A Different Beginning - 1
Sage’s POV:
Darkness. That’s all I felt when I suddenly woke up to myself in this enclosed box. Other boxes full of supplies were around me. Food, tools, wood, water, paper, pencils, etc. I have no memory of entering the box. The more I thought about it, I had no memory at all. Just got a new my name is Sage. No last name. No mother, or father, well I know it parents because it made sense, I just can’t put faces or names on them. No friends. Nothing. Soon that darkness turned into loneliness. Was I stuck in the box? There were no signs of a human life or movement in the box. Everything was quiet except my unsteady breathing.
My eyes seem to round the box examining the entire thing, every little detail that was in the box. The W.I.C.K.E.D letters across everything. I have been so preoccupied with everything I hadn’t felt the pain in my leg until I had focused on myself. Looked at the pain to see two bloody holes deep into my skin. No idea how to think that me. But I wish I was still in the box. I knew that it was poisonous, and if I didn’t get help soon, I’d be dead.
Just my luck. I wake up in this creepy box, no memory, and the thing, and by the bite mark seem to be a snake that might kill me soon. Wow, instead of using my eyes to figure out where the slithery thing was I use my ears. I was glad I had all five sensed still intact.
Just to the right of me, I could hear the slick movement of the snake and tilted my head towards the snake to make iContact. And there it was. The snake nor I need movement, but I knew it wouldn’t make the first move, so I guess it made up it’s mind to launch at me. My brain said hell no, but my instincts were to grab the snake by the neck preventing it from biting me again. To my shock I had done just that.
After my fingers and make contact with the slippery scales of the snake, the box is starting to move. Not letting the snake out from my grass, I scooted over to the nearest any place where I could not be seen. He had been moving for at least 30 minutes before the red light had turned green. And it felt like another eternity before the latches to the box it opened, blinding me with a new light, scaring me of what was out there.
Newt’s POV:
Every month the box has come up on time for the past year and a half. Everyone was a bit taken back when it hadn’t opened for an hour after the box came up. The alarm went off 30 minutes at the least. That was the first time it had happened according to Alby. The organization in the Glade is crucial for survival. Alby made sure of that when he came up first.
The Glade has had only boys come up in the box, But because of the new our lateness of the box, everyone was crowding the box, all 18 of us. Our boys. All different ages. The young just being, we think 14 years of age. So if we got a five-year-old we are in deep klunk. But when the doors to the box opened, we all seem realize realize that we were in deeper klunk.
“Where is the person?”
“Did we get someone or not?”
“Is that someone in the corner?”
“Someone should go down there!”
“Newt should get down there!”
Everyone was talking at once. When’s my name popped up everyone went silent and all I suddenly dropped on me. I only glanced at Alby. He nodded and approved for me to search what was the big deal. It’s probably just a scared boy he doesn’t remember anything like the rest of us.
I walked closer to the box and jumped down. I can’t see your body, just a stretched out arm, and my my eyes went down to the hands, the fingers were gripping something long, somethings scaly.
“Hello?” That was all I could get out. The thing took me by surprise.
“Well are you going to do something about the snake I’m holding away from me so I don’t get bitten boy?” It was a girls voice. Not a boys, and actual girls voice. Took me a second to regain my conscience back but after hearing how scared she seemed I had quickly taken the snake from out of her shaking hands, and sliced it’s throat with a small knife I was carrying my pouch.
“Finally. Now who the hell are you and where the hell am I?” Just hearing her voice wanted me to know more. But anyway to keep order.
“Newt, What’s going on down there? Why is there a dead snake in your hands?” Alby. He was still watching while the others went back to the usual daily jobs.
“It-it-its a girl.” I had taken a step back, tilting my head in Alby’s Direction. In my words the girl that stood up behind me startling Alby, and to be honest myself as well.
