The Differents | ✓

T E N

Back in my room, I spread the small map out on my desk. I had convinced Sniper to let me bring it back with me, telling him he could have it the next day. Flattening the creases in the worn paper, I brushed my fingers across the drawings, tracing the delicately drawn lines. The map looked the same as any other, but what fascinated me were the cities on it. They were separated into little groups of four or five, with one of the cities at the centre. Roads were drawn between all five cities, and wider roads connecting the four exterior cities to the middle one. It was fascinating. The cities also were only in specific places, I noticed. They became sparser as they neared the top and bottom of the map, and were quite dense in areas above and below the equator. The map seemed to have five main pieces of land that the cities were situated on, along with some islands and ice at the top and bottom. I studied the civilizations and the land, trying to figure out which era they were from. The map didn't look recent to me, but maybe it was, who knew?

Studying the land, I noticed that the islands didn't contain much in them. There were two islands near the piece of land that used to be called North America, according to the key on the back of the page, and there was another island next to what used to be called Africa. Several others were scattered in the big blue expanse that I guessed was supposed to represent water, but were a lot smaller. One of the islands by North America -- the bigger one -- contained one city, situated as close as possible to the rest of the land without falling into the ocean, but the smaller island contained nothing but a strange-looking grey square. I searched the key for an explanation, but only found a set of numbers that made no sense to me.

50.554362, -127.265123

I searched the rest of the map for something, anything, that could give a clue as to where we were, but came up empty-handed. However, I kept coming back to the little island and the grey square. What did it mean? I took a pencil and lightly drew a circle around the island, followed by a small question mark, reminding me to investigate it later. I decided to take it to Sniper to see if he could possibly understand the grey square, so I tucked it in my pocket before getting ready for my afternoon classes.

My third course took place in a library that day, so I seated myself a reasonable distance from the rest of my class while I pretended to be immersed in a book. When I was sure no one was watching, I slipped from my chair and into the aisle where Sniper had found the map. I was hoping to find some more clues. Checking over my shoulder, I fished the old piece of paper from my pocket and unfolded it, smoothing it on a shelf. I started my search where we had left off, pulling the old world book back off the shelf and searching its pages. I was intrigued by the three missing sheets we had discovered, and ran a finger along the jagged edges where they had been torn. What was so horrible about us that needed all its evidence destroyed?

After searching multiple books and coming up empty-handed, I sighed and pushed the last one back onto the shelf. Looking around, I realized the library was eerily quiet and that I could no longer hear the sounds of my classmates milling about. I grabbed the map and stepped out of the aisle to find the library next to empty -- my class had left without me.

Glancing up at a clock nestled on a shelf, the numbers told me I had overstayed my welcome. I quickly grabbed my bag and my notebook and hurried out of the big room and down the hall, my brain formulating some sort of excuse for being late. As I turned a corner sharply, I bumped into someone coming the opposite way. As most hands do, mine immediately dropped everything in them to try to steady myself and I stumbled backward. Papers from my notebook fluttered to the ground elegantly while my heavy textbook fell to the floor with a loud bang that echoed in the halls. I let out a cry of annoyance and crouched down to start picking everything up. "Watch where you're going, idiot," I muttered.

"Excuse me?"

My eyes flew up to the voice. I figured they would've bumped into me and run off, like most people do, but not only were they still here, but they were just about the person I wanted to see the least, let alone bump into.

"What was that you said?" the young Mask asked, a hint of spite in his voice. "I didn't quite hear you."

My body snapped to attention and I immediately stood up. "Sorry, sir. I didn't mean to disrespect you." I looked away, not wanting to meet his gaze.

"Pick up the rest of your things, 9412. Then get to class. I don't want to see you running the halls like this again," he said, as sternly as his young voice could muster. I quickly crouched down again and shuffled the rest of my papers into a neat stack and slid them between the pages of my notebook. Glancing up at the Mask, I saw him staring back at me. He raised his eyebrows and looked pointedly back at my papers, which I finished organizing. I stood up, smoothing the creases in my pants, and gave him a tight smile. I was just about to step around him and continue on my way when he bent down and picked up a small piece of paper that was left on the floor. "This yours?" He began unfolding it, and my stomach lurched when I realized he was holding the map.

"Give it to me! That's mine!" I cried, grabbing for the paper. He stepped to the side nimbly and smoothed out the page as he studied it. I made another attempt to grab the paper and with his eyes never leaving the map, his hand shot out and twisted my arm backward, not enough to hurt but enough to make me stop trying. I stood with my teeth gritted, watching him study the map and trying to guess how severe the punishment for this would be.

He slowly lowered the paper after what seemed like hours, and stared me in the eyes. "Where did you get this?"

"I found it. In the library."

"Do you know what this is?" I stayed silent, not knowing how to reply. He folded the paper and slid it into his pocket. "If anyone sees you in possession of such a thing, there will be grave repercussions, 9412. I don't know how you got your hands on it but it is not something you should have been messing with."

"Do you know anything about it? Why is it so horrible?" I asked desperately. If I was already going to be punished, it wasn't like I had much more to lose.

"This is a map of the world from the start of the new era, one of the few that are still complete," he said quietly. And then, "they must have missed it when clearing the archives of all of them." He sounded almost as if he were talking to himself and not to me, whose arm he was still holding.

"Please, tell me why it's so horrible? Why does everyone want to keep it a secret? And what's the little grey square on that island?"

He twisted my arm a little further, to the point where it was starting to hurt. "Those questions are not for you to be asking, and not for me to be answering. Now go to class before you get into more trouble." He let go of my arm and I rubbed it, trying to coax some circulation back into it. I stared at him for a moment, perplexed. He was such a strange person, encouraging me to get out one day and acting like it never happened the next. I adjusted my notebook and gave him one last glance before stepping around him, only to hear him speak again from behind me, in a hushed tone.

"This is the island."

I whirled around, my heart beating frantically. Had I imagined that? Or had he actually said it? My mouth opened, one hundred questions ready to spill out, but found no one there to answer them. He had disappeared as quickly as he had appeared, taking with me my only clue to the outside world.