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Chapter 35: Exodus

I don't know how long I was asleep. It could have been a day, or a week, or a month. When I awoke I was in a room. It was all white. The bed on which I lay was all white and I was wrapped in white sheets. The first thing I noticed was the windows. I was looking at the sky through them and I realized they were of a design I had never seen before. I then got a good look around me and I saw many strange things I had never seen before. Strange boxes with magical lights and symbols surrounded me and I became very afraid.

"Am I dead?" I asked out loud.

Glancing around the room I noticed there was some sort of door. I moved to get off the bed but my legs were too weak to carry me. I laid there for quite some time before anyone came to me.

I don't know how long it was when finally the door opened and a child came inside. I say child as I did not understand why an adult would have a child like appearance. He came up to me and started speaking in a strange tongue.

I couldn't understand a word he was saying. I tried to let him know I didn't understand and he seemed to acknowledge he understood. He left me for a moment and returned with another person who held out a book with a bunch of writing on it and pointed to it gesturing if I could read any of it. I glanced over the chart and from what I could guess it said the same thing over and over again in many different scripts. Of all of them I could read none.

"I can't read any of this" I said and they looked at me puzzled.

The other man seemed to get an idea and rushed out of the room. The first man and I waited as he returned a moment later with an apple.

I watched as he wrote a bunch of symbols on a paper and then wrote another smaller set of symbols below it.

"Apple" he said holding up the fruit

"Apple" I repeated and he shook his head so I told him what it was

"An Apple" I said and he smiled and pointed to the paper. There were a bunch of symbols on it and after a minute or so I figured out he had written his languages alphabet down and had written the word for that fruit under it. So I wrote down the alphabet and then wrote apple under it and handed it back. They looked at each other and then back at me. I felt very self conscious at that moment as they seemed to be looking at me as if I was some weird sort of creature.

The first man pointed at himself and said

"David" the other did the same thing

"Tim" he said

They looked at me wearily

"Aden" I said

They smiled at me

"Aden" they said and asked me to write it so I did and handed them the paper. They took it and again looked at me wide eyed.

"Where am I?" I asked and they looked puzzled

I took out a paper and drew a rough sketch of a map. I handed the paper to them and asked again

"Where am I?"

The second person Tim seemed to get the idea and rushed out of the room and then came running back with a very large sheet of paper. I was shocked at the bright colors of it when he opened it but I understood when he opened it what exactly I was seeing. He then took his pen and drew a tiny dot on the map. I scanned the map looking for where I came from but I did not recognize anything. It was covered in strange writing and I sighed.

I took the pen again and realized it was a design I had never seen before, the ink seemed to come magically from inside it and I was intrigued but I drew a series of pictures describing what I wanted.

"I'm thirsty" I said gesturing a drink and the first man David got up and left.

Tim sensed my distress and came forward and held my arm.

Images of what had just happened to my came rushing forward and now it felt so surreal almost like a dream, but the images were burned into my mind and my magic was not allowing me to forget. The need for revenge grew great within me. But I was lost and I had no idea where I was.

I took my pen out and took the paper that Tim had written his alphabet on and circled it and drew a picture of a book and handed it to him.

"I need this" I said gesturing to me and he nodded in understanding and I sighed.

David came back in and handed me a cup and I drank the water gratefully

"Thank you" I said and he answered me in his strange tongue.

They both left the room and I fell asleep again.

When I woke up again Tim had come back and had brought many books with him. I looked hesitantly at them. He seemed to feel my unease and started babbling in his foreign tongue. I simply took the first one and opened it. It was a series of pictures.

I smiled knowing I could work with this. I was upset because I needed to know where I was and how I could get back to Aldena so I could help fight but I knew in the shape I was in that there was no possible way I could so I would have to be patient. I spent years studying with My Master's sons so whatever this language was should be easy. At least I hoped.

It took weeks... Many weeks

I had recovered my body somewhat and had walked around my room many times. I had not ventured outside it much. There was a bathroom adjacent to my room which was embarrassing to learn about as the basin in the floor seemed almost self-explanatory but the sink and the paper cloths took some time to get used to.

