Blind Crash
Working Title
By NekoLen and Tachigami

The jet was barely large enough to fit the two people it was carrying. Carter was in the back of the airborne tin, just feet from the cockpit, where the one and only pilot sat at the controls. He was supposed to be headed through the Canadian Rocky Mountains, but he was told that they'd have to go around one particularly large mountain to avoid the engines freezing. He didn't mind the journey, however---staring down at the ground below, where the clouds didn't obscure his sight, was amazing. Watching the green, brown, and eventually white land speed by at a relatively good pace, Carter didn't feel quite as on edge. He was supposed to meet his father at an excavation site on the other side of the mountains, to learn about a people that had originally been unknown to the world, until recently. They were trying to keep it as quiet as possible, though.

He sighed, leaning back against his seat and fingering his backpack. It was full, but mostly with a change of clothes he thought he'd want in lieu of whatever his father and his team would have on hand. He brushed back his hair---his father hated it, the messy brown mop always getting in Carter's eyes---and leaned his head against the seat. He was looking forward to getting there, seeing what they'd found, what they'd uncovered, any hidden texts or walls or sculptures, gravesites or places of worship. Did they have different gods or spiritual entities? What laws, if any, did they abide by, and how advanced were they? So many questions, and soon, he would be there with his father, learning. Learning what he'd been learning all his nineteen years. Carter desperately hoped his climbing skills would come to use.

He sighed, and the pilot seemed to hear. He glanced back through the small doorway and smiled. "We'll be there in no time, Carter." He said, looking back through the windshield. "We'll just have to round this mountain here, then we'll be in the clear for the next... oh, hour or so." Carter nodded at that, and watched the pilot for a moment. He squinted, his liquid brown-black eyes observing the way the pilot's shoulders seemed to slump, his head go forward. At first he thought the man just went forward to observe something on the control panel Carter couldn't begin to comprehend. Then he went forward more, and then to the left as the aircraft began to tilt the same way.

Carter gasped, jumping up and bounding into the cockpit, pulling the man up. "Hey!" His voice was high with bubbling terror. "Hey, John, you okay? John!" He tore the man's headset off and looked at his eyes---they were dilated, and glassy. His mouth lolled open, and before Carter turned away, a small trickle of blood began to stream from his nose. "Oh God, John... I'm sorry for this." He slid the man from the seat, letting the buckle catch him without realizing it, and Carter whined to himself. He'd never thought about how to fly a plane. He pushed forward on the wheel---or whatever the joystick-like directional device was---and gasped as the plane began a nosedive. He pulled back frantically, sending it up, but the clouds rushing by the windows and the approaching ground gave him little hope that he could actually maneuver the thing to the ground safely.

He refrained from pressing buttons, and gritted his teeth as evergreen treetops started brushing and bashing against the jet, and a sudden jolt sent him backward, out of the seat and onto the floor and the plane tilted nose-up before flinging itself into the ground, throwing Carter back and smashing his head into the hard floor, sending a high ringing through his ears before the world shuddered again, sliding, and falling again. Carter scrambled for a hold, grabbing his bag before gravity seemed to disperse and for a moment, he was floating, coming to a crash on the windshield of the plane. He cried out, the jolt finally knocking some sound out of him, as his gaze came to meet John's glassy one as the man hung lifeless and bleeding in the grip of his seat belt.

Carter started to move a bit, to sling the backpack over his shoulder, but the window cracked below him. Gasping, he started to turn a little, grimacing at the crackle and snap below his hand. It went through the glass, and the rest of the window gave way, sending him crying out to the ground almost six feet below. His head cracked off a broken branch, and the world began darkening. Voices grew suddenly, as if a crowd had gathered, but Carter was sure he was alone. He rolled over, the pain in his arm and head growing until he passed out, leaving the voices behind.

The sound of the crash echoed about the mountains, easily reaching a small unknown tribe that had made their home near some caves. They froze at the sound and turned their looks upwards, expectant and frightened at what this recent crash might have brought. The High Priest hadn't said a word about the newcomers, even though he had always predicted every crash in the ranges. Some of them came from plane wrecks, others were born here. Just as the silence settled around them, a tall man appeared in the mouth of the largest cave, that overlooked the small clearing. He wore fine robes made of bird feathers, and his tall hat gave the air of someone important. The tribe looked to him, hoping for some reassuring words.

