I startle. I support myself with my hands and try to sit up, I feel sand between my hands. I look up. Sitting on the ground, I see around me a landscape of distant hills and a plain covered with sand. The sky is orange and shows distant storm clouds swirling around me.
I think I am in a dream. Surprise and fear overwhelm me. Not long ago I was inside the train travelling through the city. Slowly I stand up and slap myself. The pain is real, but I don't wake up. I hit myself again several times, when I get tired, I convince myself that it's not a nightmare, what I'm living is reality.
* * *
I'm no different from the average guy. I had a job, I had gone to university and graduated. I visited my girlfriend every Friday, like today, who was just on her way home by train. As hard as I try, that's my last memory. I am not dead, I am sure. However, that certainty is not enough to calm me down.
-Damn it!
Frustrated, I kick the ground. The sand, orange as the sky, splashes sideways. Something black in the sand catches my eye. It looks like a piece of plastic. I dig into the sand. It is a medium-sized object, its shape is easy to decipher: a firearm. It has a rectangular shape that I have never seen before; however, the trigger, sear and stock are parts that anyone would recognise.
I step away from the gun. I'm afraid of accidentally firing it. At that, a strong blizzard makes me stagger. I cover my eyes. The storm clouds close over me and the wind blows the nearby sand into the air. Without my doing anything, the weapon is exposed along with another object. The blizzard doesn't let me see clearly, but after a while it loses its strength. Beneath the weapon are the remains of what appears to be a metal waistcoat. The blizzard also reveals a path of scrap metal towards the horizon, then it ends and the clouds move away.
As I approach, I see that the waistcoat is damaged. There are several holes in it. They are not bullet holes, the waistcoat has had parts removed that were there before. I see no human remains, which relieves me. I hear something.
It's a metallic, repetitive noise like distant hammering accompanied by a high-pitched whistling sound similar to two pieces of metal rubbing against each other in a machine. The sound comes from far away, in the direction the scrap road is going. I don't know what it could be. I think of a factory, which brings me to the next concept: people. Wherever I am, it's better to be with others than alone.
Without further hesitation, I put on my waistcoat and grab my gun. Dream or not, there is no other direction than the scrap road.
* * *
As I walk I look at myself and the environment around me. Trainers, a t-shirt with a dark jacket over it and a pair of jeans. I'm still wearing the same clothes I remember wearing in my world. I'm convinced I'm not there anymore, but I'll try to understand what the meaning of this is. The gun in my hands is light, which contrasts with its size. It is completely black and the sear seems to be on top, as a rectangular section at the top is the only part that looks as if it could come off. On the road, the metal parts on the ground have very different shapes. There are gears among them. I don't pick any of them up, I'm afraid of touching something I shouldn't. The distant, metallic sound becomes clearer after a few minutes. I pick up the pace. I decide to give it a name: "factory sound".
It is after about ten minutes of walking that I really realise where I am. It's the eye of a big sandstorm. The path covered with metal parts leads me towards the area of the real storm. I am frustrated that my destination is a dangerous place, but looking back and seeing that, except for the road, there is nothing but orange sand in the landscape, I decide to continue. I would rather have to face the wind and perhaps have to use the weapon I now have, than be left in the middle of nowhere.
* * *
After about half an hour I see where the "factory sound" is coming from. Ironically, what I see does justice to the name I gave it.
A couple of hundred metres away from me, I see a large complex of buildings in the sand. As I get closer the storm weakens and I can see them more clearly. Halfway there, I realise that these are not just a few isolated buildings. Ahead of me lies an entire city, with buildings of similar shape and size, arranged in blocks with the remains of empty highways between them. The complex I saw from afar is just one of many.
Renewed courage fills me with energy and I run at full speed towards the city that is the source of the "factory sound". I don't see anyone, but it doesn't matter. The reason for this journey or this dream may be there. The remaining hundred metres are over before I know it. The sound that has led me there, stops.
-Hey, is anyone here? Hey, is anyone here?! -I shout as I call out for someone, anyone.
The surface of the buildings is covered in orange sand and I am slow to notice that the metal walls are silver and the windows are blue. All the buildings look the same. I enter one through a broken window, inside, the place is empty. I only see the floor and walls, no trace of furniture or even any objects. There are no stairs or doors. Convinced it must be just a stroke of bad luck, I go to the building next door. Its windows are intact. My frustration gets the better of me: I point the gun and pull the trigger.
Three projectiles come out of the barrel, shattering the window completely. The roar surprises me, as does the violent movement of the gun, which almost slips out of my hands. The interior disappoints me. It is the same as before.
