“Memento Mori” Part 2

Kimi spun in a circle to take in her new surroundings. Where the hell was she? Was this hell? If it was, it sure was boring.

From where she slowly turned in a circle, a few shack-type buildings littered the dead grass in random spots. A dried lake loomed to her right. Other than the sparse people stumbling and milling around, that was about it.

Kimi walked over to the nearest person. He was an older man and seemed in a daze. “Excuse me, sir. Where are we?” The man didn’t respond. “Hello?” She waved one hand in front of his face. “Hello?” Still no response.

She searched for someone who seemed to be more focused, but everyone had the same expression on their faces. Some wore fancy clothes while others shuffled about in tatters. When the nice approach didn’t work, Kimi started yelling and shaking them. Nothing snapped them out of whatever mental fog they were in.

Frustration and anger got the better of her. Kimi stood in the middle of these brainless wonders, reached her hands to the sky, and screamed at the top of her lungs. “Can somebody please help me?”

Deceitful hope played in Kimi’s heart, but no one stirred. She looked for the sun to tell what time it was, but the bright blue sky didn’t have one. No breeze stirred either even though the temperature was pleasant.

Kimi wondered why these people were out of their heads and why no one came and went from the buildings. Curiosity tugged for her to explore. Then, she remembered what curiosity had done to the proverbial cat. She sat on the yellow grass with her legs outstretched. Her hands fidgeted beside her in the dirt. A thought occurred to her, so she glanced down. “Hmmm. No bugs.”

“Of course we don’t have bugs here, silly girl.”

The voice provoked a scream from Kimi. A tall thin man stood at the end of her feet. Pale skin stretched over a narrow face giving him the appearance of a skull. No hair covered his head. His black suit was immaculate. “Where did you come from? You scared the hell out of me.”

“It is interesting that you use that word so much, Kimimela.” His voice was deep. No expressions formed on his skull face.

“What word?”

“Hell.”

“Answer my question? Where did you come from? You clearly aren’t part of that overly excited group. Who are you? Where am I? How did I get here?” Kimi’s words spilled out in a blur.

“My, what question you have.” One bony hand came to his chin. “You do not know how you arrived here? How is it you do not know where you are and that you are not like them?” His hand stretched out to indicate the other people.

“Answer my questions first, mister.” Kimi jumped up, placing her fists on each hip.

“If you think deeply enough, you will know where you are.” Now, one hairless eyebrow raised slightly.

From the corner of her eye, Kimi saw a flash of bright white light. It was even brighter than the daylight. As quickly as it happened, it was gone. She didn’t even have time to swivel her head in time to see its source. Another happened to her other side. Kimi spun around hoping to catch the next one. And she did.