♘

SHE WOKE UP with a loud gasp, listening to the sound of clinging and feeling cold metal beneath her. She looked around her surroundings, realizing she was alone in a metal box moving rapidly in an upward direction. 't breathe as she frantically looked around for a way out and was scared for her life.

"Hello?" She called out, only to receive no reply. She slowly stood up, banging against the metal walls, hoping she could get out. "Where am I?! Help me, please! Let me out! Please!"

Many questions ran through her brain as she tried to process what was happening: Where am I? What's my name? Am I dead?

Suddenly, the Box stopped, causing her to shriek as she fell back to the ground. She pulled her knees to her chest as the doors began open, letting in a ray of sunlight. She lifted her hand, covering her eyes from the sunlight when she heard voices above her. Male voices. The girl lowered her hand from her eyes, seeing many male figures standing above her, and she noticed that most of their eyes were wide at her presence of her.

"Holy shuck! It's a girl!"

"A girl?"

"Dibs!"

"You can't just call dibs on her, shank! Besides, I saw her first!"

"Everybody, slim it! She's scared, and you guys are making it worse. Let me take care of this."

The commotion above calmed down as she watched as one of the boys jumped into the Box carefully, joining her. The girl scooted backward, away from the boy, until her back hit the wall. He was African American and tall, and from the looks of it, he seemed like he was the leader of the boys. He held his arms in front of him in surrender, letting her know he wasn't hostile.

"Hey, hey. It's ok," the boy said in a calm, reassuring voice as he looked at the young girl. "I'm not going to hurt you, ok? I promise. My name is Alby. Do you remember yours ?"

The girl shook her head slowly as she stared at the boy, Alby, with a confused and scared look. "N-no, I-I don't know what my name is. Wh-where am I?"

"It's ok if you can't remember your name. It'll come in a day or two. It's the only memory they let out keep," Alby replied softly, walking towards the girl and kneeling beside her. "You're in the Glade."

"The Glade?" She questioned with furrowed eyebrows. "What's that?"

The boy smiled at her. "Let me show you." He held out his hand.

She stared at it, feeling many emotions but smiled as she slowly grabbed it. The two stood up, Alby leading her to the entrance of the Box, latching his hand onto one of the boys, who pulled him out. He then turned back to her, holding his hand out again. She grabbed onto it, and he pulled her up as well. Once out of the Box, she looked around, noticing walls surrounding them. Giving her, making her uncomfortable, and Alby noticed.

"Stop staring at her like she's your possession. She's one of us now, and if I see or hear that one of you is looking at her in a way that she shouldn't be looked at or touching her inappropriately, you will be punished or banished. Do I make myself clear? " Alby explained, looking among the boys who stopped staring at her and now looking at their leader. They nodded as Alby stared back at them sternly. "Good. Now, don't you all have work to finish?"

With that, the boys dispersed, some grabbing supplies in the Box that came with her while others stared at her uneasily as they walked away. Once they were gone, Alby turned to her once more.

"Come on, Greenie. Let me give you a tour."

♘

Later that night, the girl greenie sat alone while everybody was dancing and having fun around a fire. The party was for her, in honor of being the new Greenie, as Alby explained earlier as he showed her around the Glade.

While in her thoughts, she felt someone sit next to her and saw that it was a sandy blonde-haired boy with a cup of drinks in his hands.

"Hey, Greenie. Name's Newt," he greeted with a small smile, handing her a cup. She barely noticed the thick accent he had in his voice. "I thought you were lonely, so came to keep you company."

She raised her eyebrow at the cup before grabbing it, muttering thanks to Newt. She took a sip, immediately spitting it back out at the awful taste as Newt laughed softly at her reaction.

"You call that a drink?" she questioned, wiping her mouth and placing the cup beside her. "I may not remember anything, but I'm pretty sure whoever put us in here gave us better drinks."

The brown-eyed boy gave a soft chuckle, sipping his drink. "It's a trade secret made by Gally. Don't worry, though. I'm sure you'd get used to it." He says.

"Who's Gally?"

"See the tall guy in the middle of the circle over there, fighting the other boy?" Newt pointed over a guy in the middle of a crowd, fighting off another boy. "He's Gally and the Keeper of the Builders."

She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Builders?"

"One of the many jobs we have in the Glade. We've got the Builders, Med-jacks, Sloppers, Trackhoes, Runners, and Alby; he's our leader while I'm second in command."

"Impressive. So, the Glade is our home?" The girl questioned.

Newt gave a grim nod, staring ahead. "For now. The Runners go into the Maze, looking for a way out."

"What's the maze?"

Newt didn't answer her. Instead, he turned to the girl with a smile, stood on his feet, and held out his hand. "You don't need to worry about that. Come on. Let me introduce you to some of these shanks."

Agreeing and letting go of her previous question, she grabbed Newt's hand and pulled her up, following the boy as he introduced her around the bonfire. As Newt continued introducing her to the boys, she suddenly felt faint, holding her hand to her head.

"Alright there, Greenie?" Newt questioned with concern laced in his voice.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," she replied. "Just getting a little light-headed, that's all. I might go lie down."

"Alright. You seem tired, so I'll let Alby know where you went. Have a good night."

"Thanks, Newt. You too."

With that, she went to where she would be sleeping and closed her eyes, luring herself into a deep sleep.

♘

The girl saw herself in the arms of an older woman who looked like her. The girl was no older than seven and clutched onto her mother, who was holding her close to her just as tightly.

"Susan, mommy loves you. Daddy loves you. And I hope that we'll see each other again someday. I love you so much, sweetheart."

"I love you, too, mommy."

The sunlight woke her up the next morning, and she noticed that most of the other boys were also up. She pushed the blanket off her before she ventured to find Alby, finally finding him near a tower.

"Hey, Alby," she greeted him.

"Hey, Greenie," he greeted back with a smile. "How was your night? Did you sleep ok?"

The girl nodded with a smile on her face as well. "Yeah, I did. And it's not Greenie. My name is Susan."

"Well, then, welcome to the Glade, Susan."

♘

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 -- First chapter of Warriors! I'm so excited to write this as I've been wanting to for a long time. Shitty prologue, I know, but it's the best I can do. Hope you jo)