Desert Lily

Chapter 1

Chapter 1
Lilium

I had been blindfolded and shackled by my wrist and ankles as I sat quietly listening to the cries and outbursts of the other female inmates around me. The last thing I remember was being brought an appetizing meal to my cell by one of the guards. She had came and left as quietly as possible once my food had been laid upon the table. She avoided eye contact with me and wouldn't answer any questions or greetings I threw her way. It was kind of suspicious but the food had made me forget everything as it lured me in with its smell. It was smothered porkchops with rice and sweet corn. Something that my mom had made whenever I was sad or upset as it was my favorite. I had swallowed the food down while tears poured from my dark brown eyes. All suspicion had been taken over by longing and sadness. After that, I couldn't quite remember what happened or how I got to where I was now, blindfolded and shackled. They had shackled my arms together since I no longer had a right hand. I had been missing my arm from my elbow down thanks to an incident when I was younger. 

I had been in prison for three years now after going through different trials. In each one, I was deemed guilty no matter how much I pleaded not guilty. In everyone's eyes, I was a monster who got what she deserved. 

My thoughts were interrupted as whatever we were in came to a sharp halt, pulling at the chains that bound us to our seats. Cries erupted around me as their voices grew louder. It wasn't long before another sound quieted us all down. It sort of sounded like metal scrapping against metal before the chains that bound us to our chairs loosened. 

What the hell was going on? I thought to myself as the floor and seats disappeared beneath us before the feeling of falling overtook my body. Were we falling? What was really going on? I thought as the screaming echoed around me before we were met with hot sand? Bright light shun through my blindfold as I hastily removed it before closing my eyes at the brightness that I was met by. Slowly opening my eyes again, I looked around through squinted eyes until my eyes could adjust. Looking around, I was surprised to see that we were in a desert. There were women and girls buried in the sand all around me. Were we even still on Earth? 

"Subi na!!" One girl screamed in a weird language while pointing in the direction behind me as a blood curdling scream came from the same direction. Quickly turning, I was surprised to see a giant beige colored worm like creature with one of the women in its beak? A giant worm with a beak? Was this really Earth? As it mashed her up between its beaks, it started making its way through the crowd of women as I quickly waded through the sand away from it. It became harder and harder to run faster as the chains kept getting pulled down by the hot sand. Breathing hard, I kept on pushing before I heard it over the shrieks and screams of the women behind me. It was eating them one by one as we all ran off in different directions. 

“Lilium!” A familiar voice hissed before somebody pulled my arm in another direction as we dropped down into a small cave? As my eyes adjusted to the quick shift in lighting, I was surprised to see three other women hidden in the cave with me. “Are you okay?” The familiar voice asked as I finally focused in on her face. Her long black hair had plastered to her brownish red face from the sweat of running as her hazel eyes looked me over in concern.

“Nuri?” I questioned as she looked up at the hole before placing a hand over her lips as more screams could be heard outside. “What’s going on?” I whispered as she redirected her gaze from the hole to me. She waited for a second before replying to me.

“By any chance, did a guard bring you one of your favorite meals without speaking to you?” She asked as I nodded before she sighed. “Damn it. It seems like we’re all in the same boat.” She gestured towards the other two women who nodded. 

“It seems like we were disposed of by the penitentiary. Almost like guinea pigs.” One of the women spoke up as the one beside her nodded. She quietly brushed one of her tight red curls away from her face as she looked up at the hole. “I’m Yareli and this is Wren. She found this hole amongst all of the mayhem going on outside and caught us.” She added while shifting her gaze towards the woman beside her. Wren had shifted from sitting to squatting while peering up at the hole with her light green eyes. She was the first amongst all of the supernatural beings I’ve seen who wore a muzzle almost like a dog. Unlike Nuri, Wren’s head was completely shaved down to a blonde buzz. 

“Well, thank you Wren.” I smiled while nodding at her as she nodded back at me. “What are we going to do now though? I’m sure that thing is still out there.” I stated as we all gazed up at the hole while silence greeted us back.