Welcome to the third collaborative fiction work on ATS. This time, it's for forum staff only.

A note to writers. Unless you are assigned an additional story to work on, keep your posts limited to this thread. Work together, but only within the confines of this thread (do not pre-determine plot through private messages), and have fun!

Your authors for this story are;
Simon Gray, Netchicken, William One Sac, Alien, Shadow, Bob88, Thomas Crowne, Zion Mainframe, William, Estragon and Ycon



First there was only darkness. Slowly I felt myself rising towards consciousness, becoming more aware with each passing moment. But part of me longed for the comfort of the darkness, the warm blanket of oblivion that I was leaving behind. Slowly I became aware of the pain, and I reached desperately for the depths of my mind where I was safe from such horror. The pain built, like an inexorable tide, each wave sending sparks of agony shooting through my body.

I awoke with a start. It was dark around me, I had no idea where I was. The source of the pain became evident, I was lying on sharp little stones on the side of a roadway. I desperately racked my brain, how had I gotten here, why couldnt I remember anything???

Moving was difficult, no, make that nearly impossible. As I slid an elbow up to prop myself with, rivers of pain shot through me. At first I screamed because of the pain, but some distant tendril of nearly forgotten thought made me stop. I should be quiet.

With considerable effort, I sat up and looked around. It was dark, but a faint glow was obvious just over the horizon, giving me just enough light to see where I was. This was some desolate, barely paved country road, straight and flat toward the glow on the horizon. No trees, or buildings, or even anything visible in either direction, just straight one very straight, very flat road before me and behind me.

I took inventory of myself. My shirt and jeans were caked with dried blood on my right side, and that's where I hurt the most. Nothing seemed broken though, so I tried to stand up. Despite intense complaints of agony from nearly every muscle, I was able to stand after a brief struggle. This is when the most shocking realizations hit me, this was not my blood, I couldn't recall my name, and there were no stars!

Whoever I was, I had no wallet in any pockets. No credit card receipts, no ticket stubs, nothing to give me a clue about who I am or where I've been, certainly not who I've killed. Or did I? Could have been a car accident, but no sign of an accident. Maybe a bar brawl, the headache is there, certainly, much like a hangover, but without the booze-taste in the mouth. Definitely a chemically-induced headache, for sure.

I looked down both stretches of the road. Obviously an East-West route as the horizon at one end seemed to be getting lighter with a new day nearing. I began walking toward the new day as the previous one appeared to be pretty crappy.

Ahead, lights appeared headed down the road. A vehicle? Then it hit me; what do I do? I have someone else's blookd on me, I don't know who I am or where I am, or where I've been for that matter. Do I want to be found right now?

No... I didn't, not until I knew who was coming.

There was no cover to either side of the road, just flat dirt, not even any grass. I decided to get away from the road and as far into the darkness as I good. The pain was still intense, so I stumbled away from the road and felt flat just before the car came near, about forty feet from the road.

A large black sedan came near and slowed stopped where it seemed I had just woken up. I had never seen a vehicle like this before. In one sense, it reminded me of an old Impala, but it also seem oddly futuristic and hummed with a sound of awesome power. A door opened and two tall men in white suits emerged. They were odd, very odd. Tall and very graceful, they had a stunning quality of beauty as they slowly walked to where I once laid in the road.

One of the pair had some kind of small device in his hand. He was very intent on whatever the device was telling him, while the other figure peered back down the road from where they came. I started to slowly crawl backwards farther away from the road, I don't know why, but I knew I didn't want to be discovered by these two.

As I crawled as silently as I could, my foot hit something just behind me. I turned and nearly screamed... I had bumped into a body. Trying to get some clue to my predicament, I turned to get a closer look. It looked like me, dressed just as I am, with dried blood on the right side of its clothes.

I looked back to the pair. Suddenly the one holding the device looked at the other one, said something unintelligable and pointed in my direction. A wave of fear and adrenalin flooded my body. They were both looking in my direction. I instantly froze, lowering my face slowly to the ground, dropping my eyelids halfway. Very gradually, I pulled my hands beneath my stomach.

I wondered for a moment at my actions. They seemed to be reflexive as if from training rather than anything else. I watched the two from where I was, scarcely daring to breathe.

The one with the device began moving towards me, it seemed almost as if he were walking on springs. I felt a rock I was lying on and made ready to grab it to sling it at this.... this things forehead when suddenly the other one called out. It was clearly in a language I didnt know, yet at the same time it sounded strangely familiar.

The one with the device turned back in my direction, peering towards me, yet obviously unable to see me. He took another step in my direction, I readied myself for the inevitable confrontation when the other one called out again, this time with a loud hiss and a sense of urgency that was plain enough. Both turned and appeared to glide as if on ice quickly back to the vehicle.

watching them drive away was a relief. I took a few deep breaths and got back on my feet.

Then I remembered the body. This guy is dead, looks like he hit his head on a rock. I search him looking for any clues to what has happened and who I am or who he is. All he has is a watch, great atleast I will know what time it is. As I take the watch I notice he has something in his hand. Its a military dog tag with the name James A. Cross. The chain is broke, it could be someone elses tag.

I decide to get out of the area before that car returns, the sun is rising and it will be easy to see soon. I look around as I decide which direction to go. I notice a reflection off to the north away from the road. I head towards it, to see what it is. As I get closer it seems to be metal object and much bigger then I thought. Ooo its, it's a flying saucer on the ground. I stopped in my tracks, froze in fear.

[Edited on 30-5-2003 by Ycon]

That fear quickly turrned into a flight response. I took off running at full speed in the opposite direction, back towards the still rising sun. I ran for what seemed to be an eternity, my lungs puffing desperately for the oxygen my body so desperately needed. Suddenly my left foot connected with something lying on the ground and I did a cartwheel, landing on my face in a very undignified manner.

I pulled myself up to my knees and looked back at what I had just tripped over. My heart jumped, it was a man! I hesitantly reached over, to check his neck for a pulse. Nope, his cold skin pronounced him dead. I looked more carefully at him, and again was confounded. He was dressed the same as I was, and his right side was covered in blood. I turned him over onto his left side to see if there was a wound and stopped dead.

There was a gaping hole in his lower right side, and as far as I could tell he had had his liver torn out of his body. I scrambled away from him, and turned again towards the rising sun. It was then that I made a horrifying realization. That wasnt the sun rising, the light was the same brightness as when I awoke. I looked more carefully at the sky, and it dawned on me. I was not on the surface!! I was in some gigantic underground cavern!!!

None of this made sense. Inside a giant cavern, what looks like a flying saucer, dead people scattered about, and men in strange cars. And I still had no idea who I was, what I was doing here, and why I seem to be the only person with blood on the right side of his clothes alive.

Well, there was no sense in avoiding the inevitable, I started walking toward the light in the distance. I wasn't stupid though, I stayed as far away from the road as I could, perhaps forty feet. As I walked in the near darkness, I could make out faint lumps from time to time which were obviously more unfortunate people, dressed like me, bloody on the right, but dead.

It was hard to judge time, but after what seemed to be about twenty minutes, I was able to make out what was giving off the light, an opening! The road went straight an true into a semi-circle that was just large enough for that odd car to get through. Leaving all caution aside, I ran for the only thing that seemed like an escape... the hole.