Abigail Taylor's Story

The air was still. Too still, as if the world was holding its breath, waiting. Tension crackled in the air along with strange energies, flowing and shifting throughout the field. The field in question being a clearing, surrounded by majestic hardwood trees, veritable monarchs of their forest. However, even all of this was not the main attraction of this clearing. No, what first attracts the eye is a massive stone pillar, carved all over in words of many languages. It is from this pillar that the strange energies are exuding from. Thunder begins to rumble, lightning sparks out from the stone to the sky. A pale mist arises and dissipates; it reveals ten sleeping forms sprawled in the grass. Energies coalesce around them, caressing them with amorphous fingers, whispering meaningless words to them in their sleep. As they begin to stir the energies leave them, whirling around the stone pillar, rising higher and higher in a cyclone of energy. A powerful boom explodes through the clearing as the energy shoots into the sky, forming a blindingly bright beam. It lasts for a heartbeat, and then ceases like nought had happened. But there were those who were watching for such a sign.

A few hours pass, and the ten will begin to be awoken by the feeling of the Sun glaring straight into their faces. They'll feel the tickle and poking of blades of grass against their bare skin. The smell of just pure life. Flowers growing in clumps, the smell of leaves, earth, everything.

Thus do the Visitors Awaken.

Thus is Prophecy Awoken.

Thus will Heroes Awake.

Geraldine never dreamed, unless you count the numerous day dreams she had at work or whenever she was out on walks, etc. Or maybe the dreams of becoming someone and moving away from New Orleans counted as a dream, either way she always had an uneventful night of sleep, when she slept that is.

Now though, she thought she smelled clean and crisp air. It was not the familiar smell of her woodsy perfumed room. She moved her arm and felt the grass brush against her skin. This wasn't her bed she was lying on. Orange glowed under her eyelids, like when the sun would shine on your closed eyes. She was scared to open them, but the sound of flesh hitting flesh and an ow was more than enough reason to do so.

A sun and blue sky stared down at her, this certainly was not her room. How did she get here? Was she finally dreaming? Slowly sitting up, she looked around and saw one girl up while others slept peacefully on the ground. A blonde hair girl was a few feet away from her, up, and looking just as lost as her. She honesty didn't know what to say. Hi, how are you? Do you know why we are here? No? Great. She stretched and stood up, looking around to figure out maybe she had sleepwalked here, but with a group of people sounded very unlikely. Plus, there were swamps with Cypress trees not tall and strong looking pine trees and such.

Finally she turned her attention back to the Cinderella looking girl, "Hey, do you know how we got here?" She decided to asked the dumb question anyway, as an ice breaker.

Alexander's dreams tended to be disjointed messes of color, sound, and emotion. Thus to have a linear flowing dream was an oddity in of itself. In the dream he walked along a dark path, with streamers of light and sound guiding the way. Far away voices whispered to him, but he could not understand them, as if they were far away. However, like all dreams must, it was time to end and wake up.

He felt the sun beating down on his eyes with grass tickling his legs and arms. I could have sworn it wasn't a drill weekend.. he thought to himself. However he didn't feel the familiar weight of helmet and armor on him, but only the light feeling of pajamas. His eyes snapped open in realization that he wasn't home. He looked left and right, absorbing what he could see. He saw a pair of females who looked as confused as he talking while others still slept. He stood up muttering "Where the absolute FUCK am I?" Then his gaze fell upon a large stone column or pillar, planted firmly in a slight hummock within the larger clearing. No, figure out what's going on, then satisfy curiosity He thought to himself as he considered heading straight for the pillar. He called out to the two females, and called out

"'Hey! Are y'all alright? Any ideas where the Hell we are?" his strident voice with a bit of Tennessean accent laced through it ringing through the still air.

He then checked on the nearest sleeping person, checking pulse and breathing.

Victoria was locked in a cell it's bars thick and the door locked tight. She banged on the door but no one heard, no one came. She was alone and trapped no way out when a lockpick appeared in her hand.
"I'm the only way out...Use me" the lockpick whispered
" No! Never again!" Victoria yelled as she threw the lockpick.
To her horror the lockpick appeared back in her hand.

But then it all faded as she felt a hand upon her. She woke with a start staring into the face of some guy she didn't know.
"Get off me!" She ordered attempting to smack the unknown man away unaware in her current state he was just making sure she was alive. She didn't even realize where she was as her just woken up brain could only focus on the man above her.

