She was freezing. Her skin cold as ice despite the humid air surrounding...
Surrounding what? She could feel a cold metal grate beneath her palms, digging into her flesh and leaving an imprint in her skin. The air smelled of fresh dirt and sweat but it was to dark to see anything. Panic was quickly settling in the pit of her stomach as she crawled blindly across the...Cage?
'Lift,' her brain supplied.
And it was. She could feel the grate moving beneath her, though it was difficult to tell in what direction it was traveling in her disoriented state. She realized she was sobbing only after she felt cold tears drip down onto the back of her hand. She couldn't hear her own desperate cries over the grind of metal against metal. It went on forever. The lift shifted and shook as it traveled toward wherever it was taking her. Hours later, if her sense of time was at all faithful, the lift ground to a rocky halt and with an awkward jerk, sent her sprawling across the floor.
Everything fell silent. The only sound was heavy panting as she struggled to stand on shaky legs. Something clicked and clanked above her and the ceiling quickly fell away. Bright light flooded the lift and blinded her, the rays of sunlight burned through her eyelids and cast a yellow glow across her vision. She had to throw her hands up to shield them. There were long shadows moving against the light and a barrage of loud voices seemed to be speaking all at once.
"Good, I'm ready for someone to take my place as greenie."
"I hope he's got some carpentry experience, we could really use a new builder."
"MOVE! All of you! Let me through so I can pull up the Greenie!"
Greenie? Were they talking about her? Her name wasn't Greenie, was it? She blinked up into the light, squinting to see who was speaking but was instantly knocked backward by the weight of someone jumping down inches from where she'd been standing.
He was big. Really big.
His hair was thick and short, tinted red by the light of the sun. His cheeks were slightly sunburnt and dusted with freckles. His eyes were a pale green.
Other than his stocky size, the most notable thing about him was the shape of his eyebrows. It was as if he had spent hours grooming them into that quirky shape. They made him look like he lived in an almost constant state of irritability.
But right now was different.
Right now they were raised in surprise. His eyes were wide and his lips were parted slightly as if he was fighting to get the words to leave his mouth.
"What's the hold up Gally?" Someone called down from above them.
'Gally' audibly swallowed, his voice coming out as barely more than a whisper.
"Girl..."
"What? You're going to have to speak up if you want anyone to bloody hear you..." This voice sounded strange, foreign in a way that she couldn't quite place. Gally balled up his fist and for a split second she thought he meant to strike her. Instead, he spun around to face the others and shouted up at them.
"It's a shucking girl!"
Silence fell over the group for what seemed like an eternity. No one dared to move.
It was terrifying.
What did they plan to do to her? Why would they bring her here? Who were these people? Her whole body shook with fear and anticipation. A strangled sob fell from her lips when she tried to speak. The sound made Gally turn back toward her. His eyes began to roam over her, searching for who knows what. His expression seemed suspicious but he did not move or say anything.
There was no way out of this. She was trapped in a lift with a boy much larger than her and there were more of them waiting up above. She was sure she couldn't fight them off and it was unlikely that she would be able to outrun them all even if she managed to get free. So she did the only thing that seemed logical, she pushed herself down onto her knees and focused on looking this boy in the eyes.
"I-It's Gally, right?" Her voice sounded strained and desperate but she was doing her best to appear submissive. If she could just get this boy on her side...
Gally continued to stare but his eyes did seem to soften, if only a little. He swallowed hard and gave her a curt nod. This was quite possibly the strangest thing he'd seen in his three years as a Glader...
"Ok Gally...That's a really nice name."
Flirting. Flirting was the only way to describe what she was attempting to do. She could remember what flirting was but she wasn't sure whether she had actually attempted it before now. Not to mention she had no idea what she actually looked like...
Whatever it takes to survive.
"Please don't hurt me Gally. I'll do whatever you want. Anything...Just..." She slid closer to him, the grate scraping painfully against her knees. "Just please don't hurt me."
Something flashed in Gally's eyes but another body came down and jostled the lift, whatever it had been was gone before she even got the chance to decipher what it could mean. There was no time left to share alone with him. If he did not trust her or at least connect with her in some way...
She jumped up and wrapped herself around Gally's waist. The boy initially stumbled backward, then went rigid beneath her touch. She couldn't see his face but she knew he must be shocked, if not disgusted, by her actions.
