Daimones - Book 1 of the Daimones Trilogy. Booktrope Publishing Edition

Daimones

The cabin smashed in the accident, crumpled when the truck rolled over, and was now stuck against the guardrail. I realized then that we would never be able to get rid of obstacles such as that one without proper machines. Whenever and if ever we were to move somewhere else, we had to be ready to travel on alternative routes and be able to take those at any moment and from any location. Probably that also meant avoiding any route that didn't provide us with multiple options to reach a destination, any destination.

I returned to the car, made a U-turn and drove on the highway in the opposite direction—extremely dangerous in another world, but not the one in which I lived. Dusk came, and the highway was dark. The countryside was deserted and there was no sign of human life. As expected, of course, but disturbing as ever.

After driving a few miles on the highway, a faint light appeared in the distance. It meant only one thing. I slowed down and unknowingly held my breath until I gasped for air. Getting closer, the distant glowing came from separate sources.

I stopped the car and got out. At that moment, I had a brief glimpse of a luminescent circular shape with spokes similar to a wheel quickly disappearing into the starry sky. But even today I could not be sure of what I saw in that brief moment.

I hesitated and took a deep breath. Back in the car, I kept driving slowly until I clearly distinguished five entities standing in the middle of the lane as if they always had been there.

The tinnitus again rumbled in my head but, as before, it started to get less chaotic. I prepared myself to hear something, though I didn't know what "prepare" meant. They did not move. Maybe they had all the time in the world. I didn't. My head felt like it was burning and buzzing inside, not just from the strong tinnitus but from the many questions, too...all ending with a big "Why?"

I advanced the car until I got about fifty yards away from the standing figures. Stopping, I turned off the engine and stepped out of the car. The night was upon us by then. A clear night with bright stars, brighter than ever in a world where mankind no longer spewed pollution into the air, where no man was present but me.

This time it has to be different, I thought. I was resolved not to be chased away. I did not receive any negative feeling as I approached. On the contrary, I felt I was being encouraged. Again, an unnatural serenity captured me, more imposingly than ever before. As if they had desensitized me to any fear and anxiety when in their presence.

The tinnitus became a multi-toned, randomly fluctuating pitch sound, and the hissing white noise totally disappeared. I slowly walked forward until I was no more than ten yards from them. There, I stopped. They were distinguishable after all. Similar, but different. One in particular was shorter and thinner than the others.

The tinnitus changed now into a reduced group of pure notes, their pitch fluctuating high and low in unison. In my head, I heard, "It is time." I didn't or couldn't react physically but—emotionally—it was if the eye of the storm had finally reached me, revealing the sun and the blue sky when all around was dark devastation. The wind roared furiously. It was like one of those vivid dreams of mine, in the transitional phase just before falling asleep. It was happening for real, though, and it felt perfectly natural.

The five entities approached. I had time to look at them carefully while they slowly advanced toward me. They seemed to be wearing tunic dresses that blended into the ground and hid their legs and feet. The glow was rather intense, forcing me to squint my eyes. Their faces were old. Nope, scratch that: They were wise, not old. They kept approaching until they encircled me and I was then flooded with light from all directions. I could not see anything but them now, and barely that. Beyond, pitch black. I had the impression they were smiling. They each raised one arm to the level of my head and kept advancing.