A/N: I strongly apologise for this update being nearly a month after the previous one. D: I really do. And no, I wasn't counting. I'm just going by the fact that Ship Day was the 28th of July and I wrote this some time before that. Anyway, I'm back. There's nothing much to say here, except that this chapter will be a little small too (I have future plans that will constitute larger chapters, I tell you), so - I own nothing (including my sanity). Enjoy! ;D
"That's it." Jack sighed, turning to Sam. "It's a perfect circle."
"Are you absolutely sure we've been all way round?" Her tone was hopeful, the corners of her mouth dipping. Her companion nodded his affirmative and gave her a sympathetic look. They stood there for a few moments, hair untouched by non-existent wind, and attempted to cool themselves under the rays of the sun. At last, Sam spoke, "So we're stuck. The radios are out and there's a single hole in whatever...this is. It's getting dark - we need to do something?"
"Already?" he queried as he glanced up at the sky in concern. It had turned a deep blue - not quite enough to be labelled 'pitch black' but certainly post-sunset. "I guess we could head down to the village."
"The way I see it, there's only one other choice and that's taking our chances in the forest," Sam stated. She eyed the village at the corner of her vision. "Let's go."
Without further discussion, they began to trek down the green slope towards the dense crowd of earthy buildings. The ground formed a steep slope, which stretched into a cone, and collided with the valley below to cradle the settlement. Little bolts of light peppered the vision.
"Street lamps?" Sam proposed, stealing a peek at her commanding officer. The aforementioned man shrugged.
"Guess we'll just haver to find out."
Jack's boot stumbled uneasily onto the cobbled street at the verge of the area, earning the attention of several passing villagers. One plump, red-faced woman in a ghastly dress took one look at Sam's attire and let out a snort of disapproval. She was met with an equally condescending reaction. A man in a beige suit (made of material that had to be uncomfortable) hobbled up to them. His arms extended at either side and a glowing smile took his lips captive.
"Welcome, strangers. Welcome to our home - ten naette. Or, as we rather ridiculously say, 'the net'."
Jack frowned then took a cautious step forward. "We're passing through, some others dressed like us came and had a little chat with just your elders. It was a few months ago."
"No." The man shook his head. "I'm an elder and I clearly remember a visit a few days ago. Anyway, why go? Stay for our feast!"
"We'd love to but we have to get home first," Sam told them.
"Please, join us." A thin girl joined his protests, holding a dark-skinned hand. The astrophysicist chewed her lip. She looked from one villager to the next - careful to avoid the gaze of the plump woman.
"Is there something you're not telling us? Listen, we mean you no harm. All we want is to travel back home through the ring past that hill. Afterwards, our leader can give us permission to attend your feast. If that's what you want..." She sighed and gave them a wary look.
"H-home?" the elder in the suit stuttered. He peered at his neighbours - first the woman then the girl, who worked her flimsy shoe into the sand. Upon returning his attention to them, his features wore a sorrowful expression. "You can't."
Brow furrowed, Jack's mouth dropped into a perfect 'O'. His brain had been chugging along to find the root of their mysterious behaviour, when it slammed into the newfound fact.
"Oh, come on! And how do you know that?" he challenged.
"As much as I'd like to doubt it too, it's been this way for a long time. Well, a long time for us." His words made the pair raise their eyebrows simultaneously. "As I was saying, this village and the strip of forest that serves as our food source are both contained by a time field."
"A time dilation field?" Sam queried. Wrapping an auburn strand around her finger, the girl opened her mouth.
"If that's what you call it. Time outside this place goes about twenty times faster than in here. A year of our time is twenty of yours," she paused, sucking in a hesitant breath, "but it hasn't always been like that. It wasn't there when your friends came to the village. It came shortly after and only a handful of days have passed."
"So we're stuck here?" Jack scowled and watched as the bystanders offered him sympathy and quiet condolences. His eyes hardened; neither could make an impression on the frustration coursing through him.
"Please, before you do anything rash, have something to eat and give yourself time to think," the chubby man insisted. Moments crawled by as Jack was fixated on some point in the sky, lips fastened tightly.
"Jack."
He blinked and his vision flitted over to Sam. Her demeanour was unwavering, tugging at him with metaphorical hands to bring him over to her way of thinking. The stubborn part of him took one last stab at domination before it retreated.
"Fine. We'll stay," he caved. "Any way we can help? Might as well do something now we're here."
