The Change

Chapter 1

My eyes sprung open as I started choking and spitting out a concerning amount of water. My groans echoed off the walls as I looped my fingers through the cage like floor. Where am I? Hot tears started pooling in my eyes. I tried to look around at my surrounds, but it was so dark that I couldn't even see my two hands in front of me. How did I get here? I started inching forward on my hands and knees, hoping to find anything that would give me a clue on where I was, but just then the floor started shaking. I felt as if the floor start ascending and a sudden panic set in. What is going on!? My head whipped around as lights started flashing by me as I continued my journey upward. "Help! Somebody help!" I shouted. My throat burned from the effort. I could see outlines of boxes stacked against what looked like the walls of a cage.

Why the hell am I in a cage!? I tried to remember how I got there, but it was getting harder and harder to remember anything from the past. I remembered only vague details about my life and the world. For example, I remembered eating ice cream and watching as it dripped onto the sidewalk. I know there are four seasons in a year, but I can't remember which I liked best or in which one was my birthday. I tried focusing really hard on my family. I knew I had one. I had to have one, right? I started growing frustrated when I could only see very blurry outlines of people I assume I used to know.

I felt anger bubble up inside me. I slammed my fists down on the ground, causing the already shaky cage to become even more unstable, and one of the boxes that stood against the wall toppled over. My anger was replaced with curiosity, and I causiously scooted closer to it, using the occasional flashes of light to see where I was going. I dug my nails into the dense wood of the box and pryd open the lid. Something flew out of it, straight at my face and its claws momentarily pierced my soft cheeks before I had the chance to helplessly swat it away. The sudden and unexpected impact of the flying beast made me fall over and hit my head against the rusty, metal floor. I groaned and rubbed my newly inflicted wound before scooting over to a safe corner. All the while I observed the thing had only moments ago viciously tried to take my face off. It was a chicken. Why am I in a cage with a chicken? The curiosity I had for the mysterious box was now long gone and the fear, frustration, and anger flooded back in. I quickly stood up and looped my fingers through the wall for support. "Someone help! There has been a mistake! I need someone's help! Please!" I shrieked while frantically shaking the walls of the cage. This only made the cage speed up, making me once again stumble backwards.

Everything was too much. It was too loud in here, and I started feeling very overwhelmed. I pulled my hood tightly over my head and covered my ears with my hands, to try and muffle the intruding noises. I then laid down on the ground and rocked back and forth. Tears were streaming down my face as I hopelessly tried to remember anything about my past. I willed that the cage would stop, and that I would step out and be reunited with my family. However, that didn't seem to be a possibility at the moment. As I started to loose what little hope I had, the cage suddenly came to a stop. I looked up and I could see a sliver of light in the center of the ceiling. I tried to peer out of it to get a better look when I heard voices.

"Aye, Alby! Where's Newt? He's always the first one to meet the new Greenbean," a voice that reminded me of a little boy asked. "He's still out with Minho. Gally's helping me with this one," a very deep and serious voice responded. Why do these people have such weird names? Gally? Alby? Minho? Newt? Wait, what is my name!?

I couldn't remember. How could I not remember my own, stupid name!? Just as I was about to call out for the voices to help me out of the cage, the ceiling opened, and the sliver of light filled the entire cage, temporarily blinding me. "Agh!" I exclaimed turned away and shielding my eyes with the hood of my sweatshirt that was still draped over my head. I heard a multitude of voices call out. "Looks like a slopper to me," "wonder if the shuck has klunked his pants yet," and "the Creators really couldn't have spaired us another Builder!" I felt the vibration of two people jumping into the cage with me, and while I was still trying to adjust to the new source of light, I heard, "Day one Greenie, rise and shine." Greenie? Is my name Greenie? Just then I felt two hands roughly grab my shoulders. "Alby, help me get this shuck out of The Box," the same voice said.

Just like that, I felt four hands grab me and carelessly toss me out of the cage. I hit the ground and rolled over a few times before coming to a halt in front of a pair of ragidy shoes. "Wow, that shuckhead is a real light one!" the deep voice from the cage said. I slowly turn my head to the side and for the first time, saw the people who had just chucked me out of the cage. They were two teenaged boys. The first one was blond with eyebrows that looked like they were permanently stuck in a scowl, and the second one was a super buff, dark-skinned boy, who stood with his arms crossed.

My eyes bounced back and forth from each of their faces as I slowly watched their smug smiles melt into disbelief. "Wait-" the one with the aggressive eyebrows started. "The new Greenie is a girl," the buff one finished his sentence. That's when I finally decided to get up and look at the rest of the people who were gathered around us. I quickly realized that I was surrounded by a sea of teenaged boys of all shapes, sizes, colors. They were all dressed in dirty clothes that where sprinkled with rips. Some of them didn't even have any shoes on. My eyes started to desperately search the crowd for a familiar face. There must have been about 20 boys there, but none of them even look slightly familiar. Just as yet another wave of panic was starting to set in I started hearing the boys shout, "I call dibs," "is she hot," and "the Creators are finally rewarding us!"

That's when a terrible realization set in. I wasn't just surrounded by 20 teenage boys. I was surrounded by 20 hormonal teenage boys that apparently haven't seen a female in a very long time. My fight or flight mode set in and I turned around and started pushing my way through the crowd. When I finally got out and into the open, I started running, as fast as I could, helplessly trying to get as far away from them as humanly possible.