We were stuck in construction traffic for 8 hours. Now there’s no turning back. Part 3
At the top of the mountain there was a large hut that appeared to be constructed of black bones. As we approached it, Hankie and Hattie started freaking out, for the first time since we entered this strange and horrible world.
“You are to meet with the Professor, four visitors at a time,” announced the guard, 759. He half-lifted his gun, and used it to point at a woman who was near the front of the group. “You,” he said. Then he selected three more people. “You, you, and you. You may enter now. You may become enlightened now.”
The four people looked at each other nervously. They were obviously hesitant to enter that black bone hut, and I didn’t blame them. It seemed somehow like Death himself was in there, waiting to swallow us up. Hattie let out a particularly mournful yowl, as the dark clouds above continued to spit out endless bolts of lightning.
“Now,” said 759, lifting his gun fully.
As with everything else since this nightmare started, we didn’t seem to have much of a choice: follow orders, or be murdered.
One of the four walked up to the hut and pulled back the red curtain that served as its entrance. He stepped in, and the others followed.
They were in there for a while, maybe an hour. We sat outside waiting for our turn. It was the longest amount of time we had been still since stepping through the black hole. We sat in exhausted silence at first, while Hankie and Hattie hissed and cried.
Then we started talking to people, for the first time, really. Lauren turned to the woman sitting next to her on a black rock. “I’m Lauren,” she said. “What’s your name?”
“Amelia,” said the woman in a tired voice. “Why do they keep calling you ‘The Gatherer’?”
Laura shrugged. “No idea. What do they call you?”
“802,” said Amelia. “I think that means I’m supposed to become one of those guards with the guns. Though why or how or what this place is or what is going on… I have no fucking idea. Like… why are there cats just wandering around here? What are those weird plants? What is this place?”
“I’m as lost as you,” said Laura. “But I think we’re about to find out.”
As she said this, the curtain opened, and the four people who had gone in stepped out. They had wide smiles plastered across their faces, and looked very relaxed… the total opposite of how they looked going in.
759 selected four more people, including Amelia, and we sat waiting for our turn. We tried to get some answers out of the people who had already gone in, but they weren’t saying much. “Everything’s going to be just fine,” was all they’d say. “You’ll see.”
I tried to get our cats to calm down, so maybe I could take advantage of the wait time to get some internet reception. But they were both backed up against rocks with their tails straight up and their fur on end, baring their claws and swiping at anyone who got near, including me.
We made some more small talk with the people around us, but nobody knew anything more than we did. Eventually, we settled back into silence. I sat there with Laura’s head on my lap, waiting. We were so exhausted, but the weird drink they had been giving us wouldn’t let us go to sleep.