---

"Joseph, if you don't stop me I won't hesitate to end their lives. I won't even bat an eye at..."

Joseph cut the man off with a fierce roar built from years and years of pain, "Good, neither will I... They've put me through too much for me to care anymore. I'm tired of all this shit. I just want a life where I can be free, free of all the drama... Free from them and all those like them... The pretenders..."

Joseph stood on that wooden bridge just as he watched the man dressed in black slit the throat of the woman he once thought the world of, how could he not? After all, she is his mother. How could he have not loved her from birth? Isn't it the natural thing to do? That was, at least, until he realized just what she was doing to him and all his siblings. He could find no love for her anymore and he really didn't want to. Joseph continued to stand on that bridge as the men dressed in black began slowly killing every single one of...

That distinct scent of wild grass, morning dew and sweet flowers filled Joseph with a sudden burst of emotion. The smells were not unlike something he had smelled before, but they were... different somehow... Joseph tried to open his eyes, but they seemed to resist him as though he was no longer the master of his own body. A quick stab of fear plunged into his heart.

I guess it happened, I'm finally done running the race.

In that moment. In that quiet, calm and tranquil moment Joseph felt... Alive, but not the kind of alive that meant a heart beating a breath being taken. The kind of alive Joseph hadn't felt for, well, since that day.

"'Hey! Are y'all alright? Any ideas where the Hell we are?"

What? Who was that? Farmer...?

Joseph slowly lifted his body from what felt as though an eternal slumber. This time, his eyes opened with ease. All around him all he saw were people, none looking familiar to him. Wait, that IS Farmer, how did he... Why is he... Where... Joseph lacked the heart to finish that final thought. None of that matters right now. What does matter is safety and I have none.

Joseph jumped up feeling invigorated almost... enraged? As though he had lost control of his own body once again, but not a lack of movement, rather, only movement. Joseph couldn't think, couldn't feel. He didn't need to, what he needed now was safety, security, some way to protect himself and those he... Wait... Alissa... Jonathan... Mom? It was in that moment that Joseph had come to the realization that he had lost those who actually did care about him, those he could trust. However, in this moment his body did not cease it's movement. Joseph was still running, searching, he had to find it.

What felt like an eternity had passed during his search and he had found nothing to truly protect himself with. Well, if I can't defend myself I might as well hide myself. Joseph quickly found the nearest tree and began to climb. Still, in the distance he waited and watched as the others began moving around. Some, attempting to resuscitate the others and still some making almost no movement at all.

I'm... crying... Why? Isn't this what I wanted? No more ghosts from my past to haunt me. Maybe I can find it. Peace.

---

Madison watched as others got up and all of them for the most part didn't look particularly pleased, except for a few, who's reactions were just plan off. One looked to be a teen who had a ridiculous grin on his face, which she found to be very annoying. Why would he be grinning at a time like this when they were literally in the middle of no where in their sleep wear no less. Or well, one looked like he was wearing regular clothes. The dark haired guy looked ragged too. Madison didn't know what his problem was, but if she had her guess, he had a hangover. At her old high school she saw a few kids get drunk at their senior prom. She hated prom and the only reason she went was because one of her few friends wanted to go, but was too sweet for her own good and Madison went to keep an eye on her.

She looked at the other females in the group and both had different reactions. One was yelling at a guy to get off of her, one was murmuring to herself, and the other had asked her a question.

"I haven't the faintest idea where we are, let alone how we got here." she replied tersely.

She turned to the other guy whom she thought asked weird. He was blonde like her and seemed to be holding in a lot of emotions before running around, as if he was looking for something. It wasn't long before he climbed up a tree. What was his problem? The other 2 guys seemed okay at least.

Madison herself was still wondering if all of this was in her head, but not wanting to stay still any longer, she stood up slowly, not wanting to rush. She did her best not to feel embarrassed with only wearing her pjs. She wished she had her flip flops though. It wasn't that she wasn't used to walking barefooted, she use to do it all the time in Colorado. However, she didn't know if their dangerous bugs or insects on the ground. In south Texas, one rarely walked outside barefooted because of how hot the ground got in the city and out the country ants were everywhere due to the sandy ground being perfect for them. Turning around, Madison finally saw the stone pillar. The blonde couldn't help but gap at it. It was incredible! Being the art lover that she was, Madison could help but come closer and inspect all of the carvings. She didn't recognize any of the words or symbols on it, but it was clearly the work of a master. Memorized, she reached out and placed her hand on it.

