Yet he had no idea where he came from or how he came to be in this cage in this place with no memory. He had no idea if he had siblings or parents or even if the people in his memory were still alive. He grew more frustrated as he attempted to place faces with the bodies he envisioned, though nothing registered as familiar, they remained smeared and featureless, voiceless as well, he was unable to recall a single conversation he ever had though with the memories in his mind he recalled being happy, so surely they were happy as well? He felt like he was about to cry, as he gripped his hair with his hands in frustration before he began calming himself down.

He looked around as he forced his heart to slow down, and a nervousness began to grip at his chest. He was now immune to the unbalanced swaying and jerking of the rusted cage, and he began to wonder if he would ever reach the top. He knew better then that, and in the back of his mind he felt like it had been close to twenty minutes since he had woken. He was curious, but he knew that it could be dangerous to be to curious as well. Though just as it became unbearable, the cage stopped abruptly, causing him to fall over from the momentum of his own body. He froze wondering what was happening, and after a while, he wondered if he was just going to stay in the cage. A fear gripped him as it began to get hotter, and he began to pound on the cage, yelling for help. Even his own voice seemed far away, like it wasn't coming from his own mouth. The metal was warm to the touch it was so hot in there and it was hard to breathe at some point. Sweat poured off of him and made everything more uncomfortable.

"Some one get me out!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. Almost instantly he heard clanking and scraping of metal and he dropped suddenly fearful, but that quickly turned into anger and he got into a crouching position, ready to launch out of the cage soon as the door had been lifted. A crack of light at the edge of the cage caught his attention and his eyes, now so accustomed to the darkness, had become so blinded he had to shield his face from the brilliant white light of day. He heard murmuring, voices, frantic and curious. He blinked as his eyes adjusted and he saw faces. All of them were young, they were dirty and unkempt most of them looked like they were half starved, and others looked like they had just gotten there themselves.

"Whats with all the Greenies all of a sudden?"

"Someone go get Alby and Thomas!"

"Look how big he is,"

"They reinforced the cage for this guy?"

"How old do you think he is?"

"Older than us,"

"Hope you had a good ride, Greenie"

"Anyone get Alby yet?"

"It stinks like blood down there,"

"How do you know what blood smells like?"

"First Thomas and a day later this guy?"

"Here comes Gally,"

Derek was hit with a wave of noise and confusion, blasted with noise and voices and faces all around him he didn't recognize. He knew these kids were younger then him, but not by how much. It was like a buzzing in his ears and it maed him feel like he was vibrating and that he would pass out if the noise kept up. His fear melted away when he realized they were just scrawny kids, though his heart still raced. He flinched as someone threw down a rope, which almost hit him and he looked at it hesitantly before taking it, and climbing up the side of the cage. As he reached the edge of the cage hands reached down, lots of them, grabbing him by the arms and shirt to make sure he didn't fall, and they yanked him into the world and into a sea of swirling faces and voices. They yanked at him spinning him or pulled at his clothes tugging him in every direction. He felt the ground begin to move as he fought the urge to vomit. He pushed his way out of the crowd of people and fell to his knees trying to steady himself against the storm of emotions that threatened to over take him. He looked up to see one of these boys as he leaned down and touched his shoulder, steadying him.

"Welcome to the Glade,"