I was sitting on my bed reading one of the new books Tim had brought in for me when he came into the room with a small smile.

"Good Morning" he said

"Hello Tim" I said back which gave him a smile

"How are you?" he asked

"Okay, where is David?" I asked

"In a different room" he said and I nodded

I learned that the language was called English and I was in a medical center of some sort, I had been found injured and had been asleep for many days. Now that I was recovered a more permanent place would be needed for me.

"Thank you for the books, this one has been very helpful" I said to the dictionary "though most of the words are useless" I said and Tim laughed

"Use it when reading when you don't understand a word" he said and I nodded

"I have" I said

"Good" he said "now tell me again, where do you come from?" he asked

"Far away, the land is not like this one at all, these things are not there" I said gesturing to some of the mechanical things. The man nodded

"You speak much better now" he said and I smiled

"Good teacher" I said and he laughed

"But tell me more about this land" he said and I became uneasy although how friendly this man was I still got an uneasy feeling when he asked about my homeland. It was the same feeling I got when I saw Zathrow for the first time.

"It's not so good, in my head" I said and Tim seemed to understand and let it drop.

We were silent for a few moments after that

"Tim" I said "I cannot say it, its danger and not good for you, better if you not know, I am safe and far away now. That is good, let it stay the same" I said and Tim nodded

"Thanks for at least telling me" he said and I nodded

"I like you Tim, I not want you hurt" I said

He smiled back

"Thank you" he said "David... he wants to keep you here. A long time"

"NO!" I shouted "I need to go" I said

"Shhh" he said "they're watching you"

"How?" I asked

"Black thing corner of the room top" he said and I saw the object which he was speaking, it was a tiny box at the top of the room

"They can see me, through it?" I asked and Tim nodded

My magic surged out of me and inspected the device and I closed my eyes as I followed the ropes from it into the room next to mine where David and three guys were watching things that had my picture of me on it.

"You know the way out?" I asked and Tim nodded

"Take me" I said

Tim seemed to be having trouble making the decision

"Okay" he said

"Now" I said and my magic blasted out of my arm in a nearly invisible bolt that struck the camera and I took Tim's arm and pushed us out the door

"Lead" I said and Tim took off running

We ran down many hallways and down several sets of stairs when we came outside we were on some sort of stone surface with many machines line all in a row.

"This way" he said

He led us to one of the machines and said

"Get inside" and I did

Tim put a strap around him and I did the same thing. He took an object out of his pocket and threw it into the machine and it came to life making a roaring sound and the next thing I knew we were moving fast away from the hospital.

"We need to hide, they find us using the same things as before" he said pointing up to a light above the trail we were on and I could sense the same thing as the hospital. My magic flared within me angry and powerful. It swirled around inside me and then burst outwards towards the object and suddenly the lights above us went out.

We drove northward and I watched as we went by many more lights that were all out and then I saw there were no lights for many miles.

"Did you do that?" Tim asked me

"I think so, we escape now okay?" I asked and he nodded

"Good" I said

We traveled for several hours more and I watched the sights and sounds of this new world pass me by in total wonder as I saw the shapes of the strange buildings and dwellings and the cities and roads. I really still had no idea where I was and I became very afraid but I felt safe with Tim and that kept me going.

We pulled off the road in a deserted part of the road and parked behind some bushes to avoid detection. We got out and I looked up in the sky and I felt oddly at peace.

"The stars are the same" I said

"What?" Tim asked

"The stars" I said "They are the same where I come from, the patterns" I explained "it feels like home when I look up in the sky"

Tim smiled faintly and held my shoulder

"Why are you helping me Tim?" I asked

"They would keep you prisoner for a long time, I like you too much" he said and I turned and wrapped my arms around him.

"I'm afraid" I admitted

Tim squeezed me tighter and whispered

"Me too"

We separated and tried to make camp for the night, Tim opted to try to sleep in the machine and I opted for outside because the car was so strange to me I felt safer outside. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep. I counted horses and laid still but after several hours sleep still eluded me. I looked back to the machine and saw Tim had fallen asleep and looked peaceful.

