Her eyes immediately opened, her ears having picked up on the lurching sound of upwards movement, and the strain of metal chains. Scrambling up from the floor, she tried to get her thoughts together.
Why am I here? How did I get here? What's my name?
At the realisation of a lack of answers for all of her questions - most worryingly the last - her heart dropped and the dread began to swell in her stomach.
She could remember lots of things, just not anything specific. She could remember things about herself; she could remember she was a girl. But not her name. She could remember places; beaches, movie theatres, concerts. But no particular beaches, movies or bands.
What the hell is going on?
She scanned her surroundings. A small metal box with a few crates in three corners, and then herself in the forth.
And the box was moving. Upwards, and quickly. As it continued to lurch upwards, she had to lean against the wall to avoid falling. Getting her bearings only just, she realised what she should've done as soon as she woke up in this predicament.
"Help! Someone! Please!" Her voice came out scratchy, as if she hadn't spoke for days. Only then she noticed her throat yearned for water, not that she had any.
She tried screaming again, but her voice was weaker. Letting the box knock her, she fell down on her knees and pushed herself as far in the corner as she could, bringing her legs to her chest and hiding her face in her knees.
You're not supposed to be in here. You're in the wrong place.
Those weren't her own thoughts, although she was admittedly thinking it. It was the voice of a teenage boy, his tone filled with concern. How was his voice in her head?
She heard the same voice continue talking, speaking quickly with alarm raising in their voice, but it was distant. It was fading away. And then it disappeared completely.
It was replaced with a shrill ringing; a noise like if you temporarily lost your hearing. But soon after, that too vanished.
She had no time to worry about any of it. The box had stopped. Not hesitating for a moment, she got to her feet and looked upwards to where she was hoping something would happen.
And it did.
First, a flood of voices. Excited chatter, laughter even. Then, some sort of door had opened above the box she was trapped in, flooding it and her vision with bright blinding light.
At first, she considered hiding. What if these people were going to hurt her? But then she realised her curiosity was too great. Shielding her eyes and squinting furiously, she tried to make out what was outside of the box.
Her eyes adjusted, and looking back, she wished she had a moment's longer of peace. But her eyes fell upon the crowd of people looking down at her. As if she were an animal in a zoo.
At least I remember what a zoo is. Have I been to one? With who?
Her lack of memory was starting to frustrate her. She had a problem with things out of her control. She couldn't stand it.
Looking closer at the people studying her, she realised they were all boys. Every single pair of eyes on her belonged to a teenage boy. Great.
"Well?" An impatient snarl from someone in the crowd. She found the face of the boy, a snarl also present on his face. His hair was buzzed short and his eyebrows arched, giving him a permanently angry expression.
It seems the boys couldn't properly see her yet. And how good it would've been to stay that way.
Someone jumped down into the box in front of her, causing her to jump. He placed his hands out in front of him, as if to say, I won't hurt you.
She frowned, backing away until her back was against the wall of the box. He had kind eyes, but how could she know she could trust him?
He had blonde shaggy hair that fell into his eyes slightly, which were a light brown-hazel colour. He looked about seventeen, however he was extremely lanky, and a small friendly smile played on his lips, not wanting to scare her away.
But the surprise on his face was impossible to miss.
"It's a girl." He called back up to the group. His accent seemed different, something she'd heard before, but definitely different. The group immediately broke out in chatter.
"A girl?"
"I got dibs!"
"What's she look like?"
"How old is she?"
The questions and things she picked up from the crowd made her frown grow and her hands clenched into fists as she spoke the first words since seeing these boys.
"Hey!" Her voice came out stronger than expected, and the crowd hushed.
"I'm not just an object you can claim. And who says I'd want you, I bet you're all ugly as hell anyway." She murmured the last part quieter, but the silence made it easy to hear.
Laughter broke out, some boys teasing others for their comments, and those who made them looking guilty.
