Act One: Materia Prima - Chapter 12

The man was petrified. Hrain took notice. Slowed down. Followed his gaze with her eyes to the distance. She gasped. Surprised. Now rooted in place too.

“Falsk, the mountains! Do you see?!”

The small girl whirled around. Looked toward Hrain. Then him. Back to Hrain. Confused. Hrain pointed toward the onslaught of rocks and stones in front of them. Falsk turned back. Took a few steps back. Like she was evading a speeding truck. Hands clenched.

He took in the details of the mountains. It was a different shade then the so-called gray parts. Lighter. Not charred. Patchy grass again. Strange stones. Far away. The shape was off. Some of them were stacked upon each other.

“You both have been to the place. Right? What are those round stones?”

“Oh, they woke me up. It’s the first memory I have. The talking stones. Murmuring all day long. They are pretty boring. Always said the same things. Really boring…”

Falsk had moved back to Hrain's side. Had grasped at her hand. A bit overwhelmed. Gently pressed herself against the taller girls’ side.

“They didn’t talk to me when I got there. Why though? They look like faces. But really ugly ones. Didn’t say a word.”

His gaze wandered further down. At the foot of the mountains there was a parking lot. Huge. Out of place. No cars around. He could make out a few benches. Scattered around the place. Trash cans. Streetlights. A path led up from there. The only one he could find from this distance. He pointed toward it.

“We probably should start over there. Looks like the only way forward.”

“Hmm, there’s only this one.”

The girls were back at the peak of their courage. The three of them approached the parking lot. Unremarkable thing. They crossed it. Followed the given path.

He could see the stones more clearly now. They were shaped like heads. Grotesque faces carved into them. Some smiled. Some warmly. Some mischievously. Some screamed. Some in anger. Some in terror. Some frowned. Some had a neutral expression. Pretty much every emotion known to the human mind was on display.

Some had crumbled over time. Over time? What time? They had always been there. Empty eye sockets directed at the trio. From all directions. Unmoved. Total silence.

“Why are they not talking? Last time they told me again and again: Wait for the confession and find the secret flame. I did the latter and nothing happened. What confession could they have meant? I need to know!”

Another shard of information Hrain simply tossed out. Another one he couldn’t put together with the other parts. There was no big picture. A confession? Who had to confess? What had to be confessed? Another memory he would have to avoid? So as not to challenge the darkness.

“For me it is exactly like last time. They are just sitting around doing nothing. Stupid scary faces!”

The path went on forever. Higher and higher. He was now leading the group. Gave them a sign to stop. Looked back. They did too. No great view. There were only mountains and fog. At least it was light in color. Almost white. No spores. No goo. He still felt unsettled. Watched. By the stones? Only by the stones! He hoped so.

“Let us continue. Maybe we will find something eventually. Anything.”

Both girls hummed in agreement. Followed him again. Up the mountain. Further and further. No end in sight. No beginning too.

-

Seconds passed. Minutes passed. Hours passed.

-

The man scratched his head. Was there even anything to find up here? They had stopped to talk about how to proceed. At a loss. Falsk had grown restless. Annoyed. Hrain was still as curious as ever. Had studied the stones up close. Tried to lift one up. He helped her. To no avail.

“I don’t want to return without anything! That’s stupid! Hrain, what should we do?”

“I have no idea. Maybe we need to do something. Like with the gray parts.”

“You’ve told me about the gray parts. I can’t even see them! How did you find out to solve it? What did you look for?”

“I don’t know. It just came to me. How did you know where to find the bus and the guide and the device? We need to be vigilant and thoughtful. The truth will reveal itself in time!”

“This is stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!”

“Relax, Falsk. Listen to Hrain.”

He patted the upset girl on the head. She calmed down. Looked away embarrassed.

“I could carry you piggyback for a while. How would that be? You should take it easy on your ankle and not worry about what other people say.”

Where did that come from? An intrusive thought. From a different place. A different time. Was it?

“He is right. You've twisted it pretty badly back there.”

Had she? Yes. Of course. He squatted down. Invited her in with his arms and back. Falsk held on to him. Hugged him. He supported her thin legs. Stood up. She weighed almost nothing.

Hrain skipped happily ahead. He followed. Felt Falsk’s breath. Her little heartbeat. It soothed him.

The path took a turn. Then split up. It had never done so before.

“What do you think Falsk? Left or right?”

“Uhhhm, I don’t know. Hrain?”

“I can’t decide. We should take one and then return to find out what both paths lead to. I need to know!”

“Okay, so neither of you two are particularly decisive at the moment. We will take the right path first. Maybe we have finally found something.”

The path stopped leading up. The opposite was true. To both sides the rocks grew higher and higher. Became huge cliffs. Casted shadows upon them. He felt tiny. Their road came to an end. The small mountain trail opened up to a rotund valley.

He noticed something. There weren’t just the head-shaped stones laying around. Similar faces were also carved into the cliffs. Huge grimaces.

“I don’t like this place. Maybe we should try out the other way. Right, Hrain?”

Hrain could not answer in time. A tremor shook the ground. The cliffs. Stones crunching. Mountains aching. The grotesque faces twitched. Groaned in disappointment. Fear spread throughout his heart. Deep and dark.