Foreign World

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I woke up. I was lying on hard floor. It smelt kinda like metal. My mouth was all dry and my muscles were sore. I blinked a couple of times before my eyes focused on my surroundings. I felt rocking, like wherever I was, was somehow moving. As I shifted to a sitting position, I understood why I felt that moving sensation. It was because I was moving. I was in some sort of cage, like an elevator, a dim light above casting a cool glow on me. I looked around and saw wooden boxes and crates. Stacked clothes in a corner. Rope and construction tools in another.

"Where am I?"

The elevator slowed. I looked up and saw gates. And I also saw the the top of the elevator had a latch. I heard some creaking coming from the gates, I thought nothing of it, but then they started opening. And my natural response was to freak out. Except, you couldn't really freak out in a closed cage, so I kind of just stood up and waved my arms around. I did this until the gates where fully open, and with a lot of quick thinking and good use of my brain, I stood on one of the crates and pushed the top of the elevator off. I clambered out of the cage and took my first look at where I actually was. 

"Oh hell no. This can not be happening right now."

I put my head down, shielding my eyes (and brain) from the insane image around me. Until now I hadn't really taken a look at myself. I was wearing kind of thin-fabric clothes, the tank top beige and loose fitting. And the brown pants were ripped and stained with what looked like blood, but that thought was too disgusting so obviously I pushed it out of my head. The shoes I wore were the only things that were semi-clean. They looked similar to hiking boots, black, sturdy and worn. My skin was more tanned than I remember, but the weird thing was, I couldn't remember anything. Nothing. Not how I woke up this morning. Not who my parents are or when my birthday is. I didn't even know what day it was. All I had was my name. 

Why?

I finally gathered enough energy to look up from the ground and the first thing I noticed was the walls. Ginormous concrete barriers reaching about 30 meters high, creating a square shape around me. Then I looked a little bit lower and saw green. Everything was green. The habitat looked untouched, and frankly if I hadn't been so confused and terrified, I would have found it beautiful. One half of the area had abundant trees and flowers, while the other half looked more suited for camping, with more dirt, tree trunks and several garden boxes lying around. I stared back into the box I had emerged from, and something occurred to me. Those ropes and tools in the corner, were they for construction? And those clothes, were they for me? Who put me here, and what am I supposed to do? So many questions unanswered. There was no one around as far as I was concerned. I knew there were animals judging by the scat that ruined my boots, and I saw  a stream snaking through the trees. I realised how hungry and thirsty I was. When was the last time I ate? I couldn't remember. And that scared me, not knowing anything. Wherever I was, it was clear that I'm not supposed to be leaving for a while. So, I jumped back down into the box, grabbed what I assume was a machete, jumped out, jogged to the nearest wall, and scraped my name into it. 

Nyla. 




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