New Midian

2040

The day had come faster than she had thought. She felt as though she had just fallen asleep, then she was woken by her guards telling her to get ready. She had been plagued by strange dreams that faded quickly when she was awoken.

She had showered, cleaned her teeth and been fed. They had returned in a sealed transport back to the camp. She was once again in the tent with the uncomfortable plastic chairs and table. Her gear was again laid out with additional water and energy bars that she requested. She went and checked over everything, getting ready for the day.

She was both unsettled and excited about what she had planned for that day. She was scared by the story she was hearing and what it was doing to her. Stories change you; they can inspire or cause you to think about what they are telling you. The Keeper delivered his words smoothly, ensnaring you and drawing you into his.

The battery pack and the phone camera she used were fully charged. She was satisfied with her primary equipment. The tripod was also checked, and no issues were found. The equipment was ready for the day ahead. She noticed an umbrella and wondered what it was for.

She heard the tent flap behind her being opened. Before she could turn to see who it was, she heard a familiar voice.

"Good morning, Ms Sanchez." Grey greeted her. She turned as he stepped into the tent, the guards remaining outside still.

"Grey." She returned. He walked in and sat across from her on one of the plastic chairs, gesturing for her to take the other with his hand. He was holding another folder in his hand. As she sat down, he placed it on the table next to them.

"There might be a chance of light rain today, just to make you aware." He pointed to the umbrella.

"Thanks, let me know." She wondered where the day was going.

"We want you to try to insert our questions again today during your session. If you cannot, we understand, but still would like you to try."

"I will try." She told him honestly. Some of the questions were ones she had planned to ask anyway.

"Excellent. As to our conversation yesterday, our researchers have been working around the clock since we got our hands on your first chunk of footage." He turned slightly and opened the folder on the desk, and took a sheet of paper from it.

"John Rigger. Wanted for murder, rape, grave robbing and criminal acts with the corpse. The last reported crime was in August 1870." He read from the sheet of paper he was holding.

"So, the man was real." She leaned back in the uncomfortable plastic chair. The designers of them were sadists, she thought, as she tried to get comfortable.

"It appears that way. We do not know if this John Rigger went into the containment zone, or the entity within it heard about him through other means." Grey was being very selective with his language and terminology.

"He was real. Then it is quite possible he ventured into New Midian and became the first of the Keeper's Hunters." She was more direct with her terminology and language.

"Possibly. But we are confident that if he did, he's been dead for at least a hundred years." Grey put the piece of paper back into the folder.

This made her laugh. "Oh, come on, Grey. We are dealing with an entity that claims he is from an alternate Earth. He rules over an area of the planet that is being manipulated by some form of spatial effect. He doesn't have a physical body as we understand it and claims to be over a hundred and seventy years old. I would be more surprised if he weren't still alive."

Grey shifted slightly, uncomfortable at the words, but committed to his stance.

"Until we have evidence otherwise, we are going to treat everything as unconfirmed."

"Fair enough." She said as the last of her laughter died away. She wiped her eyes as the laughter had brought tears to them.

Grey shuffled the paper and pulled out another sheet. "Hector Rodriguez. We don't have much information on him right now, but considering where he claims to be from, that's understandable. Quite a lot of the records from that area of Texas were destroyed in the Mexican-American War."

He returned the sheet of paper to the folder.

"What of the others?" Gaberial asked, thinking of the others.

"We are working on them." He said as he closed the folder.

She asked him a question that was burning to get out. "What is the end goal here?"

Grey looked at her, knowing what she was asking him and thought about the answer he would give her.

"I would tell you the official cover story. But then that would not satisfy you." He spoke. "So, I will not."

After a moment, he continued. "We do not know."

It was odd for him to say that. It was the truth, and you never heard that from government officials. She expected the government's cover story, not what appeared to be the truth.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"You know he is ready for you if you go in hard." She said, remembering something the Keeper had told her.

"Yes, we suspect he would be." Grey agreed with her.

Another few moments of silence fell between them.

"What would you suggest?" Grey asked her, and the question took her aback.

She did not answer straight away but thought about it. "I can't say right now, I don't know enough."

"And that is the same problem we have."

She was approaching the gates.

The excitement and fear grew with every step.

The sky was cloudy, but there was no threat of rain yet. A gentle breeze was blowing. In the distance, she could see the peaks of the mountains in the west.

She had passed the razor wire fence and entered the "no man's land" between New Midian and the Military perimeter. The area was covered in grass, and she could still see the burn marks around the wall. She wondered how they would attack New Midian next time. She felt confident that there would be a next time.

She reached the gates and looked into the area referred to as the courtyard.

She thought about all those the Keeper had claimed had crossed the line marked by the gates and how few had returned.

Did she believe his story?

