Chapter 1
CHAPTER 1
He woke up in a cage, lying on his back. The darkness loomed around him, sucking him deeper into it. The air was dry and shoved itself down his throat in a way that both gave him breath and choked it out of him. His chest heaved, and he scrambled to find anything, anything to touch that wasn’t the grate of metal beneath him.
There was a rope under his leg, thick wires poking his skin. He sat up, grabbing at it. Suddenly it occurred to him that there were clothes on his body. He patted himself down, feeling the textures of his shirt and pants. One of his pant legs had been scrunched up at his knee, and so he pulled it back down to his ankle, where he found a leather texture of a work boot. He had only a few moments more to assess himself and his surroundings when the cage began to shake, launching itself upward at a rate that, for a moment, almost made him feel like he was floating. Then gravity crashed down on him, pressing his skin closer to the bottom of the cage.
He began to scream. He had forgotten that he could do that, and once he started, he couldn’t stop. He screamed louder and louder, hoping and praying for someone to hear him. The metal of the cage around him groaned, almost with sympathy.
The thought of death occurred to him, as the cage moved faster still. I am not going to die, he thought to himself. I have to— he paused. What did he have to do? He knew it was something, but for the life of him he could not recall what it was.
My name is James. The thought popped into his mind like a stone into a pool of water, casting echoes around it.
How do I know my name, he wondered. Where did it come from?
The box stopped moving with a jolt. James stopped screaming. Dead silence followed. There was nothing to be heard besides his own heavy breathing. A voice, soft and lovely, echoed in his ears. He knew it wasn’t real, but he clung to its words.
“You may forget me, but you can’t ever forget I love you, James.”
The air in his chest forced itself out. James was empty, in his lungs and his mind. He knew he loved the voice, but he could not remember anything else. He couldn’t picture their face, although blurred, nameless faces appeared in his mind when he tried.
After the faces, his mind was hounded by memories lacking meaning. A lone swing set attached to the branch of a large tree. A banana thrown from across a room, and bright, joyful laughter follows directly after. Plastic spoons snapped in half, a crying baby. Steaming tea in a styrofoam cup, a red bee sting on his arm, and hot tears streaming down his face. An airplane crosses the sky like a shooting star. A sky filled with stars, a drawing of a moon on a piece of yellow paper. A city square, full of people dancing to the music of a group of musicians in the middle. The blue plastic of a shower curtain, the cool texture of a tile floor. He remembered gunfire shattering his ears and a woman's anguished screams. Two hands, small and delicate compared to his own, cupped his face like it was something to be treasured. Love for something he wasn’t quite sure he knew existed.
He felt helpless as he watched these memories flood his mind, circling him like water swirling down a drain. He knew he couldn’t hold onto any of them, and the memories slipped through his fingers, leaving nothing but a silky residue.
He remembered knowing, but he couldn’t remember what it was that he knew. Nothing, anything, everything. He existed but didn’t all in the space of a moment.
James could not tell how long the moment had been, perhaps seconds, perhaps hours. The cage was still, silent and peaceful. James was quite the opposite, panicking and anxiously calling out. He crawled around the perimeter of the cage, the same metal brackets as the floor. James felt around the entire box, desperate for any kind of escape or easing of his fear.
With an enormous bang, the box shook. James cried out, backing into one of the corners. He wrapped himself up tightly, hugging his knees to his chest. He felt small and too big all at once, shrinking back into the cold metal.
More creaking and groaning noises echoed around the box.
James screamed out, “Help me, please! Somebody!” His voice felt raw, and it broke halfway through his shout.
Light erupted from above him. The top of the cage had opened up like a sliding door, exposing him to a blinding amount of sunlight. James couldn’t see anything, squinting and scrunching up his face.
“Happy greenie day,” James heard a voice from above him say. Other voices chimed in, laughing at him.
“This shuckface looks fucked already.”
“He’s curled up like a coward,” one sneered.
“Shut your bloody face, Snape. You were crying like a little bitch when you came up.” Another voice snapped, and snickering laughter followed.
“Look at his hair.”
“I’ve never seen hair that bad, and I’ve seen Snape’s hair.”
“Oi, shut your shank face.”
“He smells like Frank’s shit stew.”
“What’s that, Evan? You don’t want me to give you food tonight?”
“Sorry, Frank.”
James wiped at his eyes, trying to adjust to the light. He could just make out the shapes of the people standing above him, casting shadows.
A clang sounded as one of the shadows above jumped down into the box, and James snapped his head toward the noise. His eyes adjusted just enough to see a dark-haired girl crouching in front of him. She reached out a hand, helping James to his feet slowly. He looked up and around at the people standing above them, scanning their faces that were now coming into focus. There were boys and girls, with worn clothes and faded stains of mud on their skin. They were teenagers, all of them. Some of them were smiling at him, excited to meet him. Others looked at James like they were already mourning his death. After looking around at the people above him, James looked at the girl standing in front of him.
She smiled with the confidence that only a king could have.
“Welcome the glade, greenie. Hope you enjoyed the one-way ticket.”