The High Priest glared over the treetops, towards the trail of smoke that billowed from the recent crash. He had not seen this coming, it had not been foretold at all. Or planned in anyway. He smiled and told his people that nothing was wrong, that the Goddess worked in mysterious ways. He then ordered the scouting party to go towards the crash site and recover anything, or anyone, worth salvaging. He then returned to his cave, which was decorated with luxuries and lit by candles. The Goddess sat at the back, looking confused.

"It's ok, Your Worship. Just a plane crash. We'll have it sorted in no time," he reassured.

-

The scouting party consisted of two strong men, a girl that carried water and medicines, and two boys that carried the weapons should anything attack them. They wore clothes made from animal hide, leaves and the occasional piece of clothing that they salvaged from the plane wrecks that brought them to this land in the first place. They walked bare foot, and crept stealthily across the leafy forest floor.

Soon they reached the site, carefully picking their way through the twisted metal and shattered glass littered across the ground. They found few things of use, and two bodies. The medicine woman declared the pilot dead, but the other that had seemed to have walked a small way from the crash was still alive. The strong men carefully picked him up, and they made their way back to the village.

-

The medicine woman pushed the curious people out of her way, taking the unconscious man into her hut, made from wood and mud. She lay him down on a makeshift cot, quickly dressing his wounds. She stopped once she got a visitor, and bowed her head slightly. The High Priest stared at the man lying in the cot with disgust. What could he do with this newcomer? Perhaps the scrolls could help...

"You tell me at once, as soon as he's awake. We must determine who, or what, this man is." She nodded and he left the hut, shooing the crowd that had gathered around it and heading towards the Sacred Caves.

The world came at him in different layers. Trees seemed to double and triple and go neon white and blue, and vanish when he closed his eyes. The world seemed to move on its own again, but he didn't notice. A weight was on his back. His bag...? Perhaps. What was that, a voice? More voices? People? Who were they...? Had he fallen on a climbing trip without his harness and gear? He probably had a head injury. He shouldn't have been moved, but they were moving him. He couldn't fight back, even utter a sound. None of these people were familiar. He couldn't even focus on their appearances. They were taking him somewhere... Where? Where was he?

The ground stopped moving suddenly, but he wasn't left alone. He moaned, bringing up a weak arm and waving the poking, pulling hands away from him. "N-nooo... St-top, aaah..." He probably wasn't even speaking aloud, or they couldn't understand him from mumbling. Suddenly cool air met his body, his sore arm, the cuts on his face and chest and sides. He lost consciousness again.

He came back when a stinging sensation met the worst wounds---cuts and scrapes more than several millimeters deep---and gasped. The top of the dwelling---a rather crude-looking manmade thing lit with what appeared to be solar-charged lanterns---began to spin, and he gripped the sides of whatever he was lying on as if he were about to be thrown off the world. His heart was pounding in his chest, no doubt forcing more blood out of his wounds, but he couldn't move. Someone was around. A woman, he squinted enough to see her face before losing consciousness once again.

***

When he opened his eyes again, he felt alone. The world was still, though his ears were ringing and the world was blurry. He tried to move, but something stopped him---pain. It froze his attempts to move and he tried to stifle a growl of pain. Everything hurt, but mostly his right arm, and his side. His head throbbed with every beat of his heart and it hurt to breathe in. Where was he? He wanted to ask someone. But was he alone? When he tried to move his head, a terrible, white-hot pain slid through his back and up the back of his head. He slid his left hand up, pushing his hair back and feeling a bandage. And more against his skin.

"Don't move too much, you are suffering terrible concussion," the medicine woman, Lily, spoke as soon as she noticed the man start stirring. "It's good that you came too." She had no way to keep a man in a coma alive. She may have once been a doctor, but out here her resources were limited. "You're lucky you haven't got any broken bones."

