When she opened her eyes, she was lying on a bed, but it wasn’t her bed.

She woke up with a jolt, her eyes wide scanning the unfamiliar surroundings. It was a home. She was in a simple room of brown and white themed furnishing. The walls were clean white while all the furniture was made from wood, bearing a pleasant pecan brown colour. She tried to focus but her sight refused to do so. It remained blurred no matter how hard she struggled, just as her shattering headache. She felt paralysed in bed, unable to get up without her screaming in terrible pain. She knew she should feel the panic rising any time now, but it didn’t.

She was drugged with a sedative; that much she could confirm. She knew how these drugs felt. She had tried plenty of these things before the world ended. There was nothing she could do when the biometrics of her homeostasis was b with the drug, shutting down her sympathetic innervations and her adrenal glands from secreting any cortisol or adrenaline. She was in a state of pharmacologically manipulated tranquillity. She wasn’t complaining and couldn’t even if she wanted to. Her conscience was blaring away in alarm but everything else gave the cold shoulder.

Time was an entity she couldn’t comprehend at the moment. Her head was slowly spinning round and round before it accelerated in speed, making her completely dizzy and cut off from any cerebral thoughts.

Her vision slowly spun and failed.

All she saw was black.

All she heard was distortion.

All she felt was nothing.

***

Jessica bolted up from her bed this time. Her nightmare shocked her awake from her slumber. She felt much better this time, without the drugs polluting her internal ecosystem. Apparently, her awakening was more aggressive and spontaneous than she realised, because there was a man and a woman standing next to her and their faces were as though they had just seen a ghost.

“What the-!?” Jessica scrambled back against back of her bed frame, “Who the hell are you!?”

“Relax,” the woman started and stepped closer.

“Hey,” the man grabbed her hand, “Be careful.”

“I’ll be fine,” she nodded at him and pushed his hand away, stepping closer until she sat on Jessica’s bed while the man gave her an uncomfortable look, “What do you remember?”

“Certainly not either of you. What did you do to me?”

“We saved your life,” she said, “It wasn’t easy.”

“Who are you?”

“You first.”

Jessica stared at her for a moment, trying to get a read on her.

“Jessica.”

“Well, happy awakening, Jessica. I’m Taeyeon and this is my brother, David. Do you want me to bring you back up to speed?”

“Are you going to do that while David gives me the death stare?” Jessica mocked at him, “Staring at a lady is rude.”

“Watch yourself! How ungrateful can you-”

“David!” Taeyeon glanced at him, “You’re not helping.”

“We should just throw the damn woman out,” he snapped back and continued his death stare at Jessica, “Her people are all the same. They deserve the worst.”

“We need her, David.”

“We’ll find another way,” he gritted his teeth, “Plenty of fishes in the sea.”

“Yeah, but none swims around you, I’m sure,” Jessica blasted with irritation, “What the hell is your problem!?”

“Alright, enough!” Taeyeon raised both her hands up at both of them, “This is ridiculous! The both of you! David, for goodness sake, please wait outside.”

“Fine,” he grunted and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

“You said you need me,” Jessica squinted her eyes at Taeyeon, “What does that mean…?”

“You’re from Novak?”

“What makes you say that?”

“The arrows that were pierced into your body, they had characteristic engraftments.”

“So what?” Jessica deviated from answering.

“So you know your way around the place. I saved your life and now, you owe me,” Taeyeon stated without a flinch, “Those sutures aren’t cheap and are pretty rare these days. Removing those arrows require precision and time. Both are costly expertise.”

“What’s your business with Novak?”

“They took one of us. We’re gonna get her back. You are going to help us.”

“And if I don’t?”

“You will,” Taeyeon stated with a hint of malice, “Though, I’m curious. Why are there arrows of your own faction in your body and not in your sheath? Were you exiled?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“True, but I’m curious all the same. Look,” she edged closer to Jessica, “Cooperate. We saved your life and if you have a tinge sense of civilisation left, you’d be grateful. Most people will tie you up and beat the information out of you. What more you are part of the faction that we are fighting against, thus that makes you our enemy.”