"She could give Minho a run for his money!" Someone called, to everyone's amusement. The girl's patience was running thin now, but the boys didn't seem to be in any rush to get her out of the box.
"Hello? Can someone please get me out of here?"
"Gally, lower the rope." The blonde boy in front of her called up, moving aside so she could see.
A rope with a loop at the end was thrown down, dark jokes about a noose entering her mind, before she placed her foot in the loop and grasped the rope tightly.
Ignoring the hands reaching out for her, she hauled herself up from the edge of the box after getting pulled up on the rope, and pushed through the group of gawking boys to see where she was.
A large grassy square, trees dotted in the middle stretching into a corner and a few misshapen wooden shacks around the place. The smell of a farm and fresh air overwhelmed her as she took it all in.
And the walls. Impossible to miss. Grey, cracked, concrete walls that stretched a hundred feet in the sky, ivy clinging to the surface in patches. They enclosed the square, trapping everything inside. And then she saw it.
An opening.
The walls to the side of her parted in the middle, with the girl not being able to fully see what hid behind the opening.
"Welcome to the Glade!" The blonde boy said to her, a smile brandished on his expression as he looked out at the land proudly.
She could hear more people talking to her distantly, but she wasn't listening. Instead, she was focusing on whether or not she could make it to the opening of the wall without one of these boys pouncing on her.
So she decided to find out.
She immediately broke out in a sprint, and she could hear bursts of laughter behind her. But then the laughter stopped. The boys had realised that she showed no sign of stopping, or slipping up.
"Hey! Stop!" A boy called. She glanced quickly over her shoulder to see that four boys that had taken off after her.
Shaking her head with a dry chuckle, she sped up her pace. None of these boys are very fast, was where her brain immediately went.
She reached the opening but didn't stop there. It led into a long corridor, the walls and floors made of the same cracked concrete.
The ivy was thicker and more frequent down the long stretch of corridor, and rubble piled in places along the sides of the passage.
Ahead, she could either turn left or right, and choosing right, she felt comfortable enough to look back to see where her chasers were.
But they hadn't followed up the corridor. They were gathered in a group at the entrance, just watching her figure get more and more distant.
Snapping her head back, she felt a smile grow on her face on how easy it was to escape. But then another thought.
What was so wrong with the corridor that they didn't want to follow?
The girl found herself turning right and at her fast pace, slammed into the body of someone running right towards her, at a similar pace.
She was thrown to the ground with a harsh thud, as was the other. Groaning, she sat up from the floor to take a look at who she had bumped into. The person had already gotten to their feet, looking down at her with a cocky smirk.
"That's not a way to greet people, princess." She immediately snarled at the nickname, but he offered out a hand, so she took it.
Once on her feet, she could finally get a look at him.
Stood in front of her was a tall Asian boy, looking about seventeen. His eyes were a deep brown and his hair was black and soft, looking to be unaffected by his fall. An easy smile played on his chiselled face and the girl couldn't help but feel her knees go weak at the sight of him.
He's gorgeous.
Oddly enough, in a place where they had lost all of their memories, they felt an aura of familiarity around each other. She felt her stomach flip in nervousness, and letting go of his hand, she folded her arms and cleared her throat.
"You clearly need to look where you're going in the future." She said it seriously, but a small part of her wanted to see the reaction on his face.
He raised an eyebrow with amusement as he looked back at the girl. For some reason he felt a tingling in his stomach when he had touched her hand, and the same sensation returned as she gave him a mock innocent expression.
Looking about sixteen, she had dark brown hair that only just fell over her shoulders, and piercing green eyes. Freckles splattered across her nose and cheeks, and along her prominent cheekbones. Her skin was sun kissed, with freckles also dotting her arms.
The boy found himself staring for a moment too long, is this what all girls look like? He wondered, trying to push back any other thoughts that were trying to bubble up.
"Anyway what the shuck are you doing?" The boy asked.
Shuck? Have I woken up on a different planet?
