A Man Caught in Time- A Dark Tale of Fantasy

 

A Man I cannot see

This morning I saw a man I cannot see.

Out of the corner of my eye, he was there!

Standing, watching me.

But as I turned to see, he was not there.

This afternoon I saw a man I cannot see.

Out of the corner of my eye, he was there!

I think he's following me.

But as I turned to see, he was not there!

This evening I saw a man I cannot see.

Out of the corner of my eye, he was there!

I think he means me harm.

But as I turned to see, he was not there!

Tonight I saw a man I cannot see.

Out of the corner of my eye, he was there!

I think he intends to end my life.

But as I turned to see, he was not there!

 

Oh, how I wish this man I cannot see would go away.

But as I turned to see, he was there!

 -Experiences with Shadows, page 72

-Balashi Hunzuu, Sorcerer of Wild-magic

*******

It may be the first time I've written these words, or it may be the hundredth time, I can't be sure. The occurrences I'm about to detail are truth, I don't intend to lie or extrapolate. I have seen my final moment, but it was not to be my last. I don't know when it’s coming, but the horror of it is too great, I can't endure the pain. It threw me into the past, not knowing the future, I can't go through it again.

A man shouldn't live a day twice, if he does his reason will fracture. He shall live as if separated from himself, no longer will the man be whole. One will be oblivious to what is about to occur, while the other will go insane from the horror that he sees. He will hopelessly watch, trying desperately in vain to warn himself. Madness will come to both as the event that cleaved him in two comes once again.

Many times I have seen that moment, or I haven't seen it yet, I can't be sure. I know I will not die, although I no longer live. I can't go through it again, the pain is too much for me to endure.

I came to that moment, and I saw myself in time. My path splintered into every alternative that lay before me in that instant. Time continued expanding, but it left me behind, the future denied to me.

*********

I awoke suddenly by the shaking of my bed, with a fading rumble that came from far away. My consciousness slowly returned, as I came out of the dark oblivion. I wondered if it was just a dream, but I didn't remember a dream.

For a moment I wondered who I was. A flash of disjointed confabulations assailed my mind, faded visions of childhood. Memories lost in the mist of time, things long forgotten, my mind raced with events that faded into the ethereal past. I tried to grasp the feelings on the edge of my awareness.

Thoughts of who I am remained distant. I couldn't quite remember. It made me feel as if I was somewhere I didn't want to be. Any vestiges of the dream vanished, disappearing into the fog that clouded my mind. It left me with a powerful impression that I was meant to do something, but I couldn't recall what.

The trepidation set in when I noticed my surroundings. Thebel- the bright star, shined brilliantly through the thin curtain, that hung over the only window in my room. The light splintered into its many colours, while tiny particles danced within the spectrum. I had slept in; the day was already getting late. A feeling of expectation came over me, but I couldn’t recall why.

A row of books on my small shelf had slumped over, and my painting of Taured Mountain had fallen. The polished wooden frame was sitting upright on my desk with the glass shattered and the small nail that it hung from came rolling to a rest in front of it. Something had just happened.

I heard dogs barking in the distance, echoing each other’s call. It was the only thing that broke the silence. I listened to each distinctive bark as they relayed the message from one dog to another. Something was wrong as the portent conveyed to me. It was an augury of ill omens.

Apprehensively, I stumbled out of bed, hurrying to the window. The cold wood floor shocked my bare feet for a moment. I yanked the curtains open to glimpse the outside world from my basement window. Thebel's feverish light streamed down on the cobblestones of Thummim avenue, but it was devoid of life. The usually busy thoroughfare should have been full of people, walking along the sidewalks, going to work and about their day, but I saw no one. For a moment, I felt utterly alone, as if there was no other person in the world.

As I looked up to the right, I saw the two moons, Cha'dash- the older who shines light in the dark places of the world, and Ka'shaph- the younger who weaves magic into creation. Shining brightly in the clear, blue sky, Ka'shaph followed Cha'dash across the void.

The row of two storey red brick townhouses were still in shadow across the street, and the acute light straining through the windows, revealed my neighbours moving around inside the dwellings. It relieved me to think I wasn't alone, but they seemed distant, outside the periphery of my existence. It all became silent at that instant, even the dogs ceased their uninterrupted barking.

