The Enigma

this world though maintaining the set number of necessary creatures to repopulate this world. These are the maps your are to give to the groups and send them on their way. All except one that is. One group must remain here as the location beneath the tower is one key location."

  I shook my head, "Why would I want to separate those poor people! If that's all of humanity, I…!"

  Ray cut me off before I could finish, "They would starve to death, most certainly. Supplies at the restart of culture have been placed in those locations. There is no other choice. The humans will not listen to those of whom destroyed their world, but one from it… Thus we Enigma exist."

  I looked at the folded cloths in his hand before taking them from him.

  "Two months is all you have." He stated one again.

  I snapped my head up, meeting his gaze, "You expect me to do something with 5,000 people in two months."

  "You would have had longer if you had awaken before our arrival." Ray stated. "You spent one month fighting us, and three months sleeping. Your time is now down to two months and that is all. You cannot take any longer for when the time is up this place and all of the Enigmas will vanish from this world." he explained.

  I had no idea what to say. I dare not argue with him for I knew that a verbal battle with the man would be pointless. I simply looked at the cloth maps I had taken from him and debated on how to go about the task that I had even appointed.

  "I will show you the way down to the world below when you are ready." Ray stated.

  "Take me there now," I said without a thought. I did not want to stay there any longer so it likly prompted my quick reply.

  Ray simply nodded before walking forward. I followed closely behind him as he led us to a round, stone building which appeared to lay in the center of the entire village area that made up the top of the tower.

  He guided us inside and we stood upon engraved markings on the golden floor. He looked down at the markings held out both his hands, palms facing the floor, and mumbled some strange phrases in a language I had never heard before.

  We vanished from the room and appeared at the base of the tower. I could hear people yelling outside of the open-doorway in front of where we had appeared. I could see a couple of people standing on the other side of the door as if guarding it; I assumed they were some of the Enigmas, as they were called.

  Ray walked forward and I was left to follow him out of the door. As we got nearer to the door, the yelling was louder.

  As the yelling got clearer, I could understand what the yelling was about. It was people yelling, cursing, and telling the Enigmas that stood outside the base of the tower to "leave" and cursing at them about destroying their lives, homes, and killing people such as their friends and family.

  It was something I had argued about at the beginning; the only sobering thing was my sudden change and being told that I was, in some way, responsible for the change. My realization that my thoughts had somewhat altered on this situation irked me to an extent.

  I still felt human, but I was under a growing realization that I was not, in any way, human. I was just as Ray had said: I was the human's Enigma and had just had the privilege to experience the death of the previous human civilization.

  I kept back from Ray as both of us made our way outside. I watched as he walked to the edge of the platform we were standing upon; it was like a stage about 5 feet off the ground. Where he stood, he could overlook the rioting crowd.

  I wasn't even paying attention when he started speaking to the crowd. I was more in a daze at the sizeable number of people that had gathered there: men, women, and children…. My thought of him possibly lying about all 5,000 gathering was shot down by the gathering before me.

  Ray had somehow quieted the crowd during his speech. I wasn't paying attention until I noticed him glace back at me for a second before continuing his speech.

  "Those who know her may not recognize her but she was once one of one that lived upon is planet. If you hate us, I implore you not to hate her. She was one whom had fought so strongly against us before she found out the truth and we have allowed it to fall to her to guide you from this day." he stated before turning to motion for me to come forward and stand next to him.

  Hesitantly I walked forward and stood by his side. My eyes scanned the crowd: I saw several whom I knew standing amongst them... The ones I had implored to leave me behind that day.

  "I will leave this woman, Riona, to speak with you." he stated just before turning and leaving me there alone.

  I was at a total loss at what to say. I hadn't really thought the situation over but there I stood. I looked like them now... No longer did I appear human. So how was I supposed to begin.

  One of those that had left me up in the tower that day rushed to the edge of the stage, pushing his way through the crowd to do so, "Riona, is that really you?" he asked me.

  My only response was simply to nod.

  He reached out his arms, "Get down here and tell me what the hell has happened to you."

  I smiled faintly, nodding, before allowing him to assist me down from the stage. Some of the others of the group that had fought our way into that tower had joined us by that point including some of the children we rescued from the Enigmas that day.

  "I wish to talk to you all privately before I discuss what is going on with everyone else. I may need your help." I said.

  He looked at me curiously but nodded, "Let's get to my place. It isn't too big but it works and it was conveniently built for my usage."

  Those that knew me walked with us, heading in the direction of my friend's house. Those who did not looked at me with confusion and dismay. No longer were they yelling and cursing. Whatever Ray had said to them when I was not paying attention in combination with the fact that people recognized me enough for me to join them off the stage, must have rendered them the dumbfounded silence. Perhaps my task would not be as difficult as I had initially assumed.

  Explaining it, however, would turn out to be a different story. Upon reaching my friend's house, I attempted to explain it as Ray had explained it; they seemed confused about it. Trying to explain the why and how I was an Enigma was difficult. Explaining why the world had come to the way it had; well, I avoided the part where Ray had told it was because of me that they had come.

  After finally wording everything to comprehension, my friend's accepted what I had told them as fact. They knew me, after all; they knew who I was and how I was before we went on that rescue mission and they saw me as I had become after I had been "captured" by the Enigmas for 3 months.

  When I was finished explaining my story, I went on to explain what the Enigma leader, Ray, had explained fell to me as an obligation. I explained how I was given maps and was told to split everyone into groups. At first, my friends had their own reservations on splitting up the group, but as I went on to explain the issue with everyone staying together—limited resources—they, too, saw the necessity of splitting the groups into the smaller numbers.

  The fact that they were "chosen" in a way to continue live upon Earth by the Enigmas slowly sunk in for them. It was then that they decided to assist me in splitting up the groups. After all, they had spent time with the people and actually had recorded everyone and every family that had come to be in that area, even before they were, apparently cut off from leaving once everyone had arrived.

  The optimization of splitting up the human race was now to be in our collective hands. Once we had come to that conclusion, we set up to re-gather and speak to everyone.

  The following couple of months passed like a blur. People were split into groups, doing best to keep families together. They were given the maps and set out on their ways. It was a somber feeling when the groups began to take their leave from the central location. My friends were chosen to stay in that location; it meant I could spend more time with them.

  I had never told them that I would be l
eaving at the end of the cycle. Nor did I tell them that my feelings for them were starting to lessen. Apparently, Ray was truly correct the entire time. I was an Enigma, no longer human at all. I knew that, though they would miss me at the end of my time there, I would not miss them. I would never forget them; no…I never would…for they were my start as what I had become.

  The night before the Enigmas were to vanish from the world we had a great party celebrating their leave. I was right there with them, and just an hour before the Enigma were to vanish at midnight, I crept off into the night, making my way to the tower.

  Ray stood there upon the stage, waiting for me. The guards that had once stood outside had already retreated into their fortress.

  "Said your goodbyes?" Ray inquired.

  "You know there is no need for that." I replied.

  Ray nodded and held out his hand to help me up onto the stage. I followed him back into the tower's gateway and were transported up back to the Enigma fortress.

  I continued to watch down upon the sleeping human world beneath the tower from the viewing room until the very last moment. The screen had gone black as my view of the human world was no longer; at that same instance, the stage and the tower of the Enigma fortress vanished from the human world… We left only for knowledge of us to become something of myth and legend. In many years to come, human civilization would begin