The End Has Not Yet Been Written ~ Chapter 1: The City in the Desert
DISCLAIMER: The Myst series is owned by Cyan Worlds. I do not own or claim to own any part of this series except for the CDs and downloads distributed to the public.
My eyes partially opened as my hand went to my throbbing head. Sitting up, I groaned as I noticed my surroundings. They were unfamiliar to me, and I didn't see any light switches or flashlights around. I stood up and braced myself for the inevitable, whatever that could be. As I walked out into the chilly night air, I realized that I was in just more than a strange place; I was in some sort of city in a cleft. I kept wondering why I would be in a cleft. The only clefts I had heard of were somewhere in New Mexico. I found my way across the empty space separating me from the exit as I thought.
When I emerged from the cleft, I noticed drag marks on the ground. I didn't know what to make of it, but my first thoughts turned to kidnapping, that I was dragged to this place. I looked around, but didn't see anyone. I sighed loudly and climbed back down into the cleft. There was no use in getting a cold later because of the chilly desert air. I made my way through the place, leaving no stone unturned. I noticed an old letter lying on a bed. I read it, but none of the information was helpful to me. But as I read it, I began to think. Who was Atrus, and who was Yeesha? Did they live at this old cleft civilization at one time? I had no way of knowing. I left the letter in the place I had found it and returned to my thorough search of the place. For a while, I thought maybe it was an old Indian civilization with English speakers, although that was a bit far-fetched. The old cleft would have been buried by the time that I had gotten there.
I did all I could in that cleft. I examined everything from the dried and stale foods from the papers and the writings on them. Nothing really was interesting, because all I could find were some form of hieroglyphics, which were useless to me because I couldn't find any reference point for translating. After hours of searching around, I suddenly heard a noise coming closer. I walked down the small stairs that lead to what seemed to be a kitchen. After identifying that the noises I heard were coming from a person, I snuck out through the back door and silently hid. That back door closed behind me after a moment. I wasn't seen, so I was grateful to my luck. She began talking to herself and soon the back door began opening again. I rehid and watched as the strange woman walked out. She climbed up the ladder and was gone. I didn't want her to see me, to think I was some sort of invader. I quickly ran around to find a hiding spot. I found a door-shaped opening in a tree, so I climbed down inside. After a moment of listening, I turned around and found that I was in a cavern. I walked forward to the end. All there was, it seemed, was an empty book stand and the dimness of the cavern. Parts of the wall glowed, but I wasn't totally focused at the moment, and I found myself ignoring the glow. I heard the woman walk back and forth, to what I didn't know. Soon, as I was starting to fall asleep, all the noise stopped altogether. I awoke in the darkness a few hours later.
I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and found my way to the surface, the cleft. Everything was quiet as I looked around trying to futilely discern what was around me. I noticed a dim light coming from the strange room attached to the kitchen, and tried to avoid that area. I climbed up out of the cleft and began to explore the desert area. Looking around, I noticed a large mountain-like thing. I began to walk around it, and noticed giant bones. I couldn't help but laugh. The bones were so visible, but no historian had found them. It was an odd sight indeed. Walking further, I found a strange triangular object that was imbedded in the sand. I couldn't pull it out, and there was no way I could check to see what it was. It was even made of a metal I couldn't identify. I quickly just blew it off and began walking once again. I saw a sign, and I read it. I was in New Mexico? That far from home? That was odd, but I could've been out for a longer time than I could have ever believed. Despite my doubts, I kept walking, hungry for answers. I found a trailer, but unfortunately there was no one around. Great for me, huh? I went back to the cleft and climbed down the old ladder again. I snuck back to my hiding spot and sat on the edge, dangling my feet over the small pool of water that settled there. I began to think of all the possibilities. How would I get home? Why was I there in the first place? When would I be able to leave? How would I get food and water? I had too many questions, so many swirling around in my head, but one actually stuck out. Who is the strange woman who is now less than a mile away from me?
Without any thought, I went back to that kitchen and went inside, snooping around a little and finding her things. I lightly looked through them, but found a strange book. It looked like the previous one I had found, except on the cover was the words Gahro Jimah. I wondered if it was another language, but didn't ponder for too long. I opened the book to the front page, and found another beautifully realistic picture. It had a glow of blues, greens, and purples, while there was an overabundance of plants, trees and large bushes mostly, but with many beautiful kinds of flowers of all shapes and sizes. The picture showed a beautiful pond nearby, one with a bottom of many beautiful colors. I gasped in surprise at the beauty, and when I looked to check if the woman was awake she appeared to be waking. Thinking quickly, I placed my hand on the page, the last thing I did in my home before waking up in the cleft. The sight I saw last was the woman shooting awake at the strange noise that emanated from the pages before my vision began darkening as I blacked out completely.
Next Chapter: Gahro Jimah
The stranger wakes up on the giant island of Gahro Jimah, but this time they're not alone!