Chapter 1

The ferry was surrounded by utter darkness, no moon, and a sole bright star in the sky. The silence was deep; as deep as he could hear the faintest splashes of water hitting the keel, and the softest breezes touching his ears. It was nearly the end of his voyage –the darkness was a sign-, so he didn’t care of which way the ferry was moving anymore, as long as it was toward the star. What can one do when trapped in a place with nothing worthwhile, except to sit and brood on every detail of the past? Even worse, if the past is haunting enough to keep you awake. So he was on the deck, sitting on a chair next to a table; and on the table was a kerosene lamp casting a dull yellow light on the woods, the shadows of his and the table were moving on the board as the ship was plunging from one end to another. His one hand under his chin, his gaze locked on the source of light; he should have had peace, but his thoughts invoked nothing but despair, and his essence provoked nothing but reluctance.

Escaping from what you are is absurd. His memory of Rundess’s last words was repeating in his head. Every choice you make will follow you like a shadow, even if you choose to change yourself. Unless you escape from the light, which is the truth and doom yourself more.

And here it was; the place with no light, no truth, and no reason for him to be hateful; he would end it once and for all.

His thoughts were cut by what he saw. The kerosene lamp started to long to a side as the ship’s forward end was going down into a canyon -a hollow in the middle of the ocean-, but the lamp’s fire kept burning upward. Then the lamp slid off the table hitting the floor and making it ablaze, and the table slid on the floor till it crashed to the doors making a noise; he stood where he was, his heart beating in his chest in a try to keep his temper down, and a moment later the ship detached from under his feet to fall down with waters. He never heard a sound of it crashing anywhere. For an instant, his breath failed to come out of his lungs, and he felt cold and shivering on his shoulders. He was standing in the air, the waters around swashing and making a cold fresh aroma as they fell off, were the only sensible things for him, for there was nothing left for his eyes but eerie darkness.

He raised his hands in a line shape to his sides, while floating down and gasping in the air, the air that felt like it lacked oxygen; till his feet touched a soft surface and he fell on his knees, wheezing with closed eyes. The ground felt damp, and the air was fresh. When he opened his eyes, he saw. There was light. He immediately stood and rubbed his eyes and scanned around, it wasn’t too bright like when there is a shining sun, but it wasn’t night either. There wasn’t any shadow, and the grey sky contrasted the maroon land under his feet. The color maroon came from the grass-like-plants covering the land, just more elegant and short. Not much far behind him was a river which dense trees kept him from having any idea of what was on the other side, and every leaf of every tree seemed to have a different maroon color compared to others. Turning his back to the river, he saw a large road making its way among the buildings, the buildings that were unlike any he had ever seen. Each of them was at least 4 or 5 floors and they were all grey and had inconsistent shapes with some places broken down, mostly at the top. Some had holes in the walls which probably functioned as windows, and some didn’t have doors on their roadside. It was creepy, but he also felt beauty. It should have been a rare combination.

He felt an urge to get going; he was there for changes and changes cost risks. His steps never made a sound while he started walking, and at first glance, it might have seemed that it was due to the soft plants that made no neglect of covering up the ground, in some cases it even grew up to the walls; but the fact of not ANY sound reaching his ears made him contemplate on the broader possibilities of his expectations. But regardless of what was happening, he had to focus on one thing: find Zefor, give him the price and ask for a second chance.

After passing a few sub roads and blogs, there finally appeared something different; a circular-shaped field in the middle of the buildings and alleys, and when he focused, there were sounds. Like someone was talking in the field. It was stressful, but it seemed like the only option available. He had to know about this place. So he proceeded till he reached close to the vast ground and stopped at a spot to listen. It was a feminine voice talking aloud.

