I found myself surrounded by darkness. Relief took over—I will live, I will survive, my mind cheered. But the happiness didn't last long, as a hot breeze hit me, and I heard a loud growl that made my body shake in fear. I guess, regardless of what happened, fate meant for me to die. I froze in place, without the ability or the will to get up and run, waiting for whatever it was to kill me. Then another loud growl echoed through the air, one of pain. My head spun around, and I saw the yellow shining eyes of a creature that I couldn't identify.
A hand grabbed mine and pulled me away from the ground. I don't know why, but my instincts told me that whoever was pulling me, I should follow them. We kept running for a while before stopping near some shrubs. They pulled me down as we seemed to be hiding behind them. Then I felt that person throw some powder at me. It stank, but I had no ability to complain as I heard a low growl come near, yet somehow, it failed to notice us. We stayed there, and only the sound of our breaths filled the air.
The sun came up after what seemed like forever. and then I was finally able to see who or what my saviour was, but I couldn't make out a name for it. It seemed to be wearing some kind of armor and a helmet, but nothing of it was showing. I tried to gather all my bravery and asked: "Where are we?" But I got no answer. I tried again, "What's this place?" but it gave me nothing but silence in return, so I chose not to break the silence again.
We stayed in the same place for what seemed to be 9 to 10 hours before I heard a thud . and saw a person with the same armor as the one that saved me wore. But this one seemed skinnier and more delicate. It took the helmet off, revealing Asian features but with blue, dark eyes. She started talking in Chinese. but other than recognizing the language, I understood none of it. He answered her, and I realized the voice of my savior was definitely that of a male, not a female. They kept talking for a while before she looked at me, then at him. He sighed, one of annoyance, before saying in my mother tongue, in a deep voice: "We're leaving, standing up."
The unexpected situation took me aback, and about to argue. ask where they were taking me and why he had given me silence earlier when he understood what I said. But the girl beat me to it. I didn't get what she said, but he turned back to me. and that was the last thing I remember as the world went black and my body grew heavy.
Theadus' POV:
I had a night shift tonight. I needed to check around the main camp and come back. It was, as usual, nothing to worry about until I heard the voice of it. There was an open gate nearby. I rushed there, but the closer I got to it, the more I confirmed that the red light wasn't one I could ignore. The moment it came into sight, I stopped and watched from afar as a girl rushed out of it. She was breathing with difficulty and appeared close to tears. The gate was gone, and there, behind her, a wolf stood. My hand moved on its own, throwing the weapon I had in it. It growled in pain. I took the chance and ran toward her, holding her hand and pulling her behind me. We kept running until we reached a safe place. We stayed there for the whole night. She kept silent until she spoke at dawn: "Where are we?"
I had no will to answer her. She said again: "What's this place?" I kept silent again, and she understood my silence well and didn't say another word. We stayed there until Mei came. She took off her mask and looked at me, saying: "Why didn't you knock her down?"
I looked at her and responded: "Why would I"
Mei replied: "We always do so, don't we?"
I answered, "We both know it's not usual for her. She must have told you."
Mei said, "So it's true, she's like you, isn't she? Unbelievable."
I kept quiet, ignoring what she said. I stood up and looked at the girl: "We're leaving, standing up." But Mei seemed to disagree.
She looked at me and said: "She told me we should treat her like the others, at least for now."
This left me completely drained. I closed the distance between us and hit her in the neck. knocking her unconscious before she could even react. I carried her on my shoulder and made my way to the camp. Mei followed soon after, with an annoyed sigh. We reached the camp in about an hour. The moment I was there, I rushed toward the rescue cottage, placed her in one of the beds, and left.
Yona's POV:
I felt a sharp pain in the back of my neck, and as I opened my eyes, I struggled to process the light. I saw two girls standing at the door of what seemed to be a cottage. One of them was the one from earlier, and the other seemed to be American or European. They now wore typical clothing. I lifted my body up, sitting on the bed, observing the room and concluding that it was some kind of emergency room.
One of them seemed to notice me waking up and came to me, speaking Chinese again, but I didn't understand a word. After a few minutes, she stopped and looked at the other girl, saying something. She left, only to come back with a man who seemed to be in his late twenties. He looked at me and finally spoke in a language that I understood—Korean.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yes.hhh... Where am I? What is this place, and who are you guys? I was..."I began with sarcasm before the panicked side of me took over.
"Girl, you need to chill. I know you have so many questions, but relax. I'll be answering all of them if you allow me." He spoke, cutting me off.
I glared at him and heard him sigh before sitting next to me. "Listen,"he said, "I won't be answering all your questions now, but you're in an Ultra Universe. You remember a portal appearing to you, don't you?"
"Yeah, I do," I replied, remembering the miracle of surviving. thanked God I was still alive.
