Ra’ulr, taller than most folks of his tribe felt dwarfed
every time he walked through the Qlarq jungle of the west. The towering trees,
twisting creepers and blue shrubs covered the earth. The sunlight barely made
its way through the blow cover of the towering trees. “Do you see it?” Ra’ulr
whispered to his companion, Tor’il.
“Yes.” He squinted his slitted eyes, “It’s grazing around 20
bowlengths away.”
“Good.” Ra’ulr slowly inched closer in the direction Tor’il
pointed. His padded feet muted the cracking of twigs and dried leaves. The two
hunters within 10 bowlengths. Ra’ulr stringed his oakwood bow and loaded the
arrow. The Arrow dashed and pierced the beast in the eyes, killing it
instantly.
“Yeah.” Tor’il rejoiced and patted Ra’ulr on his back, “Whatever
we’ll do without you, brother?” Ra’ulr smiled and the two walked towards the
fallen beast. The horned beast weighed atleast 10 stones Tor’il estimated,
“This is gonna feed every one of the villagers today. Great kill.” Ra’ulr knelt
next to the beast and chopped it’s tongue off. He lifted it above his head and
offered it to the Jungle God, whispering a thankful prayer, he buried the
chopped off tongue.
“Help me carry the beast.” Ra’ulr said as he tied a rope at
the forelimbs. Tor’il helped Ra’ulr and two lifted the heavy beast on their
shoulders and started towards the east. Ra’ulr looked up in sky and saw a veil
of dark blue leaves fluttering. Thank the
Gods above Tor’il can see in darkness.
“So brother,” Tor’il started a conversation, “That girl, Rhe’a
seems to have taken a liking in you.” Ra’ulr cheeks flushed red when he
mentioned her name. Though Tor’il couldn’t see his face, “So something did
happen.” Tor’il let out a chuckle. How
the fuck did he sense that.
“Yeah.” Ra’ulr smiled, “We kissed.”
“Jungle God,” Tor’il sounded astonished, “When did it
happen?”
“A couple of weeks back.” The two pushed towards the east,
their steps muffled by the paddings, “We kissed at the foot of Soul Tree. It
was magical. The dried, brown leaves were falling as we kissed. It felt like we
had the blessings of Soul Tree.”
By the time the two had exited Qlarq the sun had made its
descent and was below the horizon, turning the eastern sky purplish, “You lead
the way Tor’il.” Ra’ulr said as they walked through the flatlands filled with
blowing sand and lurking scorpions. “Warn me if you see a freaking bug. I hate
them.”
The sunset brought a chilling wind, hitting them directly in
their faces. They covered their faces with wet masks to protect the sand from
damaging their skins, “At 100 bowlengths,” Tor’il eyes were as wide as they
possibly could get, “I see something. Smoke is rising from the ground.” Tor’il
focused harder, “The sand is slowly shifting towards it, as if something it
tugging it.” The two carefully neared the spot.
When they were at just a bowlength, Ra’ulr put the heavy
beast to the ground and walked. A circular fissure had opened in the ground.
Ra’ulr knelt to the edge and peeped inside. At the far end of the fissure a
golden light irradiated. Ra’ulr felt the ground and pulled out a heavy stone.
He dropped the stone and waited for it to ring. Endless? “You think it’s endless?” Tor’il read his expression as
the two knelt carefully at the edge.
“Never seen anything like that.” Ra’ulr said, his eyes
looked for answers to the questions that slowly bubbled into existence. The
fissure slowly grew and the two pulled back. Their eyes were locked at the
golden light shining from within yet not illuminating the dark hole in the
earth. What the hell is this. The
sands flowing towards the opening gained speed. The wind changed direction and
for a moment Ra’ulr didn’t realize what was happening.
