Chapter 1 - Saved

                                    

                                          
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.