Chasing Time

Finding Truth

Upper Terragon.

07:00, 14th July, 3000

"Take a deep breath in and a heavy breath out." Frederick obeyed the instructions of the Clairvoyant as he sat in a lotus position.

"Close your eyes and visualize what you want...try to reach for it," Draccus's voice was always soothing when he spoke this way. It relaxed Frederick in ways he could not explain.

"When should we lift off?" he asked.

"Do not speak, Lord Damien. You must concentrate,"

"Oh come on. I'm relaxed and zen and whatever. I need to know if everything will go as planned." Frederick snapped and opened his eyes. Draccus sat across from him, his thick, dark arms crossed over his even thicker chest. They were in the Healing Room where Draccus resided and 'communicated' with the goddess of the Earth. The lineage of Clairvoyants had played a key role in dividing Terragon. People were always ready to obey when anything spiritual was involved, although people hardly worshipped at the temples any longer and Clairvoyants were now used as entertainment more than anything else. When Draccus had come to the Thirteen about six months ago, they almost turned him away, laughing, but Frederick was a careful man, just like his father had been. If the end of the world was really coming, then he did not want to stick around for it.

"Lord Damien, I am going to be completely honest with you," he got up to his feet and swept his snow-white locs behind him "Gaya has not been communicating with me since I told you about the apocalypse."

"What?" Frederick exclaimed and jumped up "why are you just telling me this?"

"Because I was afraid you would react this way," Draccus replied cooly and stared at Frederick with his almost white, blue eyes. The room was lit by a single candle and the light reflected on Draccus's skin like smoothened coal. Frederick suddenly remembered how tall and imposing the Clairvoyant was with his unusual eye and hair color. People said he used dye and contact lenses but Frederick knew that was not true.

"What are we supposed to do now?" the Head Councilman said with a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose to try and calm himself.

"She is clearly angry Lord Damien, and it is obvious why,"

"Obvious? It's not obvious to me!"

"Decay, Lord Damien. Decay, rot and filth, everywhere. Humans have poisoned her holy body for too long and she is going to give the ultimate punishment, death."

The room grew still. Frederick could hear himself breathing and he could feel his heart racing. Draccus had an almost eerie way of saying things that made him feel frightened. He had heard this story before but it still made his back sweat.

"B-but we should not be affected if we stay off the Earth, right?" he asked and Draccus started stroking his close-cropped white beard.

"Yes. To be safer, we need to remove anything natural from around us."

"What do you mean?"

"Gaya is the Earth goddess. Anything that can grow from soil can always be reached by her. If we remove all traces of soil and anything that can grow from soil, we can have a better chance of escaping her wrath." Draccus said in a matter-of-factly manner which Frederick found unnerving. If the prophecy was to be believed, the 'cleansing' could go on for years and years which is why he and the other members of the Thirteen decided to start up a large garden that can cater to their needs when their supplies ran low.

"So we have to remove all the soil from Upper Terragon?"

"Yes. And the trees and all the fresh produce you gathered-"

"You're mad!"

"Mad?" Draccus repeated then let out a deep rumble of a laughter that made Frederick stare daggers at him "maybe I am mad but you want to escape death, don't you? I'll suggest that you and your Thirteen start gathering up those food packets you feed the Lowers, maybe you'll be safe that way."

"You...but I-"

"Lord Damien, I would love to chat about this some more but I really have to get back to my meditation," Draccus said then returned to his seated position, head held high and eyes closed. Frederick stood there for a moment, fuming, thinking of what to say. Then he turned to leave but right before he went through the door, he turned to face the Clairvoyant.

"What will you do if the apocalypse comes? Will you choose life or death?" he asked. Draccus opened his eyes and stared at Frederick with an almost surprised look on his face.

"When the apocalypse comes, I will do as Gaya bids me. That is if she ever speaks to me again,"

"And if she doesn't speak to you?"

"I...I don't know..."

It shocked Frederick to see Draccus not be sure of himself, so he just nodded in response and left.

Draccus kept staring at the door long after the Head Councilman had left. The loneliness started creeping in again. He had never felt anything like it. In the past, he always had Gaya to talk to, she was always with him, always talking to him. They both hated the way humans had desecrated the planet and she suggested ways to make it better. He would table those ideas to the Council of Thirteen but they just waved him off. They only called on him when they wanted to throw a party and wanted him to play fortune-teller. Of course, the fortunes were never real but the Uppers just believed whatever came out of his mouth. It made Gaya laugh.