He risked his family and welfare for me. I decided that it would be best if I left him. He could go back to his life and I could move on using my magic to hide me. but he would most likely get into huge trouble. I laid in the darkness thinking about what I could do then the answer hit me. I walked over to the machine and quietly opened the door to Tim's side.

Tim was asleep still looking peaceful.

I called my magic that spread like a warm flame within me and spread through my body. I placed my hand over his head and thought `sleep' and `feel no pain' I then called my magic up and a slash appeared across Tim's neck but was too shallow and superficial to actually harm him. Blood still poured from the wound but I knew it would stop in a few moments.

"Forget" I said holding my hand over his head

Satisfied that he would be alright and that the people chasing us would believe he was forced. I headed away from the car out across a field and into the woods beyond. I wandered through the woods for about six days. I finally managed to come across a stream that I used to clean myself and make myself look more presentable. i survived off plants I found and off berries that were still in season.

I came across a town where I was walking through and I saw a sign that said

"Library" I said recognizing the word

I went inside and saw all the books and I smiled.

"Can I help you?" a woman asked

"Sorry" I said "I was looking for a book" the woman looked me over and I realized I was still wearing a simple white tee shirt and cotton pants from the hospital

"Laundry day" I said and the lady relented

"What are you looking for?" she asked

"Maps" I said and she brought me over to an area that had all the maps I could possibly ever hope for. I spent the next several hours poring over the maps when I finally found a map that caught my interest. It was a map of a city called Boston in the year 1775 and I compared it to a map of Boston today. The Boston in 1775 the costal outline very closely resembled that of Aldena but it would take much more research to determine whether or not it actually was.

I decided to switch to World history and I went back as far as I could go.

I came to the library many times looking up information and the more and more I found the more and more I was certain. Elves had once been here. From the styling of older buildings, to the progress of wars, something was telling me that there were once elves here, maybe even still here. It was an accident that I had finally found the answer.

I was passing through the library to head to my normal haunt when I tripped over a stool and fell flat on my face. On my way down I tried to catch myself but I took several books off a shelf with me. As I collected myself off the floor I glanced at the title of one book and decided to give it a read.

It was a book on mythology.

About halfway through I read a article on Elves and then I knew the truth. There had indeed been elves in this world a long time ago, and could possibly still be here. Somewhere in the past, something had happened and most if not all of the elves had left, but how did we collectively get to Aldena?

One day the librarian asked me if I wanted to use the internet for my research but I did not know where to start, I didn't even know what a computer was, with her help I was looking up anything I could find about elves.

About that time I noticed that someone was watching me research and I tried my best to ignore him. He was an older man with graying blonde hair I could feel him watching me but he never came forward.

Finally after researching for the day had finished I headed out of the library to return to the woods like I had been doing for the past couple of weeks when I could feel that presence following me.

I went into the woods without looking back and I could now hear him trying to keep up with me. I paused and allowed him to catch up. I turned and faced him on his approach

"You have been following me, what do you want?" I asked

"Are you Elven?" he asked me and it took me a second to realized he had used my own Elven tongue

"Who are you?" I asked back in my own language

"A friend" he answered in English

"What is your name?" I asked

"My name is Jared" he said "Jared Petrie"

"How do you know about my people?" I asked

He stepped forward to me and handed me an old Elven made trinket, a lattice worn in the hair very popular with our women.

"My Grandmother was Elven, my family was taught and raised to be aware of Elves" he said "I asked the woman at the counter what you were researching and she said you were looking at old maps and had been asking about mythology and then elves. I was just dropping off my son's summer reading books" he said

"What are you?" I asked and he frowned

"I'm a human" he said

"What is human?" I asked and he then furrowed his brows

"Where did you come from?" he asked me

"Aldena, Homeland of the Elves" and Jared gasped

"Come with me" he said "I can protect you"

I found myself following him to await my destiny.