Uncertainty

Heat.

It was all Abel could feel pressing up against his forehead as he kept to pace with Midas through the tall thin grass. His long, dirty blonde hair wasn't helping with the heat either. The blue sky was clear, with the clouds entirely disregarded. The last taste of shade they had was when they still maneuvered through the forest. Once the forest concluded, an open plain made itself apparent. They ran across as fast as they could to avoid being caught by whatever may be out there. Now, the plains came to grass taller than them. It was definitely a method for remaining hidden, but without sight ahead they were now blindly navigating.

Abel's legs and feet had been aching for quite some time now. The initial fall down the dip in the forest had bruised his knee. Running aimlessly didn't make it any better. In the tall grass, nothing could be seen ahead nor behind, right nor left. Surrounding them were walls of green. All that was revealed to them was the wide sky and shining sun above them. That's when the sun had unexpectedly gone out; something above them had blocked its light. After what had felt like forever they finally once again found themselves in shade. The two looked up, and above them was a large concrete platform that seemed to completely overshadow them. They were under a large gray overpass.

A large ramp on one side of the bridge seemed to lead up to the top.

"I think we'd have a better view of where to go if we got on the bridge," Abel suggested.

"Yeah, good idea." In a hurry, Midas ran towards the ramp.

Unexpected, Abel followed quickly from behind. The two slowly but surely made their way up the ramp leading to a wall of large rocks that scaled to the bridge surface. Midas began gripping his way up without hesitation. Still tired, Abel began his climb in a slower manner. Midas had already gotten to the top and pulled himself over, while Abel, barely able to reach for the edge, expected a hand from Midas but got nothing instead. Finding a rock closer to him, he pulled himself further up to grab the ledge. Finally climbing over, he spotted Midas already making his way across the bridge.

Abel sighed. "What's he in such a rush for?"

The bridge was a two way with four roads; two heading in each direction. Lamp posts lined each side, each about a meter or two away from the metal fences that edged the bridge. Abel and Midas crossed, heading in the direction of what seemed to be a city. Whether populated was unknown. Whether containing threats, was also unknown.

Walking out in the middle of the road, paranoia struck Abel.

"Shouldn't we conceal ourselves more? I feel like someone might be watching us. Who knows who could be out there—"

"Stop worrying," Midas interrupted. "As long as we get to where we need to, we'll be fine." Midas looks back down at what seemed to be a map on his device's screen.

Still, these words weren't any more reassuring for Abel. His curiosity was now at an all time peak. So many aspects of the world he found himself in, and yet, he didn't have a single clue as to what any of them were. The voice in the sky, the device Midas held, and the weapon he owned too. Considering the blade Midas had holstered, Abel thought of what kind of threats were present to possess a weapon on oneself. Abel's mesmerizing thoughts only seemed to stockpile, building off one after the other.

Travelling down the far road, the two finally found themselves in the city where a silent wind blew by upon arrival. It was cool and empty, other than the masses of old debris that scattered the area. Uneven cracked roads intertwined the place, and vines lined buildings that touched the sky. What seemed like what used to be a lively city was now abandoned. Their footsteps echoed through the thin air that circulated the area.

"What happened to this place?" Abel questioned.

"Looks like a disaster to me," Midas replied.

Abel looked back and forth with curiosity. What exactly had happened during all this time he wasn't awake? What sort of catastrophe took place that even he was not awoken by, or possibly just couldn't remember? What confused Abel the most was why the city was so broken down, but the surrounding area leading up to this point was untouched. The place brought him nothing but uncertainty.

Midas looked back towards Abel and noticed his tense behavior.

"Stop being such a worry freak. We're just passing by."

Abel reacted with uneasiness.

"No one's here?"

"Not that I know of."

They kept pace forward, and eventually out of the city.

Taking a peak at Midas' screen, Abel noticed that an icon followed them wherever they traveled.

"A tracking device?" Abel thought. He ran his hands throughout his body to feel for any unusualities. Nothing on his body, but he felt for something he should've noticed before. In one of the zipped pockets of the jacket tied around his waist was a device of his own. It was the same size as Midas'. Upon turning it on, he was met with a familiar screen. An icon followed his every step on the map that was laid out. Ahead of his icon, was a small region indicated by a question mark symbol. This must've been where the so-called gem was located as said by the voice. They were already close to its location, and looking up, Abel's eyes tracked the tip of a brown roof along the green horizon. Travelling further ahead, a temple revealed itself. Curved roofing styled like a pagoda's, held up by wooden, but sturdy looking pillars. The walls were a decaying red, but the feeling it gave off was nothing but new.

"That's it," Midas nodded. "The gem should be in there."

They finally arrived. The gem with so-called powers was voiced to be in there. As much as Abel wanted to feel accomplished for finally getting here, he was more on edge than anything.

Could this place finally unveil fulfilling answers? Abel couldn't help but feel anxious.

Leading up to the entrance of the temple was a long but narrow flight of stairs. The stone crumbled beneath their feet as they made their way up, but a peculiar sound of stepping could be heard following from behind. This was odd to Abel, seeing as Midas was leading the way up. Abel turned back over his shoulder, and met the intent gaze of a male who stood there. A blue-handled hatchet unsheathed in one hand, a blue-handled dagger in the other, he looked ready to attack.

Midas groaned. "This guy again."