A sharp throb struck behind my eyes, the pain was intense. I had to bring my hands up to hold my head; it felt like it was about to implode. Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw it for the first time, or I may have seen it before, I can't remember. It all seemed very familiar.

In a shadowed niche across the street, a spectre danced like a candle flickering in the wind, flashing in and out, as if it dwelt in a state of transcendence. Beautiful in its array of colour, a kaleidoscope of rainbow shards, and spectral light emblazoned from it. It terrified me when I looked, as it became increasingly insubstantial the more I concentrated. Morphing, contorting its shape, like ripples in a pond cascading into each other, it jolted towards me in articulated movements.

Within the silence of my apprehension a deep rumbling, like rock being violently ripped from the land, reached me. The intensity of the rising dissonance increased, forcing me to turn away from the figure. Immediately it vanished from my sight, like a harbinger of doom. In the quickness of my mind, I thought it was just an optical illusion.

Suddenly, within the time it takes a person to draw a breath, an invisible impulsion struck me. I was flung hard against the wall, accidentally hitting my head. The pain shocked my body. The ground lashed out, and the floor surged upward beneath me. It felt like it was about to crumble. Surging under the rising force, the wood sheeting cracked and popped under the pressure.

More waves, like I was on a boat rocking in the middle of the ocean, rushed in sequence. Back and forth the walls swayed, as dust and debris pelted down. I fell uncontrollably to my knees; I wasn't able to stand. The bookshelf rocked violently, while my books tumbled to the floor. The glass within my window cracked like a spider's web, I struggled to move out of the way of the falling shards. Curling into a ball I held my head, the sound was unbearable. I believed the entire structure was about to collapse on top of me.

******

Communicating through time so I might see what was to come, the flashes within my mind only created confusion. I saw it all at that moment, but I couldn't understand. I must warn myself of the impending doom, so perhaps I might escape from this torment. I've been through it many times, or it hasn't happened yet, I can't be sure. I know I've tried in vain, but I couldn't remember. How could I have known a catastrophe was about to occur? I can't go through it again, the pain is too much for me to endure. The anguish in my head makes it impossible to think.

******

The shaking stopped as abruptly as it began. My ears hummed with the oppressive silence. Fine particles of dust glistened in Thebel's radiance, streaming intensely through my shattered window. I peered over the windowsill, the semblance that I saw disappeared. I wondered if it was only some illusion of light, a spark in my vision. It had seemed so real.

People were venturing from their homes in apprehension, as they cautiously looked out their windows and front doors. A person startled me momentarily when they bolted down the street in front of my window. Enormous cracks traversed the outside walls in lattice like patterns. Rubble covered the street and sidewalks from the crumbling concrete. Dust rose behind the buildings, billowing into fluffy, black clouds that filled the southern blue sky.

Anxiety gripped my stomach as I felt ill. Beads of sweat dribbled down my cheeks, tickling my face. It felt like I had a fever, as icy shivers trembled through my body. I didn't want to move, I couldn't. Dread swept over me as I sat there in the silence, holding my head, rocking back and forth. Somehow, I knew it wasn't over.

Out of the quiet, as if to remind me of who, and where I was, I heard a baby crying. My ears twitched when I heard someone rush past the other side of the bedroom door. Hesitant to move, I quickly got dressed. Testing the foundation of my resolve, I took a breath before I opened the door.

Leaving the bedroom behind, I entered the next and heard someone mention a name. “Esho,” the voice said. The name was vaguely familiar, as if it had some attachment to me. Esho Baildan. Is that my name, is that who I am? Esho Baildan, I struggled with the concept, but I couldn't put the pieces together.

I turned to the woman who mentioned the name. She held a baby boy, about the age of two, in her arms. Her lips moved, but I couldn't hear what she was saying, her words were incoherent to me. The boy gasped for air between the large tears that rolled down his face. He rubbed his head into his mother's shoulder when he saw me.

Fear reflected in the woman's eyes as she asked me a question. Her words came out all at once in rapid succession. She was talking too fast for me to understand. I tried to remember who they were, but I couldn't make any connections in my mind. I thought they were my wife and son, but I couldn't recall their names, just the feelings associated with them. I rubbed my eyes, as the ache behind them became more pronounced.