“So have none of you seen a girl before? I mean, what’s wrong? Am I like the first girl in this mystery place, he will seem like you’ve seen a ghost!” She was standing right in front of me. And the only thing I could think of was how beautiful she was. She didn’t even look scared anymore. Her medium length brown hair was down straight lying on her shoulders, she had blonde highlights here in there too and her hair. She had perfect freckles and her face shape, with pretty blue eyes. Her body is was mesmerizing to watch as I found my eyes trailing off bit often. Her tan skin tone is smooth, and I caught myself imaging my hands tracing her skin.
“You are the first girl here, and we need to keep you safe. The bite on her leg doesn’t seem to look good. Take her to the med jacks. I’m having a meeting with the rest of the boys about what has happened. I’ll update you later Newt.” I only nodded, and turned my attention back to the girl.
“My name is Newt. You are in the glade, this is your new home. For now. But right now I am going to take you to another boy named Henry. He is a magic. He’ll heal your snake wound.”
“Newt? Like the lizard?” Her voice was so angelic, I didn’t realize I had handed her my hand to take, or that she taking it. I can feel my cheeks reddened with every step we taken together to get to the med hut.
“No, Newt, like my name Newt. Do you know your name yet Greenie?” I wouldn’t tell her, but I had felt butterflies in my stomach when she called me lizard.
“Not yet. When I’m all healed up, I’ll have 1 million questions that I need answers to lizard.” her smile had taken over my entire body. I had only regained it when we entered the mud hut.
“So what Alby told me was true. Here stands the famous girl Grammy. Looks like you got a big bite there sweetheart. Let’s get that healed.” Henry seem to be joke flirting with her, and she could talk to you. But the fact is in another man instead of me calling your sweet words make me feel things I didn’t even know I could feel.
Sage’s POV:
“ Who are you calling sweetheart boy? And I’m not a Greenie either!” I need Henry boy was only joke flirting with me, but then calling me Greenie, that I didn’t like. One, it wasn’t my name, but I only tell them my name and I trust them fully. Two, being called greenie made me feel weak. I didn’t like feeling weak.
“Then what should we call you?” And we have had it a seat for me to takes, so he could look at the snakebite.
“Call me by my name if you don’t mind.”
“Well what is it exactly, sweetheart?”
“If I try really heard to remember my name, you promise to use it, Hen?”
“A hen is a girl chicken. If I call you buy your name and not greenie or sweetheart, then you cannot call me Hen.”
“Deal. Hmmmmmm I’ll try to give you my name before your done.” I had to think of the first name that popped into my mind, I need it needed to fit me. I can just tell them my name is Sage without knowing more about this place. Focus Sage. Just try and think of a name that fits your appearance that they won’t be suspicious about. Gabriel? No. Sasha? No. Julia. No. How about... Delilah! Yeah Delilah seems like a fine name.
As time passed, Henry I finished on my leg saying that I was going to be swollen for a few days but nothing too serious. After I try to get up from the bed I was pushed back to sit down by Henry.
“Woah I didn’t say you were ready to go back out there!”
“But you said it wasn’t anything serious!” I had protested wanting to look around my new surroundings more.
“Listen, Newt just said keep her here until she’s fully healed. I’m just following his order.” Henry had put up two hands and protest that it wasn’t his idea. Newt, that name, I had heard it several times since I had come here.
“So, this Newt guy, is he like the leader?” I want to know more about the boy who is so kind to me when I came up the box. He’s golden hair and shine from the sun, muscular arms shown through the tank top he was wearing, and how his British accent made everything sound so much more intelligent.
“No, he’s second in command. Alby is the leader. He’s the leader because he was the first one here. Ably is having a meeting with the other gladers, when it’s over that’s when I get to order if you are free to go or not.” Henry just sat down next to me on the bed. We talked for a couple minutes about how the order was here in this place, apparently called the glade.
“So you think you know your name yet?” The question I’ve been dreading. I still did trust this strange group of boys and so I just decided to use the name Delilah as my backup name. No one needed to know that my name was Sage.
