Odyssey - A Flash Fiction Story About Freedom and Fear

Odyssey

What you don't know about this world will kill you. If you aren't careful, one step could lead to your death. You see, gravity works differently here on Kydonia. There are pockets of land where you must never set foot on, because reverse-gravity resides in those spaces, and you will instantaneously be repelled from the planet's surface.

It's a pretty gruesome way to die, isn't it? Yet that was the reality for so many on this planet. We thought that the leaders of our village were just keeping us locked in to keep control of us. We thought that all their stories were just meant to keep us within the village walls. I can still remember the first time it happened. We were about a mile away from the village, and we were just walking around trying to find hints of any other people in the area. That's when we lost Gorpat.

One second, he was walking right in front of us all, and the next, we witnessed half of his body shoot up into the sky and into space while the other half thudded to the ground in front of us. We were all sprayed in a crimson shower as we stood there in shock, not fully realizing or believing what had just happened. That's when the screams began. I stared on as I saw the look of horror in all their faces as they finally began to accept the reality of what had just occurred.

Then they began to run. They ran all over the place, as far as they could, anyway, before all suffering the same fate as Gorpat. I tried to stop them, but only a few listened. In the end, only a handful of us survived. We had to figure out which pockets were safe and which were no trespassing zones. Finally, we made our way all the way to a village, after what seemed like an eternity of cautiously navigating the treacherous high desert terrain. The people of the village, apparently, were also being kept within its walls by the Elders. We were the first outsiders they had ever seen.

Half of the village revered us as gods, and the other half feared us as devils. In the end, they chased us out of their village and decided that staying in their perfect little bubble was the best option for them. But that's the thing about bubbles, you see...if you let something into that bubble, no matter what, nothing will ever be the same again. We had been walking for a good mile or two by the time the kid caught up to us.

"Wait!" he yelled as he approached us, panting and gasping for breath.

"You're from that last village we were just at, aren't you?" I asked.

"Yes, that's right! I knew there was more to the world than they were telling us!" He stopped to catch his breath again for a few moments, holding his hand up to let us know he wasn't done. "Even after you came, and we all saw proof that we weren't the only people on this planet. They still claimed that you were just spirits out to trick us! But here you are."

"Yes, here we are. Why did you come after us?"

"You kidding me? You must know what life is like inside the confines of a small village. Knowing that there's something more to life just outside the walls. I just figured you guys were obviously the bravest people from your village to venture out that far. So I followed my gut and left the village to come explore the world with you!"

We let him join our party. What else were we supposed to do, let the kid go off on his own and die? He was just a kid. There was still so much about the world that he didn't know yet. Hell, I'm no expert, myself, but I've learned a lot since venturing outside the walls of our village. So off we went, just walking and walking and walking...not knowing where we were going, or where we would end up.

And now, five days later, here we are. Our food and water have been used up. Standing at the gates of this colossal city. Pleading with the guards to let us in. We arrived at the gates 3 days ago, but they have turned us away every single day. Today was the first time that anyone gave us the time of day. We're hoping that we can make our way into the city, but that's out of our hands now. It all depends on you. The fate of myself and my raggedy band of 6 rests now in your hands. Will you save us, noble Lord? Will you let us in?

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