"Ah, yes. If your companion would like to help our kitchen staff out - just down the road and to the right - and you'd kindly call on our builders, who are just to the right, that'd be wonderful. They may even have space for you to busy yourselves with their duties during the day." The suited male smiled and gestured down the street. "Follow me."
Here, Jack thought as he obeyed the two-word order. That just became the magic word...
Sam approached the building slowly - anything with that much steam puffing out of every orifice couldn't be safe. When she stepped inside, her lashes had to bat against each other numerous times to digest the hectic scenario which she'd just plunged herself into. Condensation trickled off everything (including the people) and a thick cloud of gas threatened to choke her from overhead. Women and poor dressed minors hot-footed about, carrying baskets and tins and all sorts of strange culinary equipment. Nobody seemed to notice the swan that had entered the flock of ugly ducklings.
"Hello?" Her feet took a short while finding their balance on the damp tiles as a colourfully dressed boy, who looked as though he was yet to hit puberty, navigated his way over to her.
"You're new, right?" He paused for a moment, waiting for any sudden answers, then chuckled. "Nervous? Don't be! We're just finishing up here. You can help me carry the fruit baskets down to the village square - they have this massive table and the meat is delicious. Oh, and the stuff Ma bakes is yummy too!"
"Excuse me, but who's Ma?" Sam probed. The boy padded over to the counter nearest them, scooped up an armful of cargo and dumped two baskets into her arms.
"Have you seen a lady that's pink all the time?" He looked up at her as they headed for the door. Sam nodded as he exited first.
"I think so. Is she a bit..." Sam surveyed their surroundings. Confident no one would overhear her, she turned back to him. "Is she a bit 'wide'?"
The boy burst out laughing - he clutched the edge of the woven basket to steady his shaking body. "Yes, she is. She's not a pretty sight but she bakes some amazing things. We call her Ma because no one really knows her name. Maybe she doesn't like it. All I know is that she doesn't have any proper name that we know - like mine's Lee and my last name is Kansu."
"I see," she murmured. They paced steadily down the street, almost taking up all the width of the pathway. "Do you have these feasts a lot?"
"Only every Saturday."
"Saturday... Huh, it definitely wasn't Saturday when I got here. And what's with it getting dark so quickly?" At last, they reached the square and Lee plopped his baskets down, spaced out on the first half of the long oak table.
"Well, I guess we're still at 'last night'. In a way - and in terms of daylight. Our last scientist thought that it was because the bubble was slowing down the daylight that got in. So it'll seem fine to us but we'll get everything so much later than the people on the outside... Talking of the outside, what do we look like from out there?" Lee watched her with curious eyes.
"Err, nice. Normal. Where's this scientist?" Now her curiosity was peaked - someone who had more than dancing and feasts in mind was still around?
"Oh, he's dead," the child informed her casually, plucking the luggage from her arms and proceeding to mirror his own setup. Sam sighed.
Well, there goes that, she mused internally. A crowd began to form around the wooden surface as the kitchen staff arranged their work ready for the meal. In that moment, she could see the reasons for Jack's aversion to the situation with perfect clarity.
The meal was uneventful despite the company Sam kept. Jack sat on one side and Lee occupied her other. Her stomach was full to bursting and her skull throbbed; she never knew young men could talk so much in between bites of their food. Upon her older companion's insistence, they had started to extricate themselves from the scene and head away to find their room. Although, due to the persistence of his younger rival, their party soon grew to three. Lee waved to Jack ecstatically and began to chat to them eagerly.
"Hi! I thought I'd help you find your room, those were pretty lousy instructions the elders gave you," he babbled, bobbing along to keep up with them. He pointed down an even thinner alley. "Follow me, you're just through here."
The two did as they were told and tailed the boy until they reached a doorway. He stopped in front of it.
"It's just in here. You get the whole place and there's some money in there, so you can buy some clothes to fit in better. Don't worry about food, it's all shared evenly here."
"Th..anks," Jack mumbled as Lee produced a single key from his pocket, and handed it over. "And for those too. Before you, err, leave - I've got one more question."
Lee nodded vigorously and held his hands in front of him, waiting for the quiz.
"Is there really no way to get out here? I mean, hasn't anybody tried?" At his question, the juvenile took an abrupt interest in the ground. "What?"
"They've tried. But lots of people die. Don't try, please, you're good people. I'd hate it if something happened to you." He shot a glance at Sam. "And, besides, it's not really allowed..."
And, with that, he left them to gaze after him and question just what they'd stumbled into.
A/N: How did that seem? I hope it's the kind of second chapter you were all looking for. :) Thanks for reading, let me know what you think!