I woke up in a quick moving box. It appeared like an elevator of sorts. I heard the screeching of metal on metal as it came to a stop. I stumbled back and fell because of the sudden movement. Just as I was about to pick myself up, a blinding light filled my eyes. As my vision returned to normal, I felt the box shake when a girl jumped in beside me. "I'm Sonya, greenie. Welcome to the Glade."
Sonya helped me stand up and I looked around. There was a large crowd of girls standing around and staring at me. I looked at Sonya and asked, "Where am I?" She sighed and replied, "Like I said, you're in the Glade. Follow me, we've got to give you the tour. Amanda, Krista, and Lily, take the supplies out of the box and bring them to their assorted places in the Glade. I'll bring him to the Honestead and Harriet can give him the tour." Sonya barked out orders in a brisk manner. After a few seconds, nobody had moved and everybody was still staring at me. Sonya looked annoyed and asked, "Come on, why is everybody just standing there?" The girls looked around nervously before a big girl in the front with thick black hair replied,"That's a boy." I was a bit confused. Was I the only boy here? Sonya rolled her eyes and said to the girl, "Yes, I realize that Beth. Maybe WICKED realized that there are only girls in the glade and sent us up a boy. It's not a big deal." Everybody still looked nervous though, and Beth spoke up again. "But every month for three years, we've gotten a new girl. Why is this different?" Everybody seemed to agree with Beth. Everybody, that is, except Sonya. "I'm not sure why this one is a boy, but everything else is normal. Rachel came exactly a month ago, there were supplies in the box, so lets just go with it okay? Now, I believe I assigned jobs to some people. Get on it. Except Harriet and Rachel, you two come with me." Sonya ordered in a brisk tone. The girls dispersed, muttering among themselves. Sonya turned to me and said, "Follow me. We need to find out what's going on."
I was very confused. Sonya had just said that everything was normal, but then she brought me up to a giant house to discuss what was going on. I looked around. We had gone up several flights of stairs and were standing in a wooden room containing only a table and a couple of chairs. Sonya was staring out of the window, not saying a word. I decided to initiate a conversation. "So what exactly are we going to talk abo-" She cut me off. "Be quiet. I'm not telling you anything. You could be some sort of spy or something." I rolled my eyes. What did she think I was, a bloody assassin? Even though she was rather rude, I shut my mouth. After a few more moments, I heard the door opening. In came two of the girls I had seen crowding around me earlier. One was average height with long brown hair. She had chocolate brown eyes, both of which were staring at me. The other had short black hair and dark skin. She was shorter, with a stockier build. She was walking toward Sonya. Sonya spun around with a sigh of relief. "Rachel. Harriet. We need to talk about him."
Sonya had been arguing quietly with the other two girls for a while. To be honest, I was a bit irked that they wouldn't listen to me. I had a bloody lot of questions at that point. I couldn't remember my name or my age. I had no idea where I was and I didn't remember any of these people. Finally I couldn't take it anymore. "I'm right here you know!" I said loudly. All three girls stopped talking and turned to look at me. Sonya sighed and rubbed her forehead. "You're right. I guess with all of the commotion I forgot you're still a greenie." She apologized, blowing a piece of hair out of her face. I furrowed my brow, confused. "A what?" I asked. This time, the girl named Harriet piped up. "Greenie. It's what we call newcomers to our home, the glade." I nod, beginning to piece things together. Before I can ask anything else, Sonya cuts in. "Okay, Harriet will answer your questions on the tour. Right now we've got some more important things to address. Now, Rachel, you're sure you don't recognize him?" She said urgently. The girl Rachel studied me, her deep brown eyes studying my face. I had an unexplainable urge to crawl under the table and hide. She finally sighed, admitting, "I've got no memory of him." I looked at Sonya. She looked like she was either about to scream or cry. She bit her lip. "Okay. Okay, here's what we'll do. Harriet, give him the tour. Answer his questions, get him fed, and find him somewhere to sleep." Harriet nodded, walking out and beckoning me to follow. As I left, I heard Sonya give another order to Rachel. "Go find Aimee. Tell her I want the new maps drawn as fast as possible, and then for her to bring them to me." I briefly wondered what these maps were, but shrugged it off. I had bigger issues to deal with.
I followed Harriet outside, looking around. I wasn't paying too much attention when she showed me around. There was the large house we had just come out of, a wooded area, a farm, a kitchen, a garden. It seemed like your stereotypical farming town. After several hours of walking, and her telling me random facts about jobs and such, we went to the kitchen to eat. She grabbed two trays and brought them over to a table that was a bit more secluded. As we began to eat, she looked up at me. "I'm sure you're dying to ask some questions, so go ahead." She said, anticipating my growing confusion. I sighed. "Why can't I remember anything? Not even my bloody name?" I said frustratedly. She gave me a sympathetic look. "We're not sure. All we know us that every month, a new girl comes up in that box with supplies. Nobody can ever remember anything. Your name will come back to you in a few days, though." She explained. I felt a spark of relief that I'd remember my name soon. "Speaking of the people that put us here, where exactly is here?" I asked, scarfing down an apple. Harriet looked at me with wide eyes. Probably judging my eating habits. She shook off her shock and answered me. "Well, we call this the Glade. It's basically just what I showed you on the tour. It's surrounded by these big stone walls, behind which is a maze. We have people who run that maze every day looking for an escape. As for the people who put us here," she added, anticipating my next question, "we've got very limited knowledge about them. All we know is that they're called W.I.C.K.E.D." I frowned. "Wicked?" She rolled her eyes. "It stands for World In Catastrophe, Killzone Experiment Department. And no, we don't know what that means." She informed me, answering my next question. I nodded, trying to process it all. She began balling up her napkin, dropping it onto her tray. "Well, I'm sure it's been a long day for you. Let's find you somewhere to sleep." She said, standing and heading over to a trash can. I followed her, dumping my trash in the bin and setting my tray on top. As we exited the cafeteria place, I realized that everyone was staring at me. It made me very uncomfortable, and I hurried back to the large house. What did Harriet call it? The Homestead. Once we were inside, I looked at her pleadingly. "Could I possibly have my own room? I'd feel a bit...odd trying to get to bed with the constant stares." I begged. Harriet laughed. "Yeah, over here." She said, leading me to a small room. "Will this work?" She asked. "It's perfect. Thank you." I grinned. As Harriet turned to leave, she stopped and looked at me. "Oh yeah, and Sonya has three rules." She said, holding up three fingers. "One: do your part. Two: never hurt another glader. And three: never go outside those walls. Got it?" She asked. I nodded, feeling sleepy already. I laid down on the cot as Harriet left, closing the door behind her. Shutting my eyes, I settled in for my first night in the Glade.