Luna let out a groan as she slowly opened her eyes, regaining consciousness. Her body, including her head, throbbed with pain, making her groan again. She tried to sit up, but her muscles prickled and burned, protesting the movement. Her legs felt like lead, and she experienced sharp cramps as she attempted to straighten them.
As she took a deep breath, the air filled her lungs, but it smelled different. Luna's mind foggy, she thought to herself, "I've been to many countries and cities, each with its unique scent, but this is unlike anything I've ever smelled before." The air was toxic, and it made her eyes water.
Her lids flew wide open, and her gaze was met with an unfamiliar sky. The atmosphere was thick and heavy, with a sickly yellow haze hanging over the landscape. The sky itself was a deep, foreboding crimson, like nothing Luna had ever seen before.
"What the hell?" Luna muttered, struggling to her feet. She stumbled, her legs shaking beneath her, but she managed to regain her balance. Standing at her full height of 5'9", Luna took in her surroundings, her eyes scanning the horizon.
The place was vast, with Prussian blue rocky hills stretching out as far as the eye could see. Each hill was covered in
patches of pink grass and sand, creating a surreal landscape. Luna's eyes widened as she took it all in, her mind struggling to comprehend where she was and how she got there.
Stumbling forward, Luna aggressively dug her heels into the sand, trying to steady herself. She almost recreated the fall that had left her unconscious, but she managed to catch herself just in time.
Luna's frown deepened as her gaze fell upon the red, inflamed areas and cuts on her exposed skin. "Shit," she said as she scanned her upper body, which had suffered a similar fate; her forest green t-shirt was torn, with slits revealing the cuts and scratches beneath. She stared at her battered skin, her mind reeling with the memory of the explosion.
As she listened intently, she heard a strange, tearing sound. At first, she thought it was someone moving nearby, but as she concentrated, she realized the noise was coming from her own body. Her eyes widened in horror as she watched, transfixed, as her wounds began to close up before her eyes. The cuts and scratches seemed to knit themselves together, leaving behind only faint, pink scars.
Luna's shock gave way to a creeping sense of unease, a feeling that defied explanation. She felt as though she was observing herself from outside her body, detached from the bizarre events unfolding before her eyes. Trying to shake off the feeling, she focused on her wrist, where her Apple Smart Watch still clung, miraculously, to her battered arm.
The watch's screen was cracked, but to her surprise, it still functioned. "Thank God," she breathed, relief washing over her. She quickly unlocked the screen and immediately dialed for help,
"We are sorry, but your call can't be completed without a cellular connection."Her watch's automated voice informed her. Luna's eyes darted to the top right corner of the screen, where the signal strength was usually displayed. This time, however, there were no bars – no reception whatsoever.
Panic set in as Luna frantically scanned her surroundings, yelling for her friend Hazel at the top of her lungs. But her cries were met with only silence, her voice echoing back at her, a haunting reminder that she was truly alone.
Luna trudged up the nearest hill, her foot slipping on the rocky terrain. "Good lord!" she yelped, scraping her foot against the unforgiving surface. She breathed heavily, the exertion stressing her already frazzled nerves. The unknown surroundings and eerie silence only added to her anxiety.
As she walked, the miles seemed to blend together in an endless blur of Prussian blue hills and pink grass. The landscape stretched out before her like an eternal, unbroken sea. Luna's feet ached, and her legs trembled with fatigue, but she pressed on, driven by a desperate need to find answers.
Finally, she stopped at a spot, gazing around in bewilderment. "Where am I?" she wondered, her mind reeling with the implications. This place was unlike anywhere she had ever seen on Earth – not even in movies. The skies seemed to reflect off the ground itself, creating an ethereal, otherworldly beauty.
The air was crisp and clean, devoid of any signs of pollution or civilization. Luna felt like the only person on the planet, walking for hours without seeing a single soul. A shiver ran down her spine as she thought to herself, "If I'm still on Earth, I hope humanity never finds this place." Her eyes scanned the pristine landscape, and she whispered, "Humans will only ruin it. That's what they do best – ruining things."
Luna's mind began to whirl with all possible scenarios, trying to piece together how she was still alive and where she was. She thought to herself, "Well, the explosion must have gotten me here, no doubt." But as she pondered further, she couldn't shake off the feeling that something wasn't quite right. "But how?" she wondered, "I should have died."
As she replayed the events in her mind, she recalled the strange, inexplicable way her wounds had closed up earlier. The memory sent a shiver down her spine, and she felt a surge of determination course through her veins.
Just then, as she turned to scan her surroundings, her eyes landed on what looked like trees in the distance, just before the horizon. She squinted, taking a closer look, and her heart leapt with excitement as she confirmed that they were indeed trees.
