Through Another's Eyes_Keeper of the Lost Cities

An Invitation

Keefe was standing on a beach watching the waves break over the sand. A cool salty ocean breeze ruffled his blonde curls. A crescent moon shone above him and the stars twinkled in the night sky. It was peaceful. But out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a hooded figure approaching from across the dunes, shattering his security. Keefe straightened his shoulders and stood alert as the figure neared where he was standing. Finally, the figure was standing right beside Keefe.  There was a charged silence. Then Keefe broke it.  

"Did you bring me here?" The hood of the figure turned toward Keefe. He couldn't see the face of the person but it spoke in a deep voice, obviously male.

"Yes."

Another charged silence.  

"Where is here?" Keefe inquired.  

"We are currently in the Forbidden Cities on the island of Seychelles." That explained the thickness of the air. The Forbidden Cities did not have Pures, trees whose leaves filter the air keeping out any pollution or impurities, so human air was filled with toxins and lung damaging particles. No wonder humans had such short life expectancy.

"Why are we here?" Keefe stared into the shadowed space where he figured the man's eyes should be.  The man turned his head back toward the ocean and paused a second before answering.

"You are here for preparation. You are very important. You must be informed if you are going to be a part of our plan."  

"Um, what makes you think I will want to be a part of your plan?"

"You don't have a choice.  But dont judge us too quickly--you don't even know what the plan is. But you will join us and when you do, it will be willingly. We will wait."

"Well let's see, without my consent, you drag me to a place I didn't even know existed. You tell me that you apparently own my future. And, you bet me that I will agree with you and follow you willingly when you won't even show me your face and you haven't even told me what I am supposedly bound to join. Wow, I'm sold. Sign me up." Keefe said sarcastically. The hooded man chuckled.  

"They said you had a sense of humor. Well, I will tell you this: We are everywhere. We know everything that happens. The Lost Cities, Forbidden Cities, Ogre Territory, you name it and we have scouts in positions of rank and power. If you tell anyone about these meetings, you will be severely punished. We have more power than you could ever imagine. Do not put our word to the test. It would make the plan so much more complicated. We will tell you the plan but all in good time. Better to process things one at a time. I would like to be your friend and mentor. You can tell me anything and you will not be judged or faulted. As long as we keep this quiet, we will get along. Do you understand?"

Keefe did not trust this man but he was curious. Oh so curious. "May I ask a question?"

The man nodded.  

"Does this have anything to do with the white fires in the Forbidden Cities?" 

The man was silent for a second. "Those fires are unrelated to the assignment we have for you. Do not expect clear answers about the operations about this group for you will be disappointed. Is that all?"

 Keefe had to ask.

"One more thing, what is the name of your group? It had better be cool or there's no way I'd even consider joining."  

Instead of answering, the man held up his hands and Keefe felt his eyes beginning to close. His feet left the ground and the ocean faded from view. Just before he was completely pulled out of consciousness, a soft voice whispered in his ear, 

"We are the Neverseen."