Hello, there!
This story had been recently (30.8.21) revised and edited.
I tried to fix as many mistakes I could - but English is not my first language, so please, excuse any potential errors. Also I wrote this years ago - so I'm sorry about the goofy scenes and cringy jokes, but I'm not gonna lie - I had a great time writing this story and reading it after such a long time. :D

Hope you enjoy!

Forms of writing
Third-person POV
Thoughts
Memories

REMEMBER ME

Her head was about to explode. The memories in her mind were breaking like fragile porcelain pieces — every time she reached for some of them, they crumbled right between her fingers, cutting and evasive. Parts of images were flashing before her eyes; faces, eyes, hands. There were words but never full sentences. And also something very important… something she had to remember, something she had to know… but it was gone. Everything was. Now it was only her and the metal elevator that was rising her up, and a loud siren screaming into her ears.

Suddenly, it stopped.
Silence. In the elevator, and in her head.
All those bits and pieces of memories were gone, blown away by the wind, leaving only a few strange images. One of them was a girl. Long black hair, dark blue eyes, pale skin. That's me, she realized. Moon. That's my name.
She was never so confused in her life. At least for what she knew…

The blinking lights went out leaving her in dense darkness. Moon only now realized how raggedly she was breathing. Her heart pounded loudly in her head; her knees buckled and she landed on the floor with a jolt. Some parts of her body hurt a lot — her wrists especially. She felt badly bruised all over.

Suddenly, a light appeared. The lid of her dark prison lifted and sharp rays of sun hit her hard and mercilessly. Moon raised her hand to cover her eyes. She heard upset voices but couldn't understand what they were saying, for some time she heard nothing but the beating of her own heart. She saw shapes of figures, but she couldn't quite focus on them.

The floor of her cage shook, and her entire body stiffened as she sensed someone's presence. Her body moved automatically to the wall — moving away from the stranger. Ice-cold fear embraced her heart though she didn't really know why.

"Relax," said an unknown voice with a strange warmth to it. "You're okay… Trust me, no one's going to hurt ya," he added with a strong British accent.

Moon still couldn't see his face; she kept one hand over her eyes, the whispering over her head began again, yet she was only able to catch two of the sentences.

"That's a shucking girl!" a raw, male voice exclaimed.

"Well, duh! You are a fast one, aren't you, shank?" someone else drawled out, their tone very nasal.

Moon ignored all of their strange words; they only confused her more. Her attention was with the stranger in front of her. "Who are you?" she asked, her voice a little shaky and hollow, no doubt from not using it in a while.

He took a step to the right and covered the sun with his body. Everything suddenly came into focus. The boy in front of her was tall and slender, wearing a plain white T-shirt and short brown trousers, his hands still half-raised in a reassuring gesture. Moon raised her eyes to his face and then took a sharp breath. She had seen this face before, she knew she had. Fine features, dark warm eyes, tousled blond hair.

"I'm Newt," the boy said with a kind smile.

She knew him. Definitely. She didn't remember from where, but she had seen him before. Why couldn't she just… "I can't remember…" she exhaled heavily, starting to fall into panic. What the hell is going on?

"That's normal. None of us remember anything," the boy — Newt reassured her quickly. "Within a few days, you'll remember your name. That's about the only thing they let us have…"

They. Moon saw a face in her mind, a pale woman with slick blond hair. Wicked is good. The phrase came into her head from nowhere, spoken by the woman's lips. Sweet tone, except Moon knew that she was lying... Finally, she could see others who gathered above the cage. They were, strangely, all boys.

"So...? How about we go up now and you can look around a little?" Newt asked carefully.

Moon lifted her eyes to him. He looked pretty damn familiar… But it was as if her mind was covered with thick heavy fog and she couldn't see anything through it. She hesitatingly stood up and he nodded cheerfully. Without major problem, he swung out of the cage and then turned back to her.

"Alright, back to work everyone! Show's over, ya shuck-faces!" ordered a tall, muscular black boy and the others instantly obeyed him.

Newt and the boy both bent down, holding out a hand each to her. Moon accepted them after a moment of brief hesitation and she was pulled up in a second.

Sun, grass, trees and four high walls. Moon looked around, her blue eyes wide. It was like looking at a very old photo from a different angle. A very strong and also very uncomfortable deja vu.

