Chapter 1 Where am I?
"..."
"Volingold…"
"That is me. As well as your…future, your destiny, and your goal"
"From here on out you shall be known as the Volingold family"
"You will be"
"my culmination"
"my end and my beginning"
"my final proof"
"... and my family"
Simon
What an odd dream.
I stirred as I began to wake up. As I slowly opened my eyes, they were greeted with a beam of sunlight that forced them shut again.
My head was in a pleasant lull—as if I had woken from the most relaxing nap of my life. The sensation didn't last. As I began to make sense of my surroundings, clarity of my situation overtook me.
The sudden influx of emotion made me jolt upright with a cold sweat on my forehead.
A small, grassy clearing opened up around me; sunlight poured in without obstruction. The smell of plant bark, resin, and dirt drifted along the wind. The humidity of this place made it hard to breathe.
A chill ran down my spine.
There was an eerie stillness to this place; the only noise being the hiss of the wind.
As far as anything beyond this area went, only a dense forest filled with trees and plant life—but no wildlife. Except for the other people here too—others that I recognized.
A handful of my classmates, none of whom I was exceptionally close with, were beginning to stir as well. Their eyes were darting around, heads turning, and panic washing over their faces with the realization they didn't know where they were.
I counted seven of us here.
Last I remember we were at a graduation party held in a popular party station in the first orbit. My latest memory was of me joking with my friends after which… I blacked out?
No, it's not like my memories of the whole event were fuzzy—I can clearly recall everything up to a point, after which I ended up here
Instinctively, I booted up my analese—
It wasn't working
What?
I couldn't activate it. It felt like it wasn't even there. That didn't make sense, it was literally implanted in my brain. This shouldn't be happening.
A flurry of questions formed in my mind.
How did we end up here? Where are we?Why is there no activity in my analese?
Perhaps most confusing of all, what the hell was up with that message in my head? Who the hell was Volingold? And what was up with that speech he gave?
It was the kind of speech anyone would make fun of—like a grown adult forced to read off a script made by an 8 year old. I'd be laughing if everything about this wasn't terrifying.
Unsure of who I could rely on in a situation like this—I approached one of the people here I somewhat liked.
"Hey, Nat," My voice was soft as to not startle her
Natasha. She was extremely pale, with a petite frame. Her face was small, and round with the exception of her pointed jawline. Her hair flowed, and framed her face by going over her ears and half over her shoulder while the rest flowed downwards.
She was admittedly very pretty and extremely smart, but also known to have a foul attitude. Still, she wasn't intolerable if you didn't act like a clown. Personally, I didn't find her to be so bad.
She looked back at me with a blank, wide-eyed look on her face.
I didn't expect anyone in the same position as me to have answers to any of the more burning questions, but there was one thing I could confirm.
"Did you also get that weird message in your head before you woke up? The one about Volingold, and…"— I paused, realizing how awkward this was to say out loud— "how we're his family."
"...Yeah, I did. Did you also hear the same thing?" she replied, her voice shaky.
"Do you think everyone heard that?— and… where are we? How did we get here? Why are our analese not working? Do you know anything, Simon?"
She attempted to sound composed, but the fear lacing her eyes and voice was prevalent.
She barraged me with questions—hoping I'd have answers she knew I didn't.
"...I have no idea what's going on, Nat…I'm sorry."
Her shoulders sank along with her head.
Others had gathered around us and began talking to each other. We tossed around a couple questions that went nowhere, and tried to console each other to no avail.
On the outside we at least looked calm, but one wrong word would drive this group hysterical.
Even if we had no way to figure out what was happening, it felt there was something blatantly obvious about this I should be noticing.
My mind, glazed with anxiety, couldn't form it into a thought. Then—as if reading my mind, a girl spoke up from next to me.
"...What happened to everyone else? Why are we the only ones here?" Nat said in a timid voice—a voice normally unbecoming of her.
That's right! We weren't the only ones at that party; hell I wasn't even near these people. I was next to my group friends and not a single one of them showed up here. Were they also brought here? Could they be somewhere else?
Through the torrent of my questions swirling in my brain, I heard some of my classmates trying to come up with a plan.
Color me surprised, I never thought these guys would be able to do anything other than break down and cry.
"I think we should get moving," I heard a guy, William, say
Normally I'd scorn them. Where exactly do you want to go? What do you expect to happen if we just walk around aimlessly? That being said, there was actually a direction I wanted to go—rather, a direction that wanted me to come its way.