She realised he must have been running for a while, as beads of sweat were rolling down his forehead and he was panting as he spoke.
He must be exhausted. It's not a bad look on him admittedly...
"I-I was escaping from those lunatics." She pointed back down the corridor, to where the crowd of boys still stood. A laugh escaped his lips and the girl found herself frowning.
"Those lunatics, are my friends." The boy paused, a brief look of worry passing through his eyes at what might have happened when she came up in the Box. "Well, friends is a push."
Silence passed between them for a moment before the boy chose to speak again.
"I'm going to apologise for this in advance princess. Actually, scratch that, I'm not apologising."
And before the girl could ask what he was talking about, the boy had wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her off the ground. His chest bumped against her back as he wandered back towards the group of boys she had escaped from.
Her hands went to his arms, trying to peel them from her waist. Her nails dug into the boy's skin but he barely flinched as she left crescent shaped marks in his arms and began to growl,
"Oh don't you dare. Get your hands off me!" The girl squirmed in his grasp but he was much stronger than her, so her struggling was pointless. She stopped, and watched in dread as he carried her back up the corridor to the boys.
"My name's Minho by the way." He told the girl, almost yelling, clearly taking pleasure in her annoyance.
Minho. Apparently I could give him a run for his money?
And when she thought, her name came instantly to her. "Florence."
Must've been Minho knocking me over.
"Well, hope you're enjoying your stay so far, princess."
The other boys yelled and wolf whistled as the pair reached the end of the corridor, and Minho was beginning to realise the reason Florence had wanted to get away from them so badly.
Placing her down in front of the group, he grinned out at them. His hand found its way around her back and rested on her shoulder.
"Look what I found in the Maze."
The Maze? This is only getting increasingly more confusing by each second.
"We're all thinking the same thing right?" A boy spoke up from the crowd. "She's here for breeding." The tone of his voice made Florence's skin crawl with discomfort. A few in the crowd snickered, or agreed, but most were frowning at the words, to Florence's relief.
"Hey, you better watch your mouth you shank." Minho warned, his voice raising at the boy, as he pointed a finger at his face.
The boy immediately shrunk away, muttering an apology, and Minho lifted his own chin, winking discreetly at the girl.
Looking out at the group, Florence grasped who the leaders were. The blonde boy who approached her in the box was stood just behind an older boy, both of whom stood forward from the group.
He had dark skin, short hair and there was a scowl on his face. He looks like fun, she couldn't help but think whilst looking at him.
"Well Greenie, do you have a name?" He asked her, practically barking the words.
Greenie? First shank, now Greenie? What language were these people speaking?
"Yes." She stuttered out. She felt more comfortable with Minho's presence beside her, but that feeling soon vanished. She was left feeling cold as he walked off with a small group of boys to a squat concrete building with a riveted metal door, only squeezing her shoulder before leaving.
She watched after him as he left, realising the sort of chest-plate he had over his blue shirt; which he had obnoxiously rolled the sleeves up of to show off the biceps he had. He also had a notepad in his hand, and he was talking animatedly to the group of boys, all of whom had the same chest-plates and notepads.
"Well what is it?" The boy seemed impatient, so Florence was suddenly keen to not give him what he wanted.
"What's yours?"
"What?"
"What's your name, Greenie?" She emphasised the unknown word, knowing only that she was using it wrong, if his expression was anything to go by. A few boys began to snicker, and it was clear that the boy was not used to being challenged.
"No I'm not a Greenie, you're the Gre-"
"And this could go on forever. Everyone, back to work!" The blonde boy shooed them all away and reluctantly, the crowd of boys scattered across the grassy square, back to whatever it was they were doing before Florence arrived.
And now, she was left in front of the angry leader, and the blonde boy. She was quite glad the blonde boy was there, she was almost certain that the leader would rip her head off if he were not.
"My name is Newt." The blonde told her, offering her a friendly smile, which she greatly appreciated.
"And yours?" The leader asked persistently, to which she gave him a sarcastic sweet smile.
