I thought,
Sure, he brought light to the world. Sure, he gave us all our shadows back… But it seems like I'm the only one who noticed something is off about him.Everyone seems so ready to accept this. How are you all calm?
We all woke up together in darkness however many hours ago, and a chain reaction of running and screaming began. That's an expected fight-or-flight reaction, but then how did the chaos stop so quickly? Just because we could see around us? Because we can see our shadows now? Maybe my echolocation kept me from truly being scared of the dark, but why is everyone looking at him like he is a god just because he brought light? He looks just like us.
Are they operating on some sort of animal instinct? Why don't I feel that instinct?
No, even if it is instinctual, it's not necessarily him their instincts are reacting to. I bet the 8-Ball is what they really respect, and he's just the one holding it. He's the one it selected. And as for why…?
It can only be because of memories, right? They have memories of him that I don't have. That has to explain it… They have memories of this place, too. They know what's going on, and I'm the only one who doesn't know anything. Everyone is wearing the same clothes too: white robes. It must be some sort of ritual. Was I part of it, and then hit my head a little too hard?
But then, Azarias spoke to someone else:
"What about you, who are you?"
"…I'm Kismet."
Azarias turned sharply away from this person.
"And how about you, who are you?"
I don't remember the name that person gave, nor do I remember the next person's.
Azarias asked every person in the crowd of thousands for their names one by one. It took a very long time. Nobody complained; it was a trance-like couple of hours.
When he was done, he looked at the ground for a moment as he gathered his thoughts, then looked up at the sky of the cave. He wiped the tears from his eyes. They were still there from earlier, even though he hadn't cried anymore.
Finally, he said something as he gripped the 8-Ball tightly.
"I have a question for all of you. Do any of you remember anything before we awoke?"
"No, I don't remember anything..."
Azarias sighed. "All of you… I don't know who any of you are. Although I asked for all your names, there wasn't a single one I recognized. I don't know how any of us got here, and I don't know what this place is. I think I was chosen by this object because I have memories of my own, but… If I must become your leader, I will. This will be the place our memories together begin."
Everybody cheered, except for me.
Azarias had just wiped his tears, but now he was crying again. He was looking at all the dead bodies.
"Everyone, let us grieve those we have lost."
The living in the crowd spent the next half hour in silence. The whole time, I continued watching Azarias. After the half hour had passed, he seemed to realize that the crowd was becoming restless. Although the bringing of light and the 8-Ball had calmed everyone down, the general anxiety and confusion had not just gone away entirely.
"Everyone, we're going to have to move the remains. As it stands, there isn't enough space on this plateau for us to sit down. We need to be able to talk to each other easily. As for where to put them, I think we should move them all to the side for now, and make a further decision later."
The responses from the crowd were of different tones, with clear dissenting opinions. Someone said, "But isn't this disrespectful to them?"
Another person disagreed with the first person and said, "Forget that, Azarias is right, let's get them out of the way. Actually, why don't we just dump them off the cliff to free up space?"
Someone else said, "I have a strong feeling that we should return them, but I'm not sure why…"
This sparked more raised voices.
My mind was racing, but not for the same reason as everyone else.
One, we all speak the same language and can understand each other. Two, we can fathom the existence of moral concepts like what to do with the bodies of the dead. Where were these concepts coming from, I wondered? It felt like my head was going to explode with confusion.
Where did we come from? Who are we? How much of our pasts are affecting the present moment? We're even wearing the same robes.
Eventually, the group was able to settle on lining up the bodies in a neat order on the edge of the plateau rather than putting them in a pile. The process took hours, with most people actively helping. There were some who still sat down with utterly traumatized expressions, as well as some who seemed unwilling to help. I helped out as this was happening, partially because I felt subconsciously that it was the right thing to do, and partially because I didn't want to stand out.
There was a group of people who were still swarming around Azarias and the 8-Ball he was holding. They were touching his body and clothes like they were special artifacts, even though his white robes were the same as ours. He kept trying to brush the people off, but they wouldn't go away.
When the bodies were moved to the side, Azarias held up the 8-ball again. This made everyone rush back to the center. There was still blood staining the red rock, but there was more room to move around now. I stayed slightly away from the crowd; I was carefully examining the scenery for any clues as to where we were.
A giant cave of red rock with a ceiling high above. We stood on a rocky plateau. Behind us was a wall that went straight to the ceiling, and more walls encased the plateau on both sides. In front, the plateau dropped off to a canyon. Through the canyon ran a red river, gushing out from the side of the drop-off. The source of the river must have been running right under our feet. Farther into the canyon, the river disappeared underground again. There were also interspersed pillars of rock which stretched up to the ceiling. Each one had white rock formations sticking out like tree branches.
On the opposite side of the canyon, a cliff rose up again. There was a building on top of it. Beyond that, I saw only the purest of darkness.
I was brought back to my senses by Azarias's announcement.
"Everyone, although we don't know each other, I want to prove to you all that you can trust me. I have memories of a past before here, but I'm not sure how it connects to where we are now. I will tell you all what I know, and maybe it will help you recover your own memories."
The crowd made a big circle, with Azarias sitting at the center. He continued to speak.
"The world I remember is similar yet completely unlike this one. Take, for example, that house over there."
He pointed at the building which later became Sariel's house. A few people were over there, but they couldn't seem to get the door open.
"That looks like a building from the world I remember. That fountain over there, too. But that's where the similarities end. I suppose a giant cave like this could physically exist, but this is all too alien. Those giant pillars and the red river, I've never seen anything like that in all my days on Earth. Oh yeah, Earth is the name of the place where I—and most likely all of you—come from."
He frowned. "Although I can't say for sure we aren't still on Earth right now. If we're on another planet, who took us here?"
Someone from the crowd asked, "What about your final memory? The last thing you saw before coming to this place should be telling."
Azarias sighed. "I was just by a lake, staring at the water's surface. Then all of a sudden, I found myself here."
The crowd said, "Tell us more, tell us more. Where are you from on Earth? You really don't know any of us?"
"I'm from a country called F- I mean, the United States of America. I lived a relatively normal life until now; if we all got kidnapped and taken to another world, I don't know why they would pick me, especially for such a selective group size. There are billions on Earth, if you can imagine that. I've been trying to think of any obvious things all of us here might have in common, but as I look around, we have a varied group with people from all over the world."
He then amended the statement, saying, "From all over the world might not be true. There are people of all races here, but since we speak the same language, we might all be from the same country. The United States of America is a place with many cultures where English is still what's mainly spoken. The only strange part is that we all have the same accent, although it isn't impossible for that to happen either."
"So, what is the United States like?"
"I only lived in one place my whole life, so I can't speak for everyone. I unfortunately must say that every country on Earth has its problems, and the United States is the opposite of an exception. But at the very least, I was able to find my happy place by the end."
The crowd pressed him on the details of his life, but he seemed reluctant to go ahead and recount his entire story. "We don't know each other yet; it's customary to not go into your personal life with people you've just met. And it's okay to keep some things to yourself, even with those you trust the most. I want you all to trust me, but I need to trust you all too."
"You keep talking about trust, but why should we believe anything you're saying? For all we know, you made this place."
This voice came from the edge of the cliff; further from the 8-Ball's range of effect. I was surprised that someone else said what I was thinking, and turned to see who it was.
Auburn hair and dark brown eyes. The eyes glanced at Azarias, then returned to staring at what lay beyond the cliff.
I looked back over at Azarias, who was staring at her, and saw an expression on his face that made the hairs on my arms stand up.
He looked terrified.
"What was your name? I think I missed you earlier."
"Athalia Darwin Bathory."