The Riddle Of The Future

The Eerie Lake

It had been an entire day of aimlessly walking through sand and seeing no animals or people whatsoever. As the sun was starting to set however, our surroundings started to change slightly. It was subtle but I noticed that the ground was becoming rockier and less heat was radiating off of it. I also realised that the air was less arid and much more pleasant to breathe in. 

"We're almost there," Mr. Than finally said after hours of silence. 

 "Where is 'there?'" I asked bitterly. He didn't reply and after ten more minutes, a huge mound of sand could be seen in the distance. I frowned as Mr. Than's pace grew faster. Lucy and I huffed and puffed as we climbed up the bank of sand. Whatever was on the other side had better be worth it. When we reached the peak, my mouth dropped open in surprise. A giant body of water was sitting in the middle of what I thought was a barren desert. It was eerily still, the surface of the lake clear like glass. As far as I could see, around the bank of the lake were small, greenish shrubs. It was dismal but the sight of plants gave me slight hope.  

We followed Mr. Than down the slope of the mound and he led us to a dry spot next to the lake. Without saying a word, he started to set up camp. With a few clicks of his fingers, a warm fire was soon blazing and despite my better judgement, I huddled up to it as closely as I could. Mr. Than started producing an endless supply of pots and pans and I watched in wonder. I didn't think I would ever get used to seeing magic in real life. 

Lucy and I watched in silence as he made soup in the pan and boiled it over the fire. It looked foul but he assured us that it was perfectly edible. My stomach grumbled and I eyed the liquid carefully before tasting it. To my surprise, it was delicious and warmed every bone in my body. Soon, I felt weariness pulling at my eyes but I had too many questions buzzing around in my head. I desperately wanted to escape from this awful world but I needed to know everything first. 

Lucy was the one to break the silence. 

"Why did you send us here?" 

 "I can't tell you that." 

 Mr. Than's voice was so infuriating that I almost growled at him. 

 "Why not?" I demanded. 

 "It's a long story," he sighed. "But I'll try to explain it as best as I can." 

Lucy and I leaned in eagerly. 

 "I'm a seer. In other words, I can see into the future-" 

"We know what a seer is," I interrupted. Both he and Lucy glared at me. "I'm just saying, god." 

"Anyway... I am unable to tell you everything because you may try to change the course of destiny. This would be perilous as the monsters that live in the folds of time would be disrupted. If this happens, the world will end and all of mankind will perish." 

 I almost rolled my eyes at him. He sounded so dramatic... he almost put my drama teacher to shame.  

"Is that what's happened here?" Lucy asked. 

"No. Something much worse is happening here. Right now, actually, as we speak. All I'm allowed to tell you is this; I sent you here to stop," he gestured around himself. "This monstrosity. This is what will happen if you don't stop an evil tyrant named the Lord of Destruction. You must embark on a very dangerous journey but it is necessary if you ever want to return home." 

"How can we trust you?" I asked warily.  

"You can't and you would be wise not to. But remember this, if you don't embark or fail on this quest, all of mankind will be brought down with you." 

I had to give it to the man, he may be dramatic but he was certainly good at instilling fear into a person. 

 "I think we should do this," Lucy announced. I glared at her. Since when did she make all of our decisions? 

 "Hang on a second!" I exclaimed. "We can't just jump into this! You haven't even told us anything that will help us! Who is this, Lord of Destruction?" 

 Mr. Than growled in frustration. "How many times must I tell you, Alex? I am not allowed to divulge that information. But if you had waited, you would know the information that I am allowed to tell you already." 

 I grumbled. 

 "The first thing you have to do is travel north until you reach the King of Blood. Once you have destroyed him, your path will be clear," he explained impatiently. 

 "So... you're not coming with us?" I asked fear gripping my heart. Even though I was fairly sure this man was evil, I also knew nobody would try to cross paths with him. 

 "Unfortunately I am unable to. I have other business to attend to." Mr. Than checked his watch. "Right now actually. Good luck." And with that, he clicked his fingers and disappeared. We were stunned into shocked silence. Then I exploded. I got up and started to rant, rave and curse Mr. Than's name. 

 "How can he do this to us?" I shouted my voice echoing in the unnatural silence of the future. Lucy, on the hand, was unbelievably calm. 

 "Relax, Alex," she soothed, putting her hands on my shoulders. Eventually I started to calm down. "First things first, we need water. And where better to get that than here?" 

 She grabbed one of the pans that Mr. Than had left and walked to the edge of the lake. She dipped it in the lake and I suddenly felt unease settle in my stomach. I was about to call out to her. To stop her. But it was too late. She had already taken a sip of the water.

 "It's-" but before she could go on, an odd gurgling noise erupted from her throat and she dropped to the floor like a stone, writhing in pain.