"Yours first."
"For shucks sake!" Newt exclaimed under his breath. "This is Alby. He is our terribly stubborn leader."
Florence was satisfied by this, relaxing her expression. "My name's Florence. I remembered after I bumped into Minho. I can't really remember anything else." She admitted, a little embarrassed, but mostly confused.
She had made up in her mind that the boys must have some of her answers, just to ease her brain of worry.
"Don't worry. It happened to all of us. Our memories had been wiped and we only had our names as we went up that bloody Box." Newt chuckled slightly, but it was clear in his eyes that he was glad to not have been the one to find themselves in the Box today.
Florence's brain was bubbling over with questions, about the 'Glade', about the Maze, about Minho. Although she's sure she'd get some odd looks if she dared to ask about the last, and she wasn't keen for the cocky boy to know she had been asking about him. Instead, she decided to go with the most basic question that popped up.
"So, where am I?"
Alby spoke up this time, stepping forwards as he addressed the girl. "This is the Glade. And what you ran into? That's the Maze. Don't you ever shucking do it again."
"She should be put in the Slammer for that." A growl came from behind the two boys. As they parted to turn to the noise, Florence caught sight of the eyebrows-boy from earlier.
"She barely knew what she was doing Gally. We all did questionable things when we first got here." Newt defended Florence, and she looked to him gratefully, grasping that Newt was definitely going to be a friend to her here.
"As long as she doesn't do it again, there's no problems."
Gally approached Florence, his close proximity scaring her, causing her to take a few steps back as he studied her.
"There's obviously something wrong here. Why after two years of boys, is there suddenly a girl?" He wondered aloud, spitting in her face unintentionally.
"Back off Gally, you're scaring her." Alby warned. Gally scowled again, but obeyed, and turned away to get back to his own job, casting a last glare back to her.
"Listen Greenie, it's a long story but you'll learn it piece by piece-"
"-Why can't I learn it all now?" Florence interrupted, her anger and panic beginning to spill over. It was finally sinking in that she was stuck here, and there was no way out for her.
"I've just had the weirdest day. Don't you think I deserve an explanation?" Newt approached her this time, his hand going to her shoulder comfortingly.
"We know you've had a bloody weird day. We've all gone through it. But if you learn everything in one day your bloody head will explode!" She allowed the ghost of a smile pass her face at the amount of times Newt said 'bloody', and she relaxed only the tiniest bit.
"Fine. But at least answer me these questions." Alby groaned and began to walk away to a leaning structure of wood and windows. It was a building stretched into one of the corners of the Glade, and it had two storeys.
Florence caught up to Alby, desperate for answers, and these weren't exactly deep, mind-blowing questions.
"What the hell is a Greenie and why do you keep calling me it?" Alby stopped in his tracks, his eyes sparkling with amusement as the flicker of a smile appeared on his lips. Then, continuing on to the building, he began to talk.
"A Greenie is what we call the newbies who come up in the box. Greenie, Greenbean, the lot. Bothering you huh?" He asked, the amusement now thick in his voice as well his eyes.
"Yes. Especially as I have a name." She muttered back, causing him to chuckle.
"This here is the Homestead. It has some rooms, one of which you'll sleep in. We don't want these boys getting to you, some of 'em have been here two years without a memory of a girl. We don't know what they might try and do." His expression suddenly darkened but it didn't compare to the fear that began to take over Florence.
"Hey." He placed both hands on her shoulders. "We will not let them do anything to you. I'll guard you myself if I have to."
Alby. The leader of the group. Moody, seemingly always in a bad mood, but protective. Even over Florence, whom he had met just an hour ago.
"The Homestead," The pair of them stepped inside and a waft of food teased Florence's senses. "also has the kitchen. Which I'm assuming you'll be needing at the moment."
Alby had Florence sit on a bench at a long wooden table as he approached the counter that barred the kitchen from her.