She came towards the man from where she had been sitting, kneeling at his side and carefully wiping his face with a cool sponge she had in a wooden bowl nearby. "Try to talk for me. Can you remember your name?" They had found the man's belongings on his person, removing them and burning them like they did to all the people that came here. They were nobodies, forced to create their own personas within the tribe, by decree of the Goddess. "Can you remember the date?"

She knew that she should get someone to tell the High Priest that the man was conscious, but she wanted to make sure no damage had been done before he was put before the tribe. The shock had killed many people before him.

Carter jumped at the suddenness of the voice. He glanced over, trying not to move his head quite as much as his eyes, and found the source---a dark-skinned woman wearing what looked like older clothes mixed with animal skins that had been expertly put together. He closed his eyes, sighing a little at the cool water on his too-warm skin, and thought. His name. He knew that. "I'm... Carter Hall." He managed, sighing the words out instead of speaking to avoid the pain that came with the shuddering of his vocal cords. "It's... Well, I've never been the best with... with dates... I know its April. And... Either the fourth or the fifth... I think we left on the third, so that'd make this the fifth..." They had been in the air for the past day and a half.

He opened his eyes again, glancing at the woman as she settled back. "Thanks... for that. For this. What you did. Wait... Where am I? I know I'm in the mountains... But... this all is so... so reminiscent of various native american tribes... But you're... not." He tried to sit up, but the woman kept a hand on his chest to stop him.

"No, I'm not. None of us are."

"Y-you're not... the only one here...?" That would explain the multiple voices he'd heard and brushed off to hallucinations.

"No." She stood, gathering her used supplies and putting them away for cleaning later. "My name is Lily. You'll... meet the others soon enough." Carter blinked hard, following her movements until it got too difficult and resigning himself to staring at the ceiling. Did he really want to meet them...?

Lily sighed, exiting her hut briefly to find her son playing in the dirt nearby. "Odi, tell the High Priest that the man is awake," she told him, ducking back into the door. She went to a small fire, filling a bowl with some of the soup that had been boiling over it. She came back with a plastic spoon, so the man didn't burn his mouth.

"It's a bit hot," she told him, blowing on the soup before ladelling it into his mouth carefully. It was a mixture of vegetables and pork, a filling and hearty soup. Carter would need his strength to help fight off any disease that could come with his injuries. "You've been out for a day," she told him, slowly feeding him the soup. "It's about the sixth of April, but we call it the start of Greening, the time when the trees become green with new leaves." He would learn soon enough.

"Ma, he says that he has to be brought in front of the Sacred Cave once he can walk... And that no one is allowed to talk to him. The Goddess forbids it, Ma," Odi had returned, poking his head into the hut and looking at Carter in awe. The boy then left to go back to his games. Lily sighed and looked to Carter. The Goddess did know all, and knew what was best for the tribe, but there couldn't be any harm in talking to the man. He seemed so confused.

He felt like such a child, not being able to sit up, or feed himself, or even recall what day it was. He had never been good with dates in the first place, losing track of whole weeks because he had other things to focus on. But he didn't take the help with ungratefulness---without Lily he would probably still be in the forest somewhere, underneath a plane that would eventually work itself loose and crush him. Without Lily he would probably have animals at his unconscious body, picking away at an easy meal without his knowledge until it was too late.

The boy that came in to speak to his mother---Lily---piqued his interest. What he said, mostly. They had a Goddess? Someone to worship? He looked at Lily, curious, and tried to move again. "Who is this Goddess you speak of?" He asked, curiosity trying to prod him, but pain keeping him from getting ahead of himself.

"You do not utter her name without proper meaning," Lily scolded, sighing when she remembered that Carter was an outsider. "The Goddess is the law of this tribe. We listen to her every word, spoken to us through the holy High Priest. You'll meet her if you are lucky enough." Or unlucky, she added in her mind. "I hope the Goddess forgives me for talking about her to an outsider." She hoped her son wasn't listening in on their conversation. It wasn't unlike him to tattle to the other children. She was the first person to tend to newcomers, after all.

"Now rest, you'll be expected to leave my hut at dusk." She left the bowl nearby, in case he found his strength to eat himself. She then left the hut to do her own errands.

