Strangers in a Strange Land

A barren wasteland of ice laid out for their view in every direction. The Field from Ayumi protected them from most of the elements. Even still, the wind dug through like claws and fangs to grope at the teens. It managed a cool chill that left everyone feeling as though they had been splashed with cold water.

The words from Ayumi failed to provide any reassurance to the group. Seiji and the others that had strong doubts about the entire thing saw the lack of any proof to be suspicious. They went along with her vague explanations, but time continued to tick away. The emptiness they saw furthered their doubt.

“You keep saying to go further and further, but each time there’s not a damn thing! I’m thinking you’re just stringing us along for the shits.”

“But Ayumi says—“ tried Yuki before getting cut off.

“She says helluva lot, Yuki! And we’ve yet to have any damn proof anything she’s saying is true!”

Yori kept to his spot, still examining the situation. The number of pieces missed prevented him from understanding. ‘It’s almost like she’s purposely keeping us limited and in the dark.’ He knew that left alone Seiji wouldn’t get them any progress. “I think we all have our doubts, but only a few more steps is not too much to ask considering the distance that we have traveled. I assume there’s a reason we can’t see your homeland from here?”

“I certainly don’t like being strung around,” Chiharu added, “So there better be something good explaining things in these next few steps.”

“Seiji, if Ayumi says you’ll understand soon then she means it,” Yuki persuaded. “One thing I know to be true is that she tells the truth even to the point of being tactless.” The last word from Yuki gave him a chilling sensation down his back as though someone had just stepped on his grave. He refused to turn, afraid to see the look that Ayumi gave him.

Saki stepped up, slapping Seiji in the shoulder blade hard. “All you’ve been doing is whining all this time. Thought you were a tough guy, not some pansy.” She gave him a mean smirk taunting him with her last words.

He took the bait without thinking. Seiji leaned over to face Saki and got close enough to accidentally spit on her while he spoke. “Oh yeah?! I’ll sure as shit show you who’s actually a pansy!” He shoved Saki aside into Fumiko and charged in the direction that Ayumi intended to take them.

Ayumi tried to speak up to stop Seiji, but she didn’t have enough time. She groaned to herself about dealing with children before throwing up a barrier. He smashed into it and nearly shattered it to her surprise. The barrier gave her the time to catch up to him and stood in front casting a heavy imposing shadow. “I’ll be going first. Follow behind me in any order that you wish. If you don’t want to trust me then you can leave your trust to Antarctica.” After her words she stepped forward and disappeared from everyone’s sight.

Chapter 97 – Strangers in a Strange Land

The disappearance of Ayumi left the party stunned. It took them a while to react and approach the area where she stepped through. A few of them waved their hands through the space trying to see if part of them disappeared, but nothing happened. After the failed attempts they turned to exchange stares.

Chiharu made the bold move to stand where Ayumi had been. She paused only long enough to check her surroundings one last time before diving into the void that Ayumi must have gone. Her body disappeared like Ayumi had before giving some certainty to the others.

Seiji kept quiet after seeing two of them vanish before his eyes. He had no room left to complain and the procession of the rest gave him a slight indignant look. The next few in the group left, leaving only Seiji, Haruo and Yuki behind. He decided to take his turn to prove that he had no fear, though the muffled scream didn’t help his case.

“See you on the other side!” Yuki waved with a cheer to Haruo before going next. The moment that Antarctica became a black void he knew that he had entered the space everyone else had before him. His connection to his body seemed to stretch out until it no longer felt as though he moved. A great and gentle hand reached out pulling him forward as though the void itself beckoned him. The call summoned him as though to greet him home from a long journey grateful in his return for his absence was greatly missed.

‘I feel so warm and invited…’ It felt as though all of his worries and fatigue melted away in the warm embrace of his homeland. He had never felt something that made him feel so welcome. It forced out any thoughts in his mind. Only a blank sense of bliss stirred within the gaps. He knew of only one time before that made him feel as he did at that moment.

