Previously on The Journey of Remembering...
He walked off, and I watched his receding figure.
He disappeared into the edge of the forest, and I looked away, turning my attention to my food.
Grabbing the spoon he'd left me, I dug in.
In minutes it was gone, and I'd even went as far as to lick the bowl clean.
The sensation of a full stomach was oddly comforting.
I leaned back, closing my eyes as the rays of the sun washed over my face.
After a moment, I opened my eyes and noticed three figures running in from the tall gap in the walls.
"Who are they?" I wondered aloud.
"You'll find out soon enough." Alby said, coming towards me. He turned, whistling loudly at the three new figures.
They all turned to look, and he waved, heading towards them.
I peered inquisitively at Alby's back. He met the group in the middle, and they were all peering curiously at me over his shoulder.
A tall boy broke out in a run heading towards me. He had close cropped brown hair and piercing brown eyes. I got up, confused, and he came thundering to a stop feet away.
His mouth opened and closed like a dying fish.
"Hi?" I said nervously, not knowing who he was exactly.
He chuckled, a nervous breathy sound, and the others arrived.
The boy continued to stare at me like I wasn't real, mouth gaping, eyes still wide.
His breath finally caught in his throat, and he turned to glare at Alby, before storming off. Alby growled lowly, mumbling something that sounded like, "Slinthead."
"What'd I do?" I asked, pushing my hair behind my ear. My forehead creased, and I looked expectantly at the others. No one said anything, so I sighed.
"Hi, I'm the new 'Greenie'." I introduced, stepping forward, hand extended.
A foreign looking boy, with fluffy black hair and brown eyes smiled at me. "I'm Minho." He shook my hand, his large hand enveloping mine easily.
Minho stepped backwards, seemingly unable to keep his eyes off me. Another boy, this one blonde, stepped forward. He had slightly protruding ears and some seriously gorgeous green eyes.
"Ben." He said, confidence in his voice.
I smiled and nodded at the new people. "Who was..." I motioned to the boy who had run off.
"That was Thomas." Minho said, and at the mention of the strange boy's name, they all carefully studied me. I was beginning to feel like some sort of lab rat!
Thomas. I thought, contemplating the way the world felt in my mind. I felt the tendrils of some lost memory brush against my mind, and I cringed as it came crashing down around me.
"We're all on a journey to remember what we've lost, because we can't stand not knowing what we don't have."
The voice had said, lips brushing against the shell of my ear.
"A journey of remembering." I remembered smiling slyly at the other person.
The face was a blank slate as I tried to focus on it. A pair of lips came into focus, and they twisted up into a strong smirk.
"Exactly, Airilynn." [air-ih-lynn]
Something pricked my ribs, but somehow I had anticipated the pain.
Gasping, my world came back into picture around me. I was in a new location, tall wooden walls towering around me.
Scrambling backwards, my back hit a wall. "Woah." I exhaled, and got up off the bed.
"Oh, she's up!" Chuck suddenly exclaimed as he came through the doorway.
"Hey, Greenie, are you okay?"
"Airilynn." I corrected.
"What did you say?" Chuck's eyes were enormous, practically bulging out of his head.
"My name." I clarified, fiddling with the edge of my olive green shirt. "It's Airilynn."
Chuck chuckled, grimacing nervously. "Y-yeah. That's what I thought."
We stared at one another before he turned around and ran off, yelling for Alby.
Sighing, I ran after him, the door opening into a hallway, and then to a larger room. I'd had enough weird glances from the boys to know that something was up. They knew something about me, and I was determined to figure out what.
I threw the door open, and barreled into the woods, where it was getting dark. Something in the distance started to thunder, knocking me off balance as the ground beneath my feet shook. I cried out, pitching to the grassy floor. Rolling, I scrambled back up, and after Chuck. My gaze was caught by the doors I'd seen earlier, moving.
I gasped and froze, transfixed on the stone.
When they'd finally shut, my brain cleared, and I realized who I'd been after.
Chuck.
The sun dipped down behind the horizon, and I groaned.
There goes any chance of me catching him and trying to weasel out any information.
The pain I'd felt right before waking up flashed in my mind, and I headed back inside the building.
I was alone, much to my surprise. I began poking around the building - the only modern building around. I finally found a room with a cot, where'd I'd woke up. I sat back on the bed, yawning. Feeling impulsive, I lifted up my shirt, exposing my ribs and stomach. The pain pulsed again and I stared down at my left ribs, where right under my breast, something was there.