-

The High Priest wasn't happy with the new arrival. He tutted and sighed, pacing his cavern home and skimming the old scrolls for anything that could help him explain it. His eyes fell on a part that had explained the Goddess, facing an evil demon. His eyes widened and he closed it at once, going to where the Goddess sat.

"Your Worship, I am afraid that the newcomer appears to be a demon, sent here to destroy you and our people!" He bowed slightly, his face set in an unreadable emotion. "But don't you worry, we'll have him executed at once." He turned to leave when the Goddess spoke, her voice young but deep.

"No, everyone has right to a fair trial before being sent to death. Let me meet this stranger and determine for myself if he is indeed a threat."

"But..." The High Priest stammered, seeming shocked that the Goddess had spoken.

"No arguing. My word is law, is it not?"

The High Priest muttered darkly to himself, leaving the cave and looking down to where the medicine woman kept the injured stranger. The man that could destroy them all. He hated to think that the Goddess' reign might soon come to an end.

Carter winced a little at the sudden verbal change. But he understood. There was something odd about the way she spoke of the being. As if she were an otherworldly type of being. As if she could see them. When Lily left, he leaned back, staring at the hut ceiling for a while until he felt safe enough to sit up. The world spun, however, and he slid to the side, gathering his wits and blinking everything into steadying before assessing his situation. Meet the Goddess if he were lucky enough? He didn't want to do that. Suddenly all Carter wanted was to get home. Go home to where he lived with his father and talk about this strange happening, perhaps leave them to their odd little life out here. No doubt these people had crash landed years ago, and had adapted, finding solace in someone they felt had more power than the rest of them.

Mostly, however, he wanted to get to the excavation site. He wanted John to be alive and well, flying him to that destination. He sighed, leaning his head into his hand and looking around the place. It was of relative size, and there was a fire pit warming the cool air. But he noted the curious lack of a bathroom, and felt that they must use nature, which was what was on his mind as Carter stood and crept out of the hut, avoiding anyone nearby and sliding into the brush to relieve himself and return without a word or sound. It was rather difficult to do, finding a way out, then back to the hut without letting any of the nearby wanderers or workers see him. What would they think if they did? That he was trying to get away? He didn't need any more trouble on his hands.

Slipping back into the hut, Carter sat back down on the cot and sighed. How would he figure out where he was? In a strange new place, he didn't even know which way east was, not yet. Not until the sun started to go down, and that was unsafe---he couldn't leave at night. He absently stirred what was left of the soup with its plastic spoon, massaging his sore arm and investigating the rest of his body. Bandages around his chest, on his arm, both wrists. His shirt was folded nearby, and looked as battered as he felt, a pale red buttondown stained in blood and dirt, a little gas from the plane no doubt. He stood again, grimacing, and stepped forward to collect it and put it back on. He had to get moving around. His head didn't hurt quite as much now---no doubt, after being unconscious for more than a day.

Night was falling and the people worked together to make their dinner. They all ate around a large fire, swapping stories and reminiscing about their old life. Soon the talk died down as the High Priest appeared, standing on a rocky outcrop above them all. He was wearing his usual ceremonial attire, but somehow looked a bit disturbed. He smiled, however, trying to soothe the people.

"As we all know, the Goddess brought us an unexpected visitor a day ago. This... man appeared to us without any premonition or word from the Almighty One. But do not fear, my good people, for the Goddess does indeed work in mysterious ways. She shall speak to the stranger, and assess him. A simple test of your faith... Now, go about your night without worry."

He looked to the medicine woman and nodded, retreating back into the Sacred Cave. He lit a lamp near the Goddess, so that the stranger would be able to see more clearly. The figure that sat patiently on the chair was very unexpected to what the villages believed.

For their Goddess was a boy, a teen of about 18 years. He had flowing, long black hair, that was braided with golden twine. A bandage was wrapped around his head, covering his milky white eyes. His complexion was fair, and his build slight. He would be mistaken for a woman from a distance, and that was what the High Priest wanted.

