The Iarians - A New Age - 4. Chapter 3 - Lost

Chapter 3 - Lost

Prasa Tribe Lands, Bara Clan, Beneterra, 1 N.E. (New Era)

- Karl Adler -

KARL WOKE WITH a start. He frantically patted himself and looked about him. He was sprawled haphazardly in the back seat of the car, his limbs entangled with Lydia, Terry and Desmond. They laid in awkward positions and postures while both John and Jess were each slumped in the front seats.

He called them but they did not wake. Slightly alarmed, he quickly checked each and every one of them, putting his fingers to their carotid artery along their necks and felt for pulses as signs of life. He was relieved that they all appeared unharmed except for a few scrapes and bumps they had gotten when the car careened wildly out of control and they had bumped against one another.

Oh god, the boy, he thought with dread as he remembered how the unexpected appearance of the boy was the cause for the accident. Karl fumbled with the car lock for a bit before he could flip the lock and open the car door. He stumbled out and hurried to the front of the car to see whether there was any sign of the boy. He was relieved to see that there was no dent or blood spatter along the front of the car to indicate any collision or injury.

Suddenly, he realised that they were in an unusual setting. The last he remembered, they had hurtled off the bridge into a gorge. He looked about him and realised that they were in a meadow clearing surrounded by a sparse forest of pine trees. As far as he could see, the only highlands or mountains around them were a blurry grey as if they were a great distance away. They had fallen into the gorge and they should be surrounded by cliff walls and in the river water.

Unless, the river brought us away. He quickly dismissed the idea when he saw that only a small brook flowed slowly nearby.

He whipped out his cell phone but was surprised when he did not see any signal or reception, even though they were in flat terrain unobstructed by mountains or other things that could block the cell phone signal.

A flash of white caught his eye and he turned towards it. He saw the strange lad who from the night before standing at the edge of the meadow near the tree line. The boy was staring straight at him, which made him feel uneasy.

"Hey there," he called, hailing the boy. "Are you alright? We didn't hit you, did we?"

The boy gave no answer but turned to walk deeper into the forest and out of sight.

"Hey, come here and let me check you out," Karl called out uselessly but the boy appeared not to hear. He looked back awhile at his friends slumped unconscious in the car and decided that they would be fine without him for awhile. He sighed and slipped his cell phone back into his pocket and started trudging towards where the boy had gone.

Reaching the edge of the clearing, he saw the boy a distance away, as if gesturing for him to follow. Karl saw that the forest was rather thick and was apprehensive about venturing too deep into it lest he lose his way to the meadow. The boy again turned back towards him and beckoned to him urging Karl to follow him. Intrigued, Karl started speeding up to catch up with the boy.

The boy took him quite deep into the forest. The undergrowth and vegetation were at some parts quite thick and he wished he had his parang, a South East Asian machete with a broad and heavy tip which would help him cut through some of the dense vegetation. Incredibly, it appeared as if the boy simply walked unhindered by the plant life, keeping just close enough to be within sight. All around him, the sounds and smells of wildlife and nature filled the air of the forest.

Finally, scraped and bruised in several places, Karl saw a path open up before him and the way got easier. The boy stopped before a huge white rock that rose from the earth and gleamed in the sunlight in a small clearing. There were several markings on the rock that looked like runes. The tinkling sound of water drew his attention to a waterfall that landed in a dark pool. The pools was nestled in a hole cut in the middle of the huge white rock. Several monolithic standing stones stood around the rock, casting long, eerie shadows. They were covered with more runes which were mostly obscured by tendrils of vines and plant life. Karl could feel that the clearing teemed with energy.

The boy sat calmly on an upraised rock by the pool, calmly waiting for Karl to catch up to him. Karl covered the remaining distance between him and the boy and stood in front of him. There was something ethereal and fey about the boy, as if he was not entirely human. Up close, Karl saw that his eyes were not only white, they glowed with a soft and gentle light. His pupils were grey, but a shade of grey so light that they were noticeable only at a sufficiently close range. While the boy appeared to be around ten years old, there was an ageless quality about him, as if the passage of time had no bearing at all on him.

Shaking his head, Karl dismissed his fanciful thoughts and quickly set about inspecting the boy. "Are you hurt? Did we hit you? Do you need a doctor? My friend, Lydia is a doctor. Not a PhD doctor but a real medical doctor," he rambled. The boy did not reply but Karl was finally satisfied that the boy had not been hurt in the accident.

"Why did you lead me here? What's your name? Where are your parents? Do you need us to take you to them?" Karl asked, then suddenly realised that his questions were redundant as he himself did not know where they were, much less be able to return the child to his home. "Do you even know where we are?" he asked, more to himself than to the boy.

The boy merely stared at him silently with a blank look. Karl sighed and thinking that no answers would be forthcoming, he resignedly said, "Alright, if you haven't got any parents or a home, you might as well come back with me. We can't have you lost and alone now, can we?" he said with a smile which he hoped was reassuring to the boy. "Come along then."