“Get away from here.” He shouted as he was hit by an
epiphany. The two tried to run away from the hole but the fissure sucked everything
in and mighty Argardians were falling into an endless, dark pit. At first, they
screamed realizing their unnatural death, but minutes later they had lost their
energy and voice screaming. The fall lasted for hours, or so it felt. Finally,
they crashed through the golden light and it almost blinded them. A gentle thud
and they felt hard, hot surface on their backs and unpleasant cacophonic sound
mixed with human voice echoed in their ears. When finally, their vision
returned they found themselves in a world not their own.
Towering, unnatural structures stretched as far as his eyes
could gaze in the sky above. Ra’ulr rubbed his eyes trying to fathom the view.
He got to his feet and found Tor’il sitting in pain and keeping his eyes
tightly shut. The unnatural amount of
light here must be a pain. Ra’ulr quickly walked to him and handed him
another mask to cover his eyes. When Tor’il was done, Ra’ulr observed his
surrounding and let it sink in.
Huge humans, reaching about 8 feet in height walked around
them ignorant of their 4 feet presence. Unlike Argardians who were clad in
rugged bottoms and white shirts, these humans wore colorful clothes. A passing
human fashioned a pink dress so tight to his skin that his lungs would probably
collapse. Another woman wore some demeaning clothes, nothing on the top and a
tight, small pant that revealed the linings of her natural parts. Some humans
walked naked and were tattooed all over their bodies.
“What do you see, brother?” Tor’il asked, sensing Ra’ulr’s
awe.
“Some weird ass shit.” Ra’ulr noticed each and every human
passing, “I’m not sure about these humans.” Are
they humans? Are we on some other planet? He thought as he recalled a deep
conversation he had with Rhe’a about humans and how wonderful it’d be if there
was some out there beyond the endless dark sky, watching over us, observing us.
Without realizing, Ra’ulr looked towards the sky and only
thing that looked remotely like it was small cracks that appeared once in a
while as something in the sky shifted. He focused harder and saw moving
carriages of light and metal, and humans flying hundreds of bowlengths above
them. I cannot even send an arrow flying
towards them. They look like those tiny bugs I detest.
Someone screamed in the distance and Ra’ulr turned towards
the source. And saw a gigantic man wearing a warrior’s clothes running towards
them. Not understanding what to do next the two dashed away from the
approaching man. The gigantic man was at their heels in an instant and in
another past them chasing a wild woman who was dressed in a black coverall
robe. Probably some sort of criminal. Are
they able to see us. “Hello?” he tried to touch another passing human who
went straight through his forearms.
“What happened?” Tor’il asked, sensing confusion.
“I cannot touch them.” He said looking at himself. He
slapped Tor’il on his back who abused him in return. “I can touch you. I can
feel the ground beneath me. I can hear the jarring sounds, and feel the hot
wind blowing and the choking smell of Sulphur and carbon. Yet I cannot touch
these humans.”
“Can you hear that?” Tor’il asked cupping his left ear,
“Something is humming in that direction.” He pointed, “We should follow that
sound.”
The two followed the sound and moved through the winding
roads and towering, man made jungle. They still tried to avoid the passing
humans as it felt ridiculously awkward and also everytime a human passed
through them, they heard a gentle shriek of pain from the monstrous being, as
if it felt their presence.
They were finally out of the jungle and into an open
wasteland of metal, rotting food and human excrete. The air was heavy with
Sulphur and methane and it became extremely difficult for them to breathe. The
humming sound which had guided Tor’il was now clearly audible to Ra’ulr, along
with hundred different sounds he had never heard.
It came from another jungle, more natural than the previous
one, yet gloomy and darker then their own. Instinctively Ra’ulr looked up
towards the sky and saw floating waste and a gentle red sun and bright blue
star. Two suns? Definitely not our
planet. Though the sun looks awfully like our own. Ra’ulr thought.
The two scurried and moved through the wasteland and reached
the base of the gloomy forest. “Come in.”
The wind whispered to them and Ra’ulr heart pounded hard against his own
chest in anxiety and fear, “There’s
nothing to be afraid of Ra’ulr.” It whispered again. How does it know my name.
