Author stuff: Guys, I'm so dumb. I found all the old chapters. Here I am, thinking I have to completely rewrite the majority of this thing because I only have these three files from my old computer and on my Google Docs. I opened them up and got really confused why the first chapter was 82 pages. I scrolled down and screamed. Actually screamed. And then I checked the other two files. All 40-something chapters are there.

I am so dumb.

They're all there. All 40+ chapters. I'm going to cry.

Anyway, enjoy!


Chapter 3

In Which The Greenie And The Greenbean Have A Run In

The boy with the odd accent was named Newt – after the little salamander creature, from what Flossy could tell. He was kind and patient, explaining things Nick didn't want to go into too much detail on. They explained where they were – a lush, green place called the Glade – and how almost all of them had come up in the box.

"Save for a group of us," Newt said. She noted the slight tension between him and Nick, as if something had transpired between them. Something fairly recent. She kept it to herself, though. It was best not to butt into other peoples' business on the first day of meeting them. "Thirty of us just woke up around it with no memory of who we were. We learned quickly that certain things had to be done a certain way or everything falls apart."

"We have an order here," Nick said, looking them both over, "and we expect you to follow it."

"We have three rules. Fairly simple enough."

"One: Do your part."

"Can't have blokes being lazy. Like Nick said, we have an order here. Break it and everything falls apart."

"Two: Never hurt another Glader."

"Pretty self-explanatory, but we all trust and depend on one another. If we can't do that, well, you get banished."

"And, three: No going beyond those walls," Nick said, gesturing to the high walls boxing them into the Glade.

"Only a few people are allowed outside of them," Newt said.

Curiosity flared across Flossy's mind. What was beyond those walls? She studied them from a distance.

She guessed they were three times the height of the trees in the forest – the Deadheads, she thought that that was what Newt called them. And there was ivy climbing up the sides, though they didn't reach even half way up. There were four large gaps that could be doors leading out into… Into what, exactly, she would find out later. They gaped open at the four cardinal directions – though how she knew that, she wasn't exactly certain.

"And who are these people who can go out there?" the boy who'd come up in the Box said. He had rather pleasant features, she thought. Dark hair and eyes, with olive skin and an aquiline nose and square jaw. When he spoke, his cheeks and chin dimpled. He wasn't as tall as Newt or Nick, but he was still taller than her. She was just shorter than his shoulders. And he wasn't very broad.

He didn't intimidate her as some of the others did – like, what was his name? Gally? Yeah, she thought his name was Gally. Gally was… He was made to be intimidating. She almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

She felt, rather than saw, Newt and Nick share a glance over her head. She'd purposefully positioned herself between them. Something told her she could trust these two to keep her from any harm, or rather from any of the boys who wished to do her harm.

The spot they'd chosen was a little hill away from everyone else, sort of overlooking the Glade. She could hear the shouts and calls of the boys as they helped one another and tried to get each other's attention.

A group of musclular boys were hauling things out from the Box, carrying them away to different destinations based on their contents. The one with dark skin – who'd been amongst the few who'd stayed behind when the boys were told to scatter – was directing them. Newt's gaze was drawn to him. She swore she heard him sigh once or twice.

Other boys were working in different parts of the Glade. A handful were over by the gardens, another handful were working with the animals, and some others were guarding the entrances (exits?) for whatever was beyond the walls.

"Not important," Nick said. "Greenies never go out there. It's for your own safety. Don't need you shanks being Griever bait."

The word "Griever" sent a shudder through her, as if she could tell just by the name that it was bad. Whatever they were, she hoped that she never found out.

There was a cry from one of the ramshackle buildings. Everyone looked toward the sound. Out of the largest building – the Homestead? – shot a figure, a streak of blonde hair bobbing up and down. A familiar figure. It was the boy who'd been unconscious with them in the Box.

Flossy stood with Nick, Newt, and… the Greenie, watching the previously comatose boy sprint towards the open gate of the Wall. The boys all took off after the running boy – both Newt and Nick startlingly quick – leaving her to try and catch up. The Greenie was the one who got to the once unconscious boy first, angling himself so they would inevitably collide.

Really, she'd never seen anything more painful looking in her life. It sounded painful, too. She, Nick, and Newt trotted over. They were joined by many other boys who'd been working.

Both boys were on the ground moaning, clutching their sides with fluttering eyes.

"That was stupid," the Greenie said, breathless. He looked up at her, blinking past the light of the sun for the second time that day. "Remind me to never do that again."

