Paradox

The fact that I'm unfit became blatantly obvious by the time we walked as far as the other side of the lake. We made camp for the night and Jess made the slop while the guys set the tent up. Left to my own devices, I made my first journal entry since leaving the main camp. The giant pillars looked like city towers silhouetted by the full moon. It was a beautiful sight and one I felt compelled to draw.

The following afternoon we came across a wide passageway that seemed to go right through the mountain. It was deep but we could see a pinprick of light from the exit on the other side. The rock had obviously been carved by hand and again it made me wonder what had happened to the former inhabitants of this world. My curiosity was short lived, however, when the heavens opened. Our debate on whether to risk an old and dubious-looking passageway ended with the wish to remain dry. We ducked into the tunnel in a hurry to avoid being soaked.

The change of landscape was mystifying as we exited. Behind us on the camp side was a barren desert-like landscape. We looked around in awe as ahead of us lay lush green forest. A complete paradox given that the lake was on the barren side.

By the end of a week, the rations I'd packed were almost finished. We'd been supplementing our diet since we emerged from the passage with fruit and berries that grew naturally. Having passed the point of no return, we trudged on knowing that we wouldn't have enough rations to last the return journey to the camp.

The heavily overgrown route we travelled slowly gave way to a rock-embedded path that was elevated slightly from the surrounding lands. The vegetation thinned enough to allow Tom to spot what appeared to be a castle turret in the distance. Anticipation mixed with apprehension filled me as we approached. I wondered what we'd find, or perhaps more importantly, who.

I'd never been so relieved when we came across the village; that was until I saw the body hanging from a high wooden beam in the middle of the street. The village looked deserted as we tentatively walked the muddy road between the buildings. The only sounds we heard were the birds and an occasional scurrying small animal. Probably a rat.

"What do you think?" I asked, as we stopped directly below the corpse and looked up. "Is it real?"

Rick walked around in a circle, looking at it from every angle. "I think it is. It's been there a long time too."

"How do you know?" Tom asked.

"There's no smell and judging by the state of decay, I'm surprised it's still hanging there and not lying in a heap on the ground."

No one argued with him.

"I wonder how it got there." Jess spoke my thoughts aloud.

Tom shrugged. "Obviously, someone put him there."   

"Or something," Dave added, glancing around with apprehension.

His comment set us all on edge. Every one of us looked around at the deserted streets. Again, I asked myself where the villagers were.

"So what now?" Jess asked. "Do we have a look around, keep going, or what?"

"I vote we have a look around," I said. "We've yet to find any other sign of life and looking at this place, hanging corpse excluded, there's no one here."

"I'm with Harley," Rick said.

"Same," said Ray.

The others nodded.

"I'm thinking we split up into two groups," Ray suggested. "Tom, Dave and Jess on this side; Rick, Harley and me on the other. We can meet by the well at the end of the street."

"Or shout if you find anything," Rick suggested as he took my hand and led me across the muddy road to the first house.

We glanced back to where the other three had stood a moment before but they had already gone. The door to the first house on their side stood ajar.

"You ready?" Ray asked, his hand raised ready to knock on the door in front of us.

I took a deep breath and nodded.

There was no response. I didn't really expect one, if I'm honest. Before I could protest, Rick pushed the door inward; the groan of the hinges spoke volumes about their lack of recent use.

It took us a few moments to adjust to the darkness of the room. Ray stepped further in and lifted something from the small table that sat to the left of the door. Several long scratches, each followed by a spray of orange sparks, eventually set fire to something lying in a small round dish. Ray tipped a convenient candle to the flame providing lighting what had to be a living room. We could clearly see the layers of dust that covered everything.

The focal point of the room was the stone fireplace. It was already set with tinder and logs in readiness for lighting. A twisted metal frame to the left held a several pokers and a small shovel. To the right of the fire grate sat a large wicker basket containing what looked like peat. Several partially used candles sat on the thick mantle, we each took one and lit them from the candle Ray held.

After extinguishing the flame in the dish, we moved through a curtained partition to another room. A similar layer of dust was just as thick in here. The fireplace in this room had a grill built into the stone surround with a large pot sitting on top of it. Rick opened another door to reveal a slim cupboard with empty shelving. The table that took up the majority of the room was chunky and rustic, as were the four chairs neatly arranged around it. Obviously, it was the kitchen.

A narrow staircase beside the cupboard led to an upper level. I held my breath as it creaked beneath Rick's weight and let it out in a rush when he disappeared up through the hole in the ceiling. We tentatively followed him.

Upstairs revealed the same layer of dust on the wooden floor and drawer chests. The first bedroom held a large mattress covered with musty blankets. I sat on the end of the bed and found it surprisingly soft -not springy like my mattress back on earth but softer than I expected.

Ray emerged from the other room on this floor. "It's just the same as this one," he said. "There hasn't been anyone here for a very long time." He opened a drawer and pulled out a heavy knit sweater. "There are more clothes in the other room too."

I stood and headed for the stairs. "Let's go guys. We'll check a couple more places and head to the meeting place before it gets dark."

"What's the point? They'll all be just like this one," Ray complained, shouting as my head disappeared below the floor. "We need to look for food."

Rick agreed, "Yeah, I'm starving."