She motioned with her hand, pointing down the street, I comprehended the word help. As I strained to interpret the conversation, I felt like I was living in a memory. I couldn't understand how that could be. I realized she was meaning our neighbour at the corner, the little old lady that lived alone. She told me her name, but it meant nothing. I received a powerful impression at that moment that I had to do something important, or I had already done it, I wasn't sure. The old lady needed my help.

I nodded, while attempting to leave by the front door, but fissures crisscrossed the wall around the frame, holding it tight. I struggled with the door for a moment, before I gave it one powerful pull, and finally it opened with a plunk, as the hinges came loose.

Intense sharp light struck me instantly, forcing me to shield my eyes. I tried to blink the pain away. The unusually oppressive, humid air assailed me harshly when I stepped into the street, and I struggled to take a breath. It felt like a sheet of moisture had fallen on me, weighing me down.

Thebel's corona radiated outward in concentric, colourful translucent circles. High in the blue sky, it seemed like The Bright Star was moving faster than it should be. It didn't seem like that much time had disappeared, but it was already past midday.

I noticed a man across the street, sitting on his front step. He was dirty and looked tired. He waved, yelling something. The only phrase I understood through his muffled words was, 'earthquake.' I waved, nodding my head. I didn't know what to say.

As I approached the corner of Thummim avenue and Urim street, a woman stumbled past me. I noticed the side of her face covered in fresh blood. She asked me a question, but I couldn't understand. I thought she was pleading for help, but I couldn't help her. It didn't matter because I couldn't help anyone. I apologized to her profusely as she continued on her way. Somehow I knew help wasn't coming for anyone, it felt like the gods forgot the city and already cast everyone into the sea of oblivion.

People were everywhere when I arrived at the crossroad. City guards were on the corner telling the inhabitants of Indunder to go to their homes, the priest king had it all under control, they claimed slowly enough for me to understand. He was beseeching the gods for advice at that moment, but that didn't ease my anxiety at all.

I looked up the rising streets towards the domed and spiralled columned building of the Temple of the King, built on a natural hilltop. Far in the distance, looming above the city of Indunder, and dwarfing the immaculate building of the temple, Taured Mountain erupted violently with thick black material blasted high into the atmosphere. Fires raged throughout the city, sending plumes of billowing smoke rising into the sky, mimicking the tall mountain.

The building on the corner of the avenue had partially collapsed, rubble and red brick scattered onto the road from the thick wall that tumbled outward. The roof hung without support, ready to fall at any moment. Wide fissures ran up and down the remaining sections of wall, exposing the bent and twisted wood hidden behind the plaster. The front door lurched open, pivoting from the bottom hinge. Something compelled me to enter. Somehow I knew this was the place.

Stepping over crumbled concrete, I cautiously entered. I immediately saw her pinned under a large, wooden cabinet that had toppled over. It crushed her lower body and blood pooled around her frail body, soaking the beige carpet under her. Her wide eyes stared at me with a look of stark terror in them. Her chest heaved with a raspy breath.

“Help me,” her old, soft voice cracked.

Shuddering, I felt like running to escape from this nightmare. I didn't know what to do, I couldn't leave her to die a painful death, but could I end her suffering? I could never comprehend such a thing. I left her instead. With heavy guilt in my heart, I stumbled back to the street. There was nothing I could do, when I suddenly realized the street was empty of people once again.

Abruptly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the spectre. It convulsed and twisted while moving towards me, shimmering like sunlight reflecting off a shattered mirror. It came directly down the path I was about to travel, as if it was reversing the steps I hadn't taken yet, or I already had. Once again confusion overwhelmed me, I couldn't distinguish between past and future, it all became the present.

Thunder came from under my feet, like the grinding of stone against stone. The ground shivered, increasing in magnitude as the dissonance quickly became deafening. I covered my ears from the sound. The pain behind my eyes stabbed me again, as I noticed the ghostly image rush towards me, like a demon spawned from some abysmal pit after its prey.

The ground heaved violently under me as if yanked from under my feet. Something powerful crashed through me as I landed hard on my side, and the shock of pain paralyzed me. The street continued buckling with intensifying waves surging up from deep below.