Karl took the boy's hand in his and tried to lead him back towards the car. However, when he tried to lead the boy away, he found that the boy refused to move. Suddenly, his hold on the boy's hand was lost as the boy seemed to disappear into thin air, literally. Karl saw that the boy became more insubstantial until he was no longer there.

Karl frantically looked around the clearing for any sign of the boy. However, he saw nothing to show that the boy had been corporeal or even having existed at all.

Ah, I must have hurt my head in the accident. I must have hallucinated the encounter, he finally decided. Just as he was about to leave the clearing which housed the white rock, he heard a child's tinkling laughter reverberating around the glade. Startled, Karl took a slight leap back and lowered his body to a defensive posture, ready to spring into action at the first sight of danger.

A seemingly disembodied voice suddenly spoke to him in his head ::Ah, Karl Adler, I can assure you that this is real indeed. I find you extremely amusing. I'm so glad that I chose you.::

Karl felt his heart beating wildly, terrified at the unnatural voice. Gathering his courage, he determinedly steeled himself and found his voice, "Who are you? What do you want? Where am I?"

::I suppose in your world, you would call me a god. I believe your world has many names for a being like me: the Creator, Elohim, God, et cetera. Here, I am quite simply known as the One.:: returned the formless voice.

"The One what? I'm afraid I'm agnostic and as far as I'm concerned, there's no such thing as a divine being. It's all science and evolution."

::Then how would you explain my existence?:: returned the voice, amused.

"You're a boy playing a prank. Somehow you have managed to project your voice. I don't know. Who are you really and where are we?"

::Ah, but I just told you. I created this world. The natives here call me the One, the All-Father, Creator. As for where you are, I am afraid no one has gotten to name my planet. Pick a name, if you wish but make sure it is palatable. One thing I can't abide is stupid names that are wildly inappropriate or simply ridiculous. One thing is for sure, you are no longer on Earth and I would appreciate it if you did not use any of the old Earth names here.::

"I don't believe you are who you claim to be."

::Bah, that is irrelevant. As for what I want, well I want you to amuse me.::

"Amuse you how?" Karl asked, baffled.

::Just living and affecting the world around you is enough for me. It gets quite boring around here. With you and your friends here, you will be just the right amount of spice to liven things around here.:: said the voice in an excited tone.

"What?" Karl asked again, his head swirling with the irksome conversation with the bodiless voice.

::Go back to your friends. But before you do, there is a black stone chalice near the pool of water. Fill it water and quench your thirst, then take some and give it to your friends. It will rouse them from the sleep I put them into.::

"Wait, you put my friends to sleep? Why would you do that?"

::I wanted to speak to you, alone. I admit, I like you quite a lot. I watched you on earth, you are a very kind and good man, but capable as well. I foresee that you will do great things here on my world. But enough of that for now. Go wake your friends. I leave you with this final word of wisdom: Survive.:: With that, the voice broke out in a laugh which gradually faded away into the silence of the glade.

"Wait," Karl shouted. "I have so much more to ask you." He received only silence. That's just great, he thought to himself. I am either losing my mind or if what that ... thing... said is true, we appear to be victims of some psychopathic deity using humans as pawns and playthings. Then again, he considered, not that different from earth after all. However, he did not find that thought at all reassuring and quickly dismissed that train of thought.

Apprehensively, Karl walked up to the pool and he did indeed find the chalice made out of a black stone-like material that was similar to obsidian on Earth. The sides of the vessel deceptively appeared to be thin and brittle, though it proved to be extremely strong when Karl tried to exert pressure on it. Bending down and scooping out a cupful of water, he examined it for awhile to make sure that it was potable and safe. He took a tentative sip and found the water to be refreshing, he would even go so far as to describe it as magical in that it seemed to reinvigorate his battered and bruised body. He imagined that he could feel the water drawing out his weariness and exhaustion, giving him greater clarity and heightened senses.

After sating his thirst, Karl filled the chalice again and left the clearing and the huge white rock, stepping into the forest once again. Amazingly, the journey back was considerably easier on him, a path opening up easily before him. After he passed though, he could have sworn that the undergrowth and vegetation appeared to close up again behind him, hiding the path to the white rock.

Eventually, he saw a burst of sunlight and headed towards it. Gradually, he saw the end of the forest and the meadow spanned before him. Reaching the car, he set about measuring and rationing the water from the chalice, estimating how much water to give so that they could all get some. Karl started with John, gently opening his mouth and pouring the water in, careful not to choke him with too much. He coaxed John to swallow and looked at him expectantly. Before long, John's eyes opened and stared back at him.

"Hi," Karl said with a reserved smile, hoping that John would remember the recent developments in their relationship.

