Familiarity is a Dangerous Thing

Tears cloud your vision as the sound of the rocket’s engines fill your ears, and the knowledge that this would have happened eventually does nothing to soothe you.Your name had been drawn three months ago, and though you had hidden well, they had found you, as they always do with the runners.  You go over the mistakes you made in order to distract yourself from an itch that you cannot scratch.

They had started paralyzing passengers ten years ago. The company line was that it made for a safer journey for the passenger, but as the rocket takes off, and the loose debris hits your still form, your suspicions of it being a cost-cutting measure are confirmed. Hell, you are tagged as cargo, the band on your wrist stating such. Why should one piece be treated differently than any other? At this rate, it is a luxury for you to be strapped down and the means provided for you to be fed and relieve yourself, uncomfortable though they are. It will be a long 3 days, and you need all the help you can get.

The time passes slowly, only made worse by the fact that the pilot doesn’t say one word to you for the entire journey. You have never felt more alone than you do in this moment, and you wonder if the ones who have put you in this position are counting on that. 

The rocket lands just as your musings begin to drive you mad, and part of you wishes that you had been allowed to lose yourself for just a little longer. You remember all of the rumors that have made their way to you about the fate of the selected, all either unrealistically optimistic or so terrifying that the dukes of Hell would tremble were the ideas made manifest. Though you are determined to stay neutral and try not to judge until you see everything with your own eyes, you are not sure if you are ready to see what’s in store. 

Your train of thought is derailed as the hatch opens. You are reminded of the temporary tunnel that passengers use to board a plane, and the woman who comes into your line of sight, looking like a flight attendant, completes the scene. You wish you could roll your eyes as she begins what she calls ‘The Welcome Protocol.’ It is not until she is finished and the medical equipment removed from your body that your ability to move is given back to you via a quick-acting injection.

You are supported by two members of medical personnel as the ‘Welcome Representative’ leads the way through the tunnel and out into what looks like a massive compound. Every building is painted white, with basic signs announcing their purpose, while the entire environment is boxed in by a shield made from solar panels on the outside, a mysterious material in the center, and high-definition rotating television screens showing different scenes from Earth that changes depending on your location and whether it is day or night. They had tried doing away with time altogether, but it ensued chaos, almost destroying the entire colony. You absorb all of this information as you are sterilized in a rotating chamber. 

You finally arrive at your room after what seems like hours of being scrubbed down. Your skin feels raw, and you wonder if you’ll ever smell anything but disinfectant again. A closer look at the living quarters wipes all thoughts of disinfectant from your mind. Any comfort and luxury item that you can think of is at your disposal, and after a few last messages from the representative, you are able to enjoy them in peace.

Dinner comes a few hours later. As you eat, you are informed by a helpful avatar that you have been granted two weeks to recover from the voyage before you are assigned a job. The avatar, an anthropomorphic version of your favorite animal, gestures to a checklist of physical requirements and vaccinations. Except for completing the items on this list, you are free to do whatever you wish, provided that you do not leave your room. The common areas are under renovation, and all personnel must stay in their rooms unless they are performing a work-related task.

The required isolation bothers you less and less over the course of the next week. Why would it be a problem? The doctor conducts an in-room check-up, and you have everything you want and need. In the event that you run out of something, you are able to order another with ease. Seven days pass as quickly as two, during which you acclimate to your new environment.

You hear a knock on your door on the eve of the eighth day. It is your twin sister, and you feel both relieved and concerned to find that she does not seem to have aged since you last saw her fifteen years ago. Her embrace is warm, if detached, so it is able to provide a semblance of comfort. You share a meal of nutritional paste formed into what is meant to be prime rib and a loaded baked potato, but has only managed to convey a shadow of the intended flavor, buried underneath a wave of processed edamame. 

You have a good time despite the underwhelming experience, and find out that your sister has worked her way up the ladder and is in charge of work assignments. You ask her if she has chosen an assignment for you, but she cannot reveal that information. However, before she leaves, she does say that she is looking forward to seeing you, and it fills you with a renewed sense of hope. The remaining six days are filled with dreams of working in administration, and pushing paperwork has never looked as good as it does now. 

The morning of the fifteenth day begins by two security officials coming in and getting you out of bed. You have ten minutes to get ready before you are being led down a hallway to a set of double doors by the now silent guards. Your footsteps echo in the corridor in a way that seems ominous, though you cannot quite place the reason. The doors open, and you walk through alone. 

All of the rose-colored fantasies that once filled your mind disappear as soon as you hear the doors slam and lock behind you. In front of you is a forest straight out of a nightmare. The trees are gnarled and bare, black as the night, and barely visible against the simulated sunrise. The haunted wood stretches on for miles, and you realize that you are looking at the reason that the gray areas on the moon have been growing darker over the last three years.

Your heart is lodged in your throat, and your mind is blank as you try to process what is going on. Before you can panic, your sister’s face comes on the screen next to you. The mischievous smirk on her face is almost evil, and her announcement makes your blood run cold.

Welcome to your job assignment. You are looking at our game reserve, and you, dearest sibling, are the game. Since you have had it so easy for almost 2 decades, I felt it only fitting to nominate you to come and join us in our brave new world. However, the only place you deserve is on the bottom rung, and if you are to climb, you will work for it.

She pauses to grab a fully-customized rifle, holding it up for you to see. Any add-on that you can think of are attached, and you can tell that she is comfortable with it to the point that it has become an extension of herself. 

Now that you have been fattened up for slaughter, you have a week to prove your ability to survive, both the elements in the forest and against my prowess. You may have been the better of us on Earth, but I reign supreme here. Still, I wish you luck, because you are going to need it. I’ll see you soon.

She disappears off of the screen with a wink, and you venture into the trees, seeing red as you go. You had forgotten how much of a cunt she could be, and while you admire her creativity, you cannot get over the sting of betrayal by the one familiar person in this godforsaken compound. You prepare yourself, knowing what is at stake. The lavish room is gone, as is the loving sibling that once resided in it. You are in the here and now, and you are out for blood, no matter what you will have to do to get there, and you will have to do a lot if you are to win.