“Yeah, actually. Delilah. That’s my name.” I kinda felt like I wasn’t lying. Delilah sounded strangely familiar to me, and I don’t know if it was a good thing, or a bad one.
“Delilah. Hmm. Well Delilah, I won't be calling you greenie anymore.” Henry stood back up to check if they were done with the meeting, but walked back towards me seeing how they weren’t yet.
“Or sweetheart.” I honestly didn’t mind the sweetheart knowing he was only joking. I think.
“You only gave me one name. If you give me a last name, which no one ever has, I’ll stop calling you sweetheart.” He chuckled at his achievement.
“Saying as I’m the first girl, means you all need help, which makes me so much more sophisticated, and smarter, you’ll see, I’ll get you that last name.” maybe.
“Whatever you say sweetheart” He winked at me! At me! I don’t know why but I could definitely feel my cheeks begin to be pink. I just rolled my eyes, playing it cool. I mean it wasn’t that I didn’t find him attractive. Henry was tall, had a nice body, was gentle, had deep brown eyes, and he was a healer, but I could only see him as a friend. I gasped at the thought. My first friend. I could smile from then til a bunch of boys surrounded the hut I was currently in yelling to get a look at me.
“I am so sorry greenie, I tried to get them back to work, but they seem to just want to be deaf, HEY SHUCK HEADS, GET BACK TO WORK LET THE POOR GIRL ALONE! I BET EVERYONE WILL HAVE THEIR CHANCE TO MEET HER! I’m Minoh by the way. Don’t worry I wont try to do anything.”
“Thanks Minho, It’s Delilah, not greenie. And I think I can handle myself.” Minho was a tall, dark asian boy, with a very nice body. His biceps were ten times the size of me. He was in pretty good shape. Just saying.
“Delilah it is. Wait where did you go?” Even though they all seemed to be nice, I felt like being alone. Henry had tried to stop me, but knowing every boy's weakness, I just simply kneed him in the crotch, and escaped through the window. It was a one floor hut with one window, all the boys outside didn’t even see me, they were all crowding the door wanting to get it. There seemed to be about 15 of them at the least. Just staying in the hut with them swarming in was not a pleasant thought.
As I continued into the glade I noticed more. It was a gigantic cube. Vines crawling up the stone walls surrounding the entire place. Only one corner really had a forest with tall trees. The place, Glade, was split up in all different sections, which seems to be jobs, I think. The more I looked around, I saw a tall tower. No one was around it and no one seemed to see me. So I decided to climb up. The tower was risky, it was definitely not stable and the ladder seemed like it was going to snap under me in two seconds. It was still the middle of the day, about noon. I could tell because of the position the sun was in. I remember learning the time by the sun, but no memory of who taught me and when I learned. Like learning that I need parents to be alive. I learned, but I don’t know how.
It was calm. And up in the tower I could see all of the glade. My peacefulness was of course short lived. The boys somehow busted through the med hut doors and realized I was gone. I could hear them all yelling out Delilah. I scooted to the middle of the tower not wanting anyone to see me up here for as long as possible. It was about 30 minutes before I heard two voices, two I haven’t heard before. They were below the tower so I could hear exactly what they were saying.
“She’s not good for the glade and the organization of the way we live here. All I know is that girl is going to just create chaos like this. We have a whole shucking search party for her now.” A deep voice was talking shit about me. I was going to do something that second but the other voice spoke up, another one I hadn't heard before.
“I agree. She’s going to need to go with what we’ve been doing for the past year and a half, or she’s not going to be able to live with us.” another sucker just trying to act cool. I’m about to give them a piece of my mind.
“Do we even know that Delilah is even her name. Henry believes everything. But I know better. Once I meet her she’ll call me Captain Gally.” Captain my ass.