Yuki soon bathed in a bright light signaling the path. ‘Atlantis is beyond here…’ He reached out to take hold of the doorway. A yearning grew inside the closer that he came to the light. It felt so familiar. ‘Why do I feel like I’ve come home?’ The void shattered like glass as he broke through smiling wide. Excitement pounded in his heart. Atlantis stood before him. “Atlantis!”

However, all of the preparation and thrill seeking fell short of the magnificent vista that lay out upon everyone’s eyes. Even those ahead of him that had been there longer still stood in awe. A nearly cloudless sky of pristine blue hung veiled over boundless fields of grass and farmland. Warm soothing breezes comforted everyone. No sign of ice or the Antarctica everyone knew existed. It seemed impossible.

“Is this Atlantis?!”

“Impossible!” Seiji declared having appeared behind everyone.

“How is it possible for this to exist?!” Fumiko asked, looking over at Ayumi.

Ayumi stepped forward and tilted her head over her shoulder to look back at them. “I’ll answer your questions later. Right now we have to move quickly.”

“Huh?” broke Seiji.

Yuki stepped forward to place himself in front of her looking for an answer. They had just arrived. He didn’t understand how a place that looked so peaceful presented a threat to them. The urgency to reach Atlantis for him still persisted, but a few minutes to gaze hardly seemed to be a problem. “What’s wrong, Ayumi? Why do we have to leave so fast?”

“I’ll explain later! We can’t stay here!” The sense of urgency in her voice mixed with danger. It made things clear that something was wrong.

“Why can’t we stay here? What’s going to happen?”

“We’ve entered the South Gate’s territory and they’ll know that we’ve entered.”

The rest of the group started gathering around them, sensing the seriousness of Ayumi’s words. Ayumi led them away from where they entered. Their view back held a strange mirage of ice that looked more like water that had been poured around the world. The water pressed back by only the mere strength of the world’s integrity. Further up away from the horizon filled the perfect sky becoming like a world trapped within a dome.

Yuki tried to keep himself focused on leaving, but the world held him in constant awe. Saki dragged at his arm to force him to keep walking. ‘We’re here…the place where I face my so-called destiny!’

“I’m…really…sleepy…” Seiji collapsed to the ground in a peaceful dream state.

Yori looked back along with the others confused by what happened so suddenly to him. “He’s been sleeping for the entire ride and he’s still sleepy?!” He rushed over with Yuki to get a better look at Seiji. A few shoves and hits did nothing to change him, but redden his skin. The fact that he didn’t react to anything worried them. He fell too deeply into sleep to be normal.

Yuki shouted ahead to Ayumi needing an answer. “What’s wrong with him?! Is there something special in the air that makes it poisonous to outsiders or something?!” He worked with Yori to turn him over on his back for a better view.

“Nothing so hazardous or dramatic as that.” She stopped from her place and only faced them. The glare from Yuki demanded an answer and Ayumi sighed before relenting to his request. “Pick him up and carry him with us. I’ll explain as we walk. Time’s still of the essence.”

“…fine…” Yuki looked back at his friend relieved, but still worried. The attitude from Ayumi bothered him more at the moment. ‘It’s like she’s back to the way she was when I first met her. Why’d she change so much when we entered Atlantis?’ He cooperated with Yori to lift Seiji up to his back. Once Seiji’s sleeping body’s full weight pressed against his muscles he started to regret doing it alone. “Man, he’s heavy…”

Fumiko and Yori’s sister approached Yuki seeing the state that he was in after trying to lift Seiji. “It’s too much for you to carry alone, Yuki.” Yori’s sister glanced over to Yori with the expectation for him to help.

“Yeah, Yumi’s right, Yuki. You should let us help you carry him.” Fumiko already tried to get Seiji off Yuki’s back.

