It started with a single shot.
A piercing of the air, rupturing the skin.
And with a second shot, his life had ended. But hers had only just begun.
Wet locks whip around her face as she looks back. Flashlights trail along the path behind her. Dogs bark and men shout. They're everywhere.
Sinking into the mud, she reaches to lift her shirt and reveal a knife wound. Raindrops merge with the blood as it runs down her stomach, coloring her clothes a dark red. She lets out a shaky breath as she closes her eyes for only a moment. She's never gonna make it out of here like this.
A sudden beam of light hits her, and an alarm begins to blare. A surveillance drone buzzes overhead as it directs all attention to her. "There she is!" A voice shouts in the distance.
"Fuck." She groans as she pushes herself up, moving as quickly as she can manage. In the cover of night the junkyard is hard to navigate, and every exit in sight appears to be blocked by soldiers. Her body begins to fight her as she tries to run, and when she hears her pursuers open fire, she knows she's done for.
"Norae Rigby, this is the Nevada State Guard! You are surrounded! Come out with your hands up!" Commands blast in her direction through a speaker phone as she ducks behind a car. In the last few seconds, before she gives in to her fate, she remembers what her brother said to her two years ago.
Mark my words, Rae, you follow him down this road and you will end up dying right alongside him.
God, she hated it when he was right.
⌬
As if emerging from the water, gasping for air, Norae shoots into an upright position the moment she wakes. It's as though she can still hear the gunshots, the soldiers coming for her. Everything went black in an instant.
Her surroundings are so bright that they blind her for a moment. At first glance, the stark white walls fool her into thinking she's in a hospital. But the sheets underneath her are soft as silk, and the room she finds herself in looks like it came straight out of an interior design magazine. From the state of the art flatscreen to the streamlined modern furniture.
Looking down at herself, Norae's memories come back to her one by one. She lifts her shirt again, as she did before, but this time her wound is neatly bandaged. She doesn't recognize the fabric in her grasp, realizing she's wearing different clothes.
Where the hell am I?
She should have woken up in a jail cell. Something isn't right here.
Sliding off the mattress, her bare feet hit the cold linoleum floor. Carefully, she moves away from the bed, past the white corner couch and towards the window. Blackout blinds prohibit every inch of natural light.
Norae's chin-length raven hair dances around her face as she looks back towards the seating area. She spots a remote control on the coffee table. Snatching it off the surface with haste, she searches for the right button. And then, with one click, she watches breathlessly as the blinds recede. The view that welcomes her only confuses her more.
Ocean, for as far as the eye could see. There's no telling if she's even on land anymore, or somewhere else entirely.
Turning around, she scans every inch of the room she's in. And soon she spots the camera, a green light blinking to showcase its functionality. Someone's watching me.
Fear grips her, followed by a simple desire. She has to get out of here.
Shooting for the door, she finds it locked to no surprise. But that's not going to stop her. Grabbing the nearest heavy object, she smashes it into the control panel next to the door without a second thought. The glass surface breaks, lights flickering behind it as it short circuits. The door slides aside smoothly.
Norae hesitates for a moment. She has no idea what she's running into here. But every instinct she has is telling her to escape. And so those instincts push her out the door, and right into someone.
Deep brown eyes stare back at her in shock, a boy about her age, wearing the same clothes as her. Was he running too?
"Who...?" His voice trails off, and they stand there staring at each other.
"Freeze!" A soldier appears on their left, aiming a gun at them as he orders.
Ready to run in the opposite direction, they are cut off by another soldier. A tall, rugged man with medium-length blonde hair and piercing blue eyes looks down on them with absolute authority.
"That's far enough." The man declares, before looking at the other soldier ahead of him. "Private Wells, take these two initiates to the mess hall."
As Private Wells points his automatic rifle in their backs and leads them down the hallway, Norae puzzles over the man's words. Initiates?
As they walk, she closely observes every detail of her surroundings. Heavy iron-like material makes up the walls and floor, and fluorescent tubes cast a cold blue light. Are we on a freighter? Or an oil rig maybe?
Turning to the boy walking next to her, they make eye contact briefly. He looks as scared as she feels. From afar they can hear noises growing louder. Voices, panicked shouts.
"Where are we?" Norae speaks clearly, attempting to mask her nerves. But the soldier behind her remains silent. "Who are you?" She tries again. "What's going on?"
"Looks like we're not going to get anything out of this guy..." The boy next to her remarks, his words laced with aggravation.
In response, the soldier shoves his weapon further into the boy's back. "Shut it."
With half a mind to resist, the boy is halted by their arrival at the mess hall. Stunned, they stare at the scene before them. A large group of people, all looking to be in their late teens, all wearing the same clothes, have gathered anxiously in the hall. Some are crying, some are shouting at soldiers, all of them are restless and afraid.
"What on earth..." Norae exclaims breathlessly.
A large screen hanging above them clicks on suddenly, and a well-dressed woman in her mid-thirties appears. As she sits calmly in a steel swivel chair, Norae notices the area behind her. It looks like some kind of laboratory.
"Hello, and welcome aboard Deliverance. My name is Dr. Helena Carvel."
The entire hall grows quiet as everyone turns to the screen.
"I'd like to begin by apologizing for the manner in which we brought you all here. But I'm afraid desperate times call for desperate measures." As Dr. Carvel pauses briefly, the urgency in her tone speaks volumes. "We are on the precipice of a 3rd World War. And it won't be long before the situation grows truly dire. But, there is hope." A hint of a smile grazes her lips before she continues.
"I have saved you all, because our nation's young people are the key to our joined salvation. You will be our salvation." As if signaled by her words, cannisters drop to the floor in all corners, releasing purple colored gas throughout the room. Panic tightens its grip yet again.
"Today is the first day of your new lives." She declares confidently, as one kid after another falls to the ground.
"Welcome to Project Soteria."