Renascent

THE QUAKE

I STAND there, petrified. My thoughts are black and blank. I just stand there. Eyes open. Thoughts closed. Deep breaths. Immobile.

I have never heard anything like it. It is loud and earsplitting. My eyes begin to water and my ears begin to bleed. That's what I think. Bleeding ears. But there's no actual bleeding. I just think it. I just feel it. And then after a few seconds of resounding pandemonium, it stops. It really stops.

I blink.

When I open my eyes, I see Bren standing in front of me. He holds my shoulders and tries to shake me and wake me up as if I am sleeping.

"You okay?" He asks.

"What the hell was that?" I ask while holding my ears. The sound's still ringing inside my head.

"It's the signal." He says. "The first signal for the coming Quake."

"I have never heard of that sound." I say. "Ever. And I don't wanna hear it ever again."

"You cannot hear it inside the compartment. That's why every Igs man joining the Run are always out." He says. "You'll get used to it."

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"The Quake's coming in ten minutes." He says. He doesn't answer my question.

Everyone in the clearing began fixing their suits. Looking at each 0ther. Blankly. The laughing's gone. The talking's stop. Everyone's just concerted with setting their suits and shoes. Checking each other's suits. I look away and look at Bren. He is also looking at them.

"What's with the Quake?" I ask. I never felt the Quake inside the compartment. Ever.

Bren explains everything. About the noise. About the Quake.

The loud uproar is a signal for the coming Quake. The Quake is an unanticipated occurrence here in Modun. It is unexpected. It happens irregularly, regularly. It happens when you least expect it. The Quake is an important event for every Igs people, including all men and women, in Modun. It sometimes occurs every day but sometimes, it doesn't. It signals a very significant ceremony. It signals the Run.

The Run.

"And as the Quake starts, the Run commences." He says.

"Should I run?" I ask. "I mean, you know, I think I-"

"No." He says.

"No?" I ask.

"We watch them."

He pauses.

"That's your second task." He says.

"Second? What's my first task?" I ask. Looking at the clearing being filled with Igs men in white suit. Falling in a line, forming a snake-like line. Looking fixed and blank. All of them walking towards the clearing. Except the two of us.

"Thinking." He says. "Your first task is to reflect on what I've said. And that's even harder than running, you know." He continues.

"You running, Bren?" says a voice from behind. We both look back at him and saw whose voice is it. He is tall, like Bren. His skin is dark and smooth. I look at his face and see that this guy has a square face and a really big nose. But the thing that made me look at him more is his eyes. He has a very round pupil and its color amazes me. His eyes are purple. He is looking past right us.

"And you must be," says the man. "Luke."

He isn't looking at me. He just stares right past us. But his eyes continue to astonish me. And he is smiling.