Gasping, coughing, panting.

That was what Piper was doing as she opened her eyes.

Once Piper finally stopped coughing and gasping for air, she looked around, realizing that she wasn't in a room, but in an elevator instead.

What the hell am I doing inside an elevator?

Piper leaned back against the barrels that were behind her, trying to figure out where she was at. Of course, she couldn't come up with any answers. She lifted her hand up to her forehead and felt something wet. Whether it was water or sweat, she didn't care.

Piper. My name is Piper.

All of a sudden, the elevator began to move faster and faster, just like her heart. Flashes of light were going by her as she began to breathe heavily again.

"Help! Help me! Get me out of here!" Piper shouted, hoping that someone would hear her.

She looked up at the color red, then the elevator came to a sudden stop, making her fall back down on her back. The doors above her opened and the sunlight was now in her face. As Piper squinted my eyes, she noticed people gathering around as she tried to look up at them.

"Come on, Beth, let her out," she heard one girl say.

A group of girls opened the doors and another one jumped inside the elevator. She was tall and had long, brown hair and hazel eyes with fair skin.

"Rise and shine, Newbie," she said to Piper, pulling her out of the elevator.

Piper fell to the ground as all the other girls talked to each other and laughed at her.

"She looks like she's about to vomit."

"I've been waiting for the next stick to show up."

"Where's Harriet at?"

Piper got up from the ground and attempted to run, but the girl who pulled her out of the elevator grabbed her arm, causing her to spin around so that she was facing her, immediately slapping the girl hard as she could across the face.

The girls gasped in shock, whispering and talking among one another. The girl that Piper slapped--she was sure that Beth was her name--shot her a glare, her mouth wide open.

"The stick has some guts!" another girl shouted.

"What?" Piper questioned.

"Ladies!" Piper heard a shout from behind her, making everyone go quiet. She turned around to see a light-skinned girl walking toward her. "You must be the Newbie," she added.

"The stick just slapped Beth across the face," someone said.

"I-I didn't mean to slap her," Piper spoke up. "She grabbed me. It was just my first instinct--"

"It's okay," the light-skinned girl assured her. "Back to work, ladies!" she shouted at the girls behind Piper, then pointed at Beth. "Go find Sonya." She looked back at Piper once again. "Just relax. You're safe now. I'm Harriet."

She gulped. "I'm Piper."

Harriet smiled. "Nice to meet you, Piper. Do you remember anything else? Anything at all?"

Piper shook my head. "No, I can't. Just my name."

Harriet nodded her head in response. "Well, don't worry. We've all been through the same thing. At least you remember your name. It's the one thing they let us keep."

Piper nodded her head, looking at her surroundings. "What is this place?" she asked.

"Come on, I'll show you around," Harriet said, walking away from Piper, who followed her. "We eat here, sleep here, grow our own food, and we build our own shelter. The Box provides us with whatever we need."

"The Box?" Piper questioned.

"It's what you just came out of that brought you here. Once a month, we get another Newbie, which is you this time. Once a week, we get clothes and supplies that we need."

"But who put us here?"

Harriet shrugged her shoulders. "We don't know."

Piper shot her a confused look. Who would send people up here? What was even worse was that no one could remember anything except their names. It was the one thing they'd let them keep, like Harriet said.

"How are you with heights?" Harriet asked as we walked toward a treehouse.

Piper shrugged her shoulders. "I guess we'll find out," she answered, following Harriet. The two of them climbed up to the very top, being able to see everything. Piper leaned against the railing and sighed. "This is...wow. It's amazing."

Harriet cleared her throat. "We didn't have much when we first got here. We had to work hard to get all of this built. If you respect this place, then you and I will get along just fine.

"Now, there are three rules that you need to follow. One: Do your part. We don't have time for any freeloaders. Two: Never harm another Glenner. None of this works unless we have trust."

Well, I already broke that rule, Piper thought.

"And the final rule: Never go beyond the Walls," Harriet finished, pointing at the giant walls straight ahead.

Piper nodded her head. "What's beyond the Walls?"

"It's none of your concern," she stated. "Just don't go beyond them. You won't be safe if you do."

"Why?"

She shot Piper a serious look. "You don't want to find out."

The two headed back down on the ground after Harriet was done explaining everything to Piper. She jumped off from the ladder, landing on both feet. Piper sighed once again, scratching the back of her head.

"So, you guys really built all of this?" she asked once again.

"Yeah, we did. Esther helped with all of it. She's the Keeper of the Builders," Harriet replied, pointing at a girl with brown hair that was by the Box. "She takes her job seriously, so don't mess with her."

"She looks scary."

"She's not scary, trust me. She cares about the Glenners more than anyone else," Harriet responded. "Anyway, we've got a lot to do. We've got something special planned tonight."

"What is it?" Piper asked.

Harriet smirked at her. "You'll see." Piper raised her eyebrows at her, to which she chuckled. "Why do you look so worried?"

"I'm not worried," Piper lied.

"You don't have to worry about anything, I promise," she assured Piper. Before walking away, she gave her one last smirk and said, "Welcome to the Glen."

The Glen? Sounds more like hell to me.

~~~~~~~

A/N: Ayeee, here's chapter one!

So yeah, I'm pumped for this story. I can't wait to get back on it!

What do you think of everyone so far? I know there isn't a lot going on in this chapter, but there will be more, I promise!

Also, please don't hate on Group B. I know it'll be similar to Group A, but both groups were very similar in the books. Thanks.

Song above is Opening by Nicholas Hooper.

Comment, vote, happy reading!

-A