Yes, she did. The Keeper might not be telling the whole truth, but she suspected that most of what he was describing to her through his tale was what had happened. She thought about those who sought the reward promised by those who survived the trials of this place. A little part of her wondered if she was strong enough to do it. Could she venture into the depths of this place, offering a sacrifice on the distant altar, transforming it into something unrecognisable, and return to the gates as the new day's light begins to touch them?

In that moment, she was honest with herself.

She wouldn't stand a chance in hell of doing it.

This made her chuckle as she stepped over the line and entered the courtyard. A short distance away, there was the plinth with the rules of this place engraved upon it. The area looked as overgrown as ever as she noted….

"I see that you have returned, Ms Sanchez."

She cried out, startled, spinning to face the source of the voice. "Dear God, will you stop doing that!"

The Keeper was again standing where no one had been before. He looked the same as always, with a slight smile on his face. She suspected he secretly enjoyed scaring the living crap out of her. She glared at him.

"Shall you set up then?" He asked her, completely ignoring her glare.

She swore under her breath as she set up the tripods and phone camera. She pulled out the umbrella from her pack and held it so that it wouldn't appear in the frame while she was recording. The Keeper did not comment on the umbrella.

After she had checked everything twice, she paused before pressing the record button. She decided to take a slightly different approach today. She hit the record button and moved around to stand in frame. Time to get her game face on!

"I have a few questions before we start, if you don't mind."

"Of course, Ms Sanchez, please ask them."

"How would you like to end this?" She asked one of the questions that she had been requested to ask, but also one that she wanted to have answered. "What would be your best outcome?"

"Is that your question or the government's?"

"Both." She answered honestly.

He took a few moments to think about the question she posed to him before answering.

"I have an answer, but it is one that the United States government will never accept." As he spoke, he looked out across the area outside the gates at the military forces positioned out there. "Let them come."

He never said anything more, leaving her confused by his answer.

"Let who come?"

"It is the same that I said to the Way of Athamos all those years ago. Hinder not those who seek to face my trials. Let all those who come of their own free will face the trials, and if they are fast or strong enough or just plain lucky, they can claim the reward."

They both fell silent after his answer. She knew he was correct; the United States government would never allow anyone access to this place ever again. If they did allow access, it would be carefully curated and provided to selected individuals who are loyal to the United States government. The Keeper's desire to enable any access to their own free will would terrify them. Not because those people might die, but some of them might succeed and gain access to abilities or powers that could make them uncontrollable by conventional authorities.

He had already claimed that one member of the cult that hung around here in his early years had gained access to magic by completing the trial. She wondered what else the few had gained after passing through and claiming the reward for themselves.

"You're right, they will never allow that." She told him, and he simply nodded in agreement.

"This might surprise you, Ms Sanchez, but I'm a firm believer in free will. That's why I cannot allow any one person, group, or in this case, government to control access to this place."

It was strange, but she understood what he was saying and, in some ways, respected it. It was rare to find someone so dedicated to their beliefs that they would stand against the US government, but she had to focus and continue asking her questions.

"Did you learn anything else about the rewards that a successful Challenger gained?"

"In time, but don't worry, it will all be part of the tale I will tell you. But remember that each Challenger received an award unique to them, but I later discovered that they also received a series of generic ones that they all shared."

"Let me guess? It will be told in the tale." She quipped.

"Indeed, Ms Sanchez." His smile got a little bigger at his answer.

"They don't know what to make of your story." She continued to talk to him, knowing she should continue the interview, but she had the wrong questions she wanted answered first.

"It is a lot to take in, isn't it?"

"Yes. If I had not seen half of what I have already seen, I would never believe it. But being here now and speaking to you, I find I have more questions every day."

"The hunger for knowledge and understanding. Two of the worst that afflict humanity." The Keeper became thoughtful as he spoke. "I wonder how much will be gained by all when this is said and done."

"The two of the worst hungers? What would be the first on that list?"

"All that is easy, Ms Sanchez. All the hungers that plague the minds of humanity can be summed up in two simple words."

"And they are?"

"What if?"

She was about to speak, asking what he meant, but then reconsidered. The more she thought about it, the more she realised he was right; those two simple words at the start of any sentence were the sources of both wonder and destruction throughout human history.

She gave herself a slight mental shake as she realised she was losing focus and needed to refocus on the topic. Again. Damn his voice.

"Our last conversation ended with you talking to Senior Ahmed in late 1895." She became more formal as he started to speak, as this was now part of the interview.

The Keeper nodded, understanding what she was doing. "Yes, I was pretty much the end of the conversation, and as it was October, the weather was changing quite aggressively. I did not receive any more visitors or Challengers for the rest of that year, and the snows came earlier than normal, cutting New Midian off from the rest of the world. I did not re-establish contact until…."