He started talking again. "Well, it brought you here. In this place, we speak only Chinese. They will teach you, but first, rest now because at night you will be meeting the leader. They will bring you something to eat soon, okay?"
I nodded, as there was no other choice but that, and he got up, leaving. He went to where the girls stood, saying something before the three of them left the room. I got up, walked around, checked the place, and saw some handmade medical equipment. Returning to the bed I had been sitting on earlier, my mind went back to what that man said—an Ultra Universe. A feeling of relief took over me. That meant I was free now, right? I could live a normal life after a long time.
The sound of light steps brought me back to reality as the European girl came in. placing some weird-looking thing on the table next to the bed. She gestured at it, putting some in her mouth as if telling me it was edible. Though it didn't look appetizing, I had no desire to eat it, but she continued to gaze at me. It was odd and uncomfortable. I sighed, putting something in my mouth, and to my astonishment, it was edible and tasty too. I leaned in, taking the whole plate in my hand.
Craftsmen made it of wood, handcrafted like everything here. I kept eating but stopped when she stood smiling at me before leaving. And once again, I was all alone.
It's a lie to say that time passed quickly—a fat lie. It seemed to freeze or something. and I was dying there, as millions of questions rushed to my mind now . after the joy of surviving despaired, with no answers. Every time I met a new person, the questions grew, but the answers did not. I felt lost and confused now, that my mind functioned. They meant no harm and were nice. They gave me food and saved me, so I should be at ease a little bit, shouldn't I? I sighed again, tired of my overworked mind. Then I heard a laugh coming from the door.
"Bored, I see,"he said with a smile on his face.
I didn't answer, so he started talking again. "It's time for you to get your answers."
I stood up and walked toward him as he started leading me through the tiny alleys of this place. The builders constructed the houses, cottages, or whatever they were. using dark black stone or wood. I wondered how long they had been here to build such a community. We kept taking turns until we were in front of a huge building. It looked like a dome, unlike the other houses. Better equipment seemed to have made it, as if—or those who came from Earth didn't make it.
He entered, and I followed, looking at hundreds of people sitting on the wooden terrace. In the middle of the building was a stand, and a woman with deep, dark hair sat at the highest level. Beside her was the Chinese girl. I noticed him move toward them, sitting on the opposite side of her. I noticed an empty place in front of her that was the
same level as the one of the other two. Someone placed an empty chair not far from the stand, and I figured that it was mine. I sat down, and the whispers from the sides stopped as the black-haired woman cleared her voice . and started speaking. Her eyes were burning holes into me, but the moment I noticed that she had heterochromia. one golden, hazel, and one black—it looked beautiful, but scary at the same time. Somehow, fear started to grow inside me. Her voice was strong and mighty in a way I couldn't describe.
The Korean guy started to talk the moment she stopped. "Dear rescue,"he began, "I'm the leader of this land; welcome to Dilmun. Before I tell you the story of this place, I shall ask you some questions, and you should answer them."
The moment I realized he was translating what she was saying, I looked at her again before nodding. She seemed displeased with my poor response but started talking again regardless. I waited until the translation came. She kept asking casual questions about my age, name, etc. Nothing too important. Then, she said something, and the place went silent. The guy looked at her before turning to me and asking: "What are you running from? What brings you here?"
I looked at her with no word leaving my mouth. The silence hung there for a few seconds before she smirked and gave the guy by her side a look. He spoke again: "The leader was one of the first visitors in Dilmun. She was the one who built this community. For you to live in peace and be safe here, you must be under her commands. and it was decided that you should start learning the language from tomorrow on."
He went quiet again, as the so-called leader spoke something before standing up and leaving. The crowd did the same as they took their leave. I stayed, looking at them as they left one by one, until I felt a hand on my shoulder. The Korean guy stood in front of me, with a smile that seemed more weak and tired than he wanted it to be. He said:
"Yohan and you."
"I'm Yona," I replied.
We stayed in silence for a while before he started walking towards the exit, and when I didn't follow, he stopped and gave me a look of "come on." I stood and followed him to the same cottage I was in earlier. It wasn't the best night of sleep to have. That woman gave me a bad feeling. She somehow seemed like the last person I should trust with my life, yet I was supposed to do that? It didn't feel right to me.
Looking at the ceiling, trying not to think too much about it. At least here, I could live. But back on Earth, I had only death, and the choices I was given were how brutal my death would be. So, this can't be worse. I comforted myself, shutting my eyes, wishing to sleep as soon as I could. But I guess worrying about the worst-case scenario became a habit of mine. After all, it's what I always get. My heart trembled in fear from the coming harm. but my mind kept comforting it, saying that we would survive, as always. And somehow, in the middle of the arguing inside me, I felt the darkness take over as I fell asleep. with unreaveled secrets, drowning me.