"GET OFF ME!" the woman he was in the process of assessing for signs of life shouted with sudden and wild gusto. A badly aimed smack came heading his way, Alexander deftly dodged this and then hopped backwards, extending his arms in front of himself to ward any more strikes while simultaneously being presented in a peaceful gesture of not intending harm.

"My apologies ma'am, didn't mean to scare you. Merely checking to see if you were alive. My name is Alexander Farmer, I'm in the National Guard. No harm meant. Sorry again." His words came out in a rush as his face became flushed with embarassment, a large vein on his forehead throbbing in anxiety. "I have no idea where the hell I am, and training kind of kicked in, which is to check on everyone I'm with and make sure they're fine ya know?"

As he spoke to the young woman his eyes flitted around, absorbing the fact that more of his unintended companions had awoken and were moving around in various states of dishevelment and confusion. Two of them, the blonde woman he had called out to earlier, and a powerful looking man seemed drawn to the pillar Alexander had noticed upon awakening. Another man, who seemed to recognize him, had inexplicably retreated up a tree. Confusion seemed the order of this very strange day.

The Awakened were behaving as one would expect, with emotions ranging from anger, confusion, fear, excitement, grief, and in one odd case, glee. But prophecy had been stirred, and prophecy cares not for the feelings of those caught up in that magical vortex. One person, a rather attractive woman with blonde hair, had gone to the Pillar, one of those remnants from an age long past. When her palm touched it it awakened the magic that was as much part of the Pillar as the stone itself.

Energy began seething through the stone along the words glowing a myriad of colors. The stone began to shape, grinding, moving. Madison's hand would be stuck to the stone while it worked itself to reform itself. Within her mind strange things would be happening and being seen. Parts of her mind she didn't know existed were brought to the fore. Her hair began lifting as if she was being electrocuted. Voices speaking, water rushing, visions of flying, everything and anything was flowing, faster and faster through her mind as the stone shifted, forming its symbols and words into those she could understand. When it was done, and this only took a few seconds, her hand was released from the stone.

Thus did the stone now read:

Ten who fell from where the Gift did not dwell

Brought without knowing

For one's whose life was bowing

Their lives changed forever

For a world without tether

Those crownless few

Will leave the pew

Will sound the tones

Will walk over bones

For the sake of Gold

At the cost of those Bold

Whose lives are spent

Like Steel is bent

Though Ten for our sake

Only Nine will awake

Thus were the first inklings of knowledge presented. For all had awoken but one. And she would never awake.

Victoria blinked a few times calming herself as best she could. "Victoria... Victoria Summers..." She said introducing herself as she stood up taking everything in. Everything looked foreign to her.
"I don't know where this is either." She told Alexander " And sorry for trying to hit you...I wasn't expecting to wake with someone over me in a strange place."
Victoria sighed and watched as the others moved about "Why are we all here?" She wondered out loud. And it seemed her question was answered as one of the other women touched the pillar. She started to run over and pull her away but it was all over before she got over to the blonde haired woman.
Victoria read the words of the pillar than looked at the one person yet to move...was she dead? Victoria didn't want to know as she turned to the blonde and asked "Are you alright?"

---

Moe did his best to keep as much of the group in his vision while trying to survey the area. Besides the obvious pillar, there had to be some clue, some hint that could be used to gain some insight to such a highly illogical situation. Reality however seemed all to keen to spit in the face of his attempts to make sense of the puzzle. Specifically in the form of a long haired blonde opting to approach and touch the pillar without apparent concern of its origin. What followed was the sight of her hair standing straight up and the pillar itself undergoing a change on its surface that drew the curious man in closer to see to symbols reform into English. Furthermore it wasn't plain English, it was more like someone attempted a rhyme without a metered stanza...or something a bit more superstitious.

Given his standard levels of logic no longer applied, Moe was forced to adjust to reality...like a U-substitution in calculus. With the evidence he had, he just had to approach the problem through the lens of a universe where it did make sense. Unfortunately such a Universe entailed such insanity like an alien abduction or a fantastical summons. Given an alien abduction involved assumptions on motives and communications strategies... Moe opted to entertain the notion with the few assumptions- the realm of fantasy. However without some method to test this notion, he intended to keep his concerns to himself. The important part for now was immediate group harmony, then securing a means of survival...speculation can wait until then.

