"Lie of the Land"

Deception is something society thrives in. Using your ignorance to manipulate you into situations that would otherwise be unlikely for you. They'll use the excuse of character growth or being worthless if you don't follow their trends. You are forced through hoops you don't evenly fit through but barely manage. Eventually you'll come to a hoop that, try as you might, it is impossible to get through. Acceptance is unlikely.

I had been trudging through he hot sands of the desert, in search of land or food or anything that might give me any signs of life. I am stranded and alone and I hate this feeling more than anything.
How did I even get here? Any attempt at recollection results in emptiness. Surely I didn't just appear out of nothing and stumble across an endless desert. My feet felt as though they were cooking against the heated grains of sand. Each step forced me to step on through the torture. I hoped eventually I would find something, anything to help save me from my torment.
Over the horizon, my hope comes in the whistles of the wind, making me believe it might be a mass of people grouped together, speaking in a distant town, just distant enough to hear. I wanted to run forward but there was no way my feet could take it. It was barely handling walking as it was.
I walked and walked until the sun sunk into the horizon, making way for the moon to cool things down a little. When I say cooled things down, it truly did. I wished desperately for the heat to return, as I was now shivering, rubbing my arms in hope it might create some sort of heat, to no avail.
Why must this weather be so twisted toward me, tearing my sanity and hope for survival apart limb from limb? I dared not think about it too much, as it might awaken some part of my brain that might never find peace again. I couldn't take the chance.
I walked onward until I could feel my heartbeat through the pain in my feet. How much longer could I keep going? I realized the harsh reality as my legs gave out on me. I did this all to myself.

Drugging people wasn't exactly how we wanted to do things, but that's exactly what he said to do. He said had lost a bet and would rather forget and suffer than remember and torture himself.
I'd never understand how a bet could be so intense it had to result in such fatality. I cared very little, as it was another paycheck with my name on it by the end of the day.
We weren't a great fan of harming people, but it sure makes for great television. Taking someone far from society and watching them attempt survival or lose their sanity trying.