Suddenly, the street was full of people once again huddled in corners; being tossed around like rag dolls. The buildings swayed vehemently back and forth, concrete facades crumbled into dust, and thick walls collapsed crushing the inhabitants of Indunder beneath them. I couldn't move, and I saw everything in that moment.

High above me Thebel visibly arched through the sky, hastening towards a specific location along its eternal path, rushing towards a particular moment in time. In the west, Taured Mountain dominated everything, as if it had grown in perspective. Large columns of gas and ash rose from its towering peaks. It left me with the impression of being contained within a living globe and separated from the natural flow of time.

Feeling like an eternity, the ground ceased its quaking with one final heavy shrug. Deafening silence returned, as the pressure in the air became oppressive. The hot sun persisted on its course only for a moment, before it too was motionless.

The clamour of the people returned to me, and striking me like the invisible wall of sound. Screams of pain and agony rent the silent air amidst the dying bodies, blood ran everywhere. I stood impassive and alone. This had all happened before. I knew everyone would die, but how could I know.

I heard twisting wood and crumbling stone behind me, rising above the cries of the people. I turned around in time to see the sparkling white, domed roof of the Temple of the King collapse in upon itself, as if the gods had just pronounced judgment. Thick, grey dust billowed up and spread through the city.

******

Sudden memories flashed before my eyes, things I had forgotten and things that hadn't happened yet, came rushing to me. I couldn't discern between the past and the future, cause and effect. Things that had occurred, or hadn't occurred, confused me. It all came to me in a spark of pain that ignited in my head.

My perception of time slowed as I watched Thebel on its eternal course, even though it raced across the sky. I realized I was the one outside the familiar rhythm; I was the one racing towards that specific moment in time. I have lived this day before, but I couldn't remember. I'm trapped in an endless cycle that won't end.

My neighbours are just phantoms, they are already dead. I am the only one doomed to repeat this catastrophe. I am a man caught in time, condemned to repeat a single day.

******

Frantically I began yelling, screaming at everyone at the top of my voice to run, to escape the mountain. I needed to do something, even though I knew everyone was to die. I pleaded with everyone I saw, some listened running as fast as they could eastward, away from the mountain, I didn't know how far they could get. Most just looked at me dumbfounded, they couldn't comprehend the danger, like I couldn't comprehend who I was. This had all happened before.

I thought of the woman and boy just then, my wife and son. They would be alone and frightened. I needed to get to them quickly, maybe I could still save them, I have to try. I can't let them die again, I can't endure the pain.

I stumbled around the rubble littered everywhere. The door had fallen from its hinges, hanging from the splintered frame. A large block of wood blocked the entrance, so I cautiously made my way around the debris from the collapsed ceiling and made my way through the small apartment until I found them.

I hardly recognized my son. He was bent and twisted, like the pieces of wood that scattered around him. Reposed in a bloody heap, I found my wife crushed under a beam. Blood soaked the surrounding floor. She turned her head towards me. She tried to speak, but she couldn’t get her last words out. Blood spurted from her mouth when she coughed. I watched as the spark of life faded from her eyes.

******

I write these words hastily, hoping one day, perhaps, someone will find them, so they will know my plight. My last written word must escape this endless cycle. Are my sins so grievous, that the gods would curse me? Circumstances beyond my control captured me. Not even the gods can stop it. My last moment is approaching, but I won't die.

I can't stop the world from rotating, or bring Thebel to the end of its eternal journey through the cosmos. I can't stop time. I can't stop this nightmare. I'm the only one who sees, the only one who knows of these terrifying events. I'm living in a memory that I always forget, I can't go through it again, the pain is too great.

******

I ran as fast as I could; I needed to escape from Taured Mountain. I couldn't save anyone, they were all going to die. I raced east, running down streets and alleyways, always keeping the mountain at my back. I dodged distraught crowds of people and manoeuvred through collapsed buildings. The dead and dying were everywhere. Indunder was unrecognizable, destruction was all around.

I tried desperately to reach the city gates before the end; I kept my eyes down, trying not to stumble. It was all happening too fast. I ran until exhausted, but I kept going. Before I reached the gates, I stopped to catch my breath. Looking up to see where I was, I realized escape was futile, and Taured Mountain dominated everything in front of me. It was too late.

