The Pantheon: Rebirth

Remembrance

It was a warm Sunday morning. The sun was shining. Birds were chirping. It seemed like another boring day. Then suddenly a darkness rushed in, covering the sky in a blanket of black. All sound from the world was gone in an instant. From that darkness a voice echoed, yelling with rage. As it grew closer, the world began to violently shake. At first, it's difficult to hear but as it draws closer, words begin to take shape.

"You are the reason the world will end!"

A man jumps up from his bed, sweat beading down as he attempts to catch his breath.

"What the hell was that?" He looks around, expecting the world to be engulfed in flames. But there is nothing. The outside world is as normal as it can be. Boringly normal. The man gets up, his head pounding. He looks around for any indication of something out of the ordinary but once again finds nothing. Suddenly, he notices something move on the other side of the bed. He slowly creeps over, trying to decide if his head is playing tricks on him.

"Who's there?" He asks, tentatively moving closer.

"What happened?" A voice responds. "Where am I?"

A woman begins to rise from the floor. She's dressed in a white gown. Like something a princess would wear in a movie. She manages to stand, her brunette curls blocking her face from the man.

"Hey are you okay?"

"Woah back up!" She yells reaching for the lamp on the nightstand.

"Easy! I'm not going to hurt you!" The man responds, jumping backwards, hoping he's enough out of her reach. "Who are you? How did you get in here?"

"I- I don't know. I can't remember anything." The woman responded, reaching for her head. "My head's pounding. What did you do to me?!" She reaches for the lamp again, causing the man to retreat to the bathroom.

"I swear I didn't do anything to you! I just had a bad dream and woke up here. I can't remember anything. I can't even remember my name."

"Wait, I can't remember mine either. What the hell is going on?"

"I don't know but maybe if you put the lamp down, we can figure it out."

"No way," She replies, clutching the lamp like a knight yielding his sword. "I'm not going to die in some random place with a guy I don't know."

"ok, but I'm going to look for something that can help us. Feel free to stay here."

The man slides past the girl, still holding on to the lamp for dear life. He heads downstairs, the pounding in his head increasing. He reaches for the railing but misses, falling down the steps and ending up in a pile on the hardwood floor. The woman runs to the top of the stairs, the lamp now missing from her hands.

"Jesus, are you okay?"

"Just great." He groans as he attempts to stand up. The pounding growing louder and louder. He lets out a scream of agony as his vision begins to blur from the pain. The woman rushes down the steps, desperately trying to reach him. As she makes it to him, the pounding begins to go away for both of them. After a second, the man is able to stand up and make it to the kitchen table. They share a look of confusion.

"Why are you looking at me like?" The woman asked, her hazel eyes finally free from the curtain of hair.

"Why did the pounding stop when you got near me?"

"Beats me. I'm just as freaked out as you are." She sighs as she attempts to let her thoughts calm themselves. "What's happening to us?" She asks, sitting down on the chair next to him.