Gathering guts and praying to the Gods above he set his foot
inside the gloomy forest. “Tor’il, I’ll need your help here.” Ra’ulr felt for
him on his right, “Take of the mask, it’s pitch black here. Oh be ready to be
shocked, I’ve seen some weird ass shit just now.”
Tor’il removed the protection from his eyes and he gave out
a gasp of shock and awe, “What do you see? Talk to me.” Ra’ulr said.
“There are humans everywhere. And they are unnaturally still
and in a strange box. Something is connected to their belly buttons, like the
cords we cut on a baby. They are calm and still… Breathing gently.
“They are interconnected and it’s flowing somewhere. I see a
faint light coming from the same direction. It’s almost blinding.” Tor’il
grabbed his head and tilted it towards the source of light. Ra’ulr eyes
constricted a little. It was bright and yet it didn’t light up the jungle like
it should have.
“We’ll follow that light.” Ra’ulr said and the two walked.
“Where the fuck are we?” Tor’il started again. How can he talk so much? “Maybe in some
far off country?” Tor’il guessed. Let’s
keep him in the dark for now. Ra’ulr decided.
The light was glowing from a huge, skyscraping door made of
material unknown to Ra’ulr or the brilliant Argardian scholars. Ra’ulr brought
his hand forward to touch the door and it opened before he could feel the
texture. A blinding light hit their eyes and Tor’il screamed in pain covering
his eyes with his hands. “Why the
fuck does this happen again and again? Can’t you give me a warning?”
“Enter.” The wind
whispered in Ra’ulr ears.
“Where are we?” Ra’ulr asked, hoping for a reply, “Who are
you?” as he entered the glowing chamber. His eyes adjusted quickly and he saw
an empty, white room with walls, ceiling and floor merging to create an
illusion of spherical chamber.
“I’m Epica. An artificially sentient being. I was created to
take care of the last of the humanity left on the earth.” A voice echoed.
“Last of the Humanity?” Ra’ulr asked, “Wait… We are on
Earth?”
“Yes. You are on Earth.” Epica said in a mechanical voice,
“Yes the Last of the Humanity. The powerful Kings, the Rich Businessmen and
Beautiful actresses left the dying Earth to colonize the stars.”
“She’s insane. Let’s get hell outta here.” Tor’il said
smirking at Epica.
“Why weren’t we able to touch the humans?”
“They just holograms.” Epica replied, “They were designed to
keep the minds of the resting humans working. Yet every time you pass through
them they’ll sense you. The voices were also artificially created.
“You are gotta be kidding me!” Ra’ulr smirked.
“What is your name young one?” Epica asked.
“Ra’ulr.”
“Did you enter through a huge opening in the earth?”
“Yes.” Tor’il answered.
“That opening was a vent to this machine that Last of the
Humanity created, before escaping. The vent bends the space-time fabric
creating a wormhole passing through which you can travel time.” Epica paused
for a dramatic effect.
“You’ve come through the future and are looking at the
past.” Epica said.
“You said these were the Last of the Humanity, and yet here
I’m standing in front of you, a Man from
the future.”
Epica didn’t reply immediately, “Some who weren’t capable of
escaping the earth or being cast into these pods and chose to die, I guess
probably survived.”
“Why did you bring us here?”
“I needed company of a sentient being. I’ve been here for a
thousand year and talking care of these almost dead humans alone. I’m bored.”
“Are we going to leave?” Ra’ulr asked.
“Someday, yes.” Epica chuckled, “And don’t try to run, or
escape on your own. You don’t know the way out, I do.”
Sighing, Ra’ulr sat down, legs crossed. He pulled Tor’il sit
next to him, “If we are here for a long time, can you please adjust the light.”
Tor’il said, “I’m in pain.” The lights adjusted to a comfortable level for both
and they embraced themselves for a long, interesting—if not realistic time.
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