After only a few minutes of talking, Aiden had learnt a lot.
"This is Earth," said the woman, "And right now, we're in the Outer Fade of a Deadland."
Aiden's eyes revealed his internal turmoil. "If this is Earth, then what's the thing in the sky?" He asked.
"What? You don't know that as well?"
"I don't think I know many things," he confessed.
"Pardon me. But do you at least know of the Great Division?"
Aiden shook his head.
"....."
The woman seemed distraught. "But how is that possible?" She mumbled under her breath.
"Say.." The woman asked, "When you think of Earth, what comes to mind?"
Aiden reasoned for a while before responding. "Tall buildings, urban cities, trees, animals, humans, water…pretty much. But I'm certainly sure that there was no planet in the sky."
"If so…" her voice wandered, "then you're probably speaking of the Pre-Apocalyptic Times. That would be during WWIII."
Aiden was surprised. "World War three? Maybe I simply forgot, but I don't remember an ongoing war."
"That's strange. The Pre-Apocalyptic Times is the most recent era of 'normal Earth' before the Great Division, but even that nearly half a century ago."
"....Doesn't that mean…?!"
"Could you have lived that long? You look so young."
"I…don't know…"
Even if Aiden was to assume that he had only forgotten of the wars that happened, 50 years was still a long time.
Did I time travel or something?
It was a possibility worth considering. After all, there were several odd things about this world that confounded him. The planet above, 'The Great Division', and now there was talk about a third-world war?
"There's only one way I can help you," the woman suddenly said. "Even if I give you information, you might not be able to survive here in a Deadland."
"And why is that?"
"Because it's dangerous here," she answered, "there are a lot of threats in every Deadland, including zombies and monsters of all kinds."
"Zombies?"
And monsters? It's like a fantasy world…
"There's no end to your curiosity," the woman remarked, "I'm assuming you don't know about The Curse and Superiors either, am I wrong?"
"Not at all."
"Then let's make this as conversational as possible," she suggested. Pointing at her face, she introduced herself with a jovial smile. "I'm Kayla. Kayla Keith."
"I'm Aiden," said Aiden, forgetting that he had once spoken of his name. "Thanks for helping me."
"Don't stress it," She said, waving her hands.
Then, her gaze turned stern.
"Aiden. Both of us have two things in common." Kayla stated. "One is that we're both humans that haven't been affected by the Curse. The second is that we're both Superiors."
Oh? I am a Superior?
That sounds sorta cool, I guess? Even though I have no idea what that means.
"The Curse is the centre of everything," Kayla explained, "Deadlands, the thing you see in the sky, monsters…and…"
"And?"
"...."
"...."
Kayla's eyes softened. It wasn't too obvious, but Aiden could tell.
"You must be wondering, right?" She asked, "the reason Carla looks differently."
Bingo.
"Yes, I am." He agreed. "Although I was afraid of touching on a soft spot, just in case, so I didn't ask."
"You're a considerate person," said Kayla, "But it's necessary that you know about this, just like everyone else does…"
Kayla tapped her index finger on the table three times before speaking.
"Carla is a victim of the Curse," she explained, "She was born in a Deadland, so she was affected by the Curse."
And what is this Curse?
From the little Kayla had said, Aiden had already started to paint a picture in his mind.
'Pre-Apocalyptic Times', 'The Great Division' and now, the 'Curse'
Aiden still wasn't entirely sure what Deadlands were, aside from them being possibly altered biomes and, of course, dangerous environments. His guess was that the Great Division was an event that had sparked the advent of the 'Curse' hence creating Deadlands around the world. Of course, he wasn't entirely sure, and there were a lot he still had no answers to, but the more he learnt, the less in the dark he was.
"What exactly is the Curse?" Aiden asked.
"No one truly knows," she replied, "Just like Earth's Echo, which is the planet in the sky, they are phenomenons that are beyond our understanding. But the little I know, I can say."
Kayla pointed at Aiden and then at herself. "Do you know why we're not both dead at the moment?"
"No, why?"
"Because we're Superiors," she answered, "Humans who have bloodline immunity against the Curse. The atmosphere of a Deadland is packed with a foreign energy we refer to as 'Cursed Energy' which is responsible for the dehumanisation of its victims. Because we're both Superiors, we're essentially immune to the effect."
"Cursed Energy? Is that the same as the Curse?"
"You're free to think of them the same way. The only difference is the fact that Cursed Energy can be used by man."
Oh?
"But that's a topic for another day," Kayla shrugged, "Right now, it's best that you know the current state of the world. For that, I have a book that might be of help."
The woman stood up. "I'll be back."
Then, she walked past him into the living room. Aiden wondered where she was headed to, so he followed her slender figure with his eyes, and then he saw something surprising.
Kayla stopped a few inches away from the tree stump that served as a low table. Then, suddenly, she kicked the table. It wasn't a very hard kick, but it wasn't particularly soft either.
Huh?
Rather than recoiling in pain, Kayla simply stood there and watched. In her stead, the tree stump shifted backwards, and slight mechanical whirring could be heard. The movement of the table exposed a portion of the 'floor' that wasn't covered with the furry rug. But rather than wood, there was a gap.
Kayla stepped into the opening beneath, her sandals clacking on the stairs that ran below. Under Aiden's eyes, her figure slowly disappeared as she sunk into the depths below the rug.
It was an underground construction.
Not bad. I wonder how they managed that though…
When she had gone out of his sight, the mechanical whirring resounded, like that of a clock, and the tree stump returned to its previous location, covering the opening that was once there.
...
A few minutes later, she returned. But she wasn't empty-handed. In her right hand was a dusty, old, colourful book with several strange pictures on its cover, giving it the semblance of an encyclopedia. But in her left hand were strange looking robes.
"Sorry. It took a while to find it." Kayla apologised, walking over to Aiden's position.
The book placed before him was titled: The Great Division.
This would be helpful
"Thanks."
"You're welcome."
Still standing, the woman presented the dark robes to Aiden with a hospitable smile.
"Would you like a bath and a change of clothing? Your clothes are soaked."
"Why? Thank you."
"Great," she cheered, "I'll go heat the bath now. You can have the book if you wish."
"Much love," He greeted.
Kayla left the cabin.
.....
Aiden opened the book.