“Dude don’t you think-”
The other one was about to say something against the captain thing, I think, but Gally spoke up again, “And, she’s probably just a weak little girl. Henry says she’s about 16-18 but she’s probably 12, looking for attention.” That was over the line, the line didn’t even exist anymore. I looked around for anything that would help me. I saw many boxes, and some were open, with rocks in them. They could be useful.
I grabbed the biggest two I could find and threw them at their heads, “hey shit heads, see if I'm too weak now!” I yelled before throwing the first one at Gally. I think that was his name.
“What the hell! OWW! Did you just throw a rock to my head!?” Gally had turned around to look at me.
“Hell yeah, next time try to talk shit behind someone’s back more privately next time assholes.” There goes the next rock to the boy next to Gally.
“You throw one more of those, what the shuck lady!” The smaller one seemed to raise their voice at me, oh well, they had it coming for them.
“Like I’d listen to you two! I’ll call you eyebrows,” I pointed at gally, I noticed he had weird eyebrows, “and you mouse.” The smaller one was very small compared to the other ones, but seemed to be as tall as them. So he’s definitely not the youngest. He just did have the same muscles as the others.
“My eyebrows are just fine. And my name is Gally!” And another rock down.
“Stop throwing those! I’m not small greenie, my name is Winston!” And another rock.
“Yeah well I’m not greenie, I’m Delilah!” And another two rocks.
“What the bloody hell is going on here!” I know that voice. It’s Lizard!
“Ask them! Those two boys have a very interesting opinion of me.” I threw a rock in their direction, making sure not to hit Newt. By this time multiple boys had gathered around making more targets for me. Most of them got tops of cans for protection, but these rocks won’t go to waste by me.
“Delilah, Delilah! It’s me Newt!” Lizard boy, “Can I come up and talk with you! Just me!” I stopped throwing the rocks, scooting back from the ladder entrance letting him through. Newt’s about the only one I can truly begin to trust. I’ve only been here for 3 hours and I already feel this weird connection.
“I want my questions answered now!” That was the first thing I said when I saw his blonde head pop up from the latch door. I didn’t want to sound so mean, but I was urgent to get some answers.
“Alright, your healed Delilah, I will answer some questions.” Only some?
“Fine. First question. Why am I here?”
Newt’s POV
Why did the first question have to be one I didn’t know the answer to?
“Listen, we are all confused on why we were all put here. We don’t know who put us here, why they put us here and what purpose we have here. We have a way of living. Organization is key.” I wanted to sound as gentle as possible. I wanted to be on her good side. It seemed like being her friend was needed for me. To be close to her.
“That shortens the list a bit,” she let out a little giggle that I couldn’t help but return. “Second question, are we stuck here or something?”
“That is also a question to us. But I can answer it half way. There are these lines between these walls that seem like they can open, on every wall, the North, South, East, West, sides. We’ve tried to climb the vines trust me, they just can’t seem to hold us up. We’ve tried to go through the box, won’t go down with someone in it. And we’ve tried to go through the hole of the box. We lost someone, got cut right in half.”
“Wow, so that’s a lot of information to take in all at once. Third question, do you know why we can’t remember anything. I mean I don’t think I’m the only one not able to remember anything but my name.” She seemed very calm by this point. I had sat across from her leaning against the fence on the tower.
“No one here remembers anything except their first name. Not even a last name.”
“Who is Ably and why is he incharge?”
“Alby is incharge because he was the first one to ever come up in the box. Meaning he had to be alone here for a month until I came here. That’s why I’m the second in command when Ably isn’t here. Ably is the tall, dark skinned, intimidating man that we all respected because we felt bad that he had to stay a month without anyone helping him. He had built this place, with the others of course, but he started everything. How we work things around here, and what you do around here to chip in.”
“Such a role to commit to then. I mean you have to compete with him, no wonder you said intimidating.”She had let out this crooked half smile. I could tell I was getting closer to her good side.