-

Lily entered the hut to find Carter sitting up in his cot and eating the food she had given to him. He had been forbidden to join the rest of the tribe for dinner, so she slipped him some of the food while no one was watching. "You can walk?" she asked him.

"Come." She waited for him to get to his feet and led him through the crowd of people, who all went quiet and stared as they passed. She then led him up the carved stone stairs, stopping just at the mouth of the Sacred Cave. Candles were lit around it and the smell of lavender floated from deep within. She stopped and pushed him slightly.

"I cannot go any further. The High Priest will meet you inside." And may the Goddess protect you, she added in her mind, backing off to let him walk into the cave, alone.

He was alone for most of the day. It suited Carter just fine, that no one came to talk to him, and Lily passed by to make sure he was okay. She brought him water a few times, but otherwise there was little communication before nightfall and he was told to remain in the hut. Perhaps for his own safety---Carter didn't mind that, he had no idea what these people were capable of. Lily seemed perfectly sane, obviously a doctor before she came to be here. What were the others? Engineers? Teachers? Perhaps simply layabouts become attuned to the world around them, learning what they could from others and passing the knowledge on to others, the way a society seemed to work, only without modern-day assistance. That thought reminded Carter, as Lily left him with a bit of smuggled food---his backpack was at the foot of the cot, and he reached over, grabbing it and unzipping the main compartment.

All his things were still there. Clean clothes, and rope, a harness folded at the bottom. His phone. It had charge, but there was no signal---not out here, of certain. And a radio---no doubt he wouldn't be able to contact anyone where he'd intended to go.

He zipped the bag when Lily came for him, and he complied, throwing the bag over his shoulder and feeling... scrutinized... as he walked through the others. Some wore animal skin, others wore regularly-made clothes. The rest wore a combination of the two, and it seemed to fit flawlessly in with each other. He turned his gaze down, staring at his muddy boots as he followed Lily, climbing the stairs with a little difficulty since his knees seemed to be rather stiff from lack of use. He'd never been bedridden so long before.

The High Priest... Carter bit his tongue to avoid saying anything wrong as he had before when he used the Goddess's name wrong. He simply nodded, creeping forward slightly, and glancing back at Lily but for a moment. He pushed his feet forward, and his rubber soles patted the worn floor of the cave as he entered slowly.

The High Priest awaited Carter in a separate chamber to where the Goddess sat. Candles lit the walls, where various drawings and texts had been carved by a forgotten race. He didn't smile as he met the stranger. He didn't want the man to get any ideas that he was a kind and forgiving man.

"You are to have audience with the Goddess, an honour to any, especially to an outsider," he spoke, his voice curt. He couldn't help but to sneer at Carter. "Know this, demon, if it was my choice, you'd be executed where you stood. But, our Benevolent Goddess has decided to hear your case, and decide your fate."

He went to the walls and touched the stone, closing his eyes as though the carvings were speaking to him. "You are not to speak unless spoken to, you are not to look at the Goddess, you are not to touch the Goddess, or anything else but the stone floor." He opened his hard grey eyes, staring the man down, before taking a larger candle that he had rested nearby and leading the man into the Inner Chamber. He made Carter get on his knees before the Goddess, instructing him to bow very low so that his head was touching the ground.

"Your Worship, the demon is among us. Do you wish for it to plead its case to you?" the High Priest bowed low and with a florish.

"What is your name?" the Goddess asked Carter, feeling interested. It had been awhile since the last newcomer. He doubted the man was a demon sent to kill him. It was just the sort of crazy nonsense that the High Priest came up with.

He gritted his teeth to avoid them chattering. The cave was cool, but it wasn't the air that made his teeth want to grind. The first words the High Priest spoke were not at all warm, and in fact made the temperature drop another ten degrees. Demon? What kind of psychotic man was running this? What kind of woman had warped the minds of these people so much? He didn't dare speak, however. Not out of turn. He returned the cold gaze with his own soft, warm one, not nearly as harsh as this man's. He moved almost mechanically, going forward as the High Priest led him on to the Inner Chamber. In front of the Goddess, Carter's mouth dropped open. The Goddess---referred to as 'she' and 'her' by everyone, even the High Priest---was a man? A young man by the look of it, perhaps blind by the look of the wrap around his eyes. From a distance he was sure he had seen a woman, though the firelight from the lighting source was jumpy and hard to focus in.

