SearchYear 2156
“Hey Ben!” a sweaty worker called over to a man standing on the top of the digging hole. The wilderness was the hottest during this time of the day, and the archeology crew work slow to save energy. Even the green foliage that provided shade did little to help.
Their leader, Ben, was under contract to excavate the ruins found deep in the Tyrsis jungle. He and his crew were one of the best, and were shipped over all the way from Australia. Ben knew nothing about the people who had once lived there. His job was to dig up artifacts and leave the thinking to the eggheads at the museums. He could care less about history. It was the paycheck he was interested in.
“What is it?” Ben slid into the pit; kicking up dusty dirt. He made his way to the pile of dirt the crew was huddled around. He squeezed through and his breath became caught in his throat. Poking out of the ground before him was the biggest jewel he had ever seen. The piece sticking out was only a square foot large, but the way it was shape hinted that there was plenty more still buried beneath the dirt.
One of the workers wiped more dirt from the smooth surface and looked into it closely. “I think we should turn it in to the labs,” he said.
“What? Why?” Ben asked. The labs were not like the museums. They paid a lot less. This jewel was worth millions. Possibly more if he could connect some sort of historical significance to it.
“Well, sir. There’s something inside of it. It looks like some sort of animal.”
- - -
I couldn’t see anything, and I realized that it was because my eyes were closed. I opened them and quickly closed them again against the bright light. I smelled flowers. I shook my head clear and stood up, squinting my eyes until they had adapted to the light.
I was surprised to find myself standing in a seemingly endless field of the most beautiful flowers I have ever seen. The sky was blindingly bright, and there was no sun in sight. But that didn’t worry me. I felt unusually at peace, almost euphoric.
I spun slowly in a circle, looking around for a change in scenery. Only flowers as far as the eye could see; flowers of all imaginable shapes and sizes. In the distance, two shadowy figures stood side by side. It took me a while to realize that I knew those people. They were Mother and Father. But it made no sense. They were dead. I saw them die.
“What’s his status?” a voice boomed in my head. It made it ache so bad it started to pound. I felt annoyed that this voice would interrupt my peace.
“Dead sir. But there is still some brain activity. It might be possible to jumpstart his heart.” Another voice, a woman, said. My head started to pound harder. I smelled cold steel and felt nauseas. There were more voices in the background, indistinct but noticeably urgent.
“Okay. Do it. Start artificial blood pressure, and start him off slow or else he might go into shock. And give him a dose of epinephrine.”
“Clear!”
My chest suddenly felt like it exploded from the inside and I fell to the ground, gasping for breath that wouldn’t come. It hit again, and I convulsed. My head was swimming in pain, and my chest was on fire. Once more it hit, and I could feel myself start to pass out. The flowers no longer had smell and the sky was dimming. In the distance, Mother and Father were getting further away.
“Mother. Father.” I cried quietly, too weak to yell. “Wait. Wait for me.” The impact hit again and I blacked out. The last thing I heard was the voice of the female.
“We have a pulse. Let’s get him into the tank.”
- - -
I didn’t know how long I slept, but when I awoke, it was certain that I wasn’t home anymore. Things slid slowly into focus and everything kind of tasted purple. My head throbbed painfully, and I felt very tired and sluggish, but thankfully my chest wasn’t hurting anymore. Why was it hurting in the first place? I couldn’t remember.
It took me a moment to realize that I was underwater. There was something attached to my face that allowed me to breath. The air was cold and tasted metallic. I couldn’t see too well through the water, but I could see shapes that looked like people walking around. Walking underwater?
I reached forward and felt something tug at my skin. I looked at my arm and saw what looked like ropes attached to it. I reached forward further and my hand touched glass. The ropes tugged painfully at my flesh and I realized that they went under my skin. I turned and felt along the glass. It completely surrounded me. I was trapped in a glass prison.
I started to panic. I wanted out. I needed out. Claustrophobia began to seep into my mind. My heart was hammering. I did my best to steady my breathing and calm down. I heard a faint beeping and the people moving around suddenly moved towards my container and gathered around. From what little I could make out, they were wearing white robes. Could they be Temple mages? Was I still in the village?
Of course I was still in the village, right? I mean, I would know if someone had moved me wouldn’t I? My heart was beating hard, my head was spinning. I was breathing so hard that the device feeding me air was barely able to keep up.
I heard faint voices on the other side of my glass prison. I strained to make catch what the people outside were saying. It was difficult to understand their accent. The faint beeping noise got faster.
I hear a hiss from one of the tubes in my arm and I suddenly felt nauseous. The room began to spin and my tongue felt like cotton. Slowly, my vision faded away and I blacked out.
- - -
“We’re not supposed to be here, Draco.” Bahaumut complained, tapping his foot impatiently on the floor as I stuck a small metal pick into the keyhole of the lock that sealed the Archives.
“Shh! Just hold on a moment.” I gave the pick a hard twist and the lock clicked open. I removed the lock and opened the door. “Come on.” Bahaumut peered into the dark room and apprehensively stepped in.
The Archives were huge. Monstrous shelves that doubled as pillars rested in a dial formation. The center of the room bore a number of tables. The floor and ceiling were ostentatiously painted. Old and musty air infested the room, the smell of rotting paper and ageless dust snuck past my nose, making me want to sneeze. It was only seldom used, and ill kept. Books and scrolls lay haphazardly on the tables and floor. Still, the shelves seemed to be bursting with paper. I looked at Bahaumut, whose expression had not changed, but his eyes glittered in excitement. “See, this was worth the trouble, was it not?”
© draco-joe. All rights reserved by the author.
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