"Tell only the leader you are not a boy."

Those words were just visible in the dim light. She shivered and crumpled the paper in her hand. That was all she had. That was all she knew. She was a she. And wherever she was going, those who awaited were not to know. The box in which she cowered was rising steadily enough up a shaft. Lights along the sides passed through her eyesight to be replaced by the next set. Shoving the paper into her baggy pants pockets, she looked down at her body. Her shirt was of a dark green, one size too large for her frame. Brown boots covered her feet. She suddenly touched her hair. Not short, but not long either. Waves fell to just about her mid-neck. She could pass for a long haired male, she assumed. A tremor of terror racked her body, making her shiver again and curled tightly into a ball. She cringed as a loud sound began to get closer and closer. Looking up, she saw the oncoming wall of the shaft. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply just as the box stopped. She thought her heart would do the same.

She squeezed her eyes tighter as she heard the box open and felt light searing the backs of her eyelids. Voices could be heard around her. A few laughs, multiple murmurs, and then the sound of solid boots hitting the floor of the box. She opened her eyes, only to squint. Blinking and holding her hand up against the light, a dark face took shape before her.

"Well, aren't you scrawny, eh, Greenie?"

As her eyes adjusted to the light, she looked around rapidly. Fifteen. There couldn't be more than fifteen. Her eyes went back to the person in front of her. Her eyes widened at the sight of the man closest to her. He had broad shoulders and thick arms. He wore a dirt-stained white long-sleeved shirt with jeans. He could easily pass for being 16 or 17 years old. His dark skin glistened with sweat as if he had just been working hard.

Where the heck was she? A sense of panic began to rise in her chest. The male before her appeared to sense her feelings and put his hands up.

"Calm down. No one is going to hurt you."

"Wh-where am I? Who am I?" her voice cracked out.

A few snickers moved around the males.

"Looks like the youngest by far. He can't be more than 11 or 12."

"Hasn't even hit puberty. Sounds like a girl."

"We have a baby Greenie."

Her face hardened. Her mind ventured back to the slip of paper that now felt as if it were burning a hole in her pocket.

"Tell only the leader you are not a boy."

She looked toward the male with her in the box as he moved closer. She slowed her breathing.

"Are you good? You aren't going to attack me or run?" he asked.

Staring at him for a moment, she shook her head slowly.

The boy straightened up with a sigh.

"Alright then. Let's get up and out of this box so we can unload everything."

Two sets of arms reached out toward her. She hesitated for a moment before taking one hand of each set. She was easily pulled out of the box. She could not help the gasp that escaped her lips as she looked around. Vibrant green grass covered a great expanse that ended in gigantic cement walls. Healthy, green trees surrounded the enclosure just inside the wall. Around her were buildings in the process of being built out of sticks and logs.

"What…what is this place?"

She jumped as a hand clapped down heavily on her shoulder. It was the boy who had jumped into the box with her. She glanced behind him to see the other boys taking out all the things that were in the box. Looking back at the male, she saw him smiling widely.

"Welcome to the Glade. You finally get to see this place being made into something worthwhile. We've been at this for a shucking year, if you can believe it. We had a lot of ups and downs to start."

From what it looked like, the place was still a bit empty, but she could tell the boy was proud of this place. She stuck her hands in her pockets. She relaxed slightly, feeling the slip of paper brush her fingers.

"I'm Alby, by the way. You probably don't remember your name yet, but it'll come back to you soon. Walk with me, Greenie. I've got plenty to show you."

Alby began walking off and she made sure to follow after him. He began talking a lot after that, telling her that for over the year the boys had been put in the Glade, they had finally started making something of the place. He mentioned how people got hurt at first for one reason or another until they had decided to set up rules. 1) Everyone does their part. To survive together, everyone has to help. 2) Never hurt another Glader. You have to trust each other or the community crumbles. 3) Never go outside the Glade. Unless you have a job called Runner.

Alby explained to her that there were multiple jobs for everyone to do. Early on, they had been getting Greenies, newbies to the Glade, twice a month, but they had been set down to one for the past two months. She was told they currently had about eighteen people in the Glade. What happened to the others, she wasn't sure she wanted to know. She was shown a tower that they had built. Everyone had pitched in, even if they weren't a Builder. They were almost done with the Homestead, which would eventually be able to fit over forty people if they were all packed in. They had a Med-jack hut, stocked for any kind of injuries and a bath house. She refused to go near the Bloodhouse. It just did not sound like a place she wanted to go near from the view she did get. After Alby had shown her enough to make her head spin, he brought her up to the tower. She gazed out toward the little garden that they appeared to be growing, trying to let everything sink in.

"So, any questions?" Alby asked, "You've been rather quiet this entire time. Usually people ask more questions."

