I wake up at mid-morning, not quite nine o'clock but close. The bright sun filters down onto me through the leaves, warming me pleasantly. I yawn, stretching my arms and twisting around to get the kinks out of my back muscles.
It's the type of day where you feel lazy. The good kind of lazy, like you just wanted to lay around in a warm grass field and catch butterflies and sip cold eggnog. A feeling deep inside me tells me that it's around spring-time, somewhere in April.
I eat the apples that are left in the cheesecloth, along with another small slice of ham and a bit of the bread. When I feel satisfied, I get up and climb down, using the same technique I used yesterday.
I dart from tree to tree until I reach the edge of the Deadheads. I see the boys, tramping from the kitchen and splitting off towards other smaller buildings and areas. A few of them go towards the Deadheads near me, so I move my spot to a better one.
At least seven boys go towards the huge gardens near the biggest building, and a few more go towards the big building that stinks of animals, rotten blood and guts to the left of the gardens.
I watch the gardeners with interest, wondering what it was like to be able to get down in the dirt and smell the fresh earth, sticking your fingers into it and planting seeds. I can almost see myself out there with them.
I don't realize that I started walking closer until I feel two strong arms around my middle.
I freeze, stiffening up and widening my eyes. I look down, seeing dark skin and chipped fingernails.
I start to wriggle, trying to loosen his hold on me, but he just squeezes harder, bruising my rib cage. I hear grunts behind me as he starts to drag me back with him, but he doesn't say anything.
"Let... go of me!" I cry out, kicking and struggling. I throw my head back, and I hear a satisfying crunch as the arms let go. I take off towards the kitchen, remembering a good hiding spot I had seen yesterday.
I make it to the side door to the kitchen, bursting in and sliding around the corner, almost banging into the pantry door. I crouch down, looking at the only boy there, Fry, with pleading eyes. "I think I might have broken someone's nose," I say quietly. "Can you help me hide from them, at least until they calm down?"
He grins, the smile lighting up his previously glaring face. Just then the door bangs open. He looks over to the door and says casually, "Hey, Alby. Got the greenie yet?"
"Greenie?" I whisper to myself.
The door slams shut and someone stomps up to the kitchen. "Well, I had her, but then she hit my nose with her head and took off in this direction. You seen her?" A deep, slightly nasal voice answers.
"Nope. I've been in here, cleaning." He flips his dishcloth for emphasis.
"I see," Alby grunts. He coughs, spitting into what I assume is the cloth. He makes a sound of disgust. "Remind me not to try catching wild women again, will you?"
Fry chuckles.
I peek, and it's the dark-skinned leader from yesterday with a white and red cloth on his nose, held up by one hand. So that's the one named Alby. From what I've seen, he's the leader.
"Well, I'm almost done cleaning up here. You lemme know when you need me, ok?"
I close my eyes, whispering a silent thank you to Fry.
"Don't I always?" Alby stomps back out, and I stand up.
"Thanks," I whisper.
Fry chuckles. "Yeah, I think you at least busted his nose. You're in a bit of trouble when he catches you."
I nod. "I suppose. Nothing I can't handle. I'll just tell him that I thought he was one of the bad boys."
He laughs loudly, grinning big at me with his white teeth. Then his expression turns serious. "I know it was you who broke in yesterday." I start stuttering, trying to think up a good excuse, but he holds a hand up. "Don't bother denying it, I saw you."
I nod. "Sorry?" I try, scratching the back of my neck.
He shrugs. "I understand why you did it. Gotta live, right?" He turns, wiping the counter again and talking to me over his shoulder. "Alby looked like he was gonna murder you. If I were you, I'd be more careful. Go on, now."
I nod again, darting out from behind my hiding spot and running towards an empty field. I stop, laying down and staring at the sky. I absentmindedly pull the knife from my belt and start fiddling with it.
I sit up, plucking a flat blade of grass and sticking it between my lips. Pushing my tongue against the roof of my mouth, I blow. It vibrates and makes a buzzing noise.
I giggle, blowing again. It makes a higher buzz. I shift my tongue slightly, and the pitch goes down again. I gasp, almost swallowing the blade of grass. I cough and the grass shoots out of my mouth and onto my pants.
I look at my knife. The blade glints in the sunlight, reflecting the blue sky.
I take another blade of grass, holding it up and slicing through it with my knife. I pick up the pieces. It's a clean cut. I grin, slashing at the long grass around me. It slices through neatly, leaving behind a patch of short grass.
I'm glad you didn't use that thing on me yesterday."
I jump up, whirling around and raising the blade. The brown-eyed boy backs up quickly a few feet away from me, hands up. "Easy there, tiger!"
I sigh, lowering the knife. "How long have you been watching me?"
He grins slightly. "I, uh... I just got here." He clears his throat, shifting his weight. "I just wanted to talk. I heard you broke Alby's nose. Is that true?"
I blink, frowning. "Maybe. I was running away too fast to ask him." I glare at him slightly. "How did you know that?"
