Conundrum

A New "Home"

POV: ???

     The Shallows? What the hell is the Shallows? I stood up and brushed the sand off my pants. My thoughts were crowded with questions, and I was still feeling a bit nauseous from the upward trip in that cage. The others weren't saying much as I swiveled my head around and took in every detail I could see. There had to be around forty of them. Some chuckled and others made strange comments, but I didn't care. I was just trying to make mental notes of what was around me. Sand, palm trees, flowers, huts, water, four huge walls... wait... FOUR HUGE WALLS?!

My thoughts began to run wilder as I looked around at each and every gray wall. They had to be hundreds of feet tall, and each one looking as intimidating as the last. One in particular piqued my interest, however. The one across the large mass of water in front of me. Who puts a wall all the way out there?

"Look at the Rookie," a voice laughed out; I couldn't see who said that. "He's gonna burst a blood vessel checking out his new home." The others laughed.

     "Leave him alone, Zeke," a feminine voice responded. I brought my focus back to the surrounding kids, taking in a few of their appearances. The boy, Zeke, the same one who welcomed me and the girl earlier, standing with hands in his pockets, staring at me like I'm some piece of meat. A girl with blonde hair and a solemn look, hitting Zeke on the back of the head, seeming to snap him out of his gaze. Another girl beside her, Indian looking, with her arms crossed and a questioning look on her face, also staring at me. Almost like she's waiting for me to do something.

     "Where am I?" I asked, everyone's attention turning back to me.

     "Nowhere fun." The Indian girl finally spoke up. "I'd recommend you calm down for now."

     "What job is he gonna get?" Someone shouted out.

     "Probably something lame like a Planter." A female's voice responded. "He looks weak. Bet he probably won't even be considered for a Crafter." The girl laughed, others joining in with her.

     "I don't know, girl. He looks like he can handle himself just fine." A male rebutted. "Maybe he'd become a Captain if he tried hard enough."

     I was once again overcome with confusion. Planter? Crafter? Captain? These words seemed to just flow out of their mouths like they were actual words, although, I suppose they are. Multiple emotions ran through my head. Panic. Fear. Confusion. Anger. But even with all these emotions, I could sense something else. Desperation. Like I just wanted to get away. To get away from my thoughts, these people. Everything.

     "I'd shut your asses up if I were you!" The Indian girl yelled. "Keep talking and I'll feed you all to the Excadons." Excadon? What's that? Well, whatever it is, it sure seemed to shut everyone up.

     She must be the leader around here. Not liking the attention on me, I looked around at the place Zeke had called the Shallows. There were tons of huts built around this place, each with different names on them. Are those where everyone sleeps? Guess it's better than the ground. There were other huts as well. One with tables and chairs all aligned perfectly, as well as what appeared to be kitchen appliances further in the back of it. Another had small cots and cabinets. Some were opened and I could see small bottles and capsules. It was obvious that the hut was some sort of makeshift hospital. Or more like a nurse's office. Either way, these kids seemed to have established some sort of order around here. Thank god they're not totally crazy. I looked up towards the sky and it was a nice ombré of purples, pinks, oranges, and blues. Either the sun was rising or the sun was setting, but guessing by the fact everyone around here seems pretty woken up, I'd guess sunset. I turned my attention back to the group of kids and... where'd they go? Everyone was just... gone. All except the Indian girl, the blonde girl, and Zeke. The Indian girl stepped forward. Her arms were still crossed and she looked like she was about to punch someone. She kinda freaked me out a bit.

"I'm sure you're confused about everything," she started. "But as time goes on, you'll learn all there is to this place. Tomorrow, Bailey here," she pointed behind her to the blonde girl and she gives a small wave. "She'll give you a tour of this place. For now... try not to cause any trouble till the bonfire tonight. Please." I nod my head. Shouldn't be too hard. "The name's Elaina by the way. I'll take it you don't remeber yours yet?" I shake my head. "You too girl?" I look to my side and see the girl from the cage beside me, also shaking her head no. "Thought as much. Don't worry, you'll remeber it soon enough. We all have. Just give it some time to come back to you." I give Elaina a faint smile. "Feel free to walk around and explore. I'll have Bailey fetch the two of you when the bonfire is ready, okay?" I nod my head once again.

With that, Elaina and Bailey walk away. But there's still someone standing there. Zeke. He slowly approaches me till he's standing right in front of me. He looks slightly down at me, a small smirk in his face.

"See you tonight Rookie," he said in a suggestive tone. "And I suppose the girl too." He smiles and gives me a wink before he saunters off towards the hut with the tables. What was that all about?

I was still shaken up the weird talk with Zeke. Was he trying to be flirty? Why to me though? Especially with that girl standing right next to me too. My mind races with countless possible theories, but my focus was quickly regained when I bumped into someone. The boy turned around with a mean look on his face. Oh god. What have I done? I backed up slightly, but I stopped in my tracks when I heard the guy let out laugh.

"Oh my god," he wheezed out. "You should've seen your face. Funniest shit I've seen all day." He wheezed a few more times, sometimes coughing, finally regaining himself after a few seconds. "Sorry about that. Couldn't help myself. You must be the new Rookies I've heard so much about."

Rookies? I turned around and saw the girl standing right behind me. The sight of her startled me a bit. How is she so quiet?!The guy I bumped into let out a small chuckle.

"Man. Just about anything scares you huh?" He stretches out his hand. "I'm Gus. Nice to meet you." I take his hand, giving him a small shake. "I'd like to talk more but I gotta help set the wood for the bonfire." With a small salut, he jogs off towards another group of kids.

Me and the girl sat down at the hut with tables. No talking. Just silence from both of us. I saw the blonde haired girl from earlier out of the corner of my eye.

"There you two are. Come on. The bonfire is ready." She led back to the beach where me and the girl came up from. Sure enough, there was a giant pile of wood stacked in the middle of all the girls and boys surrounding it. The blonde led us through the crowd. We get to the front of the crowd, and sure enough, I'm standing right next to Zeke. He looks at me and gives me another wink before turning his attention back to the pile of wood. I could feel a slight heat rising to my cheeks, but I look away and regain control of myself. Seriously, what's his deal? I just wanted to get this stupid bonfire over with.

~A/N~

     Yayyy!! Chapter 2 is officially done!! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I do have a bit of sad news though (not really sad). I'm going to be spending the week with my sister so I may not have time to work on chapter 3 (I'd also rather her not find out about this 😅) I'll try my best to work on it if I get any chances but I can not guarantee chapter 3 to be published over the weekend. But I promise promise promise, I will get chapter 3 out by either Tuesday or Wednesday. Thank you for understanding, and thank you for reading my book. I truly appreciate you all.

XOXO
     -Tea <3