"I'll second that question blondie and ask one of my own. You didn't experience anything else did you? Nothing like a prick on your hand or moisture with some kind of hallucination, or some kind of pulse or static force with extras?" Moe secretly found himself praying for an excuse for drugs, maybe some kind of airborne agent that causes psychedelic hallucinations. After all such options were more bearable than some kind of senseless idea like magic or aliens.

"Also, like, not to try bossing anyone around, but can I at least suggest we can a feel of each other and where we're from before trying to wander around a bit more? It might give us some kind of lead or insight,or at least keep us from inviting extra danger while being surrounded by strangers."

Geraldine watched the semi drama unfold before her. She got her answer and nodded, acknowledging her. So she wasn't the only one who didn't know where or why they were here. She had to admit she felt a little better knowing this. Her eyes rolled at the people before her, it looked like only a few had a straight head on their shoulders. Overreaction at its best. There was no one she knew in the group, were they drugged and brought here? She didn't feel like she was. Either way she backed a little from the group and watched them from afar, just in case one would to go a bit crazy.

It was then her eyes shifted to the blonde girl that woke before her. She touched the pillar behind her and Geraldine couldn't help but groan. She knew her horror movies, nothing good came of this. And sure enough the pillar changed with writing on it. Without her knowing she walked closer and read the words out loud.

"Thus did the stone now read:

Ten who fell from where the Gift did not dwell

Brought without knowing

For one's whose life was bowing

Their lives changed forever

For a world without tether

Those crownless few

Will leave the pew

Will sound the tones

Will walk over bones

For the sake of Gold

At the cost of those Bold

Whose lives are spent

Like Steel is bent

Though Ten for our sake

Only Nine will awake."

She looked around and at the one person who wasn't up. Her heart sank, the pit in her stomach turned. [i]How awful is that? To be brought somewhere unknown and to not awake.[i] She thought. And through her confusion, she became angry. Who ever the hell did this deserved the worse. They should have been at home, with their family if they had any. Geraldine didn't understand who these heroes were suppose to be, but it couldn't be her.

She stared at the guy asking about people being on drugs, well not specifically, but he sure did make it sound that way. "No, I was in my bed like normal and then BAM I am here. Also I am Geraldine Mae, but just call me Geraldine and I am from New Orleans, Louisiana." Her accent got thicker with the more she grew annoyed, not at the people or their questions, but by the fact that someone brought them here and potentially killed the person who never woke up.

The instant Madison placed her hand on the stone pillar, energy shot threw her like a bullet. There was no way to describe the feeling as words came to her head. It was like locks inside her head were unlocking simultaneously and it was overwhelming.

What is this?! What is happening to me?! Madison thought as the words became clearer and clearer.

It was like all that she knew was wrong and the overload of information caused her brain to hurt. She thought she was going to die because the power inside of her was flowing into every part of her body and even into her soul. The young woman wanted to cry out but couldn't find her voice. She tried pulling her hand off, but couldn't. Even though the moment only lasted a few seconds, it felt like an eternity.

Finally she was set free, but she didn't feel any relief at all. In fact, the knowledge and the power she held only began to make her feel worse. Breathing heavily, she felt like she just ran a marathon. She looked at the hand she placed on the pillar and cupped it with her other hand before placing them on her chest. She was so bewildered by what just happened to her that she didn't even hear one of the women approach her and asked if she was alright. The shock of all that happened seemed to finally get to her and she dropped to her knees.

Slowly, ever so slowly she was able to calm her breathing and focused on that for a few minutes. Glancing up, she saw the words on the pillar, the same ones that were forever imprinted in her mind. The practical side her wanted to scream on how none of this was making sense. However, there was always that part of her that tried to make her adapted to new situations, even though she hated unexpected changes with a passion, because she had no control over them. She hated how her parents divorced and how she was forced to do things she didn't want to do. She hated that her father died without any warning. Feeling her anger rise again, she recalled the words of her former employer.

"Maddie, it's okay to feel emotions, as long as you don't let them get the best of you, especially the ones that can hurt you."

Madison took those words to heart, but it was hard, so very, very hard right now. She never asked for this. It was at that moment she realized she was shaking and in fact started shaking as soon as she dropped to the ground. Madison also remembered she wasn't alone too.

"Also, like, not to try bossing anyone around, but can I at least suggest we can a feel of each other and where we're from before trying to wander around a bit more? It might give us some kind of lead or insight,or at least keep us from inviting extra danger while being surrounded by strangers."

The blonde turned to see it was the only person of a different ethnicity than the rest. It was long before she heard a female voice speaking the words on the pillar and than introducing herself. Madison didn't think she could speak right now, especially since her mind was too cluttered to even think of a coherent word right now.

