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It was dark and he couldn’t see anything. Then he felt movement … up, up, up. And fast, to the point where he was almost flat on the floor, trying to find a light or an exit or something! Whatever it was that was moving him sped up so much that he got sick, puking through the grate under him. The box jolted to a stop and a stack of boxes fell on top of him, knocking him out.
He was barely conscious when voices started to filter in.
“Smells like clunk … “
“Looks shucking awful … “
“Worse case I’ve seen … really needs the Slicer … “
“Newt, Minho, carry the Greenie over to the Slicer!”
He passed out again, and when he finally came to he could just barely make out chatter, muted behind the walls of the hut was in. He struggled to sit up, shoving hair out of his face as he looked around.
“Hey, woah, take a breath.”
He squinted and caught sight of someone in the shadow. “Who are you? Where am I? What’s going on?” he asked.
“Calm down, it’s okay. Happens to all of us, although you really look shucking awful.” The figure came out of the shadows and crouched down in front of him. “You probably don’t remember nothing right now and that’s okay. You’re in the Glade and you’re here to get a bit cleaned up, cuz boy you need it, Greenie.”
“Gr-greenie?”
“Your name for now - your name’ll come back to you, it’s the one thing we get to keep. I’m Vidal, only Slicer in the Glade,” he said. “Now, tug all that off and hop in.”
“Hop in where?”
Vidal laughed. “There, Greenie,” he said, pointing to the middle of the room where a large metal barrel sat atop hot red coals. “The water’s fresh and there’s sand at the bottom to keep from burning your feet. I have a set up on the roof with some sun warmed water if you wanna shower. But you smell like clunk and looking shucking awful. So hop in and we’ll get started.”
“Get started … “
Vidal put his hands on his hips and stared at the newbie. “Get undressed and get in. Really, you’ll feel better. I’ll even turn around to give you some privacy.” Vidal did just that; he turned around and waited patiently until he heard the very distinctive sound of sloshing water before turning back around. “Great! Dunk under and we’ll get started.”
“Wanna tell me about the Glade?” He (Greenie) still couldn’t remember his own name, which had him frustrated. He ducked under the water, pleased at how warm it was.
“Not much to tell,” Vidal said as he approached the barrel and picked up a bottle from next to it. He glanced down at the newbie and cracked a smile - the dirt was washing away and it looked like this newbie was damn pretty, or would be when Vidal was done. “We all live here - grow our own food, build our own shelters, just survive.”
“But why?”
“We don’t know,” Vidal said with a shrug. “Some of us have been here for three years … Anyway, don’t worry about that too much.” He squeezed some of the contents of the bottle into his hand and began to reach for the newbie’s hair. The shampoo started to lather, and Vidal worked it through the newbie’s dirty, matted locks, massaging the newbie’s scalp gently. He bit back a chuckle at the soft moan he heard, and chalked it up to his magic fingers.
“Th-thomas!” the newbie gasped and sat up a bit straighter in the barrel. “My name’s Thomas!”
“It’s a good name,” Vidal said with a nod. “Dunk back under, Thomas and let me take a look.”
Thomas dunked back under the water and rinsed the shampoo from his hair, coming back up and pushing his locks out of his face.
“Well, not horrible,” Vidal said with a sigh. “Finish washing up and I’ll deal with it when you get out.”
Thomas’ cheeks were bright red as he finished washing, hesitating before stepping out of the barrel. “Um … got some cover?” he asked.
“If you must,” Vidal replied as he passed a large towel over to Thomas, then turned to give him some privacy.
“Hey, where are my clothes?” Thomas asked as he dried off.
“That clunk? Gone, Thomas, burned and gone,” Vidal said. “But don’t fret, I have other things you can wear. But, later.”
“Why not now?” Thomas asked as he wrapped the towel around his waist.
“Because I still have work to do before your big reveal,” Vidal said, pulling a box over. “Now sit, and let me work.”
Thomas tucked the towel tighter around his waist and hesitantly perched on the box, jumping when Vidal draped a shorter towel around his shoulders. “Wh-what are you doing?” he asked.
“The job of a Slicer,” Vidal said, pulling a comb and a pair of scissors out of his pocket. “Now, best sit still so I don’t accidentally cut off an ear, okay?” He spent a couple of minutes gently combing the knots out of Thomas’ hair, making sure the newbie was relaxed before he began to cut, dropping the locks into a little box next to him. He heard Thomas let out a little gasp and stopped cutting just long enough to pat Thomas on the shoulder. “It’s okay, Thomas.”
To Thomas the whole process seemed to go on forever. Vidal would stop and stand in front of Thomas and look at him, tapping the scissors against his chin, before diving back in. There were no mirrors in the hut, so Thomas had no idea what he looked like, no idea what Vidal was doing, but his head sure felt lighter.
Finally, finally, Vidal stepped back after doing a couple more adjustments and pocketed his comb and scissors. “Like a prince in a fairytale,” he said with a happy sigh. “Now, sit tight for just a second and I’ll get you some things you can wear.”
While Vidal went rummaging around in a couple of boxes in the shadows, Thomas took a moment to … explore. He hesitantly ran his hands over his head and swallowed as he realized how short his hair was - he really wanted to see a mirror.
