Prologue
A loud buzz startled her jolting her awake with a gasp. She was lying flat on her stomach, facing a wall so white, she thought she would go blind if she stared at it too long. Her eyes had widened and her blood ran cold. This wasn’t her home. Where was home? Panic had finally set in, she couldn’t remember anything.
A loud automated male voice sounded, “Please confirm you are alive and well after the buzzer.”
A buzz sounded again. Was this a dream? Maybe she didn’t want to be found alive.
The voice boomed again, “Please confirm you are alive and well after the buzzer, or you will be thrown down the waste disposal and burned.”
She sat up so swiftly that her heart could have stopped. The buzzing had stopped and her head was throbbing, but at least she knew that she wasn’t going to be burned.
“Commencing Scan,” said the male voice again.
“Scan complete! Label Name: Julia. Have a lovely day!”
Julia was dropped into the abyss below her. Into the unknown darkness.
It’s not the worst thing ever, Julia noticed, having to live in a place where no one lets you leave. It’s confusing, and sometimes scary, but it’s bearable. But there’s cameras in every hallway, and everything is whiter than a straight white girl. From the walls, to the floor, to the uniforms the ‘guardians’ are always wearing.
She felt out of place, and noticed the other kids felt out of place, too. They didn’t remember anything either. They all had the same experience as she did, waking up in a blank room with a buzzing sound, got labeled, and fell down some sort of slide into this place. That dreadfully annoying buzzer still rang in her ears from time to time. She also noticed that everyone looked about the same age. How old did she feel? Maybe 12, or even 13.
For the first few days the ‘newcomers’ are mainly just shown where they’ll sleep, where they’ll eat, and where to go if they’re sick. It’s a really big place, but Julia couldn’t tell for the life of her where it was and if it was underground or not. There was no evidence suggesting there was a lower or upper floor.
She met someone. She said her name, or label, was Kiara. She’s nice.
“One of the, uh, ‘guardians’ told me everyone will meet someone called ‘The Lady’ at lunch tomorrow,” Kiara fiddled with her thumbs as she spoke.
“That sounds terrifying...” said Julia with a look.
“Can’t get much worse than it already is, though. Maybe she’ll tell us why we’re here?”
“I hope so.”
CHAPTERS WILL BE UPDATED EVERY MONDAY
