Beyond the Stars

Conspiracies and Salvation

The week was agonizing. For some the week passed like quicksand. For others, the daily repetition felt as slow as molasses. Gather berries and herbs. Catch a fish or a squirrel. Fetch some wood and dry leaves for the bonfire. Go back to get more berries and meat. Retrieve more sticks and dry matter to burn. All the while avoiding potentially dangerous animals. Tweak the shelters so they won't fall apart. Rinse and repeat. There was no sign of the outside world coming to their rescue either. Which obviously made the survivors all the more antsy.

Mariah's days were more or less the same. Get up at the crack of dawn. Record her dreams. Eat her ration of food. Go around with some members of the group and see what needed to be fixed or made for that day. Then get to work for maybe eight hours. This morning, Mariah brought some cold, sweet tea to Mr. Desjardins, Annie and herself. Afterwards she continued to write in her journal. Mr. Desjardins took notice and asked her what she was writing about. She explained the dream journal to him and the three of them had a conversation about dreams and the scientists who study them. She was in the middle of telling them about her dream last night; and right when she was about to get to the part where she was climbing some scaffolding on a skyscraper - someone apologetically interrupted to tell them that they needed repairs on their shelters.

The whole crafting group sat and crafted supplies for the other groups. With the exception of Annie, who was helping translate something for Desjardins. Mariah is sitting criss crossed on the ground carving a spike made from a tree branch she found. Laurelei was making some rope out of grass and Cass was winding it on a stick she had picked up. "Have you heard of any of the theories that have been popping up around here," inquires Cass.

Laurelei tilts her head slightly. "No, I haven't. What kind of theories are they," she asks back as she continues to braid the long grass together.

"The stupid kind of theories. I heard a theory this morning that made me want to bang my head against the wall it was so stupid," Cass declared. "Basically, the theory was that we were abducted by aliens. The bright flash of light was their transporter thing bringing us onto their mothership. While we were unconscious, we were plugged into some kind of simulation where we could be tested on our raw abilities."

Laurelei cracks a smile and chuckles. "That's pretty ridiculous!"

"I was with Elwin delivering supplies yesterday when we came across a guy who believed we may have time traveled. But he couldn't decide whether we jumped into the future or the past."

"Seriously?! How do people come up with these theories?"

Cass shrugs. "I wish I knew for sure. But, if I had to guess it's because they're scared and want an explanation for what's going on."

Mariah kept mindlessly carving. "I think that we might be in purgatory." Suddenly Mariah's ears perked up. "It would explain why we haven't been found yet- it's because we're on another plane of existence!" Mariah groaned at the absurdity. "I mean what are the chances that we survive a plane crash? Not very high." Some people shared Mariah's disdain for the foolish rantings of their fellow passenger. Some were even crying for him to shut up.

"Maybe purgatory is a test where you're judged on your character by sticking you in a situation where you have to cooperate to survive a situation." Most were tuning him out but Mariah noticed a few people beginning to come around to his way of thinking. She decides to approach. "A good way to tell what someone is really like is to put them in a situation outside their element and see how they react and cope. If you pass, you go to heaven." As he finishes his line of reason some people begin to show doubt in the face of the man's logic. They didn't believe him entirely but they had no counter argument. That took their confidence a little.