When he was pushed down, Carter's hands felt the floor of the chamber. Smooth and free of dust. Well kept. He grimaced at the way the man spoke of him. Was he on trial? This man---the Goddess---was to judge him? What was he beyond human? Perhaps Carter's father had implanted some of his thinking process into his son---that logic didn't exist everywhere. That there was such a thing as fantasy, and that it existed didn't make it fantasy at all, but reality. But what was this?

When the Goddess spoke, he tried to look up, but his head was kept level with the floor, the High Priest's hand twisted in his hair. "M-my name is C-Carter..." He replied quickly, twitching as if trying to release the man's hand from his head without outright retaliating. He didn't speak again, however, even as he was let go so he could look upward.

"Plead your case now, you filthy demon," the High Priest spat at Carter, interrupting the Goddess and sounding impatient. "Why did you come here without first presenting yourself to us, so we could foretell your arrival? You have come here to destroy the Goddess, haven't you? To kill and eat all these innocent souls!"

"That's enough, let me talk," the Goddess interrupted. If he could, he would be glaring at the High Priest, who muttered darkly to himself, but backed away. "Carter... What a strange name..." He pondered for awhile, as the High Priest growled like some sort of mad animal. "Why, or how, have you come?"

Carter startled, falling sideways at the High Priest's accusations and stuttering his denials until the Goddess spoke again. When he didn't reply immediately, the High Priest shouldered him roughly, sending him forward. "I-I c-came from the States. T-th-the Unites States, from N-New Mexico. I was on my way... on my way here... I mean, past here. In a plane. My pilot... H-he had a stroke, I think, and died at the panel... I crashed here after that, I don't know how else I could have gotten here. I don't know... why any of this is going on, I mean, it's all... just... ridiculous... I mean, not..." He sighed, sitting back and clamping his mouth shut. He felt as if he were digging his own grave a little at a time and the High Priest's steely gaze was pressing onto his back, through his backpack.

"I'm so sorry for your loss," the Goddess said suddenly, causing even the High Priest to look at him in shock. "I've lost a fair few of my own friends, it must be terrible..."

"If there is anything we can do for you... Just let me know... I want you to feel welcomed here, Carter," he finally spoke, to the disgust of the High Priest. The Goddess silenced him with a raised hand. "Carter is to be welcomed here, as one of the family. I do not believe he is a demon of any sort. You are just making things up again, Father. I will have none of it."

The High Priest cringed, glaring at Carter as if daring him to say anything. "As you wish... Your Worship..." he muttered, bowing, but gritting his teeth. "If he can complete his initiation... He may join... Our happy... Family..." He smirked cruelly.

"No. Carter is to become my companion. I'm lonely up here all alone. He can live with me and keep me entertained. And if you don't like it, you can get lost."

The High Priest yowled like a cat getting trod on, but didn't object. Arrangements were made, though he did threaten Carter every chance he could. Soon the man was in the Inner Chamber with the Goddess, as the boy was put to bed for the night.

Carter's head was spinning. Live with them? With the Goddess? What would these people think? They spoke of their leader as their protector and king---or at least, queen, as far as they seemed to know. He was wrenched up by the arm, and immediately his heart started racing, pounding, most likely dampening the bandages on his arms with fresh blood, and making his head throb as if someone were taking a hammer to his skull. His bag was taken by the High Priest as he was led about, the man's strong fingers gripping his arm hard enough to bruise, sometimes high enough to dig his finger into one of the deeper cuts in is arm, making Carter yelp in pain from time to time.

He was directed into the inner chambers by the High Priest as the man's harsh gaze bored into the back of his head with an almost physical presence. A pair of men passed---guards, perhaps?---and he was directed through the door to the smaller chamber. The High Priest released Carter and spun him around to look directly at him. "Do not touch him. And do not speak out of turn." His voice was very low, a whisper hissed into the younger man's ear. "Among others, you will refer to the Goddess by his name, and as we do."

