Eschaton

Chapter 1: Awakening

         In a small, cold, dark place, a man lays upon a slab of stone. His body springs with life as he awakes, taking in his first breath. He bolts upright and looks around, unable to focus on anything through the darkness. Slowly his sight adjusts, allowing him to see himself surrounded by stone walls. He swings his legs off the slab and planted his feet flat on the ground, feeling the cold rock underneath. He squinted his eyes, realizing the walls themselves were covered with strange markings. He took a few steps closer, focusing on the etchings as he drew near. He knew it had to be some form of writing but was still unable to decipher any of it. He reached out with his hand, letting the tips of his fingers brush across the wall, feeling the markings as he walked around the room. The words emitted a warm, faint glow as he touched them, but soon dissipated as his fingers moved away.

The room began to slightly illuminate. The man looked over to see some of the scripture written along the stone begin to intensify with light. The markings ignited downward where it met the floor. The strand of light ran to the top of the stone walls and over, carving out a white square on one of the walls. The man drew back, shielding his eyes with his hands as the brightness grew.

"A door?" the man whispered to himself, as the light begin to hum, vibrating the room. While peering through his fingers facing the light, he could see the rest of the room with clarity, only to realized there was nothing but the slab of stone he awoke upon. Suddenly he was overwhelmed with confusion. How did he get here? Why was he here? He began to breathe rapidly as he realized he didn't even know who he was.

"Is somebody out there!?" He shouted into the light but was met with no response other than the sound of a steady humming. Why couldn't he remember? When he tried to recall anything, it felt like he was getting lost in his own mind, his thoughts wandering around a maze with no exit.

He heard a low rumbling and turned around. The wall behind him was moving towards him, shaking dust loose from the ceiling and sending it to the ground. He sprang away from the stone slab, watching it crumble as the wall slid into it unfazed. With his back against the light, he watched as the wall came right up to him, pushing him through the door, the brightness enveloping his entire body.

He had the sensation that he was falling immediatly, with wind rushing through his fingers and hair. He attempted to look around with his eyes just barely open, as his vision was hindered by the strong gust that was thrown at them. He quickly realized he was looking at the sky. He began to panic as he turned to see the earth rush up to meet him. All the air escaped from his body as he met the ground, the impact kicking up dirt around him. He lay there not daring to move, wondering if he was dead.

Moments later he brought himself to his feet, coughing out the dirt he had just inhaled. He found himself outside, the wind sending a howling gust to his ears. He looked around, noticing he was on a small mesa made of solid rock. He walked to the edge and peered over. He could tell he was some distance from the bottom and that if he fell, it would surely kill him.

The wind blew, sending a cold shiver running through him. He felt the cold air wrap around his naked body, followed by another gust causing a chill to crawl down his spine. His teeth began to clatter together as he stumbled near the edge. Looking down he desperately scans the area in hopes of finding a way off, so that he can escape the cold and find safety. He saw some edges that he could grab to lower himself down until he was off the mesa. He began shaking intensely knowing that a simple gust of wind could cause him to slide off and down to his death. After a quick look around the edge of the rock, it appeared this was his only way down.

He turned around with his back towards the edge. He got to his knees and slowly moved one foot over the ledge. As he got that foot rooted firmly, he moved on to his next step. He reached to the next foothold stretching his toes and began moving his hands down as well. He moved again feeling better about having to climb down the rocky surface. Step by step he descended lower, being sure every time he put his foot down there was no purchase. He looked over his shoulder to gage how far he had come. He began to get nervous as he stared at the land below, realizing he wasn't even halfway down yet. He watched the grass below sway with the breeze, along with unsystematic intervals of trees who's branches did the same. As calming as the sight was, it wasn't enough to quell the uneasiness of the distance below. He could feel his palms getting clammy as he preceded down. He closed his eyes and took a slow deep breath, trying to calm himself before going any further.