"Clint and Jeff told me he came running in, muttering something about 'fickle females and their hard heads.' I don't think he meant hard as in stubborn," He tilts his head at me. "Why did you run yesterday?"
I snort. "Oh, gee, I wonder why. I woke up in a bloody metal box, courtesy of mad scientists, I get banged around in there for a few hours, it opens and then I see a bunch of boys arguing over who gets to kiss me first. Then you jump down and invade my space, I jump out, and I see that I'm stuck in a stupid concrete box with no way out as far as I can tell. So yeah, I think I'm gonna start running. Wouldn't you?"
He chuckles. "Yeah, about that, uh... I might've pushed it a bit too far when I asked to come closer. Although, I am glad I'm still alive and not with some knife sticking out of my chest." He holds out a hand. "Would you like for me to show you around? Answer a few of your questions?"
I ignore his hand, keeping hold of the knife in case someone tries to make advances. He shrugs and starts walking, talking as he went.
"Alright, there's five main jobs around here. Cook, Med-jack, Track-hoe, Slicer, and Builder. I think it's obvious what the cooks do." He points to the kitchens. "That's where they prepare the meals."
I nod. "Cool." I flip my knife in the air, catching it by the handle carelessly. He eyes me from the side nervously.
"Alright. Uh, Med-jacks are the closest things we have to doctors. They work in there," He points to a small hut near the Deadheads.
I snort. "Med-jacks? They sound like a new kind of insect."
He chuckles. "Well, I didn't name them. You can blame someone else for that.
"The Track-hoes work in the gardens, taking care of our vegetables and making sure we have enough food." He points to the gardens.
"The Slicers butcher our meat for the Cooks and they also take care of the animals," He gestures to the stinky house and fenced yard where I can see animals wallowing in mud. Gross.
I grimace. " Who would want to work there?"
He shrugs. "Winston likes it."
I wrinkle my nose. "Ugh."
He chuckles, the deep sound reverberating through his chest. "And the Builders are the big, strong men who- well, they build stuff. Not a lot going on upstairs, but they do their part.
"Now, since you're the new person around here, you are going to try out these jobs. There's Siggy- better known as Frypan, he's the Keeper of the Cooks, then there's Winston, he's the Keeper of the Slicers. Zart is Keeper of the Track-Hoes and Gally is the Keeper of the Builders. Oh, and there's also the Med-jacks, Clint and Jeff.
"If you don't fit in with any of those you become a Slopper. Basically, you clean the Blood House, the kitchens, the showers and the toilets."
I look at him. "Siggy?"
He stares at me. "Is that all you got out of the things I just told you?"
I shrug. "Siggy's funny."
He rolls his eyes with a slight smile. "Can you remember anything else?"
I flip my knife again. "Cooks, Slicers, Track-hoes, Builders. Medicine jackets. Oh, and Winston likes to kill animals."
He sighs. "Well, we'll get it into you eventually."
I grin. "Probably not, if I'm a hardheaded fickle female."
"There's that bloody beautiful smile!" he cheers beside me.
I frown, shoving his shoulder. He fake stumbles around, gripping his shoulder with a face of agony. I huff, walking faster towards the Deadheads.
"Wait!" He jogs to catch up, his gait slightly uneven. "I don't even know your name."
I frown. "Me either."
"It's Newt."
I shake my head. "No, I mean... my name."
He nods sympathetically. "You'll remember it in time. It's the one thing they let us keep."
I knit my brows, looking down at the ground. I glance up. "Any rules I should know about?"
"We only follow three rules: One, never harm another Glader. We need to be able to trust one another. But you've already broken that one by making Alby's nose bleed."
I chuckle. "He should know not to sneak up on women."
He grins. "Two, do your part. We can't have any slackers around here. If someone isn't doing their job all the way, everything slows down and if they don't straighten up, they become a Slopper.
"Three, never. Go. Beyond. These. Walls. It's a dangerous place." He looks at me, a serious expression plastered on his face. "Got it?"
I frown. "Yeah..."
He slaps me lightly on the back. "Good!"
I nod. Just then, I see Alby walking towards me with a frown on his face. "Bye," I say abruptly. I take off into the trees, ignoring his protests. I don't stop running until I'm at my tree. I climb up, settling down and sighing.
A/N Well guys, that wraps up the third chapter. I know it sucks, but I tried. Please, please comment what name you think this kinda bad-ass girl should have. I wondered whether or not to add in Newt's limp, but I decided to go ahead and add that in, because this has a bit of the book in it as well, just not that much.
Comments on that photo?? ( I don't own any of the art that I put in this story, I just got it off of Pinterest)
Edit: I have changed a lot in this chapter, and the chapters before it. I'm so sorry for changing it so much, but I honestly think it's much better than what it was. I took out the cringey parts and fixed the holes, so hopefully it reads easier. I also had no idea how to end this chapter, so I just left it at that.