In Noctem (NaNoWriMo2020)

6. The Hierophant

Jason.

I was thrown into a different chamber for a stupid reason.

The woman who introduced herself as a High Something decided I be separated with the rest of the group just for the sole reason that Kacy and I know each other. I mean okay I get it we know each other but is that it?

I have a lot of questions. First. Why was I transported to this place? Second, what is this place? Third, what am I to do here, and lastly, why me? There are more than a billion people in our planet and was the unlucky kid who will get sent into this position?

A while ago, when I got locked here and waved to Kacy, their group hugged and she ignored. That was touching and sweet. How about me? Oh well. I guess I have to hug myself now.

I remembered Riana and my family. I sat down on the floor near the opening of my room as I thought about them. I was sure time stops when people from our world gets lost in a faraway land so I wasn't worried. But even then, I can't be all confident that things will go the way stories do. If things are different here, then I don't know how to survive.

Supposed that time still exists in our planet, how would my family react that I had gone missing? What would Riana do if I don't answer her calls and she just wait there until I come? Right, I still have my phone! I pulled my cellphone from my drawstring bag and checked if it is still working here.

It is! The screen lit up but it will be no use here since there are no networks and Wi-Fi. I just played games to pass the time. It was actually sad playing games that are one player. I have been used to the multiplayer mode whenever I distract myself from things that I had forget games such as Temple Run, Doodle Jump, and Jetpack Joyride exists. It was a good thing that I don't delete my storage every now and then or else the only applications left there would be Mobile Legends, Wild Rift, Call of Duty and Among Us.

Time passed by pretty quickly. My phone was now at 45% so I decided to charge it. Usually, I will wait until I run out of battery but it's different now. I turned to get my power bank and charger to juice my device. I sighed with relief after seeing that even in another world, the laws of physics still resonate with ours. Gadgets from our universe can be brought here to revolutionize how this place looks.

Grim and dark, the only light source I have in my chamber is a cylindrical structure which extends from the stalactite-filled ceiling to smooth rocky floor in which I sit. It was already 10PM, and not having eaten at my home made me feel hungry.

I heard the High Priestess announce, "Ingenui, get ready to fill your stomachs for your night snack. The menu for today are Polvoron, Champorado and Leche Flan. Eat up and go to sleep. Night, night!"

As she mentioned the food to be served, a table magically appeared and the snacks followed.

These aren't even snacks. They are full course meals! Well at least for me. I am not used of eating these especially at night. I guess that the food is the only decent thing in this place. I munched on the sweet goodness in front of me. After I finishing the meal, the table and utensils disappeared.

I saw the other three who were still eating. It looked like they were having fun. The High Priestess was still on her chair in the dais but she was already sleeping. Her posture was perfect you can't see any slouching. I soon fell asleep after.

I woke up and the world around me still looked the same. I miss the light of the sun and the noises of the streets. Time doesn't seem to exist here. I looked at my phone and saw that it was just five in the morning. Still early for me.

The day came and we had eaten breakfast and lunch and a snack in between those two. If last night's meal was full of comfort food, today was full of carbohydrates, proteins, and vegetables - rice, eggs, steak, tomatoes and eggplants, and the classic Filipino foods adobo and sinigang.