"Gally! Gally help me! Please!"
Whoever had come down to join them did not say anything. They were likely just as surprised at the scene that was unfolding as Gally seemed to be.
"Gally, do you know this girl?" This boy sounded so calm, though there was a note of authority in his voice that was unmistakable.
"I...I don't know...I don't think so."
The new addition to the lift moved in closer. She could hear his shoes squeaking against the grate.
"It's alright sweetie. No one is going to hurt you." He gently placed a hand on her shoulder but she flinched away as if he had struck her, standing up on her tip-toes so that she could bury her face in Gally's neck.
He returned the gesture by wrapping his arms around her shoulders and pulling her closer to him. Suddenly, Gally was no longer an angry mix of mistrust and confusion. He was strong and protective. He was everything she wanted from him. It had paid off.
"I've got her Alby. I'll take her to the homestead and find her a place to sleep. She can't spend her nights out here with the boys."
"I'm trusting you not to try anything. She is clearly very vulnerable right now and I'd hate for someone to abuse her trust."
Gally's eyes narrowed at that but he did not respond. He scooped her up into his arms and climbed out of the lift, completely ignoring all the questions and comments that followed the two of them out.
"Shuck it is a girl!"
"Hey sweetheart! Aren't you cute?"
She's gonna be mine so keep your hands off!"
She could see all of their faces as they passed each one by. Some were younger and some were older but they were all male. Gally was fuming by the time they made it out of the crowd. Taking long strides to get her out of there quickly, they began walking toward a dilapidated building that looked to have been hastily constructed. Outside the front door, a boy stood waiting for him. He had shaggy blonde hair, big brown eyes, and wore a grimy, oversized white shirt that was opened half way to reveal a hairless chest. His face was soft and kind. Thin and tall (though not nearly as tall as Gally) and when he spoke, she immediately recognized his accent from earlier.
"Put her in my room. I can find some place else to sleep."
Inside the Homestead, the three of them climbed a creaky set of stairs that lead to a thin hallway with several open doors. They stopped at the third and the blonde led the way inside.
"I know it's nothing special but it works." He beamed at her and it made her feel a little more relaxed. She knew she needed to be vigilant. She was in a man's bedroom with said man and another that she assumed was his friend. She didn't know where she was or even who she was and she had basically just confessed to one of these men that she would do anything to stay alive, even if it meant giving herself to him.
'That must be why he brought me here...To share me with his friend,' she thought bitterly. Looking down at herself, she found that she was wearing jeans and a long sleeved green shirt. She fiddled with the hem of the shirt for a moment before she got the guts to start pulling it over her head.
"Woah woah. What are you doing love?" The blonde boy held his hand out as if to calm her.
She tossed the shirt onto the floor with shaky hands and then reached back behind her to unclasp her bra. Gally grabbed both of her wrists hard, squeezing more than was probably necessary.
"Don't." It was nothing short of a growl.
"But...I thought...I told you I would."
"Don't."
He shoved her hands back down to her sides while the blonde boy fetched her top. Gally made as if to leave but he stopped in the doorway and turned to face her one last time.
"What you said to me down in the box...About how you'd do anything...Begging me..." That same look she had seen earlier flashed across his face once more yet still she wasn't sure what to make of it. In an instant, his eyes locked onto hers, fierce and powerful. "Don't talk like that to anyone else. Got it? The rest aren't quite as nice as I am."
And with that he was gone.
"Nice is a bit of an exaggeration..." The blonde boy mumbled. "I'm Newt by the way. Do you remember your name yet?" She shook her head. "Well that's fine love, none of the Greenies can remember their names when they first come up out of the box."
There it was again Greenie. "What's a Greenie? And what's the box?"
Newt sighed and sat on the end of the bed. "Alby will go over all of that tomorrow when you have the tour. All you need to know for now is that you're special." For whatever reason, the comment made her blush. "You are the first girl we have ever had in the Glade. But know this, we all come up here in that box the same as you with no memories at all. The only thing we ever remember is our names. We have built a life here and we all stick together to make things work. Now, you are safe here. I will lock the door and I'm going to be sleeping out in the hall in case you need anything. Get some sleep."
He grinned and left the room, leaving her alone. So many questions were swimming in her head, how was she supposed to get any sleep?