Act One: Materia Prima - Chapter 5

The man opened his eyes to a darkened sky. The black spores again. Everywhere. He laid on his back. In something liquid. He sat up straight. Could not even see three steps far. Nothing but dark mist around. The floor was covered in black tar-like goo. Luckily it did not stick. Rolled of him easily. He tried to touch it. His hand went through the liquid like thick fog.

He remembered the green hills. The house. The garden. Hrain. Hlout. Scild. What had happened? Pain. It must have struck him down. But where was he? Another layer to his delirium. Probably.

He wanted to return. To escape. No. He craved the dreamless sleep. Forever. Did he? The mystery of the hill’s serenity had gripped him. Somehow. He wanted to know more about them. Them? About the house. The garden. The girls. Why though? Always the whys. Finality was not fleeting. Always waiting. He wanted to satisfy his curiosity. He wanted something that was not silence? Yes. He did.

It started to rain. Heavy. More of the black liquid. His clothes did not get wet. The drops rolled off like before. He stood up. Went straight ahead. Searched for a way. Out of this place. The quite place. He listened. There were no sounds. Neither his steps nor the drops produced any noise.

A voice tore through his head. Like crumbling paper. Tearing fabric. Gnashing teeth. Breaking bones. It told him about the futility of his determination. That he would never die. A great favorite to the darkness. Entertainment to its eternity. He and the other one. The other one? The voice buzzed with cruelty. It told him that every mind would shatter at some point. The black rain was pouring down.

The voice laughed. Hysterical cackling. Louder and louder. Everything was spinning in his head. He realized that the liquid reached his chin by now. He felt nothing. The voice told him that this would not be the end. The one he sought after. Some things would last forever. It told him that it dealt only in curses. No blessings.

He could not escape the liquid anymore. It surrounded him. Drowned him. He felt the air leaving his lungs. Something else filling them. He could not breath. Darkness permeated everything. But there was a little light. Somewhere.

-

No time passed.

-

The man felt warmth on his skin. He just wanted to lie there a little longer. Rest a little. Why though? He did not feel tired. Opened his eyes. He was inside a house. Their house. He could see the stairs. Leading up to the first floor. To the left the glass door. He was laying on the longer side of the dark green sofa. So comfortable.

The darkness was no longer clinging to his mind. A fleeting nightmare. Far away. There had been something that had led up to this. But he could not remember. Did not want to. Not now.

He looked to his right. A girl was sitting on the shorter side. Another one. Cross-legged. She looked close in age to Hlout. Maybe eighteen. Maybe one or two years younger. Short hair. Shorter than Hrain. Same shade of brown. Her skin was much more tanned than the others'. She probably did spend much more time out in the open.

He took in her cloths. Also resembled those of the others. But her shirt had no sleeves. Pants cut off above the knees. She was playing with a knife. Spun it around her fingers. Fast.

She took notice of his awakening. Detected his glances. Stopped her little game. Folded the blade. Slid it in to a woolen pouch that was fastened around her waist. The girl looked him right in the eyes. Her face was like the others. His mind would not grasp it. But the expression? Inquisitive. Neither friendly nor hostile. She started to mumble.

“You feeling better?”

He said that he was fine. Asked what had happened. She tilted her head to the right side. Silence hung in the air for a few moments.

“Don’t know. Hlout dragged you here. Scild was with her. Hrain and Hlout said you are no danger. I'm just supposed keep watch. I’m Gward by the way. Thirsty? Hungry?”

He felt no thirst. No hunger. But he wanted to try. Drinking from the pond had worked. Some grub should do too. He said he would like something to eat. But that there was no rush.

“You won’t have to wait for long. Falsk should be back soon. She always does the cooking. Can you get up? Hlout wanted to see you. If not, I’ll go get her.”

Could he? Yes. He felt energized. Stood up. Slow. Deliberate movements. Told her she should lead the way. Gward jumped to her feet. Pointed toward the door. The one Hlout had previously emerged from. She entered it. He followed.

“Hey, Hlout! The sleeping guy woke up! He’s fine!”

Gward still mumbled. Even when she raised her voice. It seemed like they had entered the dining room. A large table at the center. Heavy. Dark wood. Matching chairs around it. Six in total. Each with a cushion on top. Dark Blue. Hlout sat at the head of the table. Her nose buried in a book. She did not look up.

“Don't always swallow half your words. I’m coming.”

Gward grumbled in refusal. Knocked on the table.

“He’s already here.”

“What?”

Hlout raised her head up in a flash. Surprised. Looked toward Gward. Then him.

“He wants to eat with us. I’ll be gone ‘til the feast. See ya.”

Gward shuffled out the door.

“Hey, how are you feeling?”

He told Hlout the same as Gward. That he was fine. Smiled. Not genuine. She frowned.

“What happened to you, beneath the trees? Do you suffer from an illness? Scild was quite shaken by this first encounter. And it worried me too. A little bit.”

He apologized. Told her he suffered no illness. That everything was fine. That he also did not know what happened out there.

“Hmm, strange. Good to see you back on your feet though. It’s still some time until we feast. Hrain was really distraught by this whole incident and wanted to rest a little at the spring. Do you know where to find it?”

He told her that he knew. That he had been there. On his way up to the house.

“Can you please go pick her up then? Hrain should know that you’re fine. And she should come back. Help around the house, you know.”

He told her that he would take care of it. She nodded. Care? Was this word not foreign to him? Right now? Somehow not so much. It was something to move toward. The other stuff could wait. He had to take care of Hrain. There would be no why. Not this time.

He left the room. The living room. The vestibule. Moved outside. Nothing had changed. This immovable world.