Chapter 4
The Girl woke up before she opened her eyes.
She was laying on something scratchy, but comfortable. The sounds of voices, dozens of them, could be heard faintly over the thrum of the Maw. The air smelled peculiar, less wet and more cozy.
She opened her eyes and found she was looking at the metal ceiling of a large pipe, lying on some potato sacks.
She sat up, pain shooting through her shoulder, which was freshly bandaged and hung in place with a sling.
The Girl scooted to the opening with one hand and looked out with her legs dangling idly.
The pipe, more like an indent in the wall, was one of several set in a line and was probably part of an old irrigation system. There was a sputtering cough from the pipe next door to her and she realized she wasn't alone.
There was a creaking sound and part of the wall -which The Girl now realized was a wood panel- slid back and a figure emerged from another room, also brightly lit.
Another girl wearing a green shawl crawled in, carrying two cups of water made from some ceramic material. The Girl froze, watching to see what the stranger would do.
The green-shawl-girl walked to the corner of the room and began to administer the water to the various children in their pipe-bunks. Patients, she realized. This must be some kind of infirmary.
Once Green-shawl reached The Girl's pipe-bunk, she stopped in surprise. Words began to tumble out, almost too fast for The Girl to process.
"Oh! You're awake! How are you feeling? You're the one that created the craze outside the Burrow right? I heard all about it."
The Girl gaped, unable to respond. She knew deep down that there were supposed to be words coming from her own mouth too, but she couldn't remember for the life of her how she was supposed to make them. She must have hesitated for too long because Green said,
"Oh you're one of the Tongueless children, sorry. You'll learn to speak in no time I'm sure. In the meantime, would you like some water?"
Green passed the ceramic mug up to The Girl who eagerly took it. She didn't remember the last time she had eaten or drank. She emptied it within seconds and while she wiped the condensation off her lips her eyebrows furrowed in concentration.
What was she supposed to say again?
Slowly she spoke,
"...Thank yo..u."
The girl in green smiled and took the cup back.
"You're welcome! See, you're already getting it. Anyways, I've heard so many rumors."
She paused, lowering her voice to a whisper. "Is it true that you're The One? You know, because you came from there? And met you-know-who?"
The Girl simply stared, finding it hard to hold eye contact, something she'd never done before. She fidgeted with her arm sling, feeling uncomfortable not understanding a word of what the nurse had said.
"I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't bother you, but everyone's on edge these days and I've heard so many stories. Nod your head 'yes or no', have you really met The La-"
A gentle, deeper voice interrupted the nurse' loud and intrusive one.
"Hazel, stop bothering her, she's been through enough and look at her face, would you?"
Looking up, The Girl noticed another figure had entered the room behind Hazel. It was a tall boy with nimbly limbs and a washed-out blue sweater that looked vaguely familiar. His brown hair framed a pale face and almost hid his eyes, which were brown and looking straight at her.
"Hunch needs you to help with the little ones once you're done in here as well." He said, turning his attention back to Hazel, who gave an apologetic smile before moving on to the next pipe.
The Girl crossed her legs and leaned against the walls of her pipe shyly as the boy moved forward with a slight limp. She noticed a scraping 'clunk!' sound as he walked and saw it came from a metal shackle seemingly fused to the boy's ankle, the skin around it scarred and calloused.
"Unusual isn't it?" The boy said, noticing her look at the shackle.
"I've never been able to get it off. It's how I got my name, Runaway. Nice to meet you."
Runaway looked at her, seemingly waiting for something. She hesitantly climbed down from her bunk and put her good hand on the wall to steady herself.
After seeing him face to face, The Girl finally remembered why Runaway looked so familiar.
You were one of the children there when I almost died! I suppose I should thank you for saving my life. I do wonder how you got that shackle stuck on you. Where do you come from? Where do all the other children come from? How many of you all are there? Where even am I?
Dozens of questions began to flood her head while she desperately tried to formulate words. She opened her mouth but all that came out was a sputtering noise. She cringed from embarrassment.
"It's alright. You're not alone, many of the children we rescue can't even hold eye contact or speak at all. We call them Tongueless. Most learn in no time though. Try and slow down a bit." He said kindly.
How many children are there? What do you mean "we" rescue them? From what? What do you mean 'most' learn in no time? She thought desperately.
Instead, she finally managed to ask,
"Where is we. . . Wait no. Where am I?
Runaway smiled.
He turned and began to follow Hazel as she exited the room and gestured for her to do the same.
She warily pushed past the wood panel and stepped through the doorway, careful not to let her injured arm get jostled.
Looking up, she squinted. Her eyes taking a moment to adjust to the light of several gas lanterns that hung all over a large room.
She stood in place, her jaw hung open in awe. The room was full of children, dozens of them.
The room was made up of several stories. Children climbing up and down the stairs carrying food, supplies or just talking. Voices bounced off of the metal walls and blended together into a sound The Girl had never heard before.
She took a step backwards, feeling a little overwhelmed.
"It's alright, take a deep breath." Runaway said from beside her.
She turned and looked at him, a grin inexplicably rupturing from her face.
"...Safe?" She enquired hopefully. Runaway nodded, crossing his arms and looking out over the bustle and noise.
"You bet. This very well might be the last safe place on the entire Maw. Hidden away from The Lady for years now without being found."
When he mentioned The Lady, Runaway's eyes momentarily flicked to hers, as if to catch a reaction, but she kept her face relaxed. As safe as Runaway claimed this place was, she still felt uncomfortable revealing her thoughts.
He continued.
"When we find and manage to rescue kids, they all end up here. Unfortunately, Some of them remain feral or unresponsive, we call those the Tongueless. But, most of them successfully integrate and work together to make life survivable. We're like one big family"
"...Family?" She asked.
"Yeah, it's something from before the Turn."
"...Turn?" She asked again, feeling a little stupid.
Runaway chuckled. "Don't worry, we'll explain everything eventually."
Several people had started to glance in the pair's direction, some even whispering to each other with a look in their eyes that reminded The Girl of Hazel's eager expression from earlier. Something was off.
"Until then," Runaway continued,
"We should probably get you officially situated. Welcome to your new home: The Burrow."
Sorry for the late update! More chapters coming soon tho. Happy reading!