"Welcome to the Glade," said the second boy, sounding a little like it was an obligatory line that he'd said hundreds of times but didn't really mean. "I'm Alby."

Moon ignored him completely. Her eyes were focused on the opened gate, about two hundred meters away. There were doors. And they led into something else, something dangerous — that she was certain. A maze.

The thought popped into her head just like the image of the woman had before, leaving her with no idea where the idea or certainty that accompanied it had come from. It was as if she could see this whole place from above — the square prison inside of a giant maze. Her legs moved forward, somehow automatically.

"Hey!" She didn't realize there was someone else until a stranger's hand vigorously and harshly gripped her elbow. "Where do you think you're going, Greenie?"

"I want to see," Moon replied, not even sparing a look for the third boy.

"Oh, hell no! Are you— what the hell?"

Moon finally turned to him. He was tall and muscular as well, with cold gray eyes. He was holding her hand in front of his face, frowning at a dark bruise around her wrist. Newt and Alby stood next to him, wearing very similar expressions. The blond boy reached for her other hand, and Moon knew without looking, by the ache, that there would be identical bruises. They looked very much like fingerprints.

Moon wrenched from their grasp, pulling her right hand close to her face, examining the bruise herself. She remembered the fingers, cold and clutching. But she saw no face...

"Are you hurt?" Newt asked, the sign of concern in his voice.

Where should I even start?

Moon took a step back, running her hand through her hair.
"My head hurts like hell..." she sighed, looking around. None of this made any sense to her.

Three boys exchanged a glance.
"That's not ordinary," Alby said, sounding uneasy.

"None of this is bloody ordinary, Alby!" snapped Newt. "We don't usually get girls here! No offense," he added quickly.

"Maybe she just hit herself in the Box?" wondered the third guy, whatever his name was. "But what about those fingerprints?"

"I'm still here," Moon informed them because it seemed as if her presence had been completely forgotten. "Can I have a look outside now?"

"No!" came the unanimous answer.

Moon frowned. Why did she even ask? No questions meant no rejections. She turned on her heel and headed straight to the gate.

"Hey! Are you deaf?!" the guy without a name yelled.

"Let me handle this, okay?" Newt's voice. "I'll try to calm her down a little..."

"You sure?" Alby.

"That girl will need a shucking chain, that's for sure…" Guy #3 again.

Moon was almost oblivious to their words. She was approaching the gate, her eyes fixed on the exit.

Way out… Way out, way out, way out!

"Slow down a little bit," Newt advised her, catching her up in about two seconds.

"I want to know what is going on…" Moon retorted, keeping her eyes on the gate. More like need to now.

"I understand," the boy stepped in her way. "I went through it. We all did... But trust me when I tell you that it takes some time to be ready to process it all."

Moon bit her lip and stopped. Part of her knew he was right. Her head was on fire, she felt exhausted and battered, and her heart was still beating faster than it should. But the other part wasn't going to just let it go. She was too frustrated and craving for answers…

"We're trapped here, aren't we?" she looked straight into his eyes. As the sun was setting down, they seemed completely black.

He gave her a rueful smile. "Listen now…"

"How long have you been here? Who sent us here? Who are they? Why anybody doesn't do anything!?"

"You are not ready to hear the answers."

"I am perfectly ready!"

"No, you're not. You were shaking like a bloody leaf five minutes ago, for God's sake!"

She examined him. He looked tense as if expecting her try to make a run for it every moment. Yet he kept his distance, giving her personal space. He was very cautious… and she knew him. She. Definitely. Knew. Him. Geez! That feeling was making her crazy…

"My name is Moon," she said softly, her eyes searching his for some sign of awareness. Nothing. Only surprise. He didn't feel the same. "You said that none of you can remember anything, just a name..."

"Yes, that's quite right," Newt let out blankly.

"I remember more."

His eyes widened. His legs involuntarily moved him closer and Moon was so puzzled by his sudden closeness that she took a quick step back. When he realized it, he stopped.

"What do you remember?" he asked, obviously trying to keep his voice calm.

"Faces," Moon replied. "Faces, syringes and water... Lots of water. Everything is so blurry... I remember the hands that gripped me. I remember someone shouting my name..."

