Under The Mask

1: Greenie?

The silence woke me. The perfect, utter silence. You would think that would be peaceful? Well, not for me. For the past 20 minutes I had been stuck in a metal crate with wooden boxes surrounding me. The cage reeked of oil and fumes, clogging my nose with the smell. I squinted in the darkness, still barely able to see anything.

I had a tank top on, with jean shorts, and tennis shoes. My hair was in a braid, flowers dashed throughout. My mind raced, trying to remember anything. I couldn't remember who I was, who my parents were, or even anything about the world. Pictures flashed through my mind, but I couldn't place my finger on any other details. I remember clothes shopping, but I didn't remember with who or for what.

My name is Marion. That's all I could remember.

I pulled myself up to my feet, grasping the side of the cage to keep myself steady. I stumbled over to one of the crates, opening the lid. My hand went into its contents, cooling at the touch. Seeds? That's strange. All of the other crates contained similar contents. Some with clothes, others with plain food. I took a shirt and slid it on, feeling better about being covered.

I fell to the floor as the cage slammed to a stop. The smell faded away, leaving me able to breath properly. Small beams of light came through cracks above me. A ladder stood to my left, and I swiftly walked over, prepared to spring out of the cage if something were to come in. It creaked under my weight, making me flinch. Mumbled noises came from outside the cage, a huge scraping noise being made.

Where the beam of light was, wooden doors began to slide apart, revealing bright daylight. Paint chips fell to the bottom of the cage, some going through the slits. Blinking my eyes, I looked up to see a bright sky. No clouds could be seen, only the blue color of sky. I pushed myself against the wall, praying nothing would attack me. My heart pounded in my chest, making me think whatever was outside the cage could hear my heart.

"No one's in there?" A British voice stuck to my ears. Oh, I've always loved British accents.

I counted down in my head from 5. 

4. 

3.

A boy dropped down into the cage, looking in the crates surrounding us. I watched him, as he looked around, opening the crates. My breath caught in my throat as he looked at me.  He stared into my eyes, freezing me in place. I blinked, watching his every movement.

"Hey, it's ok." The British dude. He made his way towards me, extending his arm.

1.

I flung myself out of the cage, slamming into figures as I ran. I squinted, waiting for my eyes to be able to see a little bit more that I could at the moment. My senses heightened from being in the dark cage to being exposed outside. Pine flooded my nose, a nice welcoming smell. Pigs and cows were in the distance.  My legs pushed harder and harder, trying to run into the forest ahead of me. Only a few more feet...

"Greenie! Come back!" The British voice yelled again, and other mumbled shouts followed. I never looked back. Just ahead.

Greenie? What the crap is a Greenie?

My breathing became heavy as I ran, my feet stumbling every once in a while. Rocks were scattered everywhere, my feet flying over them. The wind blew in my hair, roaring in my ears. I felt the flowers leave my hair, brushing against my neck. The forest stood in front of me now, but I didn't stop.

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The forest was dark and moist. My feet squished against the wet mud, making me cringe at the sound. People yelled behind me, trying to get me to come back. Eventually the voices faded, and I was left in silence. My eyes shot around, checking my surroundings for any imposing danger. Nothing looked dangerous. The light was dim, making me squint to see anything.

Trees surrounded me, practically saying, "come to me for safety." And right now I could welcome all the safety I could get. I began to climb one of the trees, trying to get away from those people. Once again I heard the animals, and voices started to come up again. The branches were slick, and I tried my best to climb up them.

I squeaked in surprise as a hand grasped my ankle, pulling me off of the branch I was on. I fell the 7 feet I climbed to the ground. My arms scraped against the other branches, cutting them open, bleeding freely. I hit the ground, the air getting knocked out of me. I clenched my teeth in pain, trying to not think about it. I laid still for a moment, managing to catch my breath.

"Who are you?" I spun around, looking at the person, gasping in horror as I saw them. Green veins were bulging from their arm, their eyes bloodshot. They shook as they stood before me, looking like a rabid animal finally let loose. What the heck! I screamed, finally registering what I saw before me.

The person pounced onto me, knocking me back again, their teeth getting close to my face. My arms stung as the boy grabbed my arms and placed them above my head. Dirt got into the cuts, making them burn even more. My arms were stuck, the boys legs straddling over me. No matter how much I squirmed, I couldn't break out of their grasp. Saliva dripped down onto my clothes, their eyes darting around. I didn't realize, but tears were streaming down my face. I chocked down air, trying to calm myself.

"Please, don't kill me!" I yelled, gasping in sobs of air. He looked back to me, slowly starting to grin. His eyes had a devilish glare, sending a shiver to my bones. I smelled his foul breath on my face, making me gag on the air I had just trying to swallow.

"Hey! Get away from her!" The British voice yelled. The next moments were in a blur.

A shovel hit the person in the head, knocking them to the side. Other people came, dragging the limp body away. Mumbling broke out around me, people mentioning something about a serum? I slowly backed away from them, curling into a ball. I shook back and forth, tears still coming down my face.

"Please don't kill me! Please don't kill me!" I kept repeating not caring about the people around me.

"Are you ok?" A soft voice whispered next to me. A hand was placed on my arm and I flinched. I could feel the persons hand getting covered in my blood, but they didn't react.

"Go get the Med-Jacks, she's injured."

Nothing happened, leaving me curious. I looked up to meet the square jawed, dirty blonde haired boy. The one from the crate. So he is the British dude. I looked into his eyes, seeking comfort, finding very little.

My head pounded, trying to process everything. I couldn't control myself anymore, breaking down on the spot.

I grasped around his waist, sobs filling the air. The picture of the boy was permanently burnt into my mind, causing me to shake with fear. I started to relax, my breathing slowing down. It started to quiet down, and my guess was people were leaving. Arms laid across my back, pulling me closer. I laid there, slowly drifting to sleep.

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Newt's POV:

The girl grabbed my waist, sobbing into my shirt. I just sat there, too confused to do everything.

First Thomas, then this Greenie, then she gets attacked. This is strange.

I looked to Alby, Thomas, and Minho, and they all shrugged. Except Minho, he wriggled his eyebrows. When will he bloody learn.

I rolled my eyes, shooing everyone off so this girl could calm down. She was just attacked by James, and he looked to be stung. It was to late for The Serum, so he probably would be banished tonight. She didn't need to see that. Everyone got the hint, walking off in groups, some people glancing back and then murmuring to each other.

I laid my arms across her back, pulling her closer to offer comfort, and eventually the sobs softened. She had fallen asleep. The Med-Jacks came, and I motioned for them to be quiet, letting them know she was asleep. They began to bandage up her arms, wiping the blood away.

This day has been bloody weird.