“No messing with my handiwork!” Vidal called as he came back into the light cast from the torches. Night had fallen while Vidal had worked and there was a chill in the air, which made goosebumps break out on Thomas’ skin. “Here, I have some things for you.”
Thomas took the pile of clothes and stared at it; underwear, simple khaki pants and a dark blue, slightly v-necked, long sleeved shirt. He glanced up at Vidal and waited expectantly.
“Spoil all my shucking fun,” Vidal muttered as he turned around to let Thomas get dressed.
Thomas took his time getting dressed - underwear first, then socks, then the pants and the shirt. He ran his hand down the shirt, smiling at how soft the fabric felt under his fingers. He gave himself a mental shake and plopped down on the box to tug his boots on. “Decent,” he said.
Vidal turned back around and gasped softly. “I am a genius,” he said. “Hurry up, the bonfire’s started and it’s time for the big reveal. Let’s go!”
The bonfire really was in full swing when they reached the edge of the forest. Thomas could see all the boys hanging around the fire, eating dinner, laughing and chatting. He suddenly felt … shy, nervous. He hung back a bit as Vidal stepped forward and got the attention of the other Gladers.
“Attention, attention!” Vidal called, waving to get everyone’s attention. “Well, it took a lot of work, but I have succeeded. Everyone, meet Thomas!” He stepped aside, then glanced to where Thomas was supposed to be standing and frowned. “Thomas! Thomas, get your exceptionally cute butt out here!”
Thomas hid in the shadows, not ready to meet everyone else. He jumped when Vidal appeared in front of him and grabbed his arm. “No, I’m not ready,” Thomas said.
“Can’t put it off any longer,” Vidal said, dragging Thomas behind him. “Everyone’s waiting.”
The whole Glade was silent as Vidal dragged Thomas in front of the bonfire. “Everyone, meet Thomas,” Vidal said proudly. “Thomas, meet the rest of the Gladers.” He took a couple of minutes, naming all the other boys in the Glade, watching as all the other Gladers started murmuring, discussing who the new Glader was going to bunk with.
Thomas rubbed his nape shyly, embarrassed under all the attention he was getting. When talks started about where he was going to sleep, he took a couple of steps back. He didn’t get a chance to move much further before he found himself with two bodyguards, one boy on either side of him.
“Newt! Minho! Not fair!” A couple of the Gladers called.
“Oh, it’s totally unfair,” one of the other Gladers yelled.
“Alby was the one who asked us to carry Thomas to the Slicer hut.” Newt called. “The way I see it, that was his way of saying Thomas would bunk with Minho and me.”
“Now, everyone can go shuck off!” Minho said. “Grab some food and drink and let Thomas settle in!”
The rest of the Gladers all groaned and filtered off, grabbing their food and drink and finding places to sit.
“You lucky shuck,” Vidal muttered, patting Thomas on the shoulder before disappearing into the crowds.
“Thomas, right?”
Thomas swallowed and nodded, looking at the two guys in front of him. “Y-yeah,” he said, rubbing his neck. “That’s me.”
“I’m Minho, and this is Newt,” Minho said, motioning to the other guy next to him. “Don’t worry, you’re safe with us.”
“Let’s get you some food, and something to drink,” Newt said with a grin, clapping Thomas on the back. “Celebrate remembering your name, huh?”
The food was pretty good and the drink was really strong. A couple of glasses in and Thomas was … giggling. He was giggling and leaning against Minho as he ate food and watched the other Gladers. He had a feeling Newt and Minho had fed him the drink to try to help him relax, but he didn’t really mind too much.
“Vidal really does fantastic work,” Minho said, his lips near Thomas’ ear. “You looked shucking awful when you came out of that box.”
“Vidal knows how to bring out the best in us,” Newt agreed from Thomas’ other side, leaning down and pressing a soft kiss behind Thomas’ ear.
“We’ll give him a gift,” Minho said. “Later. Much later.”
Thomas shivered under Newt and Minho’s attention. He couldn’t remember anything from before the box, but … this felt good. It felt … right. “Don’t … “ He licked his lips and swallowed. “Don’t think I’m that hungry anymore.”
“No?” Minho murmured, running his fingers up and down through the hair at Thomas’ nape as he pressed a kiss to Thomas’ jaw.
“No,” Thomas mumbled. “Kinda sleepy.”
“Well, we have the perfect solution for that,” Newt said, standing and offering Thomas a hand. He tugged Thomas off and slung an arm around his waist, while Minho pressed himself to Thomas’ other side, arm slung across Thomas’ shoulders.
The three of them all staggered through the crowds, ignoring the knowing catcalls from the rest of the Gladers as they made their way to one of the huts. As Newt lit one of the torches in the hut, Minho got the big hammock ready, leaving Thomas swaying a bit in the center of the hut.
Minho glanced over at Thomas and smiled. “Welcome to the Glade, Thomas,” he said, reaching out and tugging Thomas over to the hammock, Newt pressed to Thomas’ back.
Thomas hummed and let himself get manhandled into the hammock, wiggling his toes through his socks as his shoes were removed. He sighed a little as the hammock rocked a bit, Newt and Minho curling up on either side of him, their hands drifting under his shirt to rest on his stomach.
“Think I’m gonna like it here,” Thomas mumbled, snuggling down between Newt and Minho and quickly falling asleep.