Land of Dark. I was taken to the House of Dark. I have been drinking water on this dark property. Here, every wall of every house has "Land of Dark" written on it, in every corner of the ground, on every door, and every tab. If they could, they would have it written on every drop of water that comes out of the taps, on every spoon, plate, and cup I use to eat and drink from. Even the house where I'm staying have "Land of Dark" written on the name board outside. 

The woman sitting in front of me, who claims to be a doctor, is wearing a ring stamped with "Land of Dark." Are you serious? It feels like I've entered a bizarre and strange world.

"How are you feeling?" Where the hell am I? "Good."

"Is your pain worse today?" Why is "Land of Dark" written everywhere? What is this Land of Dark? Is there a landlord or a city here? But no city would be crazy enough to put a "Land of Dark" sticker on a newborn's forehead for four days. "No, it isn't too bad."

"Is your food digesting well now?" How is Martha? Is my uncle looking for me? "Yes, but sometimes my stomach gets upset."

"Alright. As I promised, today you have the freedom to go outside." After a week, I can finally get out of this bed and go outside. "Mhm," I nodded at her.

I didn't wait and got up immediately, not caring about my feet or anything else because I had been wanting to get out of there for days. "But remember to come back inside before evening," she said, with a hint of concern and fear in her voice. but, at that moment, all I cared about was getting out of there, maybe even escaping. The house I was brought to had only a middle-aged nurse, who was in her thirties, and her baby, who was only two weeks old. she told me that she had seen me and brought me to her home. I was unconscious for two days, but when I woke up, she took care of me and didn't let me go outside until she was sure that she had completely changed my appearance. she didn't cut my hair but dyed it blonde and dressed me in old clothes. she wanted me to be unrecognizable, but since I didn't know anyone there, I wasn't afraid of being recognized.

As soon as I stepped out of the house, all I could see were flags of the "Land of Dark" in front of my eyes. Every nameplate on every house had "Land of Dark" written on it. The entire atmosphere resembled the color of human skin—slightly dark but light enough to be visible. Everything there was strange. All the houses were painted white, with black paint outlining every corner. It seemed as if someone had looked at a single picture and built all the houses from it.

The way people dressed there didn't make it seem like they were wealthy enough to afford good clothes, yet their houses were so well-built, it was as if they had invested their entire life savings into them. Did they all have the same architect who only knew how to build one type of house?

Every shop there, from the grocery store to the flower shop, had "Land of Dark" written in front of it. The clothing store seemed to be the most beautifully built. A little further ahead, there was a bus stand with some white buses and some yellow ones. None of the buses had any names or signs on them, except for the white ones, which again had "Land of Dark" written on them. The yellow buses, of which there were only four, had nothing printed on them; they were completely blank. People were there to pick up their children from school. The children were wearing school uniforms that were completely different from the common colors here. This means the children are sent outside to study, and they have a separate bus for it. This implies that no one can leave from here.

If that was the case, then why did the kidnappers let me go? If I had run a little slower, I wouldn't be stuck here today. If they had run a little faster, I might be with them now, maybe dead or at home, but definitely with them. I groaned in frustration as I thought of this because everything about this place felt wrong for my well-being. The people, the way of life, the atmosphere, and the predominance of black and white colors—it all felt suffocating and was a strain on my eyes.

The ground was perfectly flat, but the upper parts of all the houses and the roofs were triangular. It felt as though they were all kept in isolation. That's when I noticed a man. I scoffed and looked for a heavy stone, one that was bigger than my hand. Gripping it tightly, I went up behind him and struck him hard on the back. He screamed, and the people around us started watching. He turned around, and when his eyes met mine, they widened in shock. He took two steps back to run, but I raised the stone in my hand and pointed a finger at him, saying, "Don't even think about it."

He raised both hands in front of him and said, "Look, whatever I did, I was following orders."

I was about to smash his head with the stone. "Who told you to do this?"

He looked at me, paused for a moment, and gulped. Anger surged through me, and I asked again, "Answer me!"

He hesitated, then said fearfully, "It was the boss's orders. Whoever asked about that old woman and followed her was to be brought to me..."

"What did you do to Martha?"

"Okay, but listen to me first! They said they wouldn't let her go until someone came to get her."

I had been here for almost two weeks, and I was worried that they might have done something to Martha. She was the only one in my life who was like a mother to me. I was already feeling uneasy about everything, and now fear started to creep in. I told him, "Take me to your boss. After that, I can take Martha and leave this place."

I threw the stone on the ground and dusted off my hands. The man was still clutching his back in pain. He stopped and looked at me suspiciously. "And why do you think you can leave here?"

His words shook my entire world. I moved closer to him, and he stepped back in fear. I tilted my head and asked, "And why shouldn't I think that? I can go home, can't I? I want to go home!" My voice grew louder as I finished speaking.

"Look, I'm just saying that everyone who comes here has to do a two-month duty before they can leave."