In slight cursive, black ink, life is a journey of remembering was tattooed. I frowned and brushes my fingers across the lightly tanned skin. The pain flared up when my fingers brushed across of remembering and I noticed it was a bit red, looking fresher than the rest.
What could this mean? I thought back to the memory, frowning. The voice was warm and familiar, very different from the strange accents and tones I'd heard in the past few hours.
I didn't have much time to contemplate, as Alby arrived, causing me to quickly throw down my shirt.
"You remembered your name." His deep voice said, eyes studying me.
I bobbed my head in inclination.
"Airilynn...though it seems everyone already knew that." I raised an eyebrow. "What's even going on, Alby? Don't you think I deserve to know? Why does it even matter that I know my own name?!" I asked again, exasperated.
Alby hesitated for a moment. "We have to have a Gathering, discuss everything that's going on with...with..." He gestured at me, and then to everywhere else. "And yes, I do think you deserve to know, Ari."
Ari...
The nickname sounded familiar, and I smiled unconsciously. "Gathering?" I stopped him at the door with my question.
"Like a meeting of people in charge." He slowly pushed the door shut. "I'll call one now, as a matter of fact. Stay here." He pointed at the bed, completely serious.
I groaned in annoyance, but did as he said.
I woke up in the bed what seemed like seconds later, light peeking through the small rectangular window near the ceiling. I deduced I'd must have slept through the night in here, alone. Part of me wondered what the Gathering had decided last night.
My stomach grumbled, pulling me out of my thoughts and causing me to realize I hadn't eaten since yesterday afternoon.
I pulled my hands through my hair, smoothing down the frizzy mess. As soon as I could get my hands on a brush, I'd have to braid my hair.
Getting up off the bed, I walked down the short hallway. I could tell by the loud chatter coming from the main room, that people were there. Everyone was seated on rickety chairs at wooden tables, eating from gray plates and bowls. The smell of eggs and bacon met my nose, overwhelming my senses. I stood in the doorway, scratching the back of my neck awkwardly. None of them seemed to take notice to me, so caught up in their own conversations.
Chuck shot up from a table close by, and scampered over to me, curls bouncing.
"Ari!" He exclaimed. "You're up!"
I smiled slightly, not showing my teeth. "Yeah." I said quietly.
"Ari is okay, right? Or do you want me to call you Airilynn?" He quickly questioned, sensing my unease.
"Ari's fine, Chuck." I turned my gaze to the room, where the sound had lowered in volume considerably.
They were all looking at me now, with wide eyes and uncertain expressions.
"Ari." The boy – Thomas – who'd freaked out at the sight of me got up and walked over. "I...apologize for how I acted earlier." He glanced away before motioning to follow him. We went over to his table, where Gally, Alby, Ben, Minho, Clint, and a few others were seated.
"Ari." Ben greeted, his eyes locking onto mine, his head inclining slightly in a greeting.
I bobbed my head in greeting, not taking a seat.
"I'm sure you're hungry," Minho said, getting up. "Here, I'll show you where Frypan is."
Minho got up, his legs pushing the chair back with a loud screech.
He walked over to another door in the wall, one that I'd not noticed last night in my sleepy stupor. He opened the door, heading in. I followed him inside, taking in the kitchen.
There was a large fireplace, at least 5 feet wide, in one corner, with a spit poking through the hearth. A pig was already slow cooking, the warm scent wafting from the pit. On the far wall, a long counter was built, sharp knives and different cooking tools laying on top. The wood looked oaken, much like the tall trees that towered over the west side of the Glade. In the corner adjacent to the fire, a cauldron type sink filled with steaming water.
My gaze skimmed over to Frypan, whom was standing near the fire. He was an average height, dark skinned guy, probably about 17 or 18.
It was then, I realized, I had no idea how old I was. Was I young like Chuck? Frypan's age? Or kind of in the middle?
"Mornin' Minho." Frypan greeted gruffly. "Greenie."
"Airilynn." I specified, already hating being called 'Greenie'.
Minho shot a pointed look at Frypan, who looked surprised as the group had when they first pulled me out.
"Alrighty then, Ari." Frypan gestured to the cast iron skillet resting near the fire. "We got eggs, bacon, and rolls. Whatdya have?"