She barked out a laugh.

"Don't think I'll ever have to," she said.

Nick offered the Greenie his hand, hauling him to his feet – though he remained rather unstable for a moment. The other boy coughed, glaring up at the sky.

"Be glad the Greenie here stopped you before we could," Nick said down to him, patting the Greenie on the back. "Newt or I could've hit you much harder."

"Archie," the Greenie said, licking his lips. "Name's Archie. Running into him made me remember."

"Good that, Archie. You can thank him later, shank."

"It's Graham," the Greenbean said from his place on the ground.

No one moved to help him up.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Be glad Archie stopped you from breaking one of our most important rules, Greenbean. We don't want you getting lost out there. It'd mean your death. We're not going to waste our resources to go and play fetch on a Greenbean, of all people, good that?"

"Whatever."

Nick frowned at the Greenbean's – Graham's – indifference. He pointed Gally and another bulky looking boy.

"Rest of the day in the Slammer with no lunch," Nick said to them. "Make sure the Baggers know he has to stay there until tonight."

"Good that," Gally said. He and the bulky boy grabbed Graham under the arms and pulled him to his feet. "Come on, you slinthead."

They lead him away to a section that she and Archie hadn't been shown. It was a spot tucked away behind the Homestead, though it was closer to the Wall. She didn't get a good view of it, but it looked out of place in the Glade – a cement structure of some sort. Something told her that she would not like spending the night there.

"If you break any of the rules," Nick said, "you spend time in the Slammer. How much time and whether or not you get any food depends on how severely the rule was broken. Like I said earlier, we have an order here and we expect you to keep it. Good that?"

"Right," she said. "Got it."

"Now, we need to address something that may cause potential trouble – you being a girl."

She winced. He made it sound as if it were her fault for ascending up to the Glade. She was pretty sure it wasn't.

"I'm going to try and set up special sleeping arrangements for you, so you don't have to sleep outside with the boys. They're not, ah, the most pleasant people to be around when they sleep." She was about to ask but figured it was best that she didn't know. "I'm going to call a quick Gathering and see what the other Keepers think. If you have any suggestions or preferences, let me know before then, good that?"

"I wouldn't mind sleeping near everyone if it'll cause trouble," she said.

Nick nodded.

"I'll keep it in mind," he said. "Now, it's almost lunch time. Newt, you mind taking the Greenies to Frypan? I'm going to go talk to our other Greenbean, let him know what's what."

"Good that," Newt said. They watched as Nick trudged over in the direction of the Slammer. After he disappeared from view, Newt drew their attention. "Alright, Greenies, you heard Nick. Let's go get something to eat."


Frypan was a large boy – more of a man, really – in charge of making food for the Glade. He offered up sandwiches and smiles, making her instantly like him. And he was a bit of a flirt, which sort of annoyed her. Then again, he was better than most. At least he wasn't leering at her, and his flirting was mostly harmless and more like teasing.

Newt specifically chose a spot for them to eat. He tucked her away in a corner that would be difficult for most of the Gladers to get a good view of her – something she was thankful for. With Newt and the Greenie – Archie, she corrected – sitting in front of her, she was blocked off from their view. Gally had opted to sit next to her — though she didn't know why. She got the impression that he didn't like her. Maybe she was wrong.

She wondered if there was a reason all the boys in the Glade were so tall. Maybe it was Frypan's cooking. She tried not to snort out a laugh at that. She attempted to cover it up by pretending to have a bit of bread caught in her throat.

"You alright there, Girlie?" Newt said.

She nodded, taking a gulp of the water he'd brought her.

"I'm fine," she said. She pushed her mostly empty plate forward. Archie reached across and grabbed the partial sandwich she couldn't finish. "Right, so we've had the tour, gotten a look at punishments for misbehavior, and eaten. What's next?"

"The Keepers are going to have a Gathering," Gally said, polishing off his third sandwich. Maybe that was why the boys were all so tall, they ate a lot. She saw him glance at her out of the corner of his eye, as if he blamed her for this whole thing – he probably did. Gally struck her as the sort to follow the rules and keep the order of the Glade. And there she went, disrupting the peace and order. Oh how he must hate her.

She decided that she wouldn't lament it too long.

"So," Archie said, "what're we supposed to do in our free time?"

Newt gave them an impish grin.

"Glad you asked," he said.


Author stuff cont'd.: I'm going to keep screaming for the next couple of hours. After I get home from work. Because I post at work. So, ah.

What am I listening to? Canonically Incorrect

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