Book 2 of the Eternal series

Chapter 8

Inside, the building was amazing. There were sections sectioned off, built for different age groups, and a kiddy land for the younger crowd. It was a section with rides, slides, and even a water park. There was a section where there was nothing but TVs hanging from the wall, and the TVs were all on the same static channel.

There was a section for the much older kids. This section had a dance floor, an open bar, and a live DJ. The DJ played from his stand in the back part of the room, and strobe lights lit the floor and the room up with all sorts of colors.

Ashta and Riah looked around at everyone, and they noticed that even though everyone was active, they all still had the same dead eyes and repetitive movements, especially when they danced. Riah saw that the bartender had handed everyone the same yellow-colored drink.

“Well, I guess we are the only normal ones in this place,” said Riah dryly, and Ashta nodded as she snickered.

“Would you guys like something from the bar?” Lashanna asked, and Ashta and TVs looked at her.

“Water,” they both said in unison, and they both laughed.

“Okay,” Lashanna said as she stood from the table and looked at them oddly.

“We will be right back,” said the man Lashanna brought with her, and they both walked away from the table.

Ashta and Riah looked at each other, and then they both busted out laughing.

Roman and Ray looked around and saw how strangely everyone was acting. The way they moved, danced, and went back to the bar for the same yellowish-colored drink. Roman shuddered, and then he shook off his feelings.

“Well, if you wanted to find normal people, this was definitely not the place to look for them,” stated Roman, and Ray sighed as he looked around.

“Yeah, I guess you are right,” he breathed, and Roman looked at him with care.

“Cheer up. We will figure this out,” he said.

“I just don’t know where to go from here. I mean, we did find each other, but I have this feeling that there is something else missing. We have to find it so we can make sense of all this,” said Ray, and Roman looked at him thoughtfully.

“Maybe it just isn’t here,” said Roman, and Ray nodded as he looked around the section again.

At that moment, he spotted Riah and Ashta, and he watched them for a few minutes. Immediately, he noticed that they didn’t act like the others, and he smacked Roman on the arm. Roman looked at his arm, and then he looked at his cousin as if he had lost his mind.

“What?”

“Look,” said Ray, as he pointed, and Roman looked at where he was pointing.

“Wow. That girl is stunning,” Roman said softly as he looked at Ashta, and Ray looked at him in question.

“Which one?” Ray asked as he hoped Roman was looking at the redhead.

Quickly, Roman cleared his throat, and then he looked at his cousin.

“They both are, but the redhead has caught my attention,” he said, and Ray smiled.

“Good. I like the brunette look. They aren’t acting as strange as the others.”

Roman looked at the girls, and he saw what Ray was talking about, and his eyes lit up. He chuckled, and then he gave his cousin a knowing look.

“Come on, let’s go talk to them,” he said, and Ray nodded as they both got up from the table.

“We are going to go dance,” said Lashanna abruptly, and Riah and Ashta nodded.

“They are so strange,” breathed Riah as she leaned back on her chair and watched them walk away.

Ashta gave her a knowing look.

“Tell me about it. Every day at work, she does the same repetitive things, talks about the same things, and it has driven me completely insane,” said Ashta, and Riah snickered as she sighed and looked out onto the dance floor.

Surprisingly, she saw two handsome men looking at them from across the room, and then they got up from the table. Riah watched as they walked towards her and Ashta, and she turned her head to her friend.

“We are about to be approached,” she said under her breath as she pointed.

“What? Do these weird people hit on each other for days on end?” Ashta teased as she turned her head and looked at where she was pointing.

She saw the two men walking toward them, and oddly she felt drawn to them. Seemingly, she noticed that they didn’t have the dead look in their eyes like the other people in this town, and that intrigued her.

“Hi,” said Ray as he and Roman approached them, and Riah looked up at Ray.

At that moment, she felt as though she knew him and saw the life in his eyes. Ashta looked at Roman, and she swallowed hard as she looked over the stunning man.

“Hi,” he said in a deep voice, and Ashta felt goosebumps rise all over her body.

“Hi,” she breathed as she bit her lip, and he shyly smiled.

“May I?” he asked as he gestured to the empty chairs, and Ray looked at Riah.

Slowly, both girls turned their heads toward each other, and then they looked back at the guys as they nodded. Roman and Ray sat in the empty chairs, and Ashta and Riah looked at each other nervously.

“I’m Roman, and this is my cousin, Ray,” Roman introduced.

“I’m Ashta, and this is my best friend, Riah,” said Ashta, and Riah smiled as she nodded.

For a moment, the four of them stared at each other silently, and they felt a sense of peace and belonging wash over them. Ashta and Riah then looked at each other as they smirked and nodded. They turned back to the guys, and Riah licked her lips.

“So, do you guys come here often?” she asked, and Ray shook his head.

“No, this would be our first time,” he said.

“And hopefully, our last,” said Roman, and Ashta looked at him oddly.

“Why?” she asked as she chuckled, and Roman looked at her seriously.

