Chapter 2: The second awakening.

  Cam felt more than woke. It was as if feeling came back all at once, reminding him he existed still. He didn’t dare to move, or open his eyes. Just existing was enough… He wasn’t outside anymore, that much he knew. There was a stuffiness to the air that felt old and unused; like the back half of his garage. Or the basement of his eight grade classmate Joel, who invited him over to play D&D. Everything went fine that night until Joel's mom got them pizza and they sat the box on the dusty table to the side with the lid still opened. The first time they got excited the thick dust from the beams overhead fell down.

  The memory reminded Cam of the spores that fell down onto his skin. He pushed that thought away before the phantom pains set in. He did not want to relive that. Then he thought of the first bite into the pizza, covered in dust. He almost gagged. He didn’t want to relive that either. Cam focused on his surroundings more. He was laying on something. ‘Maybe a pillow’ But he was on the floor. Hard, but padded. ‘Maybe hay?’

  Cam could hear papers turning and soft whispers of someone reading in an undertone. So he didn’t open his eyes. He was careful not to change his breathing, so not to alert the reader to the fact that he was awake. He waited until the next page turned to sneak a peek. He was in a holding cell, classic, with a latched lock. He closed his eyes again and waited. The next page turned and he looked to the side, catching sight of the book and the reader. He sat at a desk in the middle of the room, his focus solely on the book, and the notes he wrote to the side. Cam could see the side of his head. ‘This dude has more sideburns than Elvis.’

  As far as Cam could tell he had two options. One, get up and start to scream like an idiot and try to get let out, or… ‘Are you the predator or the prey? The prey cries out for help that never comes, while the predator.’ Cam was reminded of the feeling he had looking down at the dark liquid, the hairs on the back of his neck stiffened. He looked at the man and imagined a deer at a watering hole. ‘The croc eats because it waits.’ So Cam waited, quiet and calm, with his eyes still closed, listening to the soft ramblings of a mad man.

  The longer he waited the better his hearing got. It felt like he just turned up the volume on an old television set. The static was there, different but there. It sounded more like the reverberating echo you get from listening to a sea shell. But he could hear the man as if he was whispering in his ear.

  “Now, if the spores take, by way of the oil infusion. The body should glow brightly for a period of time equal to the quality of the spores and the amount absorbed. Hmm, I wonder how long it’s been? We only found him three days ago and he only just stopped glowing.” The man writes a few notes before turning the page. “There are no other descriptions explaining the information on the quality or quantity of the spores, or the type of plant they come from. This is most disturbing… But this is the only literature we have found that could explain this unusual side effect. Well this and that strange cult, but I refuse to listen to the ramblings of the strange and crazy. Sadly all that I have had the misfortune to meet were all strange and crazy. I will not be doing that.”

  The researcher set the books to the side organizing his desk as best he could with the amount of book and study aids all about. He stood up and stretched, letting out a soft grunt. He rubbed his face, he put the palms of his hands over his eyelids and tried to scrub the sleep away. “I need an ale, and a nap. Clovis can take over for the rest of the night.”

  The man walked over to a door on the far side of the room. Cam watched him go, his hearing turning down to a normal range. The mans steps got slower and slower until he was mid step with his hand reaching for the knob. He seem to be frozen in place, the moment stretched out making Cam feel very uneasy. Something was touching the back of his head. He heard someone behind him inhaling deeply. He frantically stood up and turned around. ‘Who would be creepy enough to smell my hair?’

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  His jaw dropped. Leaning down where his head laid was a beautiful woman. Her skin was a pale green, she didn’t wear clothes, but had foliage draped about her and vines holding them in place. “Oh, did I scare you?” She cocked her head to the side, moving her glittering brown hair out of the way revealing her cleavage.

  “oh God!” Cam exclaimed.

  She stood up and walked closer to him. It was at this point Cam noticed she was standing in between the bars. She walked through them as if they didn’t exist. In fact nothing she walked through seem to acknowledge her presents. She stood face to face with him. “Oh, thank you for noticing. Not many first timers to our world seem to want to admit we Gods exist. Let me get a good look at you.” She held his face in place by his chin with her thumb and forefinger.

  “Hmm, at first I thought you were one of mine. You see, you smell like one of mine.” She turned his head left and right taking in his features. “But sadly, that is not the case. I would remember having a worshiper such as yourself, don’t you think? But even I don’t have a memory of you even being on this planet for more than a week. How strange? A mystery even for us Gods, hmm.”

  “What is your name?” Cam managed. He felt like a child meeting strange family members for the first time at a reunion.

  “Well, I could tell you. But frankly speaking that would be prophesying myself to the world, now wouldn’t it. No I don’t think I will. But how about this, look into my eyes and tell me who I am.” She put her hands on her hips waiting.

  Cam leaned forward, taking in her features. Her lips were full and slightly red, but she clearly wasn’t wearing any makeup. Her nose was on the smaller side, but it made her look cute and younger than she could possibly be. He looked into her eyes and gasped. He looked into space itself, past the galaxies and through the clouds of multi-colored particles. It was more mesmerizing than an equalizer screen saver in the late 90’s.

  She turned her head and blinked, a slight pink blush flushing her green skin. “Oh my, if you keep looking at me like that, I might get the wrong idea.” She pulled down a large brim hat that clearly wasn’t there before. It was brown, and had folds on its way up to a point. “Go on, tell me, what is my name?” She scratched the back of her neck awkwardly, clearly looking away.

  “honestly I don’t know. You kind of look like Poison Ivy from the Batman comics. But, younger, and prettier.”

  She looked back arching an eyebrow.

  “When I looked into your eyes, I didn’t see a name, I saw...Forever, if that makes any sense.” Cam closed his eyes, looking down shaking his head as he recounted to her.

  Her mouth dropped a little, and she began to squeeze herself close. Trying to hide from the embarrassment.

  “Time and space seemed to melt away, all that was left was the quiet of the void… It felt Lonely. Are you lonely, goddess?” Cam looked up at her the question in his eyes as a tear fell down his cheek. How time seemed to freeze when it was already frozen Cam would never know.

  “I’ll tell you what!” She snapped. Stomping her foot on the ground causing all dust to plum and vanish. She pulled a coat she was never wearing around herself tight. She bit her thumb nail and began pacing back and forth. “I will unlock every lock in a two block radius of this location, You should be able to get out just fine. I will also put everyone to sleep, that way, no one will see you leave. Don’t forget to pick there pockets, you will need some coin, and here take this ring. It’s a bag of holding, you can store everything in there. Don’t ever loose it, or sell it. Once you put it on no one will be able to see it except you… And all the other gods too, but don’t worry about that. Anything given freely by a god can not be taken away, even by another.”

  She finally stopped pacing and took a breath. “You have to get to the next town over, it’s to the south, they have an adventuring guild there. Ask for a parchment of script, they have those for sell. Use the money you take from these towns folk here to pay for it. From there what you do with your life is up to you.” She shrugged. A long sigh escaped from between her lips. “If for whatever reason you want to seek me out, learn my name on your own. If you call it out under the night sky I will come… I promise.” She looked Cam in the eyes for a second. She wipe away his tear. holding his face while took in a breath and held it.

  She waved her hand and a glowing pink powder created a halo over the frozen mans head by the door. She waved her hand again and the cell door opened. She backed out into the room proper and spun around to the far side wall. She walked to the wall without a care in the world and placed her hand on the wall. She firmed her shoulders, refusing to turn around and look at him again as she spoke. “You can never be a worshiper of myself or any other gods… When you call my name… Remember I like pastries and tea.” She walked through the wall and Cam was left alone to ponder her last words.