Finding Truth, Chapter 2
This marks the beginning of the second chapter of Finding Truth. Eighteen year old Yousef has just embarked on a journey, leaving his town of Homeland behind. He seeks to find Truth, the only other person he ever met just the other day. All of this, of course, without recalling the information from the newspaper that he discovered because of Truth removing that memory. This provided the only hint to Yousef as to what happened on this planet and why he has been all alone on it. Or so he thinks.
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Chapter 2
It's been three days of hiking and the mountains don’t seem any closer. This desert seems to go on forever. I’d be lost without the map that Truth left me. Oh, and the compass I found in my backpack–I just keep making sure that I head North East to the first map marker called “reclamation”. There should be massive boulders and a valley below. I cut through the valley and make my way to “floating lake”, the next map marker. The “landing zone” is the next stop–that should be interesting. I guess something will be landing for me? Maybe it already has. After that is just Truth’s circle to meet him there. Directionally, this is all north east on the map, for the most part, with the mountains at the end.
I finished eating a mid-morning snack, leftover bread and some honey. It’s light but gives me a jolt of energy I need. I’m just 18 but I need a lot of calories. The food that Truth packed me is holding up so far. I look at the drones in the sky leading the way–I’m sure they will drop down some food again at some point. At least I hope so, it could be weeks before I get to Truth.
Suddenly, I fall to the ground. What did I trip on? It’s just flat around me. Wait, the ground is vibrating. A lot. The sand and small rocks are bouncing off the ground. Two large explosions go off! Each just a short burst and ahead of me. I lay flat and still. The ground stops moving.
Whatever it is, it is getting larger and black. It was round but now is a triangle shape with a long narrow tip, hovering and rotating in different directions. “We are here to help,” it says. From the ground, I angle my head just enough to get a view from the tops of my eyes and keep the rest of me still. They both begin to move with a wide red beam emanating from it to the ground.
Is this from Truth? If it was, why wouldn’t it say so? The red beams are coming in my direction. I squeeze and pull the backpack closer to hide my face. A zipper is open and a small silver cylinder is sticking out. It has a note stuck to it: “Point at target.” I thought it was some sort of navigation when I first noticed it a couple of days ago, but could it be a weapon?
The beams are almost on me! I grab the device and aim it at a triangle and push the button. A lightning bolt comes out of the sky. “It’s time to asc–”, the triangle explodes.
The red beam from the other triangle briefly touches me when I roll to my side and aim the device at it and push the button. “Zhooom!” the lightning shoots down, exploding the other triangle.
I jump up, brushing off the debris singeing my clothes. Two round drones drop from the sky. “Thanks,” I say. I squeeze the silver device in my hand. The drones hover low and seem to absorb the debris. Their shape slowly changes into a triangle, its tips pointing at me.