Who Am I...

Posted on Mon Jan 18th, 2021 @ 4:18pm by Ka'see 'Cassie' Anderson (*) & Johnathan Anderson Junior

Mission: Elsewhere
Location: Unknown
Timeline: November
1170 words - 2.3 OF Standard Post Measure

Pain.

That was what He felt. Severe and blinding pain. He also felt something else.

Emptiness.

He knew that something was wrong, but not what. Try as He might, He couldn't see what He was missing. Closing His eyes, He tried with all His might to remember, well, anything. But, to no avail. All He knew was that He was in a strange place, filled with all kinds of strange beings. Some He could understand their words. Others, He could not.

Hunger.

He was hungry. He hadn’t eaten anything since He caught that rodent-like creature nearly, how long ago? It could have been yesterday, it could have been a week ago. He had no way of knowing what time, even way at day, it was. All He knew was that the suns were out and it was painfully bright out. When they weren’t, it was dark and cold. He had no idea how long He had been here, wherever here was. The first thing He does remember, is pain. It has been a constant companion while He has been here. He has tried to think about things before the pain, only to get nothing. The only respite from He nothingness in His mind, comes in His sleep. When He sleeps, in His dreams, He sees vague images of something or someone. He has no idea what or who. All He knows, is it is the only time that He knows a comforting warmth, even if it is gone as soon as He wakes, with no memory of it.

So, He does His best to survive from one sunrise to the next. Anything beyond that, if it doesn’t help Him get food, matters nothing to Him.

Cassie tossed and turned in bed she was in a strange quarters and though she was not in her body her connection was still there, still searching for the man who should have been by her side. It was obviously that went deeper than being in the wrong body allowed. Something so primeval that it followed her like a shadow. She stopped as she felt herself finally slipping asleep and her mind entering a state where everything was together.

He grunted and twitched, His mind troubled and tortured. In the small alley that He had found respite for the evening in, He slept fitfully, as He did every night. Tonight, the air was getting colder. He could easily see His breath when He was awake during the day. A week ago, He had pulled an old coat off of a transient that had died. The smell didn't bother Him any, He certainly smelled plenty, all by Himself.

While the coat was just long enough, and large enough, that He could pull His knees up to His chest inside of the closed coat. Unfortunately, both His head and feet were still exposed. His shoes were in shambles, He had taken straps of a fabric He had found and wrapped it around each shoe, which, while not perfectly insulating, was better than nothing.

And so He slept, His mind going deeper and deeper to another level of consciousness.

Cassie never knew where they ended up but it was always a strange city, brightly lit with shop signs and advertisements everywhere. It looked like the Ferangi homeworld from images and stuff that she had seen over in the years since she had escaped the transporter but she knew it was not. It was more directed at Federation species and getting lost in vices. Was this where Johnathen was or was this just a dream world they were creating to have some type of connection. “You came back again?” She called seeing him.

He saw the ruins around Him, what looked like an ancient war zone. As He moved, He didn’t feel anything, He looked down, and though He could see His feet touching the ground beneath Him, He couldn’t feel any sensation of contact. As disturbing as that would normally be, He didn’t feel bothered. He didn’t feel anything at all.

Suddenly, a wind blew past Him and some of the wasteland changed. In places, the destroyed scene became repaired and I damaged. He then heard something. It sounded like a song of some kind. Something that might have been familiar. The voice in the song gave Him warmth deep inside Himself. He tried to sing along with the beautiful voice, but it only came out in a growl, not one of anger, but, a growl nonetheless.

Cassie frowned. He never acknowledged her despite her standing right in front of him. Whatever had happened to him was severe or he was ignoring her on purpose maybe the year apart had destroyed them. Maybe it was time she found a priestess and removed this link between them. "I am still here but you need to let me know you are still wanting this." She said sadly.

He heard the song again. Excited by the feeling, He reached out, trying to grab the air that carried it. Suddenly, He stopped. Turning to he left, He saw...something. It was a being of some kind. Nothing like those He saw everyday. While the being was difficult to see, as she..He thought it was a she...was surrounded by a halo of bright light. Everything around her changed from the ruins it was, to perfectly restored surroundings.

The song suddenly changed in its tone, while still quite beautiful, it now seemed a bit more somber. Falling to His knees in front of the being, He clasped His hands together and begged for forgiveness. Whatever it was that He had done to upset this perfect being, He would rectify immediately. His words were a gibberish of languages, making it difficult to ascertain exactly what He was saying.

As He finished speaking, He slowly reached toward the being.

Cassie was surprised that he was reaching for her. Was he finally relented or was she finally getting through to him.

Just before their fingers touched, He was awakened by a group of young hoodlums, who had found His sleeping spot. Grabbing Him by His ankles, they yanked Him out from under the garbage bags. They started to laugh and say things that He couldn’t understand. He tried to get up, but the hoodlum closest kicked His hand out from under Him. The three of them then began to hit and kick Him. He desperately tried to protect Himself, by curling into a ball. Unfortunately, that did not deter His attackers. They continued to beat Him, laughing as they did so.

Finally, the noise caught the attention of a patrolling law officer. She rushed over and broke everything up, throwing the young hoodlum up against the wall, yelling at them in their native language.

During the confusion, He managed to get up, and ran away, as fast as His battered body would allow Him. He had to find safety. He had to find...Ka.

To be continued...