With renewed hope, Luna beamed with determination, her heels digging into the ground as she prepared to take on the unknown. She safely hurried down the hill, her eyes fixed on the trees, her heart pounding with anticipation.
As she descended, the trees grew taller and closer, their branches swaying gently in the breeze. Luna's spirits lifted with each step, and she felt a sense of purpose wash over her. She was going to find a way back to humanity, no matter what it took.
Luna struggled to hoist herself onto the tree, her body aching with each movement. She finally managed to settle onto a branch, clinging to it tightly as she gazed down at the ground. It amazed her how, despite not being athletic, she could summon the strength and agility to scale a tree when her life depended on it.
As she caught her breath, her eyes scanned the surroundings, and that's when she saw it. A creature unlike any she had ever seen before. Its body was a mass of writhing, pulsing tendrils, with eyes that glowed like embers. Luna's heart skipped a beat as the creature's fangs came into view, its jaws open wide enough to snap her in two.
She held her breath, frozen in terror, as the creature lowered its head, its nose inches from her face. "I guess it's blind," Luna thought, trying to rationalize the situation as the creature sniffed around her.
Suddenly, the creature's head jerked up, and it slowly crawled away, its attention drawn to something else. Luna remained frozen, unsure if she should move. She waited for what felt like an eternity, her heart pounding in her chest, before finally deciding it was safe to climb down.
As she continued on her journey, Luna's urgency grew. She wanted to put as much distance between herself and the creature as possible. Her feet pounded against the ground, her breath coming in ragged gasps. Suddenly, her grip slipped, and she fell, slamming her hips against a thick tree root.
A groan escaped her lips as she struggled to stand, clutching at the affected area. After a few moments, the pain began to subside, and she continued on her way.
As she walked, the landscape shifted, and Luna caught sight of a body of liquid in the distance. It was orange, and it didn't look like water, but she didn't care. Her throat was parched, and she desperately needed to quench her thirst. She dropped to her knees and dipped her hand into the liquid, scooping up a small amount to drink.
The taste was bitter and sour, and Luna spat it out, her face contorting in disgust. Her body needed water, especially her digestive system, and she knew she couldn't survive much longer without it.
Exhausted, Luna lay down on the ground, her head facing the sky. As she gazed up, she noticed orange dots scattered across the horizon. Suddenly, a massive tree loomed before her, its branches heavy with the orange dots. "Oranges!" Luna yelled, scrambling to her feet.
As she approached the tree, she saw that the oranges were unlike any she had ever seen before. They were shiny, with what looked like golden petals surrounding them. Luna's eyes widened as she reached out to touch one. "Is it edible?" she wondered, plunging her fingers into the soft, orange flesh. It felt like an orange, and it looked like a fruit, so she took a chance, hoping that it would quench her thirst and satisfy her hunger.
As minutes ticked by, Luna's hunger pangs grew unbearable. "What if it's poisonous?" she thought, her brow furrowed with concern. She glanced around, but there was nothing else in sight that could satiate her hunger. The orange fruit seemed like her only option.
Her stomach groaned, still reeling from the bitter taste of the orange liquid she'd drunk earlier. She didn't want to take any chances, but starvation seemed like a more imminent threat. Scenarios swirled in her head: other monsters lurking in the shadows, waiting to pounce; the possibility of never finding her way back home.
Luna was an overthinker, but this time, her thoughts were driven by desperation. She was a foreigner, an alien in an unforgiving environment, with death lurking around every corner.
"Maybe it's not poisonous," she thought, trying to reassure herself. "Maybe I'm just overthinking." Without further hesitation, she slammed the fruit against a nearby rock until it cracked open.
She dug her fingers into the fruit and extracted two brown seeds. Then, she took a tentative bite. The taste was nasty, but the texture was surprisingly pleasant. It seemed to ease the pain in her stomach, and for a moment, she felt a glimmer of hope.
Luna waited for a few minutes, expecting some adverse reaction – her hand to turn red, swell, or itch. But nothing happened. Emboldened, she took a few more bites.
At first, it seemed like the fruit was agreeing with her. But then, a tingling sensation began to spread through her thighs and the soles of her feet. Her legs gave out, and she collapsed onto the ground.
Luna blinked slowly, her surroundings spinning around her. She pushed herself into a sitting position, but remained immobile, whispering, "The damn fruit..." Her thoughts grew disoriented, and for a moment, she thought she heard leaves rustling nearby.
She was vulnerable, an easy target for any predator. "Out of all the ways to die..." Luna's eyes fluttered shut, and just as she did, a branch snapped beside her. She fainted