Swarley - Issue 7: Self

Desert. When I opened my eyes, for miles upon miles there was only desert. The air was humid, the sun was fierce, and sweat was rolling down my forehead as I stood up and stared. I saw nothing but dry sand and illusions of better things as the sweltering heat played tricks on my eyes. There was not even a hint of wind either - everything was still. I didn't know how I'd ended up here, so I could only assume that this was the fate I'd been dealt by the people I'd ran into earlier. The memories rushing back, I swept my hand up to the back of my head where it had struck the wall, but much to my shock, there was no wound, nor any pain. Either I'd been out for a very long time, or something strange was going on.

I decided to walk. Each step I took was a chore in itself, the sand giving way beneath my feet and making me work twice as hard. I tried to set a course, but the only things to walk towards were the next sand hills, and after passing my first few, I couldn't really tell the difference anymore. It was like a bad dream, and before long, I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever see anything else again besides these hills. I stopped walking and sat down.

"As if," I mumbled to myself.

"As if what?" came a deep reply from somewhere behind me.

I spun around quickly, my hands accidentally brushing sand all over me, only to see a cloak floating in mid air, molded to the shape of a man.

"I must be high," I remarked.

"I assure you, you're not," came the booming voice once again from the direction of the cloak, "and you didn't answer my question."

"What?" I said, looking confused.

"As if what?" it repeated.

I leaned forward to take a closer look, glaring in disbelief. "As if this happened to me, I guess."

"So you take this for a bad thing then?" it offered.

"Well, of course I do man," I exclaimed, "look around you. There ain't shit but sun n' sand for miles. How would this be a good thing?"

The cloak made a shrugging motion.

"And what the fuck are you then?" I demanded. "Some kind of desert cloak spirit or something?" It looked kind of like my own superhero cloak when I thought about it.

"I am what you've made me."

I laughed mockingly. "And what is that supposed to mean? I've never seen you before."

"A product of your imagination," it played.

"Well, if it's my imagination," I reasoned, "then why are you wearing my cloak. Property of Vengeance I'm pretty sure."

"I'm not," it responded calmly as the cloak suddenly appeared around my shoulders. Before me now was a black shade that roughly resembled a female figure.

"What in the hell," I started, only to be abruptly interrupted.

"Well, this is what you were thinking, isn't it?" rang a more feminine voice.

I said nothing. She, or whatever it was now, was right. I did prefer feminine sage-type characters. I laughed a little.

"Alright," I said, "but why am I here? And where is here?"

"Why isn't really important, just know that you are here now because you cannot be anywhere else. As for where here is, " she paused, "well, I chose this place for you."

"You chose a fucking desert for me?" I blurted out, "why would you do that?"

"Dramatic effect I suppose."

I glared at her. "Cute." She said nothing in response. "So what am I supposed to do then," I continued, "and how do I get out of here?"

"When you understand what I'm going to teach you, you'll be able to leave this place."

"So you're some kind of teacher then, are you?"

"I am the deeper knowledge within you that is yet unawoken. I can teach, but you will need to listen."

I took a deep breath and rubbed my eyes. "Yea, ok."

"Follow me," she said as she turned, undeterred by my sarcasm.

I went to take a step in her direction and was instantly surprised by what happened next. In a sweeping wave the desert around me was transformed into rolling meadows with gusting winds and blue skies, and as I set my foot down I crushed a newly arisen flower. I stopped to take it in - after the desert this was paradise. The air smelled good, and my weariness had vanished; I wondered how long it would last.

"You like?" she questioned.

I nodded.

"Good. Then here is where we begin."

"Begin what?"

She raised one arm and then motioned behind her. "Your test."

From thin air, something began to materialize. On the ground now rested a tiny, transparent cube, no more than a foot wide with a small black sphere hovering inside. It was impossible to tell if the sphere contained anything further.

"What's that?" I asked, looking slightly dumbfounded.

She smiled. "Inside that sphere is a key that will unlock the surrounding cube. Your job is to figure out a way to get it out and do just that. Note that if the sphere touches the cube at any point, the entire thing will dissolve and you will have failed. Brute force will not work here. Use your powers wisely."

