Chapter 1 - Confusion
"Who are you? What do you want from me?"
Again, there was no answer. Or not a verbal one, anyway. Even with the silence, and the echo of her voice hanging in the air, she somehow felt like she had been replied to, as all that concern and the tugging feeling just fell away. Suddenly, she could relax. In truth, it was almost a struggle to remain conscious, and she barely managed to struggle her way back into her room before she collapsed.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Change was the first thing was aware of as she opened her eyes. Everything was different. There was no noise of traffic outside, no sunlight peering in through her window, nothing familiar at all. Shakily, she rose to her feet, and confirmed her suspicions. It wasn't her bedroom, not anymore. It wasn't anywhere she'd ever seen before.
For a moment, that realisation made her head spin, and made her so giddy that she nearly fell again. Where was she? Where was this? And how had she gotten here? It was impossible..... with considerable difficulty, she forced herself to regain her grip on reality. So things had changed, impossibly - she'd just have to cope with it. Looking around again, she this time determined to actually take in her surroundings. It was a dark room, small and stuffed with boxes, illuminated thinly by a beam of light which had crept through the bottom of a wooden door. There was nothing which explained it there. But then, what had she expected - a note filled with answers? She laughed at the mere thought. No, she'd have to look for her explanations, and they weren't inside, so she'd have to leave.
Heading for the door, she pushed against the handle, and found that it yielded easily to her slightest pressure. She took a few steps outwards. It was a street, but a small and quiet one, more like an alley. The sun was low; making it look like it was nearly dawn, even though it'd been evening.... before. Gathering her courage, she forced herself to take a few more steps outside. By now, everything seemed alien. There was nothing startlingly wrong, and yet exactly nothing fit, either. The street, the building, even the time of day... it was all different.
"Who is it?" she called out suddenly, hearing footsteps approaching. That immediately reminded her of asking the same question to the mysterious reflected man, and as suddenly, she just knew that the two occurrences were connected. She wasn't that surprised when the approaching figure came into view, and she could see that his face was the one thing she had seen before, in this place.
"Who are you? Why.... did you bring me here?! Why? What is this place?"
"No, you brought yourself here," he replied. "I wouldn't have the power needed. But... I did call for you."
"What?! Why?"
"Because we needed help," he answered simply, spreading his hands in a gesture which encompassed the entire area. "Without.... the war's going so badly that I can see no other end than us all dead. Most of the others don't even see any other way."
The expression on his face was completely serious and sincere as he spoke, and Sophia knew that he meant every word, much as those words made her head spin.
"But I...." suddenly she stopped, swallowing down her original comment about being unable to offer any help. She couldn't voice it. "Why do you fight, then, if you can't win? Why couldn't you just surrender?"
"Haven't you ever had a cause you could never give up on?" he countered softly.
She shook her head. She hadn't... at least not personally.... but she knew what he meant, and could think of circumstances where it'd be true. As he watched her, she could tell that he was following her thoughts. He hadn't seemed dispirited when she'd shaken her head, anyway.
"Then you're lucky, in a way," he commented. "I still know you will help ... you wouldn't have answered, if you'd refuse."
"What do you mean? Please, just explain this...."
He shook his head.
"Not here," he replied. "Not out in the open, like this... Come on, follow me. I'll lead you somewhere safe."
She immediately began questioning again, but he didn't listen, beginning to stride away. Swearing under her breath, she realised that her only choice was to follow him. Either that or stay here, in this alien place alone with no explanations.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Half an hour had passed, and he was still tugging her forwards determinately, without relenting at all. She'd asked him over and over to explain, being met only by silence, until she'd eventually given up. She tried keeping an eye on their surroundings as they passed, but they were so unfamiliar and repetitive, and they were moving so quickly, that she couldn't. Numbly, she wondered if she'd even realise if they were going round in circles.
"Where are we even going?" she asked. After a moment, she wondered why she'd even bothered. He wouldn't explain... he didn't explain anything.
"We need to be hidden," he answered tersely, falling silent after. Still he pulled her onwards.
"Why, though? What's so dangerous? This war you mentioned before?"
He nodded.
"Then... why did you bring me here? I know you said you needed help... but why me? I'm... I'm just me. I'm not exactly a fighter."
He frowned at that, but only for a second. He didn't seem to believe her, and she wondered why. Was he really so certain about what he'd said previously - that she wouldn't have "answered" if she'd been the wrong person? And how had she answered, anyway? All she'd done was ask what was going on.
"Please... how much longer before we can stop?" she eventually begged. How much longer before she'd get her answers? He hesitated then, and she could see a flicker of some emotion crossing his face. Her pleading seemed to have reached something within him. He slowed.
"It's not safe," he warned her."But then.... there's nowhere safe, here. You arrived at the wrong side of the wall. We'd have to cross it, to get back."
She began asking what wall he meant, but he silenced her with an abrupt gesture. Listening, she realised that she too could hear heavy footsteps and voices nearby.
"Guards," he whispered. She knew then to heed the warning, and not ask the many questions which were still spinning around in her mind.
"What do we do?" she asked instead, copying the same whispering tone as he'd used before.
"We have to get through... somehow. But it was difficult enough fighting through once. You weren't supposed to arrive at this part of town.... I don't know why you did. I don't even know how I knew you would be here."
She nodded, just to show that she'd followed, whilst trying desperately to think of something they could do to get past. Some kind of diversion, somehow... seconds after she'd thought that, she jumped, as the sound of an explosion rang through the air.
"What was that?!" she yelped. He didn't answer. He just grabbed her arm again, and began racing forwards, even more quickly than when they'd been moving before. Everything turned into a blur, as they passed through, nothing but dark corridors and a feeling of intense danger. She didn't bother questioning. She just ran with him as quickly as her feet could move.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"What was that?" she asked once more, after they'd finally stopped. They'd gotten through the wall's tunnels now, and were deep within the other side of the town. If she'd found her surroundings shabby where she'd first arrived, they were nothing on where she was currently. Half of these buildings looked like they had trouble standing up.
"What was what?" he countered. His tone was innocent. But then, she half suspected that it was too innocent, like it was feigned, and that he knew exactly what she was questioning.
"You know.... that explosion. The one which distracted the guards and got us through. That one.... it was weird. It happened just when I was thinking we might need some sort of distraction..."
He paused, suddenly, and looked at her. His expression was now incredulous.
"You.... you don't know?!