Silence stood among the boys as they looked down into the Box and in turn, the girl squinted up at them. She had short, dark brown hair that was damp with sweat; her thin figure was covered only in a thin red flannel shirt and shorts. Her bare legs were pale.
From across the Box, Newt looked up to Alby.
Why in the world had the Box sent up a girl? The question was in the tall, tussled brunette's eyes. Alby did not have an answer for him. He knelt beside the Box, a piece of grass still between his fingers. The girl, who had raised her hand to block out the sun, stared up at the boys with fear sparkling in her eyes
"Where am I?" Her voice was pitiful, desperate and so low that they hardly heard her. Whispered muttering passed between the boys and Alby smiled kindly at her when she looked his way, her question unanswered.
"You're in the Glade, do you want to come up?"
The girl whimpered, confusion etched all over her face. The boys began to speak freely, accusingly as they themselves became as confused as the girl.
"It's a girl?"
"Why did they send up a girl?"
"She's too small to do anything!"
Alby gestured to Gally with a flick of his hand and Gally waved off the Glader's before jumping down into the Box, startling both the girl and a few chickens in a cage close beside her. The girl screamed, the sight of the blonde giant frightening her even more and she scrambled to back up, hitting the wall of the Box.
"C'mon, you don't want to stay down here," Gally took a step closer, but she screamed, louder than before and he stopped. Looking back up at Alby, Gally threw up his hands. The easily frustrated blonde was already at his limit. Alby gestured him forward; she would have to come out eventually. Gally turned around and approached her once more, her screams causing some of the other boys to back up. Gally ducked into a crouch and picked her up, wrapping an arm around her waist to keep her still.
"Come on, I'm not hurting you!"
"Put me down!" The girl wriggled in his grasp and Gally hoisted her up over the Box wall. The girl kicked and flailed her arms, continuing to scream as Newt and Fry Pan pulled her the rest of the way. She struggled in their arms for a moment and they were finally forced to let her drop onto the grass. As quickly as she landed on hands and knees, she twisted and backed. The curious faces of the boys looked down at her from all around. Her screams quieted and soon she began to whimper.
Gally had jumped back up out of the Box, looking angry.
"Slim it, would you!"
"Bloody hell Gally, stop yelling at her!" Newt took the defensive as Alby walked around the Box to join them, quieting the muttering of the Glader's. They stepped back as he joined Gally and Newt in front of the girl. Gally glared at Newt as he pointed at the newcomer.
"Not until she stops screaming!"
"She has!"
Alby shushed them. He then looked back at the girl.
She had continued backing up, nearly six feet from the boys now. Alby, aware of her delicate state, crouched down, coming down to her level. Newt followed suit while Gally only crossed his arms and glared. Her eyes followed their movement; she was breathing heavily and her wide eyes were filled with fear.
Alby smiled at her again.
"Come on now, it's not all that bad. We aren't going to hurt you,"
"Unless you keep screaming," Gally was ticked, his voice stern and threatening.
"Gally!" Alby shot the blonde a warning look and Gally shut his mouth, still steaming. Alby turned back to the girl.
"We won't hurt you, you don't have to scream. It won't change anything. You're in the Glade and we," he gestured to the remaining boys. "are your new family. I promise, we won't hurt you, you're safe here. I'll explain all when you're ready,"
The girl didn't move and she didn't scream, closing her mouth slowly, her breathing still heavy and ragged. She slowly turned her head around to take in her surroundings. The big stone walls, specifically, the gaping open doorway to the right of them, the trees off in the far corner, the garden Newt had grown and the small stick huts that the boys had been working on. She took in the faces of the boys themselves, the dirt and grime that stained their faces. The clothes were just as dirty and full of holes. She looked once more into the face of Gally and then back to Alby.