Yuki raised his hand to stop them. “No, I’m fine.” He tried to get to his feet again and failed. His knee jerked out, stabbing his leg. “I could use some help getting to my feet though…”

Through stubbornness and reluctance they brought Yuki to his feet. He still appeared unbalanced and staggered to the side even on his feet. They hesitated to let him walk on his own, but he insisted. After a minute, Yuki seemed to improve, finding his stride. A pace for everyone settled in pushing them away from the sky.

Once they marched enough to be considered brief stares began to pop up. Each of the pairs of eyes focused on Ayumi. She needed to give an answer that they would accept. Ayumi shifted her sights around to take it all in while she filtered through what she had. “I guess I’ll start at the beginning. Around Atlantis is a barrier in the shape a large dome covering the land completely.”

“Is that why we were unable to see it from the outside,” inquired Yori.

“Correct. The barrier has a number of purposes all meant to protect Atlantis from the outside world. The first is making it completely invisible and creating an illusion.”

“But that doesn’t prevent people from just walking in. There are bound to be scientists and explorers that have stumbled into here. And aren’t there bases within here as well?”

“That is the second part and is a little more complicated. It also creates a false sense of space. So people are further to the coastline than they realize.”

“Are you telling me that everything that science has done here is inaccurate?!”

Ayumi didn’t seem to care about the larger implications of Yori’s question. She answered him plainly as though it held no bearing for her. “Only when speaking of distance.”

Yori didn’t believe what heard from Ayumi. It made him sweat a little when she looked back at him confused as to why he took it so seriously. The surprise he felt slowed down words. “So casual…”

“I don’t see the big deal. No one’s hurt and this is our land.”

“But you stay hidden from the world,” Fumiko commented. “Don’t you think it’s time that you show yourselves? This won’t last forever. Something’s going to happen.”

“Third,” continued Ayumi, ignoring what Fumiko said, “The barrier creates a sense of confusion when someone enters and is followed by deep uncontrollable sleep. Which is the reason for his condition.” She pointed over her shoulder to Seiji peacefully sleeping on Yuki’s back.

“Why was Seiji the only one that was affected though? We all passed through the barrier.”

“That’s because my Field protected you from the effects. The only way to enter is with someone that can negate the effects. He strayed too long inside the barrier realm before leaving. So he was affected while you weren’t.”

“What happens to the people that wander in here?” questioned Yori’s sister.

“The last part of the barrier and the reason why we must leave. The barrier is connected to four gates set across the perimeter. Any entry is registered with the closest gate. Unscheduled entries are declared to be intruders until established otherwise.”

“What happens then?”

“A border patrol locates the intruder, wipes their memories and sends them back out.”

“But Yuki and you are Atlanteans. Shouldn’t you be able to get past the patrols with that?”

“No, Yuki is being hunted and as am I for trying to find him. All that would happen is getting captured.” A small forest and a brush ahead gave Ayumi hope for cover. She directed them into the bushes granting them rest for the moment. While they spread out, in such a disorganized manner as to throw away any sibilance of stealth, she peered out through cover to check their flank. ‘Their response time is ten minutes at best. But I don’t know how long we can evade them.’

“Is he awake yet,” Saki asked, not watching her voice.

Yuki shook his head, concerned for how long he slept. They had entered the lion’s den and that started to place a new pressure on his back. ‘I didn’t think we’d have this sort of trouble just trying to get to Atlantis.’

“What are we going to do if he doesn’t wake up?” asked Fumiko.

“We just leave the deadweight behind,” replied Chiharu softly, “If they find someone they’ll probably not try to pursue the rest of us further. They probably aren’t expecting a group.”

“We can’t do that!”

“Quiet!” Ayumi snapped back trying to keep her voice from rising too much. Her fears proved to be stronger than her hopes. In the distance, the shadowed figures of the South Gate border patrol appeared. Time ran out for them. “The patrol is in the area. Keep down and silent!”