When Forever Ends (Part 1: A Game of Chess)

XVIII

~{§}~

E i g h t e e n

"Dude!" Will exclaimed. "No one maps the endless!"

"Well apparently someone did," I replied.

"But this map is ancient!" he protested. "There's a date in the corner! This thing was made back when they actually numbered the years!"

"Whatever." I decided that it wasn't worth the time to argue.

"But look at this," Maya pointed to the blue star on the map. "We're at the bottom of the planet!"

There were curvy lines all over the map, some radiating out from a point, the others circling around the same point. That point was in the mountains behind the base, with a big "S" marking what was once called the South pole.

"Imagine that. This whole time, we've been moving deeper and deeper into the desert," Sofie mused.

We were at the center of the Endless. I'd never been so far from home, and I suddenly longed to be back in Seacliff, eating my dad's delicious pancakes. I realized that he would probably be worried sick about me. Not to mention my friends' parents. When I got back home━ if I got back home, I would have to tell my dad the whole story.

━━━

"Go!" someone shouts. "Go now!"

An explosion shakes the ground. I turn to see who shouted at me and see a silhouette go up in flames.

"Come on!" I look back at Dad and let him lead me away from the gruesome sight.

We turn a corner and a grenade blows up in our faces. The smoke hangs heavy in the air and makes me cough. I duck into a small alcove next to the library and my dad pulls me around to look me in the eye.

"We need to get out of here," he says, trying to sound calm despite the chaos surrounding us. "Do you understand?"

I nod and he disappears into the haze without another word.

"Wait!" I call. "Don't go!"

There is no reply.

━━━

"Ryan!" A voice in my ear. "Ryan, can you hear me?"

I groaned and opened my eyes. I was on the ground and Maya and Erin were at my side.

"What happened?" I grunted, heaving myself up off the floor.

"Well, Sofie said that we had only been going deeper into the Endless, and you stood there staring at the map for a minute," Erin told me. "Then you just crumpled to the ground like a sack of potatoes."

"Are you okay?" Maya asked.

"I think so," I winced as I said it and clutched my arm. "Must've banged my elbow on something."

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Erin inquired.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," I answered.

"Okay," she still seemed skeptical. I must've looked pretty shaken up by what I'd just seen.

I got to my feet and looked around the room, trying to focus on the present. Aside from the map, the space was very unremarkable and ordinary. Along one wall, a desk sat, collecting dust. Its surface was littered with scraps of paper and half-finished blueprints. A pencil had been carelessly tossed to the side, as if someone had been interrupted in their work. On the floor, at the base of the desk, a metal wastebin overflowed with crumpled balls of paper. The rest of the room was bare, except for a high-backed wooden chair tipped on its side near the desk and a corner with another door.

I gave the map one last glance, then turned towards the closed door and opened it. Inside, it was darker than the map room, but I could vaguely see a set of metal stairs leading down into the darkness. A cool breeze drifted from the stairwell.

"Maybe we should go that way," Erin suggested.

"Sure," I replied. "After you," I made a sweeping motion with my hand indicating that she should go first.

"Fine with me," she shrugged and set off down the staircase, Sofie and Will following close behind. "At least it's cooler down here," her voice bounced off the walls and back to me.

I hung back and waited for Maya to go before me. Instead, she turned to face me.

"Is something wrong?" she could tell when something was troubling me and was concerned for me. One look at my expression confirmed her suspicions.

"What is it? You can tell me."

"I had one of those dreams again," I sighed.

"Really? In broad daylight?"

"Yeah. It stinks."

"It's really getting to be a problem," Maya said. "You should get some help."

"From whom? You? Erin? The desert ghosts?" I shrugged. "I just have this weird feeling that I'm meant to see them."

"Strange," Maya muttered. "Do you suppose that maybe they could be―"

"I don't want to talk about it!" I said, turning her question aside. "I just... need some time to think about it." Leaving no room for argument, I went down the stairs after the others. I didn't look back.