The Lumberjack

The Lumberjack - Part Five

 When I awoke, my first thought was how dark it was. My next and immediate thought was that there was something on my face, and just like that, all of the horrors I had faced in the last day hit me like a hurricane. They must have caught me, they must have put me in a robe and one of those awful masks and I would have to march in the woods in their grim procession forever and ever with those things I had seen in the town. I rushed to try to rip the mask off my face, when a cold hand stopped me. I looked up at this being, for there were eye-holes in this mask, and noticed that this was not one of the cultists, and that I was not in the woods. "Careful, now," the figure said, and I saw that he was wearing a gas mask, and that I must be wearing one too. I appeared to be in some sort of underground tunnel. I began to panic again, because I really loathed confined spaces. "Easy, soldier. You're among friends. I'm not one of those things out there in the woods, but if you don't get a hold of yourself, I'll have to knock you out again. Do you really want to be put back under so soon after you just woke up?"

I decided that I didn't, and I started to breathe. I was lying on the floor, and the only thing here except me and my mysterious host was a single candle. There was something that puzzled me about the candle, and then I realized what had bothered me. With the exception of the fire in the old man's hearth, the only fire I had seen in this place was a strange bluish-green. This was orange, with hints of yellow and red. It was such a small thing, really, but it felt like home, and a single tear fell from my cheek. But the man, for I was now fairly certain that the figure was a man, had told me to get a hold of myself, and I felt compelled to obey. I took another deep breath, and turned my attention to this stranger who had apparently brought me here. "What... what..." To my embarrassment, I was too weak to finish any sentences, or ask any questions.

The man in the gas-mask let out a small chuckle. There wasn't much humor in it, but it lacked the outright maliciousness of the old man's, and for that I was grateful. "You don't have to say anything until you've regained your strength. I expect you've got a lot of questions, and I'll tell you anything I expect you'd want to know. When that's done, I've got some questions of my own. Understand?" I nodded my head. "Good. Well, I'll start with the immediate stuff. I'm a human being, like yourself. I'm in much the same situation as you are, except I'm pretty sure I've been here for a lot longer. Well, I don't know. Time works weird around here, but... no, I'll focus on the here and now. I've been camping out in these tunnels for a while now, but obviously I take trips to the surface, y'know, for supplies and things. I found you passed out by that busted-down old shop, and I saw quickly that you weren't one of those monster things, so I brought you back here. Now, as for what this place is, or why we're here, I don't know. I've some theories, though, and I'd be happy to share, if you don't mind." I nodded again. I was utterly confused as to the nature of my situation, and I would do anything to get a bit more understanding.

"Well, I don't know where to begin. I suppose I should start with the earliest thing I could remember, being my entrance into these woods. Say, you don't remember your life before getting here, do you?" I shook my head, and to be honest, I was quite disheartened at hearing that this man also lost his memory. "Ah, well, I supposed it was a long shot. That's the first thing this place does, it wipes your brain like a blank slate so that you're easier to crush down into... what was I talking about? Oh, right, when I woke up in the woods for the first time! Yeah, I suppose there's not much to say, really. I just went to that town, got chased out by those weirdos in the masks, and I stumbled upon these tunnels, and I've been here ever since. Now, obviously I can't just stay down here the whole time, so like I said, I go on frequent trips above ground, and that's where I find the most interesting stuff. Like this!" At this he pulled out a small book. "A journal! My journal! I found this in a hole in a tree! I recognized my handwriting! It says that I was a soldier, and that's how I had the masks! I was a soldier in a war, a great war, and I had a name, my own name, my very own name to call my own! Want to hear it?" At this I nodded vehemently. If he had discovered his name, then maybe I could too. "Say hello to Jackson Williams!" Although I could only see his eyes under the mask, and barely at that, I could tell he was positively beaming.