Escaping Nothing

I felt the light before my eyes actually saw it, warm and soft, almost tangible, like a blanket draped across my skin. How long had I been lying there? I tried pushing myself up from the ground, but nothing seemed to want to work properly. It was as though I’d never attempted to move before. Finally, begrudgingly, my body began to obey my brain. I turned over and began to sit up as I blinked and squinted against the blinding yellow that seemed less a comforter and more an attacker now.

My ears were coming to life as my hands instinctively moved to cover them in hopes to drown out the high pitched ringing. Slowly, my sight and hearing both began to come into focus. Dust hovered in the air around me. What had just happened?

As I stood up, I wracked my brain for anything that could help me understand my surroundings. My legs were as untrustworthy as my memory, however, so I quickly sat back down on the dark green grass. Okay. Let’s try this again, I encouraged my limbs. I took my time getting on my feet watching my legs carefully as they strained. I had no coverings on my feet. I had no coverings on the rest of my body either it seemed. Scanning the horizon, there seemed to be no one around to notice my nakedness.

Nothing I could see indicated that there were any others at all, actually. I began walking towards the hill that lay in front of me. It was steep, but not so steep that my aching, wobbly legs couldn’t manage to navigate it with a little help from my hands. When I reached the peak I could see for what seemed like miles in every direction.

Hello! I called to my left. Hello! I called again. Is anybody there?!

Where was everyone else? I began to walk down the hill, continuing in the same direction. Hundreds of large, sharp rocks jutted from the ground as though driven up by some unnatural force. I had to dodge cracks in the ground that wound incoherently about the land. Oddly enough, they seemed to be slowly closing rather than expanding. HELLO! I called again. IS ANYBODY THERE?! I yelled.

Everything around me was unfamiliar. Why couldn’t I remember what happened? Was there anyone else? Or was I the only one who…

No. I couldn’t think like that. There must be others. I am in the middle of nowhere. There is no indication of civilization around me at all so why should there be others here. There must be others. It wasn’t a question of if but of where. HELLO! I screamed nevertheless. I couldn’t convince my mind that I would be out here all alone. The only response was the sound of a soft breeze rustling trees in the distance. The sky around me was dark as my concern grew. 

I suddenly felt very exposed. The only safe place seemed to be the grove of trees that the breeze had discovered, so I started walking that way. Quicker. More quickly. Finally I was running, fear began to overtake me and drive me.

At last I stepped into the darkness of the woods and worked to catch my breath before examining my new surroundings. My eyes adjusted to the dim light quickly. Hundreds of trees surrounded me, but in the trees I could see creatures moving about, jumping from limb to limb, flapping their wings for balance. Birds. Birds are here - that’s a really good sign. What else? I walked forward, moving leaves and branches away from my face pushing deeper into the woods. A low rumble that stopped me in my tracks began to emerge from the shadows. I could feel my heart rate quicken as a large animal stepped into what little light could penetrate the canopy. Its yellow eyes captured that light and threw it back at me as it bared its long, sharp fangs. I couldn’t move, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to either. The large cat walked towards me as it snarled softly. It sniffed my bare skin before letting out a chilling roar. My eyes closed tightly but no other aspect of my body was capable of responding.

“Ah, he’s over here,” I heard someone speak. “Seems the tiger found him,” the voice chuckled. The words seemed to come from every direction all at once. The tiger backed away and trotted back into the shadows.

I followed her lead. While my mind told me I should’ve been relieved to hear the sound of another, something in me was trembling and fearful. I crouched down behind a tree hoping the shroud of bushes would shield me until I could learn more.

“You hide from me?” the voice was louder and echoed in my brain. I searched the woods frantically but saw no one. Then I heard rustling in the trees and the sound of footsteps on the ground.

Run.

I obeyed my instincts and forced my body to move, retracing the path I’d used to come into the woods. Getting out, getting to the light, was my only goal. “Now you run?” the voice that still seemed to surround me questioned. “Where will you go? There is nothing!”

Exploding out of the trees and into the light, I pressed on towards one of the large shards of stone that pierced the landscape and slid behind it. My uncovered legs scraped against the ground opening up small gashes. I watched the blood trickle from me like a foreign substance, red and dark, until finally I shook my  mind free and turned toward the dangerous grove of trees to watch. To wait. The voice was right. There is nothing.

“Why do you run? Why do you hide?” the voice boomed inside my mind, but I saw no one. My fear turned to anger and frustration. WHY DO YOU HIDE? THERE IS NOTHING. THERE IS NO ONE. I AM ALONE. I AM THE LAST ONE. WHAT DID YOU DO TO THEM?

“What did I do to who?”

THE OTHERS! Just do it to me. If I’m the last, just…just do it to me.

“The last? Oh no. You are not the last. Quite the contrary. You are the first. But we will make more.”