Weirdly enough, when asked about where we should go he pointed in that same direction. No one had any good reason for going that way, including me. It was just a "feeling", an instinct. Something rooted into our minds; just like that message in our heads.
These two events had to be linked. If someone can leave a message in my head then they could probably leave us a subtle guide of where to go. This is the only way to get answers.
After some more discussion, everyone agreed to head out that way. The group of Nat, Sonia, Arthur, Dwight, Arjun, William, and I all started walking in the mysterious direction that practically called out to us.
The ground rose and fell unevenly. Wet dirt clung to my shoes, mud seeping between my toes. Branches scraped my sleeves, leaves brushing my face. The air grew sour the deeper we went. Somehow, I still didn't have a single scratch.
I didn't know exactly where we were going—just that it would take some time to get there.
To take my mind off this trek, I began to get lost in my thoughts.
There were a lot of things to think about, but the one I focused on most involved the others at that party.
What happened to everyone else? I desperately wanted to know. I didn't think I'd find myself thinking about them in a situation like this, but I couldn't take my mind off them—more specifically, the group of friends I was with.
It may be a selfish wish, but I really did hope they were in this with me. Even if not here at my exact location—just somewhere nearby and soon to be reunited with.
I didn't like the thought of being stuck here with no one I knew, or really cared about. I'd never admit it to them, but they really did mean a lot to me.
Honestly, I wanted to see them even more than my family.
I was adopted at a relatively late age, and although we got along and I did care for them, our bond never ran deep. I never really got close with anyone, but the time I spent with my friends was something precious to me.
I grew fond of them—more than I thought I would.
The only two people who really broke the mold were my best friend and… her. My girlfriend. I opened myself up to those two in ways I haven't—couldn't—to anyone else.
I hate wishing they were here and possibly in danger, but out of everyone in the world…I didn't want to be stuck somewhere without them.
Jeez, I must really be shaken to be having thoughts like these.
After a while I heard a loud crack of a twig beneath someone's foot.
Awakening from my stupor I quickly snapped my head up to notice that people had stopped up ahead. Continuing forward until I caught up with the rest I prepared myself for what they possibly could have found.
Finally, after reaching the place everyone had grouped together, I saw…
What
What the fuck
???
…My eyes went wide with…what exactly? Fear? Maybe. Curiosity? Partially. Disgust? That will likely settle in. But at the moment I was numb to any feelings; only shock as to what was before my very eyes.
A cockroach, the size of a bear, standing upright on two legs that belonged on a hippo. It sported the rest of the appendages of a cockroach too, but they were all stretched out wide—like it wanted to give us a big, six armed, hug.
A faint glow was emanating from its back. Sparing me the sight of a cockroach's normally disgusting head, there was something… far creepier in its place. It looked like a mask. A mask with a simple line drawing a wide smile and two U's for eyes.
What do I make of this
Is this thing hostile? Its stance makes it look almost welcoming, but in a predatory creepy way. It made me think of an old man trying to goad a kid into its van. The mask didn't help its case either.
No one made any moves away or toward it. Undoubtedly, everyone was just as confused as to what to do here. We couldn't do anything but remain in place.
How do we make sense of this? How do I even begin to approach the situation?
I was swimming in questions, staring at this…creature. What do I even call it? There was nothing in my head even resembling an Iota of a plan.
I'm getting nowhere like this. Maybe I should just walk up to it. No, there's no need to do that yet, I should at least discuss with everyone el—
Whoosh
The hiss of the wind suddenly evolved into a howl. Hair and clothes were blown and pulled in an uproar. The wind was blowing so fast I could see strands of it forming—and gathering toward the giant cockroach.
The wind enveloped the roach's body—ready to support its every move. It was especially dense around its appendages, where tight knit cyclones formed and circled around them.
While we were stunned, the roach had come to a decision first. I wanted to act, but witnessing this supernatural phenomenon take place made me feel powerless.
What could I even do?
All that was left for me was to pray this creature really was on our side.
It's eyes focused on…
Me.
The area the roach was standing in blew up in a scourge of wind. The creature charged with a speed equal to bullet train.
Before I could react I felt an impact. A mass almost twice my size had slammed into my chest. My body was lifted and I saw blurred images pass me by until everything came to sudden stop.
I was sent flying…
But the biggest surprise.
I was alive.