Frustration turns to anger and I go to the next one, then the next and so on down the block. I no longer think about finding someone. The windows and buildings of this abandoned place become the objects of my catharsis. I unload the gun against them again and again, finding inside them the same empty room with no stairs anywhere. I curse my fate and scream out to all sides, demanding to wake up. The empty, sand-covered streets pay me no heed. I get fed up and change my strategy, now using the gun as a club to break down the windows. My mind is no longer clear. I am in the city where the "factory sound" took me. My goal was answers and I have found none. The journey was pointless. Giving myself over to the storm sounds like a good idea. I reflect for a moment. The message is clear now.
I woke up in an unknown place. A storm revealed a weapon and a sound guided me to a deserted city. However, storms do not act on their own and reveal weapons. This is someone's work.
Someone wants me here.
-Where are you?! Show yourself!
An idea comes to my mind. If indeed someone has brought me into this world, they must have a purpose that includes me.
If that is true, there is a way to force him to act. I point the gun at my head.
-Come on! Come here! -If you don't, I'll shoot! I'll kill myself!
There's no answer. I've had enough. In the middle of the street, kneeling on the sand, I pull the trigger.
The gun doesn't fire.
As I walk I look at myself and the environment around me. Trainers, a t-shirt with a dark jacket over it and a pair of jeans. I'm still wearing the same clothes I remember wearing in my world. I'm convinced I'm not there anymore, but I'll try to understand what the meaning of this is. The gun in my hands is light, which contrasts with its size. It is completely black and the sear seems to be on top, as a rectangular section at the top is the only part that looks as if it could come off. On the road, the metal parts on the ground have very different shapes. There are gears among them. I don't pick any of them up, I'm afraid of touching something I shouldn't. The distant, metallic sound becomes clearer after a few minutes. I pick up the pace. I decide to give it a name: "factory sound".
It is after about ten minutes of walking that I really realise where I am. It's the eye of a big sandstorm. The path covered with metal parts leads me towards the area of the real storm. I am frustrated that my destination is a dangerous place, but looking back and seeing that, except for the road, there is nothing but orange sand in the landscape, I decide to continue. I would rather have to face the wind and perhaps have to use the weapon I now have, than be left in the middle of nowhere.
* * *
After about half an hour I see where the "factory sound" is coming from. Ironically, what I see does justice to the name I gave it.
A couple of hundred metres away from me, I see a large complex of buildings in the sand. As I get closer the storm weakens and I can see them more clearly. Halfway there, I realise that these are not just a few isolated buildings. Ahead of me lies an entire city, with buildings of similar shape and size, arranged in blocks with the remains of empty highways between them. The complex I saw from afar is just one of many.
Renewed courage fills me with energy and I run at full speed towards the city that is the source of the "factory sound". I don't see anyone, but it doesn't matter. The reason for this journey or this dream may be there. The remaining hundred metres are over before I know it. The sound that has led me there, stops.
-Hey, is anyone here? Hey, is anyone here?! -I shout as I call out for someone, anyone.
The surface of the buildings is covered in orange sand and I am slow to notice that the metal walls are silver and the windows are blue. All the buildings look the same. I enter one through a broken window, inside, the place is empty. I only see the floor and walls, no trace of furniture or even any objects. There are no stairs or doors. Convinced it must be just a stroke of bad luck, I go to the building next door. Its windows are intact. My frustration gets the better of me: I point the gun and pull the trigger.
Three projectiles come out of the barrel, shattering the window completely. The roar surprises me, as does the violent movement of the gun, which almost slips out of my hands. The interior disappoints me. It is the same as before.
Frustration turns to anger and I go to the next one, then the next and so on down the block. I no longer think about finding someone. The windows and buildings of this abandoned place become the objects of my catharsis. I unload the gun against them again and again, finding inside them the same empty room with no stairs anywhere. I curse my fate and scream out to all sides, demanding to wake up. The empty, sand-covered streets pay me no heed. I get fed up and change my strategy, now using the gun as a club to break down the windows. My mind is no longer clear. I am in the city where the "factory sound" took me. My goal was answers and I have found none. The journey was pointless. Giving myself over to the storm sounds like a good idea. I reflect for a moment. The message is clear now.
I woke up in an unknown place. A storm revealed a weapon and a sound guided me to a deserted city. However, storms do not act on their own and reveal weapons. This is someone's work.
Someone wants me here.
-Where are you?! Show yourself!
An idea comes to my mind. If indeed someone has brought me into this world, they must have a purpose that includes me.
If that is true, there is a way to force him to act. I point the gun at my head.
-Come on! Come here! -If you don't, I'll shoot! I'll kill myself!
There's no answer. I've had enough. In the middle of the street, kneeling on the sand, I pull the trigger.
The gun doesn't fire.
The combination of emotions paralyses me. Death was my only way of escape. If I can't die, this is no longer life, it's hell itself.
