Forgotten Ones

Prologue

Arvad gasped as Perry stumbled again. He wondered for the millionth time if he was doing the right thing leading them up this mountain. The old trail lead them through rocky terrain. The only vegetation was a few cactus. But there was little vegetation anywhere. Earth was dying; she had nothing left to give her inhabitants. Most of the people were dead or dying. That was one of the reasons Arvad had decided to head up into the mountains. The people left on earth were violently trying to survive. When one such survivor had tried to take away the cricket Perry was eating, Arvad knew they had to put as much distance between them and everyone else.

"Stop," Arvad called out when Perry stumbled again. "We'll rest a bit and then continue."

Struggling to breathe, Perry wheezed, "It's ok. I can keep going."

"I said we will rest. That does not call for argument." Arvad's voice was hard as steel. He wouldn't allow Perry to put himself at further risk. They'd met when they were just in their teen years and the attraction between them was instantaneous. They'd both been hunting the same rodent. When Perry caught it, he had given Arvad the most beautiful smile and the offer to share his newly caught meal. Perry's smile had gone straight to Arvad's groin. His thinness had gone straight to his protective core.

"I'm not arguing, Arv. But those clouds scare me," Perry panted out.

"Sit." Arvad said. "Or you can bend over one of these rocks and I'll make sitting very uncomfortable." He hid his smile when Perry quickly plopped his butt on the nearest rock.

"No need to get all surly, I'm sitting."

Arvad knelt down and took Perry's foot in his hand. He massaged the leg with deft, sure hands. Perry had been born with one leg shorter than the other which resulted in a limp. The longer leg took most of his weight causing extreme leg cramps.

Smiling in thankfulness, Perry said, "Arv, I'm ok. I can manage the pain. I'm not arguing with you, but those clouds scare me. We need to find shelter."

Arvad nodded in agreement. The clouds did look ominous. Still massaging, he looked around. There'd been many nights that he'd laid on top of Perry shielding him from the elements. Not a restful way to spend the night, but Arvad would do anything to protect this man he'd fallen in love with. Seeing a dark spot in an outcrop of boulders, he turned his head back to face Perry. "I think I see a cave. It's about twenty feet up. You will lean on me. No argument, you'd never survive a fall from that height."

As they started to climb, the clouds grew darker. Just as they reached the lip of the cave the earth started to rumble. Lightening flashed and a loud explosion shook the ground. Falling inside the cave, they rolled over and saw the mountain across from them collapse. The sound of the explosion grew and ground seemed to roll beneath them.

Suddenly, strange blue beams of light seared the dark clouds. The beams were dotted across the land. One beam kept moving, bouncing from one spot to another. Arvad was mesmerized by the blue light and couldn't tear his eyes away. It seemed to be searching for something. The roar of the explosion grew louder, stealing the oxygen out of the air, and then the mouth of the cave started to collapse. Jumping to his feet, Arvad grabbed Perry and they dived into the darkness beyond.

************

"NO!!! They were forgotten! Please!!" Enoch screamed out in pain and sorrow. The vision he'd been given had taken him to his knees.

"Enoch," Wryn cried as he watched his sub convulse. "Chandir, come quick!"

Chandir stormed out of their cottage to see Enoch on the ground and Wryn trying desperately to hold their sub through the vision. Rushing over, Chandir wrapped his arms around both men. A few minutes of eternity and finally Enoch was free from the vision.

"They were forgotten," Enoch whispered. "They are alive. They're the only ones left. We have to save them."

End prologue