I couldn’t stay in this tent any longer. My heart belonged to them, and they gave me every ounce of pleasure this fucked up world had to offer, but it wasn’t enough to change the outcomes. I had flipped-flopped on this idea too many times to count, but I came to the conclusion justice was far more important than accepting the status quo. The world I inhabited on Earth had so many things worth fighting for, but it was slowly being taken over by forces like my father. Yes, my father. I knew now what he was capable of. But it wasn’t only him. The people above him. The chain of command stretched into the heavens, and every person bowed their heads to the one above them. They had to pay the consequences for their sins.
In the middle of the night, while the men slept calmly, I took stake in the life I wanted. I found a small box near to Donovan’s body. There was something in there, something I needed to know. Grabbing a shirt and my pair of jeans, I ran out into the cold, rocky terrain and started on a new path, following Zane’s footsteps.
Before I could get too far, I turned around one last time to see the small tent, the look of progress, except there was no progression here. Discovery had led to a land of mirages.
I ducked to open the box, but, realizing I didn’t have the key, I could only analyze the lock and shake it angrily. Whatever was inside was light. For a moment, I set the box on the ground, hovering my heel over the top. However, after some thought, it seemed like the wrong thing to do.
Swinging my bag from my shoulder, I searched every zipper for a pocketknife of some sort, anything that could open the small box of mystery. And after digging a little deeper, I found what I was looking for. Well, sort of.
My hand unveiled a blade. It was obviously Mag’s blade, as I quickly saw the eye at the bottom, but it was closed, as if asleep. Carefully, I swiveled the blade against the lock and noticed it was somehow a perfect fit. Just thin enough, and with the neatly cut edges, it was now obvious it wasn’t purely to serve as a weapon. It was also a key.
Turning, I jumped as the anticipated click followed the unlatching of its top. I ran my hand against the thick leather that covered the box, slowly opening it, half expecting the devil himself to jump out and pull me into another hallucinatory trance. But nothing happened. Inside the box was a set of pictures, all of them old and starting to fade. The atmosphere of this realm, whatever it was made from, had started to degrade the quality, but I could see the subjects clear enough.
There was a picture of Mag on top of a ship deck. In his hands was a rifle that could kill plenty, but he bore such a handsome youthful gaze it nearly broke my heart. Just another man trying to do his duty. I flipped the picture to see Donovan, posing without a smile. He was in his laboratory, standing over a test subject. He looked absolutely perplexed. Perhaps even worried.
I kept flipping through. The only picture Cadmar was in was with the other two. This told me he must have been the one to take the rest of the photos. The men were outside, standing on the rubble platform of some ancient design. Actually, I remembered that exact rocky podium. It was near the gateway.
Life was right in front of them. Or, so they thought. This picture, in particular, was different. On the back was a handwritten note:
We have found the gateway, and our superiors have been celebrating their accomplishment. For days, I have watched them rape and pillage the centers of the villages. The markets with their beautiful jewelry stands and delicious-smelling bowls of delicious food... those incredible people lived in innocence. They reminded me there is so much more to life. And now, they will be forced off their land, but for what?
For what? I beg of you, tell me.
-S
I felt a chill run down my spine, and I got the urge to run, but I did not. I flipped to the next photo and gasped in horror. The laboratory where I first saw Donovan standing nobly next to his discovery tools was demolished. It looked as if claws had dug in through the tile. Quickly, I turned to the next. Blood lined the walls, black and glowing from the contrast of the print. On the back, there was writing, but the words were more rushed and frightened. I could see why.
Nothing left to find. We have failed. But I... I have failed the most.
Tell me what the world was meant for? Living or scientific research? I thought we were some of the good guys.
Each photo was more gruesome than the last. Blood everywhere. Pools and pools of blood. Inflated human beings with their entrails bubbling from their mouth as they stood, arms outstretched in horror. Alive. They were alive. My God, the whole thing was just...
There was one more photograph, but every nerve in my body was telling me not to flip it over. I had seen enough of what my father had gotten away with. The torture. The divine madness of what us, the leading scientists of the world, could initiate.
But this picture was different. Mag, Cadmar, and Donovan were sitting near a set of greenhouses. In the photograph, their appearance had started to change, but they hadn’t quite grown in stature. There were tears in their eyes. They were tears of joy.
If you found these photos, I’ll know you’ve read this. For years, we suffered. And then you came. Now, that we are free, we can start again. But we have been waiting, Adeline. We owe our lives to you.
Keep to the path, the one stretching far against the rocky ridge of the mountain. Tread lightly until you find the greenhouses we spent years cultivating. You’ll find your exit there, a large and immaculate stone. If you can power it for long enough, I am sure you can make it out. Godspeed, Addie. We will always remember you.
-S. R. M.-
It was a goodbye note, and it looked like it had been written only nights before. In a place like this, who could really tell? Nevertheless, it tore at my heartstrings. I didn’t want to leave them, but I had to tell the world.
I sighed and shook my head, worrying I wasn’t one of the good ones either. How could I figure out a way to bring them with me?
Maybe, I was just like my father. The good ones left the world alone. The good ones focused on their families. But I ran away.
It wasn’t to say my family didn’t deserve the full blame of my situation. I did run away for a reason. But I wasn’t going to let my father or the government I bowed my head to win or have a hold on me anymore. I pocketed the photos and threw the box into an odd-shaped and purple shrub nearby.
I was running, just one more time. But this time, it was to the finish line.
11
Cadmar
“Do