"Why am I here?" Her voice was tiny again and tears started to roll down her cheeks. "Where is this place?" The girl gathered herself up into a ball, a protective crouch as she continued to cry. Gally rolled his eyes and turned away, exasperated. Alby glanced at him quickly and then took a few steps closer to the girl.
"I know it's all confusing and nothing makes sense. It was the same for everyone. Do you remember anything? Your name?"
The girl, her head buried in her knees and covered by her arms, shook her head and continued to cry.
"I don't remember anything," she raised her head and looked at Alby, her face red from the tears. "Why can't I remember anything?"
Gally piped up again.
"It's the same for everyone! Crying is going to help you!"
The girl ducked her head, stung. Alby stood up.
"Gally! Stop it! It was different for everyone. If I recall right, you cried more than Newt did,"
Gally opened his mouth to speak. The boy's behind them snickered and he turned on them. They stopped, barely containing smiles as they looked back at Alby. Alby watched Gally, his hands on his hips. The blonde scowled and crossed his arms over his chest. Alby then walked slowly up the girl and crouched down right beside her. Gently, he lay his hand on her shoulder. She flinched and looked up, but did not move away.
"Why can't I remember?" Her voice was barely a whisper and Alby smiled sympathetically.
"Your name will come back, I promise. My name is Alby, that one is Newt," He gestured to his second in command and the skinny gardener gave her a friendly smile. "And you'll learn the others later. Tonight actually," The girl still looked confused, but Alby continued as she began to calm. "We're celebrating your arrival tonight. It's your first day, Greenie," Alby stood up and extended his hand to her. The girl wiped her eyes with the edge of her shirt and tentatively took Alby's hand. He smiled encouragingly at her and helped her stand, holding her arm up.
"We have ourselves a new Greenie, boys!"
A cheer rose from the crowd; Newt and Minho exchanged a look before joining in. Alby knew they would have questions and he knew he could do very little to answer them all. He continued as the noise died down.
"We have lots to do. Set up for the fire. FryPan, get a meal going, remember, we're celebrating! Gally, Minho, Newt… met me in half an hour for a briefing,"
The girl tugged her arm away and stepped back, the chatter and orders overwhelming her. Alby beckoned Jeff forward and he introduced him to the girl.
"This is Jeff, he's our Med Jack. He'll take you to that little hut, just over there," He pointed over the girl's head and she looked in that direction. "He's just going to make sure nothing is broken. Are you alright with that?"
The girl eyed Jeff warily as beckoned her to follow him.
"Come on, it won't hurt, I promise," The friendliness in his eyes soon softened her and she followed him toward the hut.
The rest of the boys had dispersed when Alby turned back, Winston the only one left, jumping down into the Box to collect the supplies. Alby joined him; the supplies would need to be unpacked and stored as quickly as possible. He smiled down at the boy.
"No longer the Greenie, eh Winston?"
Winston laughed and passed Alby the chicken cage.
"Feels great!"
"A girl?! Why in the hell did a girl come up in the Box?"
Newt, Minho, Gally and Alby were all sitting in the hollowed-out dugout. There was little to no roof up yet and the shade was minimal. Gally, who was in charge of the project, was hoping to finish the project in a month.
Alby rubbed his face with his hands a few times before he answered Gally, still fuming from the whole scene at the Box.
"I don't know any more than you do, Gally. All we know is that the supplies haven't changed and the girl is the same as any other. No memory of who she is or why she's here,"
Gally threw his hands up in the air and turned a circle; he was the only one of the four who had not sat down.
"But what good is a girl? We need strong hands to build!"
"She can still work in the garden or work with Fry Pan. They aren't completely useless," Newt spread his hands casually, hardly bothered by Gally's energy.
Gally shook his head.
"But this is a change! Things are changing now. How many other things are going to change around here?"
Minho joined the conversation, taking the opportunity right out from under Gally.
"He's right Alby, things are changing. We have to deal with this eventually. You got to let me go check it out. We need to know what's out there!"
Alby sighed; he should have known Minho would not back down.