Thebel accelerated across the sky again, speeding towards its unknown destination. The star ascended above Taured Mountain in alignment with me, and the familiar rumble from deep underground started again. The apparition appeared out of the corner of my eye at that moment, as if summoned for a sinister purpose. This time the spectre kept its distance from me.

Within the blink of an eye, Taured Mountain erupted with an enormous tower of thick, convoluted, black ash, exploding straight into the stratosphere. It looked like a giant tree trunk was growing, reaching straight to Thebel. Once the plume hit a curtain height it spread out across the dome of the sky. Thebel became completely enshrouded, unable the penetrate the thick cloud. Day instantly became the darkest night.

The sound was deafening, vibrating in my ears. Again an invisible wall struck without warning, and a sudden violent gust of blistering wind accompanied it with the force of a hurricane. I flew from my feet uncontrollably backwards. It stole my breath, my lungs felt like they were on fire. I tumbled uncontrollably, the loose sharp rocks cut deep into my flesh. Thick grey ash fell like snow that quickly covered the ground.

I struggled to my knees, I couldn't stand, as the ground heaved under me. Powerful electrical charges of lightning, the kind I had never seen before, ignited within the towering column of grey ash. Great arcs vaulted higher within the pillar of dust, leaping across the sky.

Minuscule particles exhibited themselves within the turbulent thick gloom, sparkling like diamonds with each flash of electricity. The writhing column grew in magnitude and became like a living entity. It charged the scorching air all around. I knew I was the one it was seeking.

Hot stones pelted the ground, making little craters in the fluffy, white ash. Random boulders of lava arched across the sky causing explosions, and great devastation throughout Indunder where ever they struck. My perception of time slowed, as I watched the fervid gas spread across the sky, and the destruction raining down around me. It was all exaggerated in my sight.

Then, as if it had not satisfied the anger of the gods, the east slope of Taured Mountain collapsed in upon itself. It seemed like the entire world hesitated in that moment, like all of creation mourned for the people of Indunder.

It was only a moment that felt like an eternity, when a massive cloud burst outward horizontally from the mountain. The ominous cloud rushed so fast it seemed time was once again racing forward. Billowing like the darkest of storm clouds, the giant wall of glowing red, tempestuous debris raced towards Indunder. A blast of incredible heat seared my flesh, my hair sizzled, and the pain cascaded in waves, like the earth rumbling beneath me. I screamed in agony.

Extending through the gloom, mighty bolts of electricity reached through the thick, nacreous clouds in an array of colour. Great corposant arcs of lightning cracked all around, blasting grim lines into the ground, like ancient river channels cut into the side of a mountain over millennium. It had found what it was seeking.

My entire body registered in pain from the white ash that clung to my burnt flesh, like the fire was still consuming me. I was motionless, I couldn’t close my eyes. It forced me to watch before my eyes melted within the sockets, and my entire life fractured with a bright flash of clear light. For a moment I thought Thebel had reappeared.

Every alternative, and every decision I could ever make splintered before me, like fresh spiderwebs covered in dew first thing in the morning. My life cascaded down the delicate fibres, and at every potential instance it left me standing alone. The spectre behind me began its slow, articulated progression towards me again.

A massive conduit of electricity struck me, removing me from time. It seared my flesh from my bones. The energy continued leaping into each of my future selves, burning down the thin sparkling fibres of spiderweb in one continuous action. When the spectre behind me came nearer, the lightning captured it too.

Every future choice and the spectre behind screamed in agony. I screamed in agony, severed from my place in reality. In one swift movement, my future selves, attaining the extent of their reach on the tether, came crashing towards me, toppling like dominoes, one by one. Time continued expanding, but it left me behind. It denied the future to me.

I saw the city of Indunder quickly buried under a cloud of super-heated debris, like an avalanche of snow devouring everything in its path. Darkness swept over me, totally consuming me, all faded to black. My consciousness languished.

******

I awoke suddenly by the shaking of my bed, with a fading rumble that came from far away. My consciousness slowly returned, as I came out of the dark oblivion. I wondered if it was just a dream that I couldn’t remember. For a moment I wondered who I was.

The End of 'A Man Caught in Time'