I could have asked her questions, but I doubted they would have done any good, so I didn't bother. Closing the distance between the cube and myself, I sat down in front of it, crossing my legs and leaning in to take a look. Nothing immediately struck me as a good place to start, so I just decided to start prodding. I extended my power in a hand-like form towards the cube, and pressed against the surface. The outside was a smooth, hard surface, and if I pressed against it hard enough to rock the cube, the sphere inside would dance around slightly, heading towards the wall as if off balance.

"No more moving the cube," I thought.

I passed through the outside of the cube and began to examine the sphere. Extending my power like a finger, I touched the sphere, the reaction taking me slightly by surprise. From the point where I had touched it, ripples went out across it's entire surface, just like a disturbance on water. This wasn't water though - even though it rippled, I couldn't push through the sphere with my power. I pushed slightly harder, causing the ripple to pour over the sphere once again, as well as inadvertantly pushing it close to the edge of the cube. My heart skipped a beat as it teetered towards the edge, then slowed and returned to the centre. I looked over to the shade, a mild look of frustration on my face, and she merely smiled.

"Be gentle," she instructed.

I gave her a fake smile then returned my attention to the puzzle. I was at a loss for what to try next; it didn't seem like I could do anything. "A key inside of a sphere that I can't get through, and that I can't apply force too - wonderful," I thought. It bothered me a little that I didn't really have any idea what to do. I was supposed to be good at these kinds of things. I did, afterall, used to get paid to solve problems. I needed to work with what I had, because there was no way I could let this shade stump me, especially in my own imagination. Examining the situation, all I had was a ripple.

I decided to play with it. I lightly touched the sphere in a couple more places individually and watched the ripple effect for some sort of clue. Each time, exactly like the time before it, the ripple went out, and then stopped completely opposite where it had originated. I had an idea. Extending my power to two different spots, I touched the sphere on opposite side simultaneously and the ripples shot out like normal from both spots. I smiled at what happened next; where the ripples met, circles formed for a second that largely resembled a liquid form, and then dissipated just as quickly. I didn't know exactly what had just happened, but I was sure I'd stumbled upon something important. I produced the effect one more time, and this time made an effort to touch the resulting areas. "Jackpot," I thought, as I momentarily slipped through the outside of the sphere and was able to feel the key inside. Before I could do anything however, the sphere closed again, and my power was sealed outside of it.

"Well, that's no good," I mumbled to myself. There was no way I'd be able to pull the key out of the sphere in time with that kind of a window. Another dilemna - this cube was starting to piss me off. I didn't even bother to look over to the shade to see her mocking smile. I didn't want to see her face again until I finished this thing. I scratched my head and stared at the hovering sphere from hell. There had to be something I was overlooking. I envisioned the key inside the sphere, sitting on the bottom as I'd seen it, and as I pictured it, it came to me: it was on the bottom. I pointed my power towards the absolute sides of the sphere and touched them simultaneously, sending out the ripples for hopefully the last time. I watched as the ripples collided directly under where the key should have sat, and then as it fell through according to plan, clunking down on the hard surface of the cube underneath it. Instantly, upon touching the outside, the whole thing began to glow with a soft white light, until it disappeared, leaving only a small piece of paper behind. I picked it up and read the one word written on it aloud.

"Imagine."

"That's right," came the voice of the shade again, "Imagine."

I turned to look at her, the confident smile I thought I would have turned into a confused grimmace. "What?"

"You have a powerful imagination, Ryan," she continued, "and as such, you have been gifted with a power infused by it. I gave you that test to illustrate a point to you. Things are never as simple as push and pull, and you more than anyone need to know that. What you can do is only limited by what your mind can create. Will and imagination are your strengths - never forget that."

I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came. Her speech hit me hard, and all at once what I had to say seemed irrelevant.

"This will not be the last time we meet," she stated, "I have more to show you. For now however, this should help you reach the next plateau, if you decide to take it to heart."

"Plateau?" I questioned.

She smiled a quaint smile. "In time," she said, winking.

I looked around and everything began to lose its color, slowly fading to black.

She disappeared, leaving only darkness surrounding me. "Goodbye for now, Ryan. You're wanted elsewhere."

I could hear the familiar voices of people around me, and I knew she was right. It was time to go back.