Fate and We

Disadvantageous encounter

Morningcloud decided to inform his father about his worries that were threatening to drown him. Therefore he planned to wake up early on a faithful morning so as to catch up with his dad before he leaves home for work.

Naturally, he woke up a bit too late to catch his dad, due to mental fatigue derived from constantly being under pressure from his hallucinations lately, for the past few weeks.

‘Oh dammit, i missed again!’

He realized immediately he woke up.

“I really have to make sure i see him tomorrow”

He concluded silently and firmed his will.

He checked the time and realized that at least, he woke up early enough to do his morning routine thoroughly.

Then he got off from bed and prepared himself before heading to his work place.

‘

Outside a jaggy old cave in the woods named Duncad, off the road of Bellington. A few number of camps could be seen scattered around it. Groups of armed men could be seen stationed around it perimeter with their off-road jeeps. Their presence gave off an invisible pressure to the average person that might stare. A simple line of defense was made.

A few couple of people putting on boots with simple looking clothes that seemed to be getting dirty already, could be noticed getting busy. Three men and two ladies. They were equipped with seemingly picking tools and head torch. They looked like archaeologists, and a fervent look could be seen on each of their faces.

This people seem to be studying something interesting; a black obsidian rock with flawless smooth surface of 1.5 meters wide.

“Anything yet?”

A voice suddenly came from their comms, jolting them all out of their immersion.

There was a few seconds of silence before a reply was given;

“Not yet” replied, a middle aged man. He seemed to be the leader of this group of archaeologists.

He softly swallowed, then continued; “But this piece of rock feels out of place. It is too light than it size.. almost giving the feeling of ethereal”

“Hm Mr Patterson doesn’t care how long it will take for you to study everything of value here”

The voice from earlier replied back tiredly, before further instructing.

“And don’t you dare forget to note every single information and send it directly to me” Then the lazy voice ended.

A momentary silence once again fell among this group.

“Let’s get to work. Mr Patterson is still angry from what happened the last time”

A shaky voice sounded. The middle aged man named Franklin only nodded his head, indicating his agreement before turning his attention back to their study.

‘

Around 9PM, Morncloud was on his way home after an interesting small party at a longtime friend of his, Brian’s place.

Dragging his weak body along a narrow road surrounded by woods, which led to his house. A simple shortcut he found out himself from high school days.

Walking silently, alone in the dark on a familiar road can be so spirit uplifting or calming.. or perhaps the feeling of dread.

He couldn’t help but feel he needed more of his silent time. Taking a simple turn to his left, he changed his destination to a mountain top he barely visits.

Upon reaching his destination without too much of an hassle, he unceremoniously sat down, before he sighed tiredly.

Reminiscing about the past.. thinking about the tangible and the intangible. Slowly, he got lost in thought.

Morncloud could not say exactly how much time had passed but his silent moment was cut short by some murmuring that was drifting into his ear. It seemed to be coming from the distance, right down below the mountain he was sitting on, and it seem to be getting a little louder by the moment.

He carefully moved closer to the edge of the mountain top to have a view of what could be causing those voices... in the woods at night.

Getting to the edge, he narrowed his sight as he perked up his ears, he was dumbfounded and confused at the sight below him. He suddenly felt like he had seen what shouldn’t be seen by the average, as cold sweat beamed on his forehead.

He abruptly pulled his head back in an attempt to avoid being seen, he slowly stood up. He stood still for a moment to calm his nerves before deciding to turn around and head home.

At that last moment though, the sound of dry leave being stepped on directly pierced his eardrums. His back turn cold and stiff, at the same time, rays of light turned to his direction, revealing his petrified figure.

The last things Morncloud remembered was the warning that dared him to move, before everything went dark.