Chapter 6

A gust of cold wind cut right through our orange jumpsuits, tugging at our skin. I kept my face forward, watching the majestic and harrowing surface of Titan blossom before me. As the hexagon door spread further apart, I saw highlands in the distance. It wasn't nearly as large as I thought it would be, but I hadn't calculated how far away it was from the door.

There was a large lake, unbelievably smooth, glass-like surface, dividing parts of the flatland in the middle. In its reflection of the terrain, I saw glimpses of Wren to the left. It seemed no taller than a hill. A loud shriek attempted to break my concentration while I was taking in the details of my new home. A loud bang quickly muffled the yell, and I didn't flinch nor look back. The normalcy of violence was already settling in. A quick smoker's cough established that whoever was shot, it wasn't Leif. As the hexagon door fully opened, I felt tremors in my knees. If it was from muscle ache or fear, I couldn't tell.

"FORWARD INMATES. WALK INTO

THE JAWS OF HELL!" Grey screamed as he popped his cattle prod near an inmate's ear.

We all obeyed, despite the slight jerk from the recently dead body weighing us down. A considerable burden, being enchained together as a unit. When one falls, we all feel it, and as a collective, we dragged his corpse with us into the strange terrain. The reddish-orange surface felt odd on the balls of my feet, and gravity felt slightly more cumbersome than it does on Lustrous Utopia I. The sky mimicked the mountains. That same hue of orange spread across above, even the clouds were just a brighter orange, leaning closer to peach.

Everything smelled of sweet gasoline, and sulfur. I began to see small cavities etched into the mountain of Hornet to my right. Tiny fires grew in the caves, creating a breathing color of red inside. A welcome home beacon from the new neighbors. Or a message to the fresh meat. Eventually, we all stopped marching, whoever was in the last line at the back must've made it inside Titan. There was no alarm, no sound at all when the large hexagon door began closing behind us. Due to the sea of inmates, I couldn't even peek back into the metallic corridor, but I heard the door finally close. A heart aching sound, the manifestation of the words 'No hope,' a whisper of 'Goodbye,' as the fate our lives slowly dawned on us.

No one moved or spoke, unsure of how to feel. At that moment, all the chains beeped, clicked, and unhinged itself, dropping on the floor. A giant cloud of orange dust kicked up from the weight. I looked at Leif's shadow through the loose dust, and he stretched his neck to the right, signaling me to follow him. I cautiously bent down and scooped up my chains. This will come in handy, I thought. My first weapon on my first day.

Leif knew the law of the land. We walked for three miles along the edge of the large lake. A few inmates hovered around us, but they appeared to be wandering, I didn't feel threatened. Surprisingly, no attacks had happened yet, at least in my vicinity. Most folks were satisfied with being able to rub their aching wrist, sit, and stand. Go as they please. However, no one dared to rest or sleep. There was a philosophy about creating a prison like this, a prison with no bars, but you felt the rage bubbling underneath. As if the entire terrain was attempting to calm itself down.

"This here is called Serene. Rumor has it that you put a man in this lake, his body won't float up. I suppose in time, they'll be so many corpses, you'll be able to walk on water," Leif said smiling, feeling somewhat important, my impromptu tour guide.

"We're headed to Hornet, that's where my people are.

If there's room, even a free cave, I'll vouch for you, on one condition."

I didn't like the idea at all, too risky, I may be spotted, recognized.

"What's the condition?" I cautiously replied.

"If anyone asks, especially from my gang, tell em I'm in here for double murder."

"It's a lie?"

"That's all you have to do. Someone come up and say, 'You know what Leif did this time?' your response is..."

"Double murder?"

"That's the condition."

A low purr of chanting swept through my ears. In the distance ahead of us, a small pocket of people circled a fire, sitting with their legs crossed, holding hands. They were all humming and chanting together, it almost looked peaceful, but I didn't want to be that naive. They ripped up their orange jumpsuits, so the shirt looked like a sash crossing the body. Running down the length of the sash were the letters: O-M-N-I, written in what appeared to be blood.

"Anything else I need to know?" I questioned Leif, looking at him sideways since this situation arose.

"Nothing you need to know right now. You got the full boat, Lex. Shit, eventually you'll be giving the tours."

He was right, though I hated him for it. I'm going to die here. Even though I don't belong here. I should get to know as much as I can while it's still calm. While there's light on the flatland. The tremors in my knees worsened, and my stride slowed down a little. Behind me were two inmates that looked like identical twins. Both caramel-colored, decent height, athletic shape, with square jaws and pointy noses. I sat on the ground, Leif kept walking forward. He was so engulfed in the details of his lie. He didn't notice he was talking to himself.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the twins spoke simultaneously, pointing at Serene. "Do not drink the water. It is poison. We have now saved your life. You owe us."

I watched the twins walk away in perfect synchronization approaching Leif.

"You know what, Lex, maybe even embellish the story a little. Get creative, tell em I had my back against the wall, nothing but a box cutter in my...who are you?" Leif questioned, watching the twins walk past him without saying a word.

He peered down the side of Serene and saw me sitting on the ground, legs extended, rubbing my knee. After a quick back-and-forth look, trying to figure out the oddity of the twins, he jogged back to me.

"Not a good idea to rest in the flatland," Leif said, looking up at the sky. "We got about four hours till night, and if you're here then...they'll think you're unclaimed."

"Unclaimed huh?"

"Yea...up for grabs if. You picking up what I'm putting down?"

"What about them? They resting together.

Singing campfire songs."

"Who...oh them. They won't be long, matter of fact, they do this at the same time every day. It's a ritual of sorts, kinda like church, you could say."

"Who's Omni? They got it written on their sashes."

A grave look washed over Leif's body. For a moment, it appeared that his soul quietly left, contemplated, and returned to him. His blotchy skin seemed grayer than before, and beads of sweat bubbled on his forehead, despite the cold wind continually blowing.

"Leif...Leif," I bent my foot and hit him in the ankle with my toes, he leaned forward a bit and blinked slowly. "Leif!"

My yelling must've traveled further than I thought, because one of the chanting inmates turned his neck, and looked at me. He squinted, turned back around, and never missed a beat, humming with the rest of them. Leif's unresponsiveness made me nervous. I stumbled upon a code word, maybe he's a sleeper cell, and Omni is his activation. Regardless, I couldn't lose him. I can't be alone now, left blind and green. I forced myself up from the floor and shoved him hard in the back. He splashed forward in the lake. His eyes went wide, and his arms flapped like a bird. He leaped out of the lake disoriented, wiping water off his forehead.

"I was calling you, but..."

Leif punched me hard in the jaw. I didn't make me fall, but I stumbled back. A small trail of scarlet ran down my lip, dribbling towards my chin.

"The water's poison! You fucking idiot!" Leif screamed as he doubled over.

He began coughing, and it wasn't his regular smokers cough either. At one point, he spat up blood from inside himself. I wanted to help him but was afraid to touch him, not sure how the poison worked. It might be transferred to me.