"Minho, you're not going out there by yourself. If something happens to you, we wouldn't be able to help you. I won't let you die out there!"
Minho shook his hands, staving Alby's lecture.
"Why are you so quick to assume that I won't make it? I can run! You know this! We had the test and I won! I'm the fastest runner we have,"
Alby put his hands up in surrender.
"I don't doubt your ability to run Minho. But you've already said, we don't know what's out there. And I think you can all agree, that something is,"
Silence. Minho spoke again.
"Those noises, right?"
Alby nodded, slouching.
"I can't confirm or deny it, but it's something. The boys already know I'm not telling the whole truth. There is something out there,"
Newt's piped up.
"Did you see it? You know, when you were out there,"
Alby shook his head.
"I only heard it that night. I didn't see anything. Either it was too dark or it wasn't close enough. But it certainly wasn't anything human as far as I could tell,"
The boys remained quiet until Gally spoke up.
"Well, why hasn't it come into the Glade? The Doors are open all day, why haven't we seen it?"
Alby shook his head.
"Maybe it can't. Maybe whatever it is, it has to stay out there. It's all part of this big test,"
Newt cocked his head.
"This is the first I've heard of a test. You think this is all some kind of bloody game?"
Alby nodded, leaning forward as he lowered his voice.
"I have to believe this is all a test, some sort of big puzzle that we were sent here to solve. Why else do we get monthly supplies? Whoever put us here intended us to attempt to survive,"
Minho nodded in agreement.
"So there is a way out, there must be! Maybe whatever those things are, they're just another part of the puzzle. An obstacle trying to stop us from finding a way out,"
Alby could not ignore the logic.
"I won't argue with you. But what if one of those things kills you, Minho? Is that a test too?"
Silence once again hung in the air. Gally looked at the floor while Newt and Minho looked at Alby.
"We should have a try at it though, right?" Newt sounded uncertain.
Alby nodded slowly.
"I never said I didn't want to try, but I won't let you go in there alone, Minho. Not without someone else to get you out of there if something happens,"
Minho nodded.
"What about Winston?"
Alby looked at him. Minho shrugged and laid out the facts.
"I know he isn't the fastest, but he was a close second behind me in the run and no one else could do it. It's monthly, after a few months, we'll have more boys, better runners and we could surely try to map that place out. Find out where the exit is. We could do it!"
"But what if that was the last one?" Gally rerouted the conversation to his initial complaint. "We have a girl out there! What if no one else comes up? What if this is it?"
The boys didn't reply. Alby decided he had better lay out a plan before things got out of hand.
"We won't know until next month and until then, that girl out there is still our newest Greenie. She didn't ask to be put here any more than any of us did. We can only do what we've always done. She'll be given a position and she'll be expected to pull her weight just like you and I. But, she is a girl and therefore I expect you four to look out for her. Make sure nothing happens to her,"
Gally snorted.
"Like what?"
Alby folded his hands.
"Well, it was you who asked Gally, what are girls good for? They can only do one thing that boys can't. I know this is the last thing on anyone's mind, but I know more than anyone what it's like to be alone and hopeless. You understand, don't you?"
Gally's face turned red and he backed up, nearly stumbling. Newt and Minho ducked their heads, hiding their smiles at Gally's embarrassment. Alby looked at them for confirmation. Newt gave the thumbs up, still smiling
"I'll look out for her,"
"Me too," Minho was still trying not to laugh as he nodded to Alby. Gally fumed, frustrated as he attempted to explain.
"I didn't mean that! I meant- well I meant… you know what I meant!"
Alby stood up, a sign that they were done talking.
"I know what you meant Gally," he patted his shoulder as he walked by, calling over his shoulder to Minho. "Go out tomorrow with Winston, report everything you see to me when you get back,"
"Got it! Thank you, Alby!"
Newt and Minho burst into laughter after Alby had left and Gally glared at them.
"Slim it!"