WINNING OPTION:

You faint from the stress of it all

chosen by nataliez, amycahill5, valhallababe, superstormkatie and May a Chance. Thank you all!

II

LOTS OF FACES

Your heart is racing so fast in your chest it feel like it's going to either plop out of your chest or explode. You feel sweat beading on your forehead, soaking through the shirt sitting tight against your armpits. Your clenched fists hurt so bad, the knuckles white and the veins pulsating. The blond boy looks you in the eyes, one after the other, and there's a calm about him. Then you register the voices, the mumbling of a crowd. You want to look, but is afraid to let the blond bot out of your sight.

"Who are you people!?" you think, but the words never form in your mouth. Your lungs are too busy hyperventilating, your body losing more oxygen than it is provided with.

The blond boy's hands ease up on their grip a bit, leaving your torso free to move. Your hands are still clenched tight — you could run, fight, anything — but you don't. You just stand there, staring like a crazy person into the dark eyes of the blond boy. You can feel your head spinning; you're not getting enough air. The edges of your field of vision blur out, spreading fast toward the center.

Another face appears beside the blond boy, this one a dark-skinned boy with a shaved head and deep scratches down his cheek. Scratches... the boy you attacked. Is he going to attack you!?

You never get to know, because darkness overcomes you and the ground is swept away from under your feet. You fall, and you're unconscious long before you hit the floor of the cage.

— — —

You are wearily aware of being carried by the arms and legs, your body swinging with the movements of whoever is carrying you. But you are so tired, so very, very tired, and your eyes are swimming with salty tears. You register the smell of grass and trees, and something else that reminds you of a farm. A farm? You know what a farm is, with pigs and cows and a little cat that chases mice. But have you ever been to one? Worked on one? You don't know, or don't remember. Your head starts spinning again with all these incomplete thoughts and memories, and you slowly descend back into darkness.

— — —

"You still with us, Greenie?"

The voice hangs in the air above you, and you immediately know that you are lying in some kind of bed. The surface beneath you is itchy, and there's a thin cover over your body. You're still soaked in sweat, your clothes sticking to your skin. And the smell — it's awful, like vomit. It's in your mouth, too, a disgusting taste that burns your throat when you breathe.

"Here," the same voice says. Your eyes manage to focus on a face right above yours, with a mop of brown hair hanging all around it and a pair of bright, blue eyes looking down at you. "You think you can keep this in ya?"

The boy puts something in your hand, and when you lift it to look you find that it's a chocolate bar. It's small, square and soft to the touch. You can't seem to remember what chocolate tastes like, only that you love the stuff.

"Don't get too used to it," the boy says matter-of-factly. "We don't get much of that stuff, but you seem to throw up everything else Frypan cooked up, so go ahead. Should give you some strength back for first day. Or third day, whatever."

Still unsure about the little bar in your hand, you look back up at the boy. "Third day?" you ask with a hoarse voice. You think you sound weird, like someone else than you.

"Yeah, Greenie, third day," the boy says and claps his hands on his thighs. "You've been out for nearly three days. Think you caught something in the Box. You're all better now, though. Everyone's dyin' to meet ya."

"Everyone?"

The boy winks at you. "Everyone."

You hear movement outside the door to the small room you're lying in, and soon the door swings open. The blond boy with the dark eyes steps over the threshold and smiles at you. "You look nice and cozy, there, Greenie."

You don't answer, only look at him for a bit. His clothes are torn and sewn together, what looks like months' worth of dirt packed into the fabric. He's rather skinny, but muscly at the same time. And even though your first impression of him was scary, you don't feel scared anymore. Just confused. So you say the one thing that pops into your mind. "Where am I?"

"Don't worry, Greenie," blond boy says. "You'll get the tour once Clint here lets you out."

Clint must be the name of the guy who is standing by your bedside.

"My name is Newt, by the way," the blond boy says. "Do you remember your name?"

You think about it, calmed by the fact that Newt said remember and not know. "No."

Newt's smile suddenly looks a bit forced. "It'll come back to you. Eventually. I gotta go, but you..." He points at Clint. "... make sure he gets what he needs. And you..." Newt moves his finger towards you. "... go find me when you feel ready."

Then he vanishes, and you are left alone again with Clint. He doesn't stay long, though, just packs up a few things that look like handmade tools and puts the away. Then he heads for the door. "I'mma just get you some fresh clothes. You stay put. And eat." Then he walk out, too, and closes the door behind him.

You don't know what to do. Nothing makes sense, nota single thing. You can't remember anything about yourself or your family — do you even have one? You can't remember having ever met a single person in your life, yet you don't feel lonely or abandoned. It's all weird to you. You don't get to be alone with your thoughts very long, for Clint comes back and puts a small bundle of clothes on a chair next to your bed, then he leaves again without a word.

Carefully, you try to sit up. Leaned against the wall behind you, you slowly eat the chocolate bar. The taste is familiar. Then, when the nausea that struck you when you sat up starts to fade, you get up and jump out of the sweaty clothes you've probably worn since you came up with that elevator-thingy. You hop into the new set of clothes, a pair of brown pants that end halfway down your shins and a dark red, long sleeved shirt. Then you realize that you have no idea what-so-ever what you should do. Did that newt guy tell you to go find him? Yes, you recall that he did. Where? How do you even get out of this place?

You take a deep breath and head for the door. It looks handmade, from thin sticks and ivy. Outside is a corridor of sorts, with walls made from the same material. Light beams between the sticks, lush and green. The corridor is short and ends in a doorless entrance. You go there, slowly as if you're not supposed to be there. You're just about to turn the corner out the entrance when a huge boy steps in your way from outside. He has to bend over not to hit his head in the roof, which is not very high though, and his arms are massive. When he sees you, he smiles broadly with sharp eyebrows lifted high.

"Greenie," he says, his voice a bit more high-pitched than you had imagined. He couldn't be very old, then. "I was just about to go see you for myself. You look like you've been through a lot of klunk, no offense."

He scans you, up and down, then his smile turns into a smirk. "Name's Gally. You ready for the tour, Greenbean?"

You find yourself unable to form words. This boy is intimidating, that's for sure, but who are you to judge? You can only remember having ever met three people in your life so far.

"Uhm... I... I was just..."

Do you go with Gally?

OR

Do you go to find Newt?