He spoke to a boy slightly younger, only sixteen, with dark skin and a beard. Jesus, he must've been here a while.
A plate was placed in front of Florence, with a sandwich placed on it. As she began to wolf down the food, she remembered her thirst in the box, turning to Alby to ask for some water.
As she faced him, she saw the glass that he held in his hand, and with her eyes saying thank you, she took it from him and drank every last drop.
Alby barely batted an eye at her animal-like hunger. They had all experienced it; for some not so long ago, but for Alby it had been two years.
"Time to feed the wolves!" The boy in the kitchen cackled as he looked to the entrance of the homestead, where crowds of boys were piling in to get their dinner.
"That's Frypan. We nick-named him that after he got so into his cooking." Alby murmured to Florence, taking her wrist and leading her into the kitchen.
"I think it's best you stay here for now, let the boys adjust to seeing you in time for the bonfire later."
Florence sat herself up on a surface in the kitchen that faced the 'dining room' of the Homestead. She greeted Frypan, thanking him for his delicious food, before sitting back to watch the flood of boys.
It was impossible to take it all in. The Box, the Maze, the Glade, the boys. Her thoughts were finally catching up to her, and it was almost unbearable.
She watched through glazed eyes as the boys all came to collect their food, making chatter with Frypan who was happily serving them. Frypan turned to grab a few more plates, winking at Florence, who gave him a smile.
At least I have a few friends here. Alby's warming to me too... I hope.
Florence could only imagine how much worse it would be if she had no friends. The loneliness at the moment is only just bearable, but if she had no one she knew she would be tipped over the edge.
But in a sense, she really did have no one. These boys did understand what she was feeling, they had experienced it themselves. But they were giving her no answers, and she was the only girl. There's a loneliness just in that sense.
"Hey princess! How are you getting on?" A familiar warm voice shook Florence out of her trance. She met Minho's eye, and her heart almost stopped. There was something almost familiar about him, almost. But she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"I have a name, you know." Minho rolled his eyes fondly, taking his plate from Frypan but pausing to still speak to her.
"Yeah but that's no fun. I'd rather use a nickname, that way it's special." With that, and a wink, Minho turned on his heel and joined Newt at the table Florence had sat at to eat her own food.
A few more boys had attempted conversation with her whilst getting their food. To those who spoke respectfully, she happily replied. To those who didn't, she blocked out without a single glance.
After a gruelling ten minutes of watching the boys swallow down their food, they filed out of the Homestead, and Alby, Newt and Minho were left behind. Florence thanked Frypan once again, before joining the three boys at the table, sitting beside Minho.
Her leg brushed against his as she sat down, to which he responded by brushing his against her. Florence could feel her cheeks flushing but hid the embarrassment as well as possible as Minho rested his leg against hers.
Glancing to him, she saw that he was barely affected by it, but Minho was biting back the grin that was threatening to show. He enjoyed teasing the girl far too much, and seeing her embarrassment caused by him was well worth the pain of hiding his smirk.
"We're going to have to sort out where you're sleeping." Newt told her, and she nodded in agreement, her brow furrowing to ignore the feeling of butterflies willing to creep up at Minho's touch.
Alby and Newt exchanged a glance, which told Florence that they already had discussed where she was sleeping, and had it decided. She didn't know if this was a good thing or not, if it was alright then they would've come right out with it.
"You're going to have to bunk with this shank." Alby told her, nodding to Minho. He said nothing, but his eyebrows flew up and his jaw slacked, causing his mouth to fall open.
"You- what?" Was all she could reply with, and Newt and Alby shared another sorry expression.
"There's no other options. We'll get a sleeping bag for you." Newt offered up kindly, and she gave him a smile at the gesture.
"Are you sure that's the best idea?" Minho finally asked, and Florence couldn't help but feel offended by his words.
"It- It's just that I wake up really really early as a Runner, so..." But he trailed off at Newt and Alby's stern expressions and instead turned to Florence.
"Well princess. Guess we're room buddies now."