Alexander nodded at Victoria's introduction, and moved out of the way as she went towards the pillar and the blonde woman, Madison, who seemed to be having some sort of connection with the stone. What the absolute hell is going on here? he thought to himself. He noticed there was now a small burble of conversation rolling through the still air, while the smell of grass and flowers was being replaced by the smell of fear. Everyone but one was on their feet. He could feel the still wet grass on his bare feet as he walked towards the small crowd around the stone, just in time to watch another pair of people touch it while another man told them

"Also, like, not to try bossing anyone around, but can I at least suggest we can get a feel of each other and where we're from before trying to wander around a bit more? It might give us some kind of lead or insight,or at least keep us from inviting extra danger while being surrounded by strangers." Alexander nodded at this, for it did make sense.

"Hullo everyone. My name is Alexander Farmer. I am a student at MTSU, in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and a member of the Tennessee Army National Guard. I suggest that we stop touching the stone for now. First order of business after introductions needs to be getting some kind of shoes made. Its only a matter of time before one of us steps on something that goes through our feet." His arms were crossed as he said this, as his eyes roamed, making eye contact with everyone near him, his dark brown eyes piercing them with a look that conveyed concern, worry, and a need to survive.

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With the tears finally dried on Joseph's face he decided that he couldn't make himself into the victim. So Joseph watched, waited and schemed. Joseph was watching all that transpired and wished to be with others, but he was certainly scared of what may happen if he went out there to where they could judge him. What would they think of him? Would they also, like so many others before him see him as nothing more than a nuisance? Would they pretend to like him only to have them talk shit about him when he turned his back? Joseph decided it best to analyze each person who he saw.

Alexander, the chaplain from my old unit back in the real world. He is perhaps the one that will decide the fate of us all. He is a natural born leader and an intelligent man, but still I have my reservations about him. Alexander may be smart and he may be talented, but who is he as a person? He seems way too friendly, like he wants something from all of us. This is a man that may be trusted, but certainly not someone to put my faith in.

Madison, she seems smart, beautiful and perhaps even true of heart, but she is curious. Her curiosity may prove to be a hindrance in the days to come. I want to like her, I really do, but I feel like she may lead me and the others into trouble. Still, someone as kind looking as her couldn't be as evil as I fear, right?

Dante, a kind and rather young looking boy. He almost seems happy to be here, like he had something from his past that he was trying to run from but just couldn't find a way. I like him, but I think he's hiding some things. He almost seems, damaged, as though something has shattered him as a person. I've been there before, maybe I can help him find himself or at least help him glue back some of the pieces.

The tall man in the Nike whisk shirt and the gym shorts. I really don't know much of anything about him yet, not even his name. Perhaps he too is trying to keep his distance from everyone. He seems highly educated based on the way he was asking those questions earlier, but is his education making him think he is better than the rest of us? That would explain him keeping his emotional and mental distance from the others. I'm not sure how to feel about him, he could be a threat. Or perhaps maybe he is secretly hurting and is just trying to show himself as a strong person.

Ceiran, well, I really don't know much about him at all. I got his name, but not much else. He seems like he cares about those around him though. Someone who cares for those around him should be someone I can connect with quite easily, I hope. I definitely need to look for ways to gather more info on him.

"Abbie" as she wanted to be known by. She seems like she can't be a person on her own so she is latching on to everyone around her seeking some dominant person to keep her, herself. Her and Ceiran seemed to have been having a moment where she could open up and he could be that dominant person for her, but then Ceiran left her, I would imagine that makes her feel very alone and sad. The first person she met left her so abruptly. I should certainly do my best to make her feel as though she can trust me and I "trust" her. It pains me to see someone so beautiful hurting.

Victoria, the girl that Alexander was speaking with the most earlier... She seems almost creepy to me. I need to watch her, I can't let my guard down around anyone here, but especially not her.

Geraldine, beautiful, but she seems as though she has a hidden agenda perhaps? She seems easily offended. and other than that I don't have much to say about her. She is another one that could prove to be extremely useful to me or she could end up being my rival. I definitely can't let my guard down around her either.