Jessica just couldn’t get the taste of irony that life had just fed her.

They exchanged tensed eye contact.

“However, I believe in catharsis more than prejudice. I certain hope you do too, for your sake,” Taeyeon gave a thin smile, “But not now, so worry not. We’ll give you time to recollect your thoughts. Now, let’s get back on track and bring you up to speed, shall we?”

“Yes.”

“Very well. You were out for a whole week. I assume the burning caravan was yours.”

Jessica’s eyes immediately widened.

“What happened to it? Why was it on fire!?”

“You tell me, Jessica. The thick smoke caught our attention and when we got there, that caravan was toast with you just beside it. You’re lucky. The flames was about to catch up to where you were.”

“I was alone?”

“We didn’t find anyone else. Were we supposed to?”

“No.”

“A fool could see that that’s a blatant lie, Jessica. Nobody would take a caravan if they were travelling alone. It makes no sense,” she stared deep down into the wounded woman’s eyes, “But I won’t force you to tell. We all have our demons inside. Also, we all have bigger problems to tackle.”

“What happens now?”

“Nothing,” Taeyeon smiled, “Rest. We’ll talk tomorrow. Dinner would be served later. I imagine you are sick of parenteral feeding by now.”

She got up and opened the curtains.

There was a storm outside. The wind was blowing harshly and the raindrops splattered against the windows at a high velocity. The wind chime outside was tolling gloriously with the turbulence. Lightning flashed and illuminated the room with a bright blinding shade of white, following by the rumbling thunder that followed suit. It was just as bad as that day.

Even from her bed, Jessica could see the trees swaying violently, hanging their lives on the hope that their roots were deep enough to sustain their weight. Despite the rage of nature beyond, the primary thing that Jessica took notice was that the window was grilled. No escape there.

“The weather is still .”

“It’s a good night to sleep in. Nothing like a cold stormy night for hibernation,” Taeyeon commented, “Alright, I shall leave you to it. I have dinner to prepare.”

She left the room with a last glance. Her footsteps were ghostly and soft, almost inaudible as though she was floating in the air. Her gait was… different. There was splash of elegance in the way she walked, and a struck of danger too. Ever wondered how it was like to wake in a stranger’s home and feel completely alienated and lost? Jessica wondered no more.

She gave the room a good scan. It was a rather small room for sure, with minimal furniture in it. There was the bed, of which she was lying on right now. Beside it was a bedside table with no drawers and a night lamp on top, emitting the orange ambience that gave the room its homely feel. She could hear the generator running through the wall. Besides that, there wasn’t much else, and by that, it meant that there was absolutely nothing else in that tiny room. This clearly wasn’t their first rodeo. They knew what they were doing. This room was the perfect illusion of tranquillity.

There was no escape.

An hour or so went by. Jessica stared at the ceiling blankly, biding her time. Even without moving, her body ached. She ran her fingers along the sutures, feeling the strands piercing and holding her skin together, sealing the wounds. She had been looking at the stitches on her right palm, admiring it as much as she hated to admit it. It was pretty well done. She tried moving a little to estimate the amount of pain each movement will cost her. It would help to anticipate the amount of pain she’d have to endure for what she was about to do…

“Good evening,” a different woman’s voice accompanied the knocks on the door, “I’m coming in. I brought your food.”

The door opened and a taller woman in a white dress walked in. She looked younger than Taeyeon, but just as beautiful. Jessica wondered to herself how exactly they managed to keep their skin fair and soft even during the apocalypse. Even her hair was nicely tied up in a bun and looked freshly permed. She smelled like peach too. Some mysteries were just meant to go unresolved.

“I don’t think we’re introduced. I’m Seohyun and I brought you dinner,” she smiled, “It’s homecooked. Bet you haven’t had a hot meal in a long time.”

