I wake up gasping for air. The first thing I notice is that I don't fell good. My head is spinning, my stomach is doing flips, and my limbs ache. I lean over the side of the bed and throw up everything in my stomach, which isn't much. The second thing I notice is that I have no idea where I am. I can can't remember where I am, why I'm here, or who I am. I can't remember anything. Finally I open my eyes to find myself in a small room. It's only big enough for a small group of people with the bed in here. Then I see him. A boy, probably about 16 years old, with blond hair, muscular arms, and a square jaw. He's asleep in a chair next to the bed. I'm surprised he didn't wake up when I was throwing up. I move to sit up and groan loudly as my body protests against the movement. His eyes snap open and he locks eyes with me before smiling widely.
"Bloody hell Morgan! You scared the klunk out of me! I thought you were dying or something!" He says in a thick accent.
"Who's Morgan? Who are you? Where am I? What's going on?" I ask him. With each question he looks more and more horrified.
"You don't remember me?" He asks quietly.
"Did you not just hear me? No I don't remember you. I can't remember anything!"
The blood drains from his face so that he's as white as a sheet. Then the door opens and 8 boys rush in. I quickly sit up the rest of the way and scoot back until my back is against the wall. The fast movement makes my head spin even faster and for a moment I black out. I hear voices, but can't make out any words and I feel like I'm gonna hurl again. Finally my vision clears and I get a good look at the guys in the room. I see a dark skinned boy with short hair talking to the blondie that was here to begin with. Standing next to them is a guy with serious acne problems and someone with a full beard and hair that seems to have a mind of its own. Then there is an Asian with thick arms and short black hair who is staring at me. Standing next to him is a tall guy with black hair and a short pudgy kid who can't be older than 13. There are also two guys standing in front of me who keep asking me questions. One is short and has grey hair and the other is tall and has a huge nose. All the noise in the room is giving me a headache. I take a deep breath and yell as loud as I can,
"Shut up!"
Everyone freezes and stares at me. Then the dark skinned boy moves forward. "How do you feel Morgan?" He asks.
"Well I feel like throwing up and I have a killer headache, but other than that I am just peachy. Now will someone please tell me what the hell is going on!"
"We're not really sure." Says the guy with the huge nose. "You were fine one moment, hanging out with Newt, and the next thing we know he's freaking out because you fainted."
"Who the hell is Newt? Who are you? Where am I?" I ask.
The blondie gets a grim look on his face and the other boys mimic the look of horror that he had on earlier. The dark skinned boy steps forward again.
"You don't remember me?"
"No I don't remember you! What is wrong with you people? Don't you have ears?" The boy looks like he's on the verge of breaking down. I sigh. "Could someone please just explain to me what is happening."
The blondie speaks up. "Alright, everyone out. This will be a lot easier to explain without all of you in here. We can do... introductions later. " He says, hesitating slightly on the word 'introductions'. Everyone starts to file out of the room except for Blondie and the dark skinned boy.
"She doesn't remember anything." The dark skinned boy states.
"That's what I've been trying to bloody tell you!" Says Blondie.
"What are we gonna do?"
"Talk to her. Explain everything."
"Yeah, but who's gonna run things now?"
"You."
"Me?"
"Yes. You've been in charge for the week that she's been out and you're her second in command, so in case of her absence you take over."
"But she's not gone."
"I can see that, but she can't exactly run everything if she can't remember klunk, now can she?"
"I don't wanna have to take over."
"Well you're gonna have to. You've been doing fine this past week. Just do what you've been doing. Now go keep everyone occupied. I don't think that they should know she doesn't remember."
"Yeah. It would be best to keep their hopes up with. Especially with the new Greenie coming up in a few days."
They both nod and the dark skinned boy walks out, leaving me alone with Blondie. He walks over and sits down on the bed next to me before giving me a concerned look.
"Are you okay?"
"I'll live. I just wanna know what the hell's going on, where I am, who you are, and why I can't remember anything."
"Unfortunately, I'm not really sure what's happening or why you can't remember anything, but I can answer the other questions. My name's Newt and we are in the Glade. I'll give the tour of it later." He says sadly.
"Okay. Well, Newt, what's the situation? Why did everyone freak out when I told them I don't remember anything? Are we friends?"
"Yeah. We are friends. You've been friends with everyone here since the second they came up in the Box. You're even friends with Gally."
"Who's Gally? What's the Box?"
Newt takes a deep breath. "God this is weird. Gally is one of the Gladers. He's a Builder. The Box is what brings up supplies and Greenies."
"Who are the Gladers? What's a builder? Why does a box need to send supplies? Can you not just get the stuff yourself? And what's a Greenie?"
"We call ourselves the Gladers. A Builder is one of the jobs that we have here. The Glade is closed off so we can't get everything on our own. Some stuff we have to get the Box to supply us with. And a Greenie is another name for a newbie. The newest person here."
"What do you mean the Glade is closed off?" I ask as I move to stand up.
"Hey! Don't stand up yet, you'll get light headed. I don't need you fainting again."
"I'll be fine." I tell him as I stand up. The second I get to the window I get dizzy and start blacking out. As I begin to fall backwards I feel a warm body press against my back and strong arms wrap around me, holding me up.
"I told you." I hear Newt say, his hot breath on my ear sending chills down my spine.
"You you did." I say softly as my vision clears. I take a deep breath and when I am confident I can stand up on my own I push him away half heartily. "I'm fine. You can let go of me now."
He takes a step back and moves so that he is standing next to me at the window. I look at him for a moment, but look away when he catches me staring. I can see a small smile form on his lips out of the corner of my eye before I focus on what he had called 'the Glade'. It's huge and beautiful, so full of life that it nearly takes my breath away. The thing that really catches my eye though are the massive walls that surround it.
"What is this place?" I whisper in awe.
"This," Newt tells me. "Is the Glade."