When Gaya told him about the apocalypse and the havoc she planned to wreak on humans, panic gripped him. He wanted to ask if she would spare him but he knew that would just make her see him as another selfish human. He was distraught for many days, then he asked her if she planned to wipe out everyone on Earth. She told him "as long as they touch my soil or they are close to anything that comes from my soil, they will die."

Her words left a bad taste in his mouth and he ran to The Thirteen. Frederick had been the only one to take him seriously. The Head Councilman was the only one who saw him as more than just an entertainer. The others still believed that he was just making stuff up but they had no choice but to follow Frederick's orders.

When he got back to the Healing Room, he could feel that someone was different. He felt empy inside, he knew she had left. He performed all the rites and prayers his predecessor had taught him but he could not reach her anymore. All his life, he was destined to be a Clairvoyant. Now, he was not sure what he was and that scared him more than anything.

"Gaya, I know you can hear me," he said out loud and felt a tear roll down his cheek "please come back..." his voice was a bare whisper as he started to sob quietly.

•|•|•|•|•

Sector B, Middle Terragon.

07:02, 14th July, 3000.

He laid very still in the surprisingly comfortable bed that the 'Clairvoyant' had offered him. He still found it all very difficult to believe. When Layana saw him, she just stared at him for a long minute until Julia half-yelled at her. Then, all of them proceeded to tell him a wild tale about an apocalypse and the end of the world and some other nonsense about tiny demons or monsters. Back in Upper Terragon, Draccus was constantly talking about Gaya and the Earth. Stanley listened sometimes but he believed nothing.

Stanley had laughed in their faces and told them he was not interested. He tried to leave but was blocked off by Julia who threatened to report him to a Defender if he did not join them in their delusional quest to save the world. That was when the pretty dark girl who had been painting when they got there offered to prepare dinner, claiming that they would have better conversations if their bellies were full. If only she were right. He and Julia ended up butting heads during the dinner, making it uncomfortable for everyone else. There was something about her that just vexes him. When he closed his eyes, all he saw was her face moving closer to his when she kissed him. That kiss was something else. He shook his head free of the thoughts, wondering how it was possible for him to hate someone and still want to kiss them.

"Are you awake?" Layana's soft voice drifted through the front door. Stanley sat up straight and looked at her. She was really something. Her green eyes seemed to shine on the dark room and her hair was the color of molten iron. She had a quality that he could not explain but it made him want to be around her and listen to whatever she had to say.

"Yes." he replied, unsure of what else to say.

"May I come in?"

"Of course,"

She walked into the room but it looked like she was floating on an invisible cloud. He watched her and shifted until he was sitting on the edge of the bed. She sat next to him then stared straight ahead with a stunningly impassive face.

"You don't believe us," Layana said. He took in a breath and let it out slowly.

"No. I don't."

"Why not?"

"I..." he paused then chuckled nervously "I don't know...maybe because it sounds preposterous?" she turned to face him when he said that and their eyes met.

"Gaya says you'll be difficult, so she offered to show you herself."

"Wha-"

"Hold my hand," she said and extended her left palm towards him. He looked down at it, staring at the lines and the slenderness of her fingers. He swallowed and slowly brought his hand to hers. Immediately their hands touched, he threw his head back and his eyes turned white.

Layana watched as he shook and clenched his teeth. His grip on her hand tightened but she could not feel it. The whole thing seemed to last forever but was done after thirty seconds. He came to and sucked in a huge breath, his eyes widening. He looked at her and started breathing shakily, his chest heaving.

"Do you believe us now?" she asked and he swallowed again, then let go of her hand. He brought his hands to his head and held it, slightly tugging at his hair.

"How can we stop this?" he said after a while, his voice was still shaky.

"We can't stop it." Layana answered and he looked up at her with frightened eyes. She placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled softly at him "but we can save some people, and we need you for that."

Stanley looked down again, trying to stop his head from spinning. What he saw was horrific, he did not know what to feel. He suddenly found himself wishing he had listened to his father and stayed put in Upper Terragon.

"Stanley?"

"I understand," he looked at her "I'm in."