“So you think you know your name yet?” The question I’ve been dreading. I still did trust this strange group of boys and so I just decided to use the name Delilah as my backup name. No one needed to know that my name was Sage.
“Yeah, actually. Delilah. That’s my name.” I kinda felt like I wasn’t lying. Delilah sounded strangely familiar to me, and I don’t know if it was a good thing, or a bad one.
“Delilah. Hmm. Well Delilah, I won't be calling you greenie anymore.” Henry stood back up to check if they were done with the meeting, but walked back towards me seeing how they weren’t yet.
“Or sweetheart.” I honestly didn’t mind the sweetheart knowing he was only joking. I think.
“You only gave me one name. If you give me a last name, which no one ever has, I’ll stop calling you sweetheart.” He chuckled at his achievement.
“Saying as I’m the first girl, means you all need help, which makes me so much more sophisticated, and smarter, you’ll see, I’ll get you that last name.” maybe.
“Whatever you say sweetheart” He winked at me! At me! I don’t know why but I could definitely feel my cheeks begin to be pink. I just rolled my eyes, playing it cool. I mean it wasn’t that I didn’t find him attractive. Henry was tall, had a nice body, was gentle, had deep brown eyes, and he was a healer, but I could only see him as a friend. I gasped at the thought. My first friend. I could smile from then til a bunch of boys surrounded the hut I was currently in yelling to get a look at me.
“I am so sorry greenie, I tried to get them back to work, but they seem to just want to be deaf, HEY SHUCK HEADS, GET BACK TO WORK LET THE POOR GIRL ALONE! I BET EVERYONE WILL HAVE THEIR CHANCE TO MEET HER! I’m Minoh by the way. Don’t worry I wont try to do anything.”
“Thanks Minho, It’s Delilah, not greenie. And I think I can handle myself.” Minho was a tall, dark asian boy, with a very nice body. His biceps were ten times the size of me. He was in pretty good shape. Just saying.
“Delilah it is. Wait where did you go?” Even though they all seemed to be nice, I felt like being alone. Henry had tried to stop me, but knowing every boy's weakness, I just simply kneed him in the crotch, and escaped through the window. It was a one floor hut with one window, all the boys outside didn’t even see me, they were all crowding the door wanting to get it. There seemed to be about 15 of them at the least. Just staying in the hut with them swarming in was not a pleasant thought.
As I continued into the glade I noticed more. It was a gigantic cube. Vines crawling up the stone walls surrounding the entire place. Only one corner really had a forest with tall trees. The place, Glade, was split up in all different sections, which seems to be jobs, I think. The more I looked around, I saw a tall tower. No one was around it and no one seemed to see me. So I decided to climb up. The tower was risky, it was definitely not stable and the ladder seemed like it was going to snap under me in two seconds. It was still the middle of the day, about noon. I could tell because of the position the sun was in. I remember learning the time by the sun, but no memory of who taught me and when I learned. Like learning that I need parents to be alive. I learned, but I don’t know how.
It was calm. And up in the tower I could see all of the glade. My peacefulness was of course short lived. The boys somehow busted through the med hut doors and realized I was gone. I could hear them all yelling out Delilah. I scooted to the middle of the tower not wanting anyone to see me up here for as long as possible. It was about 30 minutes before I heard two voices, two I haven’t heard before. They were below the tower so I could hear exactly what they were saying.
“She’s not good for the glade and the organization of the way we live here. All I know is that girl is going to just create chaos like this. We have a whole shucking search party for her now.” A deep voice was talking shit about me. I was going to do something that second but the other voice spoke up, another one I hadn't heard before.
“I agree. She’s going to need to go with what we’ve been doing for the past year and a half, or she’s not going to be able to live with us.” another sucker just trying to act cool. I’m about to give them a piece of my mind.
“Do we even know that Delilah is even her name. Henry believes everything. But I know better. Once I meet her she’ll call me Captain Gally.” Captain my ass.