My stomach growled quietly, demanding food. "Two of everything?" I timidly asked, grinning widely when he chuckled.
"Good that! We've got ourselves an eater!" Frypan chuckled again, and added, mostly to himself. "Just like her."
I frowned, catching the comment, but Minho said nothing. "Frypan's grub is the best you'll ever taste, Ari!" He stared out the wide window next to the fire pit. "Alright, I gotta go. I'm sure that Alby will assign someone to watch you and explain what's going on. Then, Newt or someone will show you the ropes and help you pick out a job."
Minho stared at me for a brief moment, and something flashed in his cocoa colored irises. He patted me on the shoulder, said goodbye, and then left.
Frypan handed me a plate with a grin. "There ya go!"
"Thanks!" I smiled, then paused. "How old do I look?"
Frypan considered me for a moment, before responding. "About 16, maybe 17... There's a mirror in the med-kit. You could ask Clint or Jeff to use it, I'm sure the shucks would let ya."
I thanked him for his input, and the food, before returning to the dining hall. The numbers had decreased noticeably, but some were still there, looking like they were stalling. When I came into their line of sight, they all stared at me, their gazes following me till I sat down next to Gally at the table I was at earlier. I noticed that Ben and Thomas were gone, probably off with Minho doing whatever they did out past the walls of the Glade.
I dug into the eggs first, then the bacon, practically inhaling my food.
"So." I said to the boys, who had all gotten a bit quieter ever since I took a seat. "You all finally gonna explain to me why it's such a big deal that my name's Airilynn?"
Newt nodded slowly, before turning to the others. "Get to work, ya slintheads!"
They all reluctantly got up, stacked their plates in a wooden tote by the kitchen, and left.
Once the hall was empty except for the boys at the table, Alby spoke.
"About six months ago, a girl arrived in the Box. She was the first girl we'd ever had since waking up here without our memories. She was fiery and beautiful. Her name was Airilynn, just like yours." Alby spoke as if he was walking on egg-shells. "The resemblance between the two of you doesn't end there either...she had the same blue eyes, blonde hair, except hers was a lot shorter than that mop of hair you got."
My eyes widened. A girl that looked just like me? Was it me? How would I even know if it was since I couldn't even remember my own name?
"She had this cloud shaped birthmark on the back of her knee, and you have it too."
"Sorry about that, love." Newt apologized. "I was the one that wanted to check."
I didn't say anything, simply allowed my gaze to flicker over Newt's brown eyes.
Alby continued. "Ari eventually became part of our community – our family – and we all became close with her, like a sister. Some of us... closer than others." He paused, taking a drink of whatever was in his gray cup.
"About two months ago." Gally spoke up, taking over for Alby, who had a haunted look in his eyes. "Minho, Ben and Thomas were running behind, outside beyond the walls, and she ran out there to let them know. She was able to push them through, but she...she didn't make it...the doors shut, and..."
Gally was staring down at the table, looking emotionless, yet full of sorrow at the same time.
"She died." I said monotonously.
Did this other me have some sort of connection with him? I wondered, recalling how his arrogant smirk immediately turned me off from wanting to be friends with him. Or someone else? Alby did say that some of the guys were closer with her than others...
I studied each boys' face. They all looked like they missed the girl, and I wondered if it hurt that I was here, looking so much like the girl they missed.
"I found a tattoo." I heard myself say, though I don't know why it was relevant. "On my ribs, right after I remembered my name."
"A tattoo?" Clint spoke up, looking confused.
"Yeah." I mumbled, heat rising to my face. I lifted up my shirt, enough to expose the small cursive writing on my ribs.
life is a journey of remembering
"The of remembering is recent." Clint scooted his chair back, and walked around the table. "May I?"
I nodded slowly, and couldn't help but to inhale sharply when his cold fingers brushed against the mark.
He hummed lowly. "Yeah, at least a week old, this part is. You can tell because parts are still a little scabby."
Clint went and sat back down, and I eagerly covered my torso.
We sat in silence for a while, as they allowed me to absorb the information.
"Do you think I'm her?" I stuttered out. "Are we the same person?"
Alby shrugged. "Only time will tell."
I chuckled breathlessly. "What killed her?"
"A Griever." Gally responded.
I snorted. "A what?"
"What's even outside those walls?"
"A maze." Newt answered for Gally. "A shucking maze that we've been trying for the past two years to get the hell out of."
