A knock on the door. When I opened it, a letter lay on the ground, addressed to me. I picked it up, walked to the table, and sat down before carefully opening it.
The letter had "Jack" written in hurried scribbles at the top, so I knew it was meant for me.
I unfolded it and found that there were three pages—one full of scribbles and the other two have words scrawled on them. I looked at one of the ones with words and began reading.
"Jack, if you have this letter, it means I've disappeared—either from this life or just yours. I won't tell you what is happening with me, but you need to trust me and this letter.
There are two possibilities for my disappearance:
1: I'm dead, and this letter found its way to you.
2: I'm alive, but I've vanished from your life and everyone else's.
If it's the former, there should be a map on the back. If it's the latter, there won't be a map, and you should just continue living your life like normal."
I take the other paper from underneath and read its contents.
"The map leads to a very special key that I was looking for. This key will lead you to what I call The Void. The Void can bestow you a 'Gift.' This 'Gift' will give you superhuman abilities.
That's all I know because the group that is looking for me told me about this key and showed me the map. I then stole the map and am now on the run. So if someone says they are from a group called The Galaxy Order, don't trust them and try to get away as fast as possible.
Watts"
After I finished reading, my mind struggled with a flood of emotions and thoughts.
Watts was dead, and he had been chased by a group called The Galaxy Order.
And The Void... superhuman powers?
Sigh.
That was a lot of information to process, but before anything else, I needed to look at the page full of scribbles, which I believed to be the map mentioned in the letter. I grabbed the second page and examined it.
I had no idea what this could be. What is this? I thought as I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to make sense of the map. But all I saw were a bunch of crossing lines and scribbles.
I put the map down and decided to eat something. Moving to the kitchen, I opened the cooler filled with ice and pulled out the meat I had been saving for a special occasion.
I moved to the fire hole and placed it in. The iron sheet started heating up as I pressed down on the heating pedal with my foot. Fire shot from the sides, cooking the meat perfectly. After a few minutes, I took my foot off the pedal, and the iron sheet instantly became as cold as ice, cooling it down.
When I got back to the table with my food and water, I looked at the map again and decided I would take it to Luka tomorrow to see if he could read it.
After eating, I went to the bed across the room and collapsed onto it, finally ready to digest everything from the letter. I reread it, my fingers gripping the paper so tightly that it crumpled at the edges.
Watts is dead.
My vision blurred, and before I realized it, warm tears slid down my cheeks, dripping onto the letter. I pressed my lips together, trying to stop the cry that threatened to escape, but I couldn't suppress it. Soft whimpers broke through, echoing in my small home.
Watts was gone.
The weight of that truth crashed over me, and I didn't fight it anymore. I curled up on the bed, clutching the letter to my chest, and let exhaustion drag me into sleep.
When I woke up, I went to the door, put on my sandals, and left my home.
Outside, a massive desert stretched for thousands of kilometers, covered in dead bushes and clusters of cacti. In the distance, a steeple jutted out of the sand, but it was too far for anyone to really want to approach, and the few who do have never made it back. So everyone avoids what we now call the Spire.
The village I live in is a small one with no more than a hundred people that live here currently, and only a few have disappeared at the Spire the rest who went were travelers who wanted adventure.
When I stepped outside, I realized I had forgotten the map Watts had sent me, so I rushed back inside, grabbed it from the table, and headed to Luka's house.
When I reached his door, I knocked in a special pattern so he would know it was me.
The door opened, revealing a towering man—about 210 cm tall—with long, jet-black hair covering half his face. A massive smile stretched across his lips, but instead of looking happy, Luka looked... terrifying.
"Jack, my boy! Why are you just visiting now?" His grin widened, but there was something unsettling about it. "I missed you all week—you didn't come by once." He spread his arms for a hug, his sharp eyes locked onto me.
"Sorry, I was busy getting water. You know how long that takes."
"Yes, yes, I know. The oasis is far away, but you should've visited before you left so I could see your face."
I stepped forward for a hug, but just before Luka closed his arms around me, I tensed every muscle in my body, bracing myself against his superhuman strength.
"Urghh!" A pained groan escaped me as I was lifted into the air in Luka's crushing embrace.
"Hahaha!" He laughed heartily, swinging me around like a ragdoll. After about a minute of being tossed like a sack of grain, Luka finally let me go. Gasping for breath, I managed to ask,
"Luka... can you read this map that Watts gave me?"
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the map. Luka grabbed it, gave it a quick glance, then smiled again.
"Watts is back?"
"No." I denied it immediately. "Watts is dead. This map appeared in front of my door with a letter he wrote to me."
As I finished speaking, pain and sadness became visible on my face. I couldn't keep my expression calm. Watts is dead. He's not coming back.
"What?" Luka's face twisted in shock. "How did it happen?"
"I don't know. All I know is that he's gone, and this map is all that he left me. So I need to see what's on it."
"I understand." Luka nodded, his expression turning serious. "I'm surprised you even knew this was a map—it's a very rare kind."
"What kind of map is it?" I asked, confused.
Luka looked at me with a knowing smirk.
"Not many people would recognize it... but this map is a 3D map."