“... to not see yourself, to be out of need, to vanish from your own mind. How many of you are able to do that?” And there was the fuss and rumbling of others that were being ignored by her. “None!” She roared. “If you hate yourself, then you ARE self-centered; if you want to be a good person, then you ARE self-centered.” And there was the fuss again, ignored again. “Listen to me! Listen! I am telling you, vanish like you don’t exist. That’s what you are gonna be when you grow up. Nothing! Because it’s not about you, nothing’s about you. If you think about it, then you will know that the more you get detached from your own self, the more you vanish for yourself, the less you suffer. Suffer is what’s going to change you into something you don’t want to be, and you definitely don’t want that to happen. And if you think about it, then you will know that in reality, there is nothing to hope on to. There is only pain if you think about it, so I want you to THINK and decide, how you want to see yourself 5 years later.”

He was abashed by those words and couldn’t keep not stepping out of the road. There he saw a group of young boys and girls standing untidily, their number couldn't exceed 20 and their age 18, and all of them turned eyes toward him in silence. But the one who was talking in front of others, probably their leader or just the oldest one, a short brown-haired girl with a fair height for her age, took a moment before she turned her face.

“Who are you?” She asked raising an eyebrow.

“Not someone you know, and not someone whom you should be afraid of.”

She chuckled. “Afraid?”

“I am just looking for a place, I thought you might show me the way.”

She frowned and said nothing.

“Okay then,” he said. “I will return to where I came from.” Then took a few steps backward and turned around to leave, but instead of facing the road, a grey wall banned his way.

“And where did you come from?” she asked.

He sighed and turned back to her. “Look, I have no business with you, all right? I heard you talking and thought you might help me out.”

“You were eavesdropping?”

“More like waiting for you to finish your speech,” he said, but she didn’t seem like someone credulous for him. He had to escape. They were staring at each other, staring, and staring... and he vanished.

A second later he was in a sub road he had passed earlier, running. How did she just do that? He didn’t know. But he knew that it wasn’t something typical, and they could easily outnumber him. So he ran, and he was thankful for his silent footsteps on the maroon grass. After a period of time that seemed pretty long for running, he stopped at a square and chose a building to take cover and give a rest for his fatigue. It was located at a corner, 3 floors with a broken front wall and large holes on the other floors, which he could see the sky through them, and it meant it didn’t have a roof. What was wrong with this place? It wasn’t his concern. He entered a long hallway and the only thing he saw was chairs. Inside was a bit darker and clean of the dust and everything else, like an empty space surrounded by walls. The hallway had rooms with no doors, just an empty place in the wall, and at the end of the hallway were the steep stairs that led to the upper floors. The second floor had a smaller hall, and the third floor didn’t even have a hall or a roof, it was brighter and a bit dizzying, but he could find his way to the last room, which had a partially broken wall with the view of the square outside. He felt tired, so he sat down and put his head in his hands. The encounter with the girl didn’t go as he expected, and now he really wished to leave the city without meeting them again; he had already done some pretty ugly things, he didn’t want to add killing innocents to his list too.

“Well, that... was unexpected.”

He startled and stood up. It was her. “What are you doing here?” His tone was urgent.

She was leaning to a side of the ‘door’, scanning her right hand. “I came to ask the same question.”

“Why are you making a big deal out of it?”

He waited a moment for her answer, then continued after her silence. “Let’s make a pact, you go your own way and I go my own. And we both hope that we accidentally don’t cross each other’s paths again. Because this is what it was the last time, an accident.”

“I know.” She said, rubbing her foot to the floor.

“So?” He asked.

“Everyone older than 17 has died,” she said coldly. “In the whole Cavebris. And it was in someone’s will. So, you are on his side, or you somehow managed to survive something that our bests didn’t. And of course, he has allies but, as far as I know, he never had a disgusting pal like you wandering around. I want this puzzle to be solved.”

He could feel his pulse in his temples. “It’s more complicated than you think.”

“I will give it time.”

“I am not from here.”

“Say it again.”

“I am not from Cavebris.”

She raised her hand and puffed at her nails. “Let’s assume that I believed your horrendous implication which I don’t want to even repeat; you said you were looking for a place.”

“I don’t see the point of answering you anymore.”

The broken wall behind him shut.

“Of course, you can escape again,” she said as she turned and walked away. “But if what you say is true, I am just wondering how you want to elude those creatures; you are easy to find after all.”

The fallen part of the wall behind him formed back.