“Dude don’t you think-”
The other one was about to say something against the captain thing, I think, but Gally spoke up again, “And, she’s probably just a weak little girl. Henry says she’s about 16-18 but she’s probably 12, looking for attention.” That was over the line, the line didn’t even exist anymore. I looked around for anything that would help me. I saw many boxes, and some were open, with rocks in them. They could be useful.
I grabbed the biggest two I could find and threw them at their heads, “hey shit heads, see if I'm too weak now!” I yelled before throwing the first one at Gally. I think that was his name.
“What the hell! OWW! Did you just throw a rock to my head!?” Gally had turned around to look at me.
“Hell yeah, next time try to talk shit behind someone’s back more privately next time assholes.” There goes the next rock to the boy next to Gally.
“You throw one more of those, what the shuck lady!” The smaller one seemed to raise their voice at me, oh well, they had it coming for them.
“Like I’d listen to you two! I’ll call you eyebrows,” I pointed at gally, I noticed he had weird eyebrows, “and you mouse.” The smaller one was very small compared to the other ones, but seemed to be as tall as them. So he’s definitely not the youngest. He just did have the same muscles as the others.
“My eyebrows are just fine. And my name is Gally!” And another rock down.
“Stop throwing those! I’m not small greenie, my name is Winston!” And another rock.
“Yeah well I’m not greenie, I’m Delilah!” And another two rocks.
“What the bloody hell is going on here!” I know that voice. It’s Lizard!
“Ask them! Those two boys have a very interesting opinion of me.” I threw a rock in their direction, making sure not to hit Newt. By this time multiple boys had gathered around making more targets for me. Most of them got tops of cans for protection, but these rocks won’t go to waste by me.
“Delilah, Delilah! It’s me Newt!” Lizard boy, “Can I come up and talk with you! Just me!” I stopped throwing the rocks, scooting back from the ladder entrance letting him through. Newt’s about the only one I can truly begin to trust. I’ve only been here for 3 hours and I already feel this weird connection.
“I want my questions answered now!” That was the first thing I said when I saw his blonde head pop up from the latch door. I didn’t want to sound so mean, but I was urgent to get some answers.
“Alright, your healed Delilah, I will answer some questions.” Only some?
“Fine. First question. Why am I here?”
Newt’s POV
Why did the first question have to be one I didn’t know the answer to?
“Listen, we are all confused on why we were all put here. We don’t know who put us here, why they put us here and what purpose we have here. We have a way of living. Organization is key.” I wanted to sound as gentle as possible. I wanted to be on her good side. It seemed like being her friend was needed for me. To be close to her.
“That shortens the list a bit,” she let out a little giggle that I couldn’t help but return. “Second question, are we stuck here or something?”
“That is also a question to us. But I can answer it half way. There are these lines between these walls that seem like they can open, on every wall, the North, South, East, West, sides. We’ve tried to climb the vines trust me, they just can’t seem to hold us up. We’ve tried to go through the box, won’t go down with someone in it. And we’ve tried to go through the hole of the box. We lost someone, got cut right in half.”
“Wow, so that’s a lot of information to take in all at once. Third question, do you know why we can’t remember anything. I mean I don’t think I’m the only one not able to remember anything but my name.” She seemed very calm by this point. I had sat across from her leaning against the fence on the tower.
“No one here remembers anything except their first name. Not even a last name.”
“Who is Ably and why is he incharge?”
“Alby is incharge because he was the first one to ever come up in the box. Meaning he had to be alone here for a month until I came here. That’s why I’m the second in command when Ably isn’t here. Ably is the tall, dark skinned, intimidating man that we all respected because we felt bad that he had to stay a month without anyone helping him. He had built this place, with the others of course, but he started everything. How we work things around here, and what you do around here to chip in.”
“Such a role to commit to then. I mean you have to compete with him, no wonder you said intimidating.”She had let out this crooked half smile. I could tell I was getting closer to her good side.