A powerful gust blew right into him as he tried for another step. In a split second, he lost his balance and knew his terrible fate. He slipped as the wind took him off the side of the mesa. The wind flew past him as he careened down, the rocky side of the mesa rushing past his view. As he reached the base his head hit a jagged protrusion, causing pain to reverberate through his entire body. He crumbled into a heap on the ground, laying there unable to move. The breaths he was able to take were far too short he knew. Blood began to fill up his vision turning it crimson, as more came up out of his mouth laying the taste of copper within it. Soon, his vision went from red to black, with his mind slowing down and his pain finally ending.

He awoke suddenly gasping for air. He found himself surrounded in darkness, laying upon a cold stone slab. He leaned himself up, his hand instinctively went to the back of his neck, and slowly brushed over the rest of his face. He felt a familiar sense of pain there, but he couldn't figure out why. He felt a familiar sense of panic as he didn't know where or who he was. A faint light made itself known. It began to grow brighter with each passing minute. He stood up, planting his feet on the cold stone. He walked over to the light, holding out his hand, slowly pushing it through. He watched as his hand disappeared, enveloped in the white light completely obscuring it. He stepped forward, feeling as if it was the right thing to do.

As his body went through, his vision was filled with light, until everything he saw turned blue. He began to feel a sensation, as if he was being carried through the clouds. Instinct surged through him, catching himself as he landed upon the ground.

He found himself atop a rocky mesa. Sunbathing his naked body with warmth. He saw the land around him taking a bath in the sun as well. The trees danced below as the wind ran through them. The air out here was refreshing compared to the stale air he was breathing before. His eyes closed as the wind wrapped around him. The warmth was quickly washed off but reappeared as the wind stopped. He peered off the edges, he noticed he wasn't too far away from flat ground. There was a thicket of trees that surrounded the mesa, but it didn't extend for more than a couple of miles in either direction. There wasn't any other structure quite like this as far as he could tell, he was in a sea of green. The rustling of the leaves and howling of the wind calmed him, even though he had nothing but queries.

He knew he couldn't stay, that much was apparent. He quickly found a suitable path and resolved to climb down immediately. His descend was quick, he felt as if it was almost natural. He jumped off as he came close to the bottom. He released a sigh of relief as he felt the tension of the climb whisk away. Wiping away dirt from his thighs, he inspected the base of the mesa. It wasn't all too thick he thought, maybe hundred feet around and another hundred tall. He began walking along the base, noticing as he did the air began to fill his nose with a heavy foul stench.

Broke and torn to pieces, lay a body at his feet. There he stared upon the mangled remains. The head was missing from the body, having rolled a short distance away, staring up at him. Most of the limbs had appeared to be torn off, as if a wild animal attacked it. What did remain of the flesh however created a stench so foul he wanted to vomit.

The air grew heavier as he looked on. He almost found it fitting, how such a smell should have a visual representation such as the blackened grotesque mass that lay at his feet. The face was the worst part about the whole thing. It made him feel an uneasy sensation as he bent down to get a closer look. The skin had been torn away or had been so badly decomposed it didn't come close to representing a human face.

As he stared on, he felt a knot in his stomach form, the very sight making him feel uneasy. Even the smell invaded his lungs, requiring deeper and deeper breaths with every second that went by. An image presented itself in his mind of the man's demise. Inside it, he saw a man slipping on the very rock above himself... and fall to meet a terrible fate here at the bottom. The man began to tremble as he crouched closer to investigate the hole that took away so much of the skull. He closed his eyes, turning away to take a deep breath.

"I'm sorry for what befell you." he said softly. "I don't know where I am, or whom for that matter... but I will come back for you to lay you to rest when I am able."

He rose to his feet opening his eyes wide as he stood tall. He looked onward into the woods beside him and began walking into the thicket of trees, still dancing from the wind. He started to walk in between the brush, giving a silent prayer for that man and one for himself that he may find salvation.