"What kind of duty?" I asked.

"Come on, I'll take you to Trid. He will assign you a task and tell you which factory you need to go to."

He started walking ahead, and I had to follow him, struggling to keep up with his pace. While running to match his speed, I asked, "What kind of duty? And why should I do someone else's work? I don't even know who's doing all this to me or why."

"You'll understand everything gradually," he said, continuing to walk straight without stopping. Slowly, I began to see a building in the distance. It wasn't very big, but it had "Work Reassignment Center" written on one side and "Land of Dark" on the other. Oh God, I was getting angrier and angrier as I saw this place. My whole body started to burn with rage.

"What is going on here? You need to tell me!" I yelled at him, stopping in my tracks. When he saw people starting to stare and noticed that I was no longer following him, he let out a tired sigh, turned back to me, and said, "Look, I can't tell you much. All I can say is that everyone who comes here is assigned some work for a few months. Until you complete it, you can't leave. Understand?"

"Now, follow me."

"And what if I don't?"

He turned around again, but this time he was very serious as he spoke, "If you don't, just like when I left you alone when you tried to escape and you got stuck here, the more trouble you cause, the more problems you'll create for yourself and your family here. I mean, for the ones who are still here. Martha.

He entered the Work Reassignment Center, and I followed him. As soon as we went inside, my ears were bombarded with noise. I saw many people playing various games at several tables, card games, betting, casino games, blackjack, craps, and lotteries. What was going on here?

I grabbed his shirt from behind to stop him and pinched him a little and whispered in his ear, "Isn't all this illegal?"

He grabbed my hand tightly and turned to face me, his eyes darkening. He clenched his jaw and came closer, whispering, "If you try to harm me or scratch me again, I will kill you."

He just threatened my life. I'll report him to the police when I get home, but for now, I have no choice but to listen to this bastard.

He walked straight to a counter, and I looked around to see that the atmosphere felt like a black market. It was as if, just like in movies, the police would burst in at any moment, causing a frenzy. Who knows, maybe one of these people hiding among them is a cop. Huh.

Behind the counter was a fat man with a beard so long it reached his chest. His lunchbox was open beside him, and there was a bundle of small slips of paper stuck between long, thin iron rods. He was taking the slips from people one by one and assigning them to games at different tables with his men.

He was only wearing a vest, revealing his jungle-like chest hair. The rest of his body was half-hidden under the table and chair he was sitting on. Bits of food were stuck in his beard, and his eyes were wide open, making him look very attentive.

He looked to the side at the man and, chewing something, said, "So, Shoaib, which game do you want to play today? And if you want some fun, should I send a chick to the back room for you?"

Hearing this, his men started laughing loudly. Shoaib rubbed his nose, smiled slightly at him, and replied, "No, not today, Trid. I've brought a new girl with me."

Trid didn't even look at me; he just shook his head and refused, saying, "No, we already have enough people. If anyone leaves, I'll let you know."

The man who had kidnapped me, the one I had escaped from and who had chased me for a long time, Shoaib, said, "No, no, she isn't here for that. Just give her some work. She wants to leave from here as soon as possible, so give her a small task."

Shoaib leaned in and whispered the last part. Trid's hand, which had been gathering papers, stopped, and finally, his eyes landed on me.

His eyes roamed over me so intensely that it seemed he had memorized every curve of my body. When I started feeling uncomfortable, I moved behind Shoaib. He grabbed my arm at the elbow and roughly pushed me back in front of Trid, exposing me to his gaze again. Trid's eyes were still fixed on me, leering.

I grabbed the back of Shoaib's shirt and pinched hard, making him turn his glare from Trid to me. A small yelp escaped my lips. Shoaib's grip on my arm loosened and he let go just as we both heard Trid's next line, "I haven't had the chance to meet with the governor for months."

I saw from behind that a new shock had spread across Shoaib's face, and goosebumps had formed on his arms. "And I think if I go this time, the governor might increase my pay, don't you think?" Trid's eyes were still fixed on me, while mine were on Shoaib and his on Trid.

I flinched when I heard a loud bang as the door slammed shut, and I saw that the people who had been playing at the tables were now being pushed out. Every man at the tables was now staring directly at me, their hands clenched into fists. Shoaib suddenly pulled me back, drawing my attention to him.

There was a tense exchange between Trid and Shoaib, but my mind was only filled with confusion.

"What do you want in exchange for her, Shoaib?" Trid asked, pointing at me.

"Nothing, Trid. Nothing at all. Now I feel like I made a big mistake bringing her here," Shoaib replied. Trid laughed at Shoaib's words, and I started to feel a growing sense of fear.

Shoaib turned and grabbed my hand. My eyes widened as his fingers slipped between mine and touched my skin. He glared at Trid and, in anger, said, "Tell your men, Trid, to open the front gate for us."

Trid gave Shoaib a sideways glance and then gestured to his men. In the next moment, they separated us.