John responded with a loving look that melted Karl's heart and had him returning his affectionate gaze. "Hello yourself. What, I mean, where are we?" John looked down and checked around him and said, "At least we all appear to be in one piece. Is anyone hurt? Oh no, what about the boy from last night?"

Karl quickly replied reassuringly, "No, no one is hurt. The boy is fine, I think, or well... that's a rather long story. I'll tell you about it but first, let's wake everyone up, alright?"

John nodded and turned left towards Jessica in the front passenger seat. He placed his hand on her shoulder and tried to shake her awake, but her head merely lolled onto the other side as she continued in her unconscious state. "Oh God, no," he cried out and tried to shake Jess with more force.

"No, love. Wait," Karl quickly said, walking around the car and heading towards the other side. He opened the car door and again put the stone chalice to her mouth and dribbled a slow stream of water into her throat. Jess opened her eyes and blinked, jerking suddenly when she saw Karl so close to her. Seeing her reaction, Karl quickly stepped back lest she knock aside the water before he could share it with the others.

"Sorry for the scare, darling. I must say apart from the fright, it's not a bad way to wake up in the morning, seeing Karl's beautiful face first thing in the morning," she teased. Turning to John, she mouthed, 'Lucky bastard' at him cheekily. "What's happening?" Jess asked as she rubbed her eyes blearily and straightened to stretch her stiff muscles.

"I don't know yet. Karl hasn't told me anything," John replied, staring at Karl with a curious look as he saw Karl pulling Desmond, Lydia, and Terry upright before giving them the water. His curiosity grew as he saw that they remained asleep while Karl was jostling their bodies but immediately woke up when fed from the unusual black cup Karl was holding to their lips.

Once Karl had woken everyone up, everyone started to question Karl. He was uncomfortable with the attention and reluctantly shared what had transpired, from the encounter with the strange boy at the white rock and finally, the water and the black chalice. He was met with a moment of dead silence. However, it did not last long, bursting like a dam after they had time to process the strange story they heard. Everyone started to fire questions at the same time, each tinged with disbelief and even concern.

Karl thought he would drown in the deluge of questions until Dennis cut them off with a piercing whistle. He then playfully put the back of his hand against Karl's forehead to take Karl's temperature, joking, "I think that you might have had a bit too much to drink last night."

Karl laughingly backed away and swatted away Dennis' hand. "No, what I just told you is true," he said earnestly. "You believe me, don't you?"

Everyone else started to laugh with disbelief, but their expressions gradually changed when they saw that not only was Karl not pulling their legs, he also seemed to sincerely believe what he claimed had happened. They shared looks of concern about him, sceptical as they were of this fanciful story. It is only to be expected, really, Karl tried to assure himself to prevent his feelings from being hurt. After all, these are some of the greatest minds of the twenty first century, conditioned to scoffing at fanciful superstitions and highly sceptical to anything not empirically proven.

"I can prove it," Karl tried to convince them. "Take out your cell phones and you'll see. There is no signal, even though there are no mountains to block the cell signal."

Terry sighed and said in a condescending tone, "There's most likely a perfectly sensible reason for it. Maybe the cell phone tower is down, maybe your service provider sucks. Or even more improbable, maybe there's been a solar flare that wiped out modern communication technology. No matter what, those are far more plausible explanations than some explanation of being on another world."

"Yeah, maybe you just imagined it all. After all, strange things have been known to happen to those whose minds sustain trauma or a triggering event," Lydia said kindly and with pity in her eyes.

"No, guys. I'm telling you, I didn't imagine anything. It really happened. Also, our car drove through a metal railing on the bridge. By all rights, we should be smashed on either the stone ground of the gorge or be in the water of the river." Karl gestured around them with his hand and continued, "Look around us, we're on flat land."

"Enough, everyone," John's authoritative voice broke through the argument. He was respected enough that everyone waited patiently to hear what he would say next. Karl looked pleadingly at John, asking him to have faith in his story. "I believe Karl," he concluded. Karl gave John a look of love and gratitude for his faith in him.

Jess let out a scoff and said, "Of course you do. You want to get into his pants. Let me tell you this, Karl's a sure thing. You don't have to say that for his sake as I believe he is ready to put out anytime you want." Jess' face was covered with an evil smirk.

Karl blushed at this and looked down at the ground. Dennis started laughing while Terry and Lydia exchanged looks of surprise before joining Dennis in laughter.

John was surprised into silence by the taunt for awhile but broke out into a satisfied grin. "I know he is a sure thing. Nonetheless, I am saying that I believe Karl when he says that we are no longer on Planet Earth in the Solar System of the Milky Way Galaxy."

"Why do you say that?" Dennis asked with puzzlement.

John blandly replied, "Because the last time I checked, the earth revolved around only one sun. And there's only one sun in the sky on earth. Look up."

The assembled group looked up to the heavens and each gave a collective gasp of surprise at what they saw there. There were two suns shining brightly in the sky. No one had any doubts left, that was for certain.

*****