-What do you feel?
It's a voice different from mine. It comes from inside my mind.
-Who are you?
-What do you feel?
His words are slow and his voice is deep.
-Show yourself!
As I blink, I see a white silhouette in front of me. I startle and sharpen my eyes. It is a humanoid creature about two metres tall. Its body is covered in tight silver armour composed of medium, large and some scale-like plates at the joints. The details on it are elegant and the shape of the cuts between the plates leave symmetrical, sharp edges like dry leaves, giving it an imposing and aggressive appearance. Its eyes are not visible. The metal reflects the slightest light and its edges glisten like frost. The creature has thirteen wings, seven on the left and six on the right, also protected by its suit. It appears to have no feet, for its armour below the calves is a single piece of armour ending in a pointed end that points to the ground. He levitates inches off the ground.
-What do you feel? -he says to me. They are the same words I heard before.
My mind can't find an answer.
-What do you feel? -he insists.
I don't understand the purpose of the question. I'm so confused that I don't know whether I want to face this creature or just run away.
-Describe what you feel," he says, walking towards me without touching the ground.
-What are you? -I say, nervous.
Whether this is hell or heaven, I don't understand either. I just want to get out of here, no matter what.
-Why do you want to escape?
He reads my mind. I fall backwards. I don't understand anything. He gives me a weapon and protection, but now he only asks me one question for which I have no answer in confusion.
-What do you want from me?!
-I see.
The creature begins to rise, moving away from me.
-Wait, wait!
Ahead of me, the only entity I've been able to talk to in this place is leaving. I run towards it. He's already way up. I jump, but I can't reach his feet.
-Please don't leave me, please come back!
The creature looks up into the sky. I hear a sound of glass shattering next to me. All sound stops at that moment. When I realise, the wind has also stopped. I turn towards the noise and see a crack in the air. The crack spreads the next second, surrounding and enveloping me. I try to move. I can't, I'm suspended in mid-air and my feet don't touch the ground. At that, the glass finishes shattering and everything is black, except for a blue light in the distance, above the armoured creature. The world of sand and orange sky has disappeared and I am falling. The creature is getting further and further away. The blue light in the dark sky is my only point to know what is above and below. I keep falling. I fall so far that the creature disappears from my sight, the blue light becoming a distant star. Eventually, however, the star becomes small and finally only the black sky remains.
-What do you feel?
It's a voice different from mine. It comes from inside my mind.
-Who are you?
-What do you feel?
His words are slow and his voice is deep.
-Show yourself!
As I blink, I see a white silhouette in front of me. I startle and sharpen my eyes. It is a humanoid creature about two metres tall. Its body is covered in tight silver armour composed of medium, large and some scale-like plates at the joints. The details on it are elegant and the shape of the cuts between the plates leave symmetrical, sharp edges like dry leaves, giving it an imposing and aggressive appearance. Its eyes are not visible. The metal reflects the slightest light and its edges glisten like frost. The creature has thirteen wings, seven on the left and six on the right, also protected by its suit. It appears to have no feet, for its armour below the calves is a single piece of armour ending in a pointed end that points to the ground. He levitates inches off the ground.
-What do you feel? -he says to me. They are the same words I heard before.
My mind can't find an answer.
-What do you feel? -he insists.
I don't understand the purpose of the question. I'm so confused that I don't know whether I want to face this creature or just run away.
-Describe what you feel," he says, walking towards me without touching the ground.
-What are you? -I say, nervous.
Whether this is hell or heaven, I don't understand either. I just want to get out of here, no matter what.
-Why do you want to escape?
He reads my mind. I fall backwards. I don't understand anything. He gives me a weapon and protection, but now he only asks me one question for which I have no answer in confusion.
-What do you want from me?!
-I see.
The creature begins to rise, moving away from me.
-Wait, wait!
Ahead of me, the only entity I've been able to talk to in this place is leaving. I run towards it. He's already way up. I jump, but I can't reach his feet.
-Please don't leave me, please come back!
The creature looks up into the sky. I hear a sound of glass shattering next to me. All sound stops at that moment. When I realise, the wind has also stopped. I turn towards the noise and see a crack in the air. The crack spreads the next second, surrounding and enveloping me. I try to move. I can't, I'm suspended in mid-air and my feet don't touch the ground. At that, the glass finishes shattering and everything is black, except for a blue light in the distance, above the armoured creature. The world of sand and orange sky has disappeared and I am falling. The creature is getting further and further away. The blue light in the dark sky is my only point to know what is above and below. I keep falling. I fall so far that the creature disappears from my sight, the blue light becoming a distant star. Eventually, however, the star becomes small and finally only the black sky remains.
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