Exiled to Lunar Lakes - Chapter 1 - A Warm Welcoming

Her eyes shot open as she woke up in a place that wasn’t her prison cell. The hard ground beneath her hinted that her nightmare at been true after all.

She managed to unsteadily get up to her feet as her hands begin to shake and the back of her throat burned. Water. She needed to find water. Where was water in this damn dreadful place? Her head began to ache as she looked at her surroundings.

The trees weren’t….the tree bark was yellow.

Was she hallucinating from whatever they had injected into her arm during the plane ride? Where the hell was she? This couldn’t have been..no. This place didn’t exist. Even in a country that no longer believed in the death penalty, they had to still execute their criminals. Letting a group of psychopathic criminals loose just because you didn’t believe in the destruction of human life couldn’t be true. It didn’t matter if the island was covered in radioactive waste and each criminal only lived ten years max, it still wasn’t wise. Yet with how corrupted she had seen the system be...she stopped herself. 

Standing and think idly didn’t matter and was a waste of time. It didn’t matter if she was debating the existence of the place where she had landed, the burning sensation in the back of her throat was becoming more unbearable by the second.

She started walking towards what she assumed was a hill as two people began to walk towards her. How the fuck had they got here so quickly? She didn’t plan on sticking around long enough to find out.

Glancing over shoulder, she lifted her middle finger at them and took off running towards the hill only to find there was two more people blocking her exit.

She took a deep breath as her arms were grabbed behind her. Deciding the best course of action was to elbow the person in the face, she did just that.

The person grunted in pain as she tried to flee from the scene. Fuck. How did she get herself in this situation? What the hell happened? Just as she thought she was home free, a fist slammed into her causing her to black out.

---

“You’re quite thin even considered around here, you know.” It was the second time today she had woken up in an unfamiliar place. She groggily shook her head as she pushed herself up. Her head ached and she could already tell there was a bruise forming from the punch she had received. Her throat no longer burned but she didn’t have time to question this abrupt change.

Her eyes widened as she tried to find where the source of the voice was as her eyes landed on a woman roughly in her 30’s sitting in a rocking chair. It was strange feeling a sense of normalcy when being stuck in a wasteland that shouldn’t have ended up existing. The strange woman took notice of it as she leaned forward in the rocking chair. “Do you go by a name or your number?” Number? What number? She didn’t remember her name either, but hadn’t stopped to question it.
“What if I say neither?” She challenged without missing a heartbeat.

The woman laughed as she rolled her eyes. “Then I would say you are just as confused as the rest of us.” She leaned back in the chair. “Number 68, first degree robbery. Five years in prison.”
Her eyebrows furrowed. “First degree robbery? That’s all that got you sent here?”

The woman chuckled. “That’s all I know. It could have been more, but that was my number. You shouldn’t be surprised. People get sent here for a lot less and some…” Her eyes became dark and she mumbled something unintelligible.
She sat up, gasping for breath before finally saying something. “0587.”

The woman’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “That’s not a number in the system, 0587.” Her confusion became clearer as she chuckled. “Must explain those bright eyes of yours.”

She balled her hands into fists as her anger grew from being manipulated by this woman. “I refuse to be referred to something as low as a number. I’m not an animal waiting to be slaughtered.” How the hell did this woman get her to talk?

“Well if you don’t like being referred to a number, then choose a name. Simple. Now if you shut your mouth, you might just make it out and get some questions answered.”
Her eyebrows furrowed as she answered the woman. “Zoraida. I choose the name Zoraida.”
The woman’s eyes brightened with curiosity. “Interesting. Now Zoraida, where would you like to begin?”
“Are you going to kill me?” She asked loudly as she looked around the room. Damn it. She should ask why she no longer felt...dehydrated wasn’t the correct word.

“Due to your extraordinary circumstance, I doubt there is going to be an execution scheduled for you anytime soon.”
“So what do you plan on having me do in the meantime?” Zoraida bit her tongue as she tried to stop impulsively sassing this woman.
“You will become a productive member of our society of course. You are expected to pick up a job by the end of the week on the list you are given when you arrive to the place of you will be living. No going out past ten unless permitted. We do not tolerate any crimes committed that have had our residents wound up here and will be punishable by death unless the given crime was permitted due to a special circumstance. There are no second chances unless it’s a special circumstance. You have at most ten years due to the water you have to drink to survive here. Make the best of it. My job is to assess the newcomers and decide which ones are allowed to live and where you will start in our society and that will be....” The woman’s eyes flickered to across the room. “...homeless. I think you will appreciate the challenge.” The woman paused as she allowed Zoraida to take everything in.

Zoraida pushed herself off the bed as she clenched her hands into fists. “I’m not some...some citizen you can push around at your will. I’m...I’m…”
The woman stared at her, unamused. “You’re leaving. Get out.”
“That’s it? Where am I going to sleep? My throat was burning just a minute ago!” She had too many questions. She wasn’t just going to be forced out because the woman no longer felt like talking. 

“Yes, it probably was. Most who wake up here express the need to find a water source as the first thought in their mind. We think it has something to do with the injection each citizen is given before arrival. I promise you, you aren’t dehydrated and there is enough water in this gods-forsaken place when you need it. It’s all drinkable. Now, I will have you escorted to where you landed and you can began there. You have ten years to make something out of your life. Stop wasting time looking for answers you don’t need.”

Two guards came into the room as Zoraida decided it wasn’t wise to fight back again. She had got herself into this situation, it was time she got herself out of it. Somehow. If she had only ten years to live in this wasteland then she was going to use her time wisely and start planning. She would not accept defeat. She started walking towards the guards as one grabbed her arm before she reacted and injected a needle into her skin. Her vision grew blurrier as leaned on the wall before blacking out again.

Chapter 2 - Making Friends at Last --->