She shook her head as she tried to settle her thoughts.
"Whatever's been done to you, it hasn't worked with me. Not completely…"

She had no idea why she said that, those words just came out for no reason at all. When she looked up, she saw Newt watching her. His gaze was intense and unreadable.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, not sure what to make of his staring.

"I've been here for three years," he said, his voice serious. "And nothing like this has ever happened before."

"They could have made a mistake," Moon was thinking out loud. Who the hell are 'they', anyway? That blond woman… is she one of them? "Or maybe it's a trick. Maybe—" she was cut off by something what felt like a sharp blade running through her forehead. The pain was so unbelievable, she grabbed her head and tightly closed her eyes.

"Okay, that's enough for now," Newt decided, his voice uncompromising. He gently squeezed her wrist, careful not to touch her bruise, and began to drag her back to the middle of the Glade.

"B-but... I want to have a look!" Moon was protesting weakly.

Newt shook his head without even looking at her.
"No. Not today. You're exhausted and you are not thinking clearly. You'll get your chance tomorrow."

She probably would have argued, if it wasn't for the pain in her head. She let him lead her quietly for a while, until it eased a little.

"Where are you taking me?"

He slowed down a bit and pointed at a wooden building, which stood in a corner of the Glade. It was quite big and kind of impressive, given the fact that it looked homemade.

"To the Homestead. It's starting to get late…"

Moon's eyes strayed to a crowd of boys not far from them. They were looking at her, every single one of them, and she couldn't help herself but tense up. Newt noticed it almost immediately. He stopped and turned his face to her.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, furrowing his brows.

Moon hesitated for a second.
"Am I the only girl here?"

It was more a statement than a question. She already knew the answer. Newt nodded, carefully studying her face. Moon started to feel very uneasy… and his warm fingers were still lightly holding her wrist.

"Do you trust me?" he suddenly asked.

The black-haired girl looked up at him. Maybe she has seen his face before… But that wasn't enough. "No."

Newt let go of her hand, and she backed away, her back leaning against the Wall. The boy cleared his throat, avoiding her gaze.
"Well… I can call Alby, if you'd like."

"I don't trust him either," Moon said quietly. "I don't trust any of you. How could I?"

Newt turned his dark eyes to her. "You'll have to."

She chuckled mirthlessly, lifting her eyes to the sky. She was trapped between four walls... and for company, she had a load of hormonal boys.

"Listen now, I know that you don't feel very safe right now," Newt spoke up to her softly. "But it'll get better, trust me. Once you get to know us better, you'll see that we don't bite."

She looked into his eyes, a corner of her lips slightly lifted.

This situation is absolutely crazy...

"Alright," Newt gave her a half-smile, shoulders relaxing. "You won't stay alone tonight. You can choose whoever you will be most—"

"You," she cut him off in mid-sentence.

"Oh," he blinked, looking surprised. "Let's go then."

It happened just then. Moon froze when she heard a terrible sound, like a whole planet had started to shake.

"What is that?!" A thrill of fear ran down her spine.

The blond boy turned to her, his eyes darkening.
"It's the Gate. It closes every night."

The building he led her to was surprisingly well-built. It didn't have much furniture or was very warm, but it was better than sleeping outside for sure. In addition, it seemed that they were able to even create cubicles, so there were plenty of rooms.

Newt led her to one, which was almost entirely at the end of the corridor. When he opened the door, all she saw was a small window, a wooden chest, and a hammock hung in a corner of the room.

"You can lie down in there," Newt pointed at it. "I'll just bring another one from the warehouse."

He was halfway out of the door when Moon spoke up:
"Can I just lie on the floor?" she asked, a little uncertainly. She sort of felt like having firm ground beneath her tonight.

Newt's eyes narrowed slightly.
"It's quite cold at night and the most chill is coming from the ground, so—"

"I'll be fine, really," she interrupted him.

"You could—"

"Please."

The blond boy didn't look like he thought it was a good idea, but he reached into the chest to pull out two blankets and some things that resembled pillows in the loosest definition of the term. Moon carefully prepared a place to sleep quite near the hammock, and without much hesitation, she lied down. Newt watched her for a moment and then jumped into a hammock next to her. The black-haired girl pulled the blanket closer to the body and sighed. Part of her still believed that this was just a weird dream and she was going to wake up very soon.

"Everything will be better tomorrow... You'll see," Newt whispered encouragingly.

Moon doubted that, falling asleep almost immediately.