“Because we don’t belong here,” he said, and Riah looked at him in question.

She dismissed her thoughts, and then she looked down at the table.

“Yeah, tell me about it,” she sighed, and Ashta kicked her under the table.

“Ow!” she whispered, and Roman and Ray looked at each other.

They both chuckled, and Ashta looked at Roman. She studied his beautiful brown eyes for a moment, and she saw that there was life in them. He wasn’t one of the dead, and the pull she felt from him was indescribable.

“You’re not like the others,” she said, and he shook his head.

“Like Ray said. We don’t belong here,” he said, and Ashta nodded.

“We know the feeling. This place is very strange,” she said, and she nodded in agreement.

“Well, maybe we can all figure this out together,” suggested Ray, and Riah nodded.

“Okay. I will go get us some drinks. We should try and blend in,” Ashta said, and she got up from the table.

“Wait,” said Roman, and he grabbed her hand.

Ashta turned and looked at him in question. Suddenly, they felt a power surge of energy rush through their bodies, and memories invaded their minds. Everything returned to them, and their memories were restored, except the part about being the Elemental Guardians. For some reason, that stayed blocked from their minds.

Ashta and Roman opened their eyes and looked at each other. She smiled through her tears, and he smiled back at her as he ran his hand over her cheek. He stared into her eyes, and she did the same as their eyes lit up, and Roman pulled her to his chest. For a moment, he held her, and they both felt at peace and connected.

Ashta pulled back and looked at him as she grinned and chuckled. Roman smiled at her lovingly, and he ran his hand through her hair. At that moment, Ashta and Roman looked at them. Ray and Riah stared at them in awe. They didn’t understand what was happening to their friends.

“Grab each other’s hand,” said Ashta, and Riah and Ray looked at each other.

Slowly, Riah reached her hand out to Ray, and he took it. Ray and Riah smiled at each other as he pulled her close and kissed her. At that moment, they both rose to their feet and felt the powerful surge of energy flow through them. The memories invaded their minds, and everything was restored.

Roman grabbed Ashta’s face and kissed her deeply. Suddenly, a breeze picked up and swirled around them.

“My children,” said the moon god, and surprisingly, he sounded weak.

“Please come home soon. Our land, our people, and our home are dying without the four guardians,” he said weakly.

“But how do we get home?” whispered Riah.

“You must figure that out on your own. Just like how you found each other again,” said the moon god, and then the breeze faded away.

Ashta, Roman, Riah, and Ray all looked at each other, and then they sat back down at the table.

“So, what do we do now?” asked Ray, and Riah looked at him thoughtfully.

“Well, maybe we should look for clues. Do any of you remember anything about how we got here?” she asked, and everyone shook their heads.

“The only thing I remember is waking up in the hospital,” said Roman, and Ray looked at his cousin.

“I woke up in the hospital too. My parents and Keshmire were there, but there is something strange about them,” he said as he shook his head at the thoughts of their dead eyes, and he shivered.

Heavily, Riah sighed, and she nodded sadly.

“My husband, Destiny, Micheal, my brother, and his wife were at the hospital with me when I woke up,” she said, and Ray, Roman, and Ashta looked at her with care.

Ashta then looked down at the floor and huffed a sob. Roman touched her hand, and she looked back up at him, Riah, and Ray.

“Yinlin and Lashanna were there when I woke up, but they’re dead,” said Ashta uneasily, and they only nodded.

“But Keshmire and my mother aren’t. That’s the weird thing,” said Roman.

“This isn’t real,” said Ray, and they all nodded.

“So, what do we do now?” Ashta asked, and Riah looked at her thoughtfully.

“I’d say, let’s start at the hospital,” she said, and Roman looked at her oddly.

“How are we going to do that without raising an alarm?” he asked, and Ashta gave him a knowing look.

“Look around. These people, or whatever they may be, are stuck in a simulation. They do the same thing every day, and they haven’t noticed anything out of the norm,” she said, and they all looked around at the dead-eyed people around them.

Ashta was right. They were doing the same movements when they first got there, and they also noticed how jerky and twitchy the people were. Surprisingly, it was like Ashta, Roman, Riah, and Ray didn’t even exist to them.

“Okay. Let’s meet up in the morning,” said Riah, as she looked back at Roman, Ray, and Ashta, and Ray looked at her seriously.

“I am not leaving your side,” he said firmly, and Roman gave Ashta a knowing look.

She only nodded as she gave him the same look back.

“Same,” they both said in unison, smiling at each other.

“Well, I can’t necessarily bring you home with me,” Riah said as she raised her eyebrows at Ray, and Ashta shook her head.

“We can all go to my place,” she said.

“But what about our families?” Ray asked, and Riah looked at him.

“They are not our families. Besides, if they are stuck in a simulation, they won’t even notice that we are gone,” she said, and he only nodded.

Soon, the party died down, and everyone began to leave. Again, they walked down the side of the street in their strange, silent, single-file lines, and Roman, Riah, and Ray silently followed Ashta to her house.