She glanced over at him before looking back out at the garden. A few Gladers were planting more rows of something. She could tell the garden could really be something someday. This entire place could.

"It's incredible...what you've done here."

Alby grinned, his pride showing through his eyes.

"I am glad you can appreciate it. Not everyone takes to this place so quickly."

"What else have I got? I don't exactly remember anything. Might as well accept where I am."

The boy just shrugged.

"Hey, makes my job easier if you do, Greenbean."

Taking a deep sigh, she turned to Alby.

"So...are you the leader here?"

He raised an eyebrow at her before leaning an elbow on the railing in front of him as he looked at her.

"Most of the guys here would say that, I suppose. I just make sure things run smoothly and make tough decisions. If that means I am the leader...well..."

Taking that as an agreement, she pulled the slip of paper from her pocket and handed it to him. Knowing they were alone, feet above all others, she let him read the slip before whispering to him.

"I'm actually a girl."

Alby swallowed as he read the slip of paper multiple times, his eyes moving back and forth quickly. When he looked up at her, she knew he was examining her carefully.

"Are you shucking kidding me?" he hissed.

"I-I'm sorry," she apologized on impulse, afraid he was angry.

Glancing up, Alby just sighed.

"It isn't your fault...shuck...We just have to make sure you keep it between us, alright? The people who put is in here wouldn't have told you to stay quiet unless it was important. Psh, nineteen of us and one a girl...yeah, I could see some bad things happening. Guess that means you aren't a teenie greenie. Seeing you as a girl...thirteen or fourteen?"

She shrugged.

"I don't remember anything, but that feels about right...fourteen..."

She rubbed her head slightly. It had started to hurt.

"Antoinette?" she whispered.

Alby, who had started ripping the slip of paper into tiny pieces, looked over at her. Though still concerned about her presence, he smiled.

"That your name?"

She couldn't help as a smile broke out on her face.

"I...yeah...Antoinette is my name. I'm Antoinette."

Antoinette wrapped her arms around herself. There was comfort in remembering her own name. It was as if her body had returned to her from some far off place. Alby watched her for a minute before humming to himself. His hand landed on her shoulder again, heavy as it has been the first time he had done it.

"Alright. Well...Let's make sure that you don't tell people your real name. It is pretty girly."

Antoinette hesitated, not sure if he was insulting her. It wasn't until a smile broke out on his face and he ruffled her hair that she realized he wasn't being mean, just honest.

"How about Anthony then?" Alby asked her," Its close, but not, right?"

Antoinette pushed his hand off her head so she could fix her hair.

"Fine."

With that decided, the two started to descend from the tower. Just as they were heading for the in-progress Homestead, shouts erupted from a portion of the wall. Alby turned toward the noise.

"Oh, klunk."

He took off toward the wall, Antoinette following as fast as she could. In her peripheral, she could see most of the other boys heading the same way they were. Upon reaching the wall, they stopped before two guys.

"What happened?" Alby demanded.

A strong looking Asian boy with the darkest hair Antoinette had seen among the Gladers addressed Alby.

"We can't find Newt and we have less than an hour before the walls close."

Alby let out a string of curses that Antoinette did not fully understand. He took off without hesitation, running out beyond the wall.

"ALBY!" shouted the Asian guy, before running after him with his fellow Runner.

Antoinette was about to follow when a hand grabbed her arm.

"Nope, Greenie, you can't go out there. Alby told you the rules right? No one but the Runners goes out there."

"But Alby-"

"He is a special case."

The girl turned and looked up at the tallest boy she had seen that day. All of the boys were looking older to her, but maybe that came with over a year of working hard to make this place into something better than a field with trees. Even the non-muscular ones were probably hiding strength.

"Will they be okay?" she asked, quietly, looking back at the opening in the wall," Alby said the door closes each night to...keep things out.

The boy shrugged.

"Probably. Newt probably just got himself caught on something. He isn't exactly the type to get lost."

They were silent for a moment before Antoinette turned to the boy and held out her hand.

"I...I'm Anthony."

She caught the male smirk before taking her hand.

"Gally, Keeper of the Builders."

Antoinette could see why. He was pretty stocky. He steered her over toward the Homestead.

"Any ideas of where you'd like to do your part. Most new arrivals start as Slicers."

Gally laughed at the petrified expression on her face.

"Calm down, Greenbean, if you get that pale just thinking about it you would obviously be useless there. Got any muscle on you? For building?"

Antoinette shrugged. All she really knew right now was her name and her age. Gally looked around the Glade.

"Well...we could always use Sloppers."

The nasty look that she gave just made him lightly punch her shoulder, which almost knocked her off her feet.

"Well, in the mean time, how about you give us a hand over here. I'll just have you hold sticks, even if they are three times your height."