Into The Depths

Thawed Memories

     Every time Zane looked at Deity lately, it was like looking at someone else.

     Someone familiar.

     Someone he knew.

     Why?

     He didn't know.

     The simplest things triggered a tingle in his memory banks, but nothing surfaced.

     A twist of her mouth into uncertainty after a night of nightmares while she sat at the kitchen table, or even a slight shift of her expression into heavy focus while she was working on something...it all reminded him of someone he knew.

     Who could it be?

     Surely there wasn't someone he'd forgotten. What was his mind trying to tell him?

     Zane sighed and rubbed his face, grabbing his jacket as he walked out of the Bounty and onto the grassy trails below it.

     He didn't know where they were right now, but anywhere was better than here. He needed to go for a walk.

     Zane frowned as he looked around the path he was walking. Where had Jay parked them? He'd never seen this area before.

     The dirt path seemed...overgrown, as though it hadn't been touched in a long time, perhaps for years.

     Heading down a hill, Zane passed by an apple tree. It was old, over ten years at least. Perhaps even a little older. Still, it bore fruit despite the rather hilly spot where it'd taken root. Reaching the bottom of the hill, he stopped.

     Something felt wrong here. Like something bad had happened right where he was currently standing. The feeling only increased as he made a right and continued walking down the overgrown path. Another spot on the ground made him stop and look around. Nothing was around him.

     Not a person, nor an animal...it was like this area had been abandoned.

     Slowly making his way toward the scorched wood plank he saw in the distance, Zane frowned. What was going on? He'd never seen this before.

     The plank looked like the remnants of a sign.

     Leaning down and picking it up, Zane tried to read it. The sign was burnt, but some letters were still visible. Aside from V-I-L-L, he couldn't make anything else out.

     Village? Is that what it said? What village?