Silver Lining (Newtmas)

4 - Confusion

When I woke up, I feel my body aching all over. It was as if I had been sleeping for a few days straight. I shifted my body, and that was when I registered my surroundings.

I was in some sort of metal box, with a few wooden crates piled beside me. The sharp edges of the metal wiring dug into my back and I winced. Utterly confused, I looked around. I could vaguely register that I was going up, in a pitch black chute, but as hard as I tried, I couldn't remember where I was going. Or where I came from.

Or how I had ended up in there.

Or, for the record, what my freaking name was.

A bubble of panic rose up my chest, and as if on instinct, I leaned back, as far away from the opposite wall as possible. I didn't know what I was supposed to do. How can I stop this thing? Why can't I remember anything? What is this?

With my heart still hammering in my chest, I closed my eyes and tried hard to remember something. Anything. A few pictures? A familiar face? But I couldn't, not one thing. It was strange; I knew what things were, how humans looked like, but I just don't know anything about my past. It was like my memories were wiped, or something.

Just then, I felt the box jerk to a stop. The ceiling seemed to open, and bright sunlight flooded into the dark space. I immediately turned my head and covered my eyes with my arm. After a few seconds of vigorous blinking, I finally opened my eyes, and I found myself literally looked down upon by a few dozen teenage boys.

Their eyes held curiosity, but something told me they weren't surprised to see me. As I scrutinized the boys, panic seize my heart once more. I didn't recognize any of them.

Then again, I didn't know if I could recognize anyone anyways.

"Where am I?" I asked, trying to sound brave, but my voice came out as a hoarse whisper. "Where is this place?" But I didn't think anyone heard me over the noise, because no one seemed to be paying any attention to me. Well, they were, but as if I was an animal or an item instead of a live talking person. Then, abruptly, a boy jumped down in front of me. He reached out his hand to help me up, and warily, I took it.

"Day one, Greenie. Rise and shine."

Next I found myself, I was being pulled up and out of the metal prison. I looked around at my surroundings. I was in a big field of some sort, surrounded all round by huge stone walls that reached up to the sky. I felt the long grass tickling my ankles. My heart sank, and cold sweat dripped from my face. What the hell was this place? And an animal instinct kicked in. All I felt was my legs pumping, each step sending dust and grass flying as I ran over the uneven ground. I didn’t know where I was going, where there was to go. But I was running somewhere. Anywhere was better than here.

And then, about two minutes after getting shipped to this unknown place, I did the stupidest thing I had possibly ever done in my entire life. The tip of my foot hit a rock, and with a sharp jolt of pain that shot up my leg, I felt myself being propelled forward, landing flat on my face. My body stung from the impact, but my face stung even more as I glanced back to a crowd of boys laughing, jeering at me. Shit.

It was then that all my senses came back to me. I recalled hearing the words “shank”, “shuck” and something about him being a runner. What did they mean? Though I barely remembered my name, I was sure I had never heard these words before?

Slowly, I turned around, still sprawled on the grass. I skimmed past the crowd of laughing boys, my heartbeat rising every second as they made no move to help me. Confusion and hurt washed across my face. "Where the hell am I?" I whispered, more to myself than to anyone who happen to hear me. I didn't expect anyone to, but apparently someone did.

Because a second later, I noticed a boy walking towards me from the left. How did I not see him? I must have been too concentrated on the other boys. A medolic voice with a strangely nice accent sounded in my ears, "Welcome to the Glade." The boy stretched out his hand, and I took it, hoisting myself up.

Upon closer examination, I noticed that he was not just beautiful - that wasn't a strong enough word to describe his appearance. He was exquisite; a work of art. Tall and lanky, I was only up to his eyes. His beautiful dark brown eyes that regarded me with the kindness I didn't see in any of the other boys. But they seemed to contain more, and though hidden, I could still see traces of sadness in them. 

"Name's Newt," the boy - Newt - continued, "I'll show you to Chuck, and tomorrow Alby here'll give you the tour. he's the real bloody leader here but I do the talking." He turned without seeing if I followed him and started walking in the direction of a wooden hut. I stared behind him as he walked; he had a sort of limp, though he hid it well. As a cloud floated by and revealed the golden sun, its rays hit Newt in a most radiant way, reflecting off his blond hair. I felt my hand twitch; I longed to run my fingers through the soft strands-

Wait a minute, where did that thought come from?

Blinking, I realised I had been staring at his back, and he was already halfway across the - what was it? Glade? - and I ran to catch up with him, blushing severely. Luckily, no one seemed to have noticed my little daydreaming episode.

Newt, I repeated the name over in my head as I ran. I liked the way it rolled off my tongue...

A/N: OKAY YAY this is done :D I'm sorry I haven't been posting for the past 2 (or 3?) days... I was just super busy with school and homework ugh. 

Again, please comment your feedback, and thanks for reading my book! <3