Nothing

There will come a time when the years are old,
Where the earth dies and the skies leave,
When all on this earth falls into nothingness,
Where the harshness of stone meets the softness of cloud,
Neither hot nor cold,
Neither long nor short,
Neither light nor dark,
When all is Nothing.




Chapter 1
The Heart of Nothing

A girl sat in Nothing pondering her fate as the last living or non-living object on what once was her home. Nothing is a terrible thing. It is not white or black as some imagine. It is just an empty feeling that consumes worlds like a hunter kills deer.
In the heart of Nothing one can neither feel yet you are not numb to all pain. You simply are, in Nothing. The happiness or sadness that once filled you leaves and you are left with Nothing as your only friend.
As she sat there thinking a thought fluttered into her mind: “No hope without darkness, no happiness without winnings, if I am to go on in Nothing my mind is my only tool.”

She stood and started to walk. Far in the distance something seemed to glow, yet she knew there was not anything in Nothing. She walked on despite her growing feeling she was just imagining the distant glow.
“Writing. It is writing.” She started to run. All of her thoughts were now focused on the fiery writing suspended before her. She began to read.

“Wet and cold you will be,
If out you are not by the stroke of three”

The feeling was terrifying yet tremendously pleasurable at the same time, like flying but being afraid of heights all at once. Then it stopped.





Chapter 2
The First Task

She was no longer in Nothing. She was standing on the edge of an ocean with, what looked like, little floating platforms stretching all the way to the other side. Why on earth was she here? Where was here?
She thought of the words etched in flames in the heart of Nothing, "Wet and cold you will be, if out you are not by the stroke of three." And as the words left her head it was filled with an odd ticking noise, like a giant clock. Sure enough when she looked about a clock showing 12:01 on it's face hung above her. She understood instantly! She had to cross this ocean on the tiny platforms, and if she was not out by the stroke of three she would drown in the freezing water.
Slowly she walked towards the first platform. She stepped onto it and was surprised to find that, despite the rough water, the platform was as steady as if it had been on solid ground. She moved on to the next platform and realized that they were multicolored, red, blue, green, and white. She soon realized why.
When she stepped upon the red planks they shook violently, as if they wanted to throw her off. While standing on the green, the clock runs extra fast, not a good place to wait and ponder.

When she stood on the blue squares they began pulsating and fell after a moment. Fortunately she was off of it when it fell. The white platforms were simply to let her, think they would not do anything to her, but when you stood there to long they would say things like,” Not much time left," or tell her the time.
As she continued she began to see flashes of the life she had once known. It was as if they just appeared on screens in front of her. Her first pet, her first kiss, her mother dying, her brother breaking his leg, she was in the hospital, she was sick, very sick. And as time progressed the memories became worse and worse until the memory that had haunted her mind for a long, long time.
She was at a dance, having a great time, then it started. The slow heartrending process of Everything slipping into Nothing. The walls started to melt away into thin air, the floor, the ceiling, and everything within the room except the people. No one seemed to notice what was happening, they were all just carrying on as if nothing at all had happened. She called to them but no one cared the slightest bit that she was sobbing and screaming as if watching someone being killed. In fact, they did not seem to see her at all, as if she had just left or went to the bathroom or something.
One by one the people froze, as is struck upside the head with a large metal club. Their faces grew cold and suddenly as a person blinks comprehension dawned upon them, in that instant they were gone. Everyone at the dance vanished. She ran and was in the

street, places and things were melting away all around her. People were vanishing left and right as she passed, tearing up the street to her house.
It to was melting. And there was her father, staring out the window oblivious to the destruction around him. That same frozen expression dawned upon his face and she knew he was gone..............
Suddenly she felt wet and cold. She had not completed the task in time! She was going to die! But no, the clock was still ticking though very distant now. She was standing in front of a sandbox. No. It wasn't a sandbox it was writing. Words in a riddle just like the one she had read before this task were on the ground and etched in sand:

"One you have gained but all will be lost,
If the Ocean of Sand you do not cross."

The same feeling of pleasure and fright took her over again...........






Chapter 3
A Horse and a Desert

When calm was restored to her senses a sea of golden sand, stretching out for miles, revealed itself to her dazed eyes. As far as her gaze would wander all she could see was sand…But no! There were things, shimmering items placed randomly across the barren wasteland. And as she strained to glimpse the shapes of the mysterious items a familiar sound drifted lazily into her mind and brought her back to reality.
A horse, pure white and majestic as any back home, was standing as if ready for battle, poised for a race of skill and intelligence. He had a bare back and no system of steering, yet he looked as if he wanted her to climb on and ride to a purposeful act of duty. And it all became clear: “One you have gained…” the message was referring to this ready companion and “the Ocean of Sand you do not cross,” she had to cross this desert and collect the trinkets along the way.