After the completion of Joseph's plotting he decided perhaps it was best to go and meet the others. Joseph had seen the area immediately around the clearing enough to know that they weren't in immediate danger, unless by one of themselves. Joseph begrudgingly got out of the tree and headed for the clearing with the others, clearly this rock in the middle seemed important. Joseph grabbed a rock and put it in his pocket. The rock was no more than the size of his palm. He had gathered enough information to know that the man in the Nike shirt thinks everyone is on drugs and that Madison seems to have had some odd interaction with the rock when she touched it. Also, there's some kind of prophecy or something written on the rock. Not much more is known or would be known by Joseph until he further investigated the situation.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Moe couldn't keep himself from sighing a bit at the development of the situation. After all, everyone seemed to mean well enough - especially Alex with idea on shoes since the idea didn't occur to him at all. However, people didn't always move just because of good men, nor would they always move because of a veiled threat. As much as he didn't want to have to do it, he'd have to make himself into something of the bear of bad news as he introduced himself.

"Sean Jackson, but everyone calls me Moe. Before waking up here I was in LA, and given we've got someone from Tennessee,Pennsylvania and Louisiana here plus everything that has happened I can't think of a logical way for us to be here. Kinda like I can understand the issue of the other girl not waking up...but if the tablet isn't a hoax. If only nine of us are allowed to be awake, what would happen if you wake her? Would that not mean one of us would fall back to sleep? Or would we be inviting something like a horror movie possession of the girl and thus make things worse?" He couldn't quite keep something of a sad croak from his voice while voicing the counterpoint.

"To be honest, I'd REALLY prefer this to be some kind of absurd dream or even some kind of illogical abduction or even something like a hallucinogenic reaction to my lab work. But the world don't work on wishes and so I'm stuck having to go with what facts I have: we ain't dead, we're conscious, she's not,we're in some strange forest I've never seen, and this giant rock somehow changed into English. If we're going short hand on the process of elimination our options are: we've gone mad, this is some insane kidnapping or prank, or somehow this is real. Personally I don't have the imagination for this and if this were a kidnapping...due to various details we can assume they're either amateurs or there's an insane motive involved. But the expense to collect us all from such a range makes it a tough pill to swallow on my part... so I'll gamble that this is real." Moe made a deliberate effort to get close and scrutinize the stone pillar without touching it.

"Especially because I don't see anything to indicate that someone rigged this pillar." Moe turned to address Alex directly with a warm expression of his own.

"So Guardsman, I'll gamble that your survival training is the best chance we have - so if we made a list of immediate concerns with shoes being our number one immediate concern...how far into a top ten until we reach water?"

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Joseph had just arrived at the clearing when he heard the man in the Nike shirt speak his mind. "So Guardsman, I'll gamble that your survival training is the best chance we have - so if we made a list of immediate concerns with shoes being our number one immediate concern...how far into a top ten until we reach water?"

"Please tell me that you nor Alexander are implying that shoes are a top priority? I haven't found any berries in the woods and from what I saw there really wasn't any water nearby. While I'm sure, if we looked hard enough we could find some edible plants or something, how sure can we be that they aren't poisonous or something along those lines? As for the water, it seems to be about spring time if they even have seasons here meaning rain shouldn't be too rare, I hope. However, on to the issue of shelter or for that matter clothing at the least. I have my sweatpants and socks on, but that's about it. Which means if it gets too much colder during the night me and anyone else not really wearing too much are going to freeze. Do we light a fire? Do we build shelter? Also, as for the stone in the middle, big deal. After all, since we are all from places so far away then we can rule out the abduction as the dude in the Nike gear was saying and I highly doubt it's even possible for us all to be in the same dream/hallucination. Meaning, this is real and there has to be some way for weird things that we never thought possible to be possible. Almost as if there is another element in the world now. Some might call it magic or it may just be some form of super advanced technology we haven't come across before. I would guess that this rock either is or has some of that tech/magic in it. Perhaps we can break the stone and look inside. If it's tech then I would imagine we could find some interesting wires and shit inside, but if it's magic then it may be that we piss something off that none of us have seen yet. As of now I say we leave the stone alone and we just try to pretend like we aren't all going to die. We probably have the best chance of survival from edible shit if it's alive and of the animal variety. So, we find animals for food and possible clothing and we hope for rain for the water. Of course, if we keep moving then we may find water, but with us just standing around here we're all getting closer and closer to death by starvation, thirst or otherwise. Someone needs to come up with a plan and quick, otherwise I'm going it alone."

Joseph looked around for someone, anyone to even take notice of his words. Yes, of course, there was that matter of the "magical" rock thing that had altered everyone's perspective of reality, but conversation may prove to be the savior to the rather odd group of individuals here.
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