Was she just saying that to make him desperate? He wondered. He was watching her walking through the square, and a part of him wanted to call her back and ask her for help, ask her “what creatures?”; but he had already been weak enough, he didn’t want to add to his list. She entered a road and he was left alone.

He slept and woke up. He knew about Cavebris not having days and nights before coming here, so he had a decision to sleep whenever he feels like it. The thing he didn’t know, however, was Cavebris’ lack of population. Everyone older than 17 is dead? He thought to himself. What does it even mean? Whatever it meant, one thing was obvious, and it was drastic changes to his plans. He had to find Zefor by himself. But how? Was the hardest question for him.

The first logical thing seemed to be leaving this city. So he left the building and continued the opposite way he had come from. The wide roads and thin alleys with untidy abnormal houses still fascinated him. The lands were maroon and the sky grey; he couldn’t imagine what to expect from the rest of his trip.

***

When Rexom returned to the center of the city, Plesh was the only one standing outside, staring at her as she approached. Why is he worried all the time? She wondered, or does he just act?

Plesh, a tall lean boy with brown hair, was a year younger than her, and it meant he had to wait a year more to die. He was a bit harsh sometimes, but what she didn’t like about him was his interfering in everything. He probably had a purpose of helping in mind by doing that, but help wasn’t something she was craving for. “Where is he?” He asked. “What did you do?”

And despite the fact that Rexom never seemed like someone who can work as a group, she was doing a fairly good job now; like if it was months ago, she wouldn’t have answered a question like that or any question related to her; but now she could force herself to get along. “He is afraid,” said Rexom. “We couldn’t talk much. There is a good possibility that he isn’t someone we think he is.”

“He is afraid? Afraid of a bunch of teenagers? What is he, a coward?”

“That’s the reason I said he isn’t someone we think he is, Plesh. He was shocked when I banned his way, and it means he doesn’t know what more we can do. He has to be afraid. And for the name of God, why are you always underestimating us?”

“It’s not my fault if I cannot count on your sweet friends. Now tell me who you think he is?”

“I want to share it with everyone.” She answered, and entered the building next to her, which was somehow their house. All her friends were sitting on the floor of a room in small groups, doing nothing but talking with each other. Everyone gave her their attention as she stood in front of them, hands on her waist. Plesh took a moment before he came in, and leaned to the wall beside.

“Everybody listen,” Rexom said. “There are small changes in plans. First is for the upcoming rain, which is merely hours away.” She made a pause. “We need a fire. A large one.”

Rumbling and gasp filled the room, Plesh frowned and stood straight, and finally, someone from the sitting crowd talked louder than others. “And what’s that for?” He was a 16 years old boy, with a plump body and red cheeks. “To get us killed?”

“A Valashi will not come close to the fire,” Rexom answered. “You will not be dead.”

“They will come close to US,” Plesh said. “There’s no way you can get away from them.”

“Not if we don’t leave them a way in,” she insisted. “We burn every building around this field.”

This time no one even gasped. Ufery, a girl whom Rexom was somehow close with since before the desolation, broke the room’s silence. “Why do we even do that? What’s the point of it? We have been the most silent possible in every rain period, that’s why we are all still alive. You notice that right?”

“It’s not about safety,” Rexom replied. “It’s about that man. I want him alive.”

“What?” Plesh said in a questioning tone.

“I am sure every one of you has heard of the people who came here from different worlds for different purposes,” Rexom said. “He claims to be one of them.”

Silence.

“And you believe that?” Plesh objected again.

“He is an imposter,” said the plump boy, named Vers. “Sent by our enemy. How can’t you see that?”

“I know my enemy better than every one of you,” Rexom said. “Sending an imposter is not his style. And besides, how many men can you find in Cavebris to qualify what he did? None!

If what he says is true, if he really is from another world, he is too precious for us to be wasted; it’s better to use him as a bait, than letting some Valashis turn him into dust.”

“I can only hope you know what you are doing,” Plesh said. “Because letting a stranger among us isn’t your style, Rexom” and left the room.

 

Sevaine