That's what we did. We went outside and looked for anything that would pass as edible. Our first discovery was made within minutes - a potato plant. I recognised it because my mother used to grow them in bug tub in the back yard.

I used a nearby pitchfork to turn the soil and squealed in delight when several large spuds emerged. The entire area was overgrown but I spotted numerous other vegetables growing with abandon in the area.

Tom, Dave and Jess found no sign of life either and after we revealed our hoard of vegetables it was agreed that we would use one of the houses for shelter. We ate like royalty that night. Hot vegetable stew; I thought I'd died and gone to heaven it was so good.

"We should tell the others about this place," Jess said around her last mouthful of stew. "We can gather enough food to last the trip back to the camp and bring them here. This place is perfect. It's like it's ready made. There are enough houses for everyone and with a bit of work we could make it into a thriving village again."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Trixie and Doc have managed to clone a hen already. It's just a matter of time before they have the other animals ready too. We could make this work."

It was agreed that Dave and Ray would go back the way we came and lead our people here. At first light we gathered enough fruit and vegetables to last them for the trip. Rick uncovered a small wheelbarrow sized cart that they could pull along behind them. At least until the path became too overgrown and then they could carry their load the rest of the way.

Work was hard for the first week. Weeding and tending the vegetable gardens was back breaking work. When that was done, we had to turn the soil for replanting anything that had seeded or developed shoots.

It was as I was taking a cutting from the green beans that I first noticed the funky spider feasting on a cluster of black aphids. I had the answer to Lucas' problem. He kept the lab so sterile of the insects he feared, that the destructive aphids devoured his fresh shoots unhindered by their natural predator.

By the end of the second week, Ray and Dave stumbled back into the village. Jess was the first to greet them. Rick and I followed Tom from the gardens.

"Where are the others?" Jess asked, looking behind them.

"The passageway is gone," Ray said after lowering the mug of water from his mouth. Rick passed him another.

"We couldn't find it," Dave said to clarify Ray's words. "We searched all the way along, there's nothing there. No sign that it had ever been there either."

"The tunnel must have collapsed." Jess nodded thoughtfully.

"No." Dave shook his head. "It wasn't there. At all. There was no rubble, nothing but a sheer rock face. We retraced the trail we left when we arrived and it led to a small clearing but there was no tunnel."

"You must have taken a wrong turn or something," Jess said in a soothing tone. "Come on, we'll get you something to eat then we can go back for another look." She led the way into the house she'd claimed as hers.

Ray's face turned red as his anger grew. "What part of searched to entire length of the mountain base don't you understand?"

"It can't have just disappeared, so it stands to reason that you missed it," Jess called over her shoulder as she entered the kitchen. "Look, I don't expect you two to go back. Tom and I will go this time."

Dave slumped down in one of the chairs and propped his elbows on the tabletop then placed his chin in his hands. "Jess, I swear we spent almost two days walking up and down the area. The tunnel wasn't there."

My mind whirled with the information Ray and Dave gave us as they ate. They claimed to have tried to climb part of the rock face only to find no handgrips after about ten feet. They walked for a day in either direction to find no way around the mountain. I began to wonder if this is what Doc had meant when he said there were other reasons he hadn't left the campsite. Things that were in the journal I was still writing.

Doc had said he found the journal a year before the Earth was destroyed. He knew about the village and had the map in the journal to get here. I thought in silence for a few more minutes then excused myself from the table. I had to try something.

******

God, I hope this works.

Doc, if you're reading this then I have to tell you that we're stuck in the village on the other side of the mountain. We've tried to get back to you but the passageway through the mountain has vanished. I have a theory and it sounds ridiculous but it's the only explanation left.

In order for you to get the journal before I wrote it, can only mean that we've somehow travelled back in time. The bit that gets me though is how it ended up back on Earth.

Unless that's where we are. I suppose after my time travel theory, arriving back on Earth is also possible.

Anyway, there is room for everyone here. The village is abandoned and the houses are in great condition. We haven't worked out why there's no one here yet but does it really matter?

You have to come. The passageway isn't wide enough for the transport I'm afraid, so you'll have to leave it behind. I guess if you really wanted to, you could strip the solar panels off and bring them with you.

Tell Trix I miss her. xxx

*****

I put my pencil down and closed the book when a commotion outside caught my attention. Voices, a lot of voices, were chattering excitedly. They grew louder with every passing second. Anticipation filled me as I raced from the house. Rain had started falling in earnest making the street a gutter pit again. I pulled the hood of my cloak over my head and stepped out into the mud to see what was going on.

Trixie caught me around the waist in a hug so fierce I thought I'd suffocate. Doc patted her shoulder and she released me, only for Doc to do the same.

"That was a stroke of genius. Your writing that in the journal," he spoke gently in my ear before setting me on my feet again. "It appeared a few hours after you left; just materialized right before my eyes. It took us a good month to disassemble the lab and everything we'd need from the transport and here we are. You're right about it being perfect…"

I let Doc ramble on as he followed us up the muddy street toward the house I'd picked out for Trix. It was right next to Rick's and mine.

I stopped Doc at the door and pointed the castle at the head of the village. "That's your place. There's a huge hall that'll be perfect for the lab. It even has pens for the animals in the court yard." I watched his eyes widen and a grin spread across his face. Then he was gone, directing those who carried the equipment to his new home.