Brave New World Chapter 15: Highway to hell - Pt 2👽

[Some time in the Past]

"So, What do we do? Dad really wants us to go camping, at least once in our lives. And Mom has been waiting for months to take a relaxing vacation preferably at a place with spa and jacuzzi." Elena and I had been brainstorming since before the summer vacations began.

"I don't know why Dad even wants to go camping? We've never been away from technology for more than an hour, most. And to sleep in tents," I rubbed my face, we had been going in circles. We both wanted to go with Mom. My college and Elena's practice had taken a toll on us and we were ready to relax with no exams or patients respectively.

"Something about an adventure, I guess." Elena shrugged.

I sat up excitedly as an idea formed in my head, "What if all go to a hill station or mountain resort?"

"Great! A third idea. Maybe I should propose a separate place I wanna go too? How about the Moon!" Elena said sarcastically, making me throw a pillow at her.

"Listen first!" I whisper-exclaimed so Mom and Dad won't know what we were about to plan.

"What." She said throwing the pillow straight back at my face.

Normally I would've retorted and maybe begin a pillow fight, but our parents were at a crossroads and I had just found the middle ground.

"Mom doesn’t want to hike and Dad wants to go fishing and sleeping in a tent, yes?" I asked, leading to my idea. She nodded curiously.

"Many modern Mountain Resorts have spas and jacuzzi y'know. And once we are up there, Mom can rest in the hotel, while we can go with Dad to sleep in a tent for a night or two. Pretty sure mountains are were rivers originate from, so plenty of fishing is possible, right?" I smirked knowing I hit bullseye.

Elena nodded slowly in agreement, my idea made sense. I had found a middle path where all of us can get what we want.

#

[Present Time]

I rubbed my eyes and pinched myself twice, just to be sure. I had had my fair share of tears and breakdowns in the past two months, I wasn't going to keep it up anymore. It took me half-an-hour to get to a decision.

The decision to move forward, because I wasn't going back. If it were a mirage, what was the worst that could happen? And if it was real, someone ought to be in the mansion right? Wasn't my whole journey to reach civilization and other people? What did I have to lose anyway now?

Thus, step after step I inched closer to the solitary mansion at the crossroads between the ecosystems. A lot of thoughts were racing through my mind but I had to get somewhere and going back was not an option. I was halfway towards the mansion when my ears registered sounds of water. Not like the waterfall I was used to, back at my little Eden in the jungle, but like waves crashing.

The closer I came to the mansion, the more anxious I felt for some reason, and the bigger it looked from up close. It was majestic and lacked any signs of life. The grand building stood proudly in the strange environment, looking a lot like the American White-house, except that it was off-white.

My blistered feet yearned for relief but I was now getting curious, like I was luciding a dream and I felt like the worst had already happened. I had nothing more to lose anyways, I had nearly died back in the forest. I walked as the confusing winds blew from left and right, the jungle's hum of life and organic aromas fading behind me.

That is when I heard it. My feet stilled. At first I couldn't place where I had heard the loud sound before, but then it dawned on me. The faint long gong-like sound was definitely a whale, I had seen enough of *National geographic channel* to be sure of that. I never thought whales would swim so close to the shore, but here I was, where impossible wasn't even a thing anymore.

I took a deep breath and realized, of course there was going to be an ocean on the other side of the mansion. The four major ecosystems of Earth were all here. Was this some kind of origin place? I thought to myself, I had no idea such a place could exist but it had to, right? Somewhere deserts had to end and glaciers had to meet forests right?

I had seen oceans meeting glaciers and deserts respectively but I had no idea this could happen simultaneously. If there was a God who had created all this, I was definitely a believer in that moment. No human could achieve this harmony of ecosystems.

If my feet weren't hurting so much and my legs hadn't cramped and forehead wasn't sweating, and I hadn't experience last two months' every ache, I would've believed I was on drugs. That's how impossible it all looked.

Finally, I reached.

Close enough, I thought, standing twenty feet away from the stairs that led up to the grand main entrance with double doors, nearly twelve feet tall. The mansion I decided was way bigger than it had felt due to the distance, my myopia had been deceiving me. The giant columns stood proud, with so much detail in architecture, the artist in me stirred.

From the walls to the floors of the entrance veranda that ran all around the place, and from the railings to the windows and hanging chandeliers, the carvings seems art of Gods. I walked around the whole mansion, keeping my twenty-feet distance, going behind it to see a side-entrance, slightly less grand and imposing and a back door. The double storey mansion looked like a proud Victorian noble who had spent his whole life being superior and perfect.

Finally, parched and famished and aching to the bones, I decided to simply knock. I stepped on the first stair and was surprised to see how freshly built and clean everything looked. The marble shone like the glacier's ice did when the desert's angry Sun threw its rays at it. I was even more surprised to not find a speck of dust or any organic material or moisture or signs of tiniest of life.

As confused as I was, I needed water and something to eat before I simply fainted here. I walked up the stairs, looking for any signs of ownership or abandonment, so I could figure out how to act. I found none, so I headed for the double-doors. The veranda had carved wooden benches to sit and enjoy the view on all sides, with carved mini tri-stand tables on either sides of the benches.

An imposing knocker stood in the middle of the giant off-white doors, like all the rest of the off-white architecture. The metal felt cold and heavy as I swung it to inform the inhabitants, if any, of my presence.

I knocked twice. With the second knock, all air left my lungs as the floor vanished under my feet. I don’t know if I hit my head or my pitiable condition finally forced me to blackout, but the last thing I was sure of before I lost consciousness was the feeling of *freefall.*

**Author's note:

Where do you think Anara will wake up next? Is it a trap or her salvation?