POV: I'm indecisive

BOOK III

The boy lies in a confined space, hidden by the darkness, he slowly sits up. His vision still drifting. Shapes and boundaries emerge as a dim room, the size of a large freight elevator becomes known to him. From his POV, through a groggy haze, all around there are massive steel storage drums. Suddenly, there's an escalating, high-pitched hum and he notices a faint point of light at one edge of the ceiling. He watches as the light grows, bisecting the space. Then, a violent lurch, and the vibrations stop. And, now, from above, he can hear the muffled cacophony of what sounds like a crowd, growing in volume.

"I'm down here!" The teenage boy stumbles from the ground.

He's blinded as the ceiling opens, and the space is absolutely flooded with light. It takes a moment for his vision to return, revealing dozens of young men staring back at him. They're kneeling, crowding around the container he's arrived in. Some are barely teens, others seem to be in their early twenties. The faces of many are streaked with mud, some bruised and cut. The teenage boy's eyes dart back and forth.

"Send him back!"

"We're gonna need a bigger graveyard"

Laughter, even louder, as the world spins around him.

"Enough!" A commanding voice yells over everyone.

At once, the crowd above pulls back out of view.

"Go on and grab him." The commanding voice orders.

And then, two figures suddenly hop over the edge of the container. The teenage boy turns to see one figure landing behind him and then back to the other, who's coming toward him. Their features are blurred -- just tall, menacing appirations, who each grab him by an arm.

"Wait!" The teenage boy attempts to protest.

He's tossed up over the edge, onto the hard, dirt surface. The teenage boy slowly pushes himself up off his stomach to scan the sickering, whispering crowd. They're all wearing modified versions of the same strange uniform -- sleek gray tunics and slim trousers -- but many have cut-off their sleeved, or their pants at the knee, and others adorned their chests with various scrawled decorations.

"Where the hell am I?"

Then, the commanding voice, Gally, steps forward. Gally's face is gaunt, something dark and unhinged just beneath the surface. His left eye clouded over, his right, cold and piercing.

"Get up, boy." Gally orders "This is no way to make a first impression".

The teenage boy tries to avoid Gally's menacing gaze, and looks past him, only to find an impossible sight in the near distance. A massive stone wall rising 100-stories into the sky, defying the laws of physics. The teenager looks back to Gally, now frantic, as his vision again goes wobbly. His eyes rolls to the back of his head and he collapses onto the ground.

The teenagers eyes snap open. He's now on his back, staring at the ceiling of a rock cave. He tries to sit up, but can't. His arms are tied down.

"Please!! Help me!!" The teenager screams.

His cry reverberates. Then, from outside his cell, the sound of footsteps can be heard. The teenager strains to see again, and finds himself staring through the bars at Naomi -- she's winsome yet manipulative.

"He's awake!" She yells over he shoulder.

The teenager is frantic as Naomi enters the cell and approaches.

"Who are you?" The teenage boy demands.

"Just relax. You'll be out of here soon enough." She dismisses his question.