“I can’t remember when was the last time I ate proper,” Jessica shook her head, “I mainly survive on canned food.”

“Those are bad for you, Jessica,” she said as she lay the tray of food on the bedside table, “High in sodium nitrate, I believe.”

“It’s the end of the world. There aren’t any restaurants left open,” Jessica glanced at the tray and instantly felt her stomach growling, “Wow, that looks amazing.”

“Taeyeon’s a good chef. Tonight, she made curry fish fillet with rice and corn. Smells good, doesn’t it?”

“Mhmm.”

Jessica reached out to the tray and picked up the fork. She picked a piece of the fish and tasted it. It was heavenly. The fish was soft, yet firm at the same time. The curry had seeped into the meat and drizzled out from each bite she took. The skin was crusty and delightfully crispy. Best of all, it tasted fresh and warm.

A bite was all Jessica could afford, though.

Jessica then lunged out of her bed, ignoring the pain and grabbed Seohyun by her neck. The latter croaked a little in shock before she was spun round to her back facing Jessica. Jessica wrapped her left arm around Seohyun’s neck and her right hand holding the fork just below the latter’s carotid artery.

“Try something and I’ll either puncture your neck artery or just snap your cervical spine.”

“No! No! Think about what you are doing!”

They must have made a bigger racket than Jessica anticipated. Within the minute, she could hear the footsteps approaching her room in a rushed fashion. No matter, she had to move now before Taeyeon and her gang had the time to plan out a counter.

“Move. I don’t want to hurt you. Obey me.”

“O- okay…” Seohyun squeaked as she followed Jessica’s nudge forwards, “Please think about what you’re doing…!”

“Shut up and open the door.”

Seohyun reached out and pulled the bedroom door open.  The hallway had the same ambience as the room did; brown and white themed. It felt like something out of an IKEA catalogue. Jessica would stop and admire if she had the time, but she didn’t.

“Which way is the exit? Don’t lie to me!”

“To the right! To the right!” Seohyun flailed her arms in that direction, “Past the living room!”

“Move!”

They made a right turn, only to find Taeyeon and David waiting, just at the edge of the hallway, staring at both of them. They had their guns drawn out and had already aimed down their sights. Even the relaxing lighting couldn’t lighten up the tense situation that was unfolding right now. Taeyeon’s face had darkened in expression very significantly from just now. She wasn’t fooling around, but then again, Jessica wasn’t either.

“You won’t shoot me!” Jessica stated boldly, “The gunfire would make the two of you deaf when shot in such a tight space! You won’t risk missing that shot either! There’s too much at stake for you two!”

“You had made a terrible mistake, Jessica,” Taeyeon foreboded, “Never bite the hand that feeds you. I didn’t expect you to be this stupid.”

“I’m leaving.”

“You owe us. We saved your life.”

“I never asked you to!”

Taeyeon scoffed in response and exchanged sarcastic glances at her brother.

“Can you believe this lunatic?” Taeyeon shook her head, “Everyone threw out their sense of gratitude and manners when the world ended.”

Jessica continued her march forward towards the armed siblings, with the terrified Seohyun being taken hostage in a situation she did not deserve but was trapped in nevertheless.

“Do you really expect to make it out with just a fork?”

“Don’t test me.”

“Alright, do it. Let’s stop wasting time. I want my dinner,” Taeyeon nodded.

At first, Jessica thought she was nodding to her but then she realised that Taeyeon was actually looking behind her. Before Jessica could turn around, she felt something hard bash her head from behind, knocking her lights out. She collapsed on the ground, with the wound on her head split wide open once again, with the sutures torn from the bash. 

“Goddamn it,” Taeyeon cursed out loud, “Get her up please before she bleeds on the damn floor.”

***

This time when Jessica woke up, she wasn’t in the comfortable bed like the last. She wasn’t treated with the homely hospitality as she did before, of which she did