Carter nodded, and the man turned to leave. Carter breathed out, bringing up a hand to brush his hair back out of habit, and looked around. The Goddess---did he even have a real name?---sat up in a very dim light. In fact, the lights everywhere were dim and dark, mostly candlelight, some low-wattage lanterns. He spied a chair near the Goddess's bed, and stepped forward on shaking legs, then paused. What was he supposed to do? Was he now this person's companion, as he'd said? This was crazy... How long had these people been here? How had this young man risen to his ranking? He was blind; perhaps his father---the High Priest---had been funneling him 'visions'? This was so crazy...

"I believe there is a chair nearby," the Goddess said, inviting his new companion to sit. It was getting late, and the young man needed his rest, but he wanted to talk to Carter, to find out more about him. "You have to forgive my Father... He's a bit deluded with power."

He may have been blind, but he had superb hearing. Right now the High Priest seemed to be in the Inner Chamber, blowing out the candles and tending to the incense. They had to keep an air of mysticism around the cave, so the others believed in him, in the persona his father had created for him. He went quiet when he heard one of the guards pass his room. They would be wary of Carter, on the lookout for possible assassination attempts. The Goddess believed that Carter was safe.

"It must be hard for you... It usually is hard for those that crash here... Some don't last long... But I want you to stay by my side... I've been increasingly lonely, ever since my 18th birthday." He was in his late teens and had never been able to have any friends.

Carter startled at the voice, but complied, watching the High Priest as he went around. He felt one eye on him as he moved forward, taking a seat on the rather old wooden chair alongside the bed. Had this young man been blind all his life? He seemed to know where everyone was just by the slight noises they made and little else. His other senses were no doubt exceptional, very powerful to compensate for his lack of eyesight. He didn't ask where his bag had gone---maybe they would take everything and spread it among themselves. He just wanted his phone and the radio, though.

He settled a bit, folding his hands on his lap and watching the High Priest finish up, then meander about as if contemplating the option to leave or watch Carter. But now Carter was a bit more interested in the Goddess. He was only eighteen? Of course, that made sense. But he didn't want to stay by this young man's side. He wanted to go. To find a way around the mountain and get to his father and their excavation. He couldn't help but remember back to all the discoveries they had made together, when Carter was still so young.

"I... I don't know if I can stay here..." He whispered, lowering his head. Suddenly his eyes were beginning to water, as if he were sad for this. "I... my father... my uncle... his friends... They're waiting... They'll miss me... C-can't you... ask someone else to be your companion? I-I'm sure you have others... I mean, others you trust more. More than me. I'm just an outsider..." He sniffed, biting back a slight cry, a combined frustration, fear, worry, wonder---it was a mix of emotions, and most just wanted to get to his father.

The Goddess sighed, lying on his bed that was made from the cushions of a plane. He had the very best given to him, his followers loved him dearly. He stared up at the ceiling, even though he could see nothing. His bandages would be changed by the medicine woman every month, his sore eyes treated with a special salve she made especially for him. Though she, like all the others, believed him to be a girl. His whole life had been like this.

"You need to focus on resting. Once your strength is up, perhaps I can think about letting you leave..." he didn't want to lie to Carter, but it seemed to be the only way to console the man. "Making loved ones worry is a sad thing indeed." He rolled over so he was facing the man, hearing the High Priest lurking nearby, perhaps pretending he was cleaning the throne which was situated close to where they were.

"I'm afraid you'll have to be my companion until then, least you be wrongly accused of being a demon and executed." He heard his father growl and knew that he would be getting into a lot of trouble. Maybe that was why he wanted Carter to stay around. The things the High Priest did to punish him was terrifying.

Carter could only nod for a moment, though it took him a few more to remember that the person before him couldn't see his actions. He knew what that meant---he couldn't leave. They wouldn't let him. The High Priest---the Goddess, perhaps---had it in the minds of the people that their one and only God was sitting in a secluded, incense-perfumed cavern dozens of feet above their heads, that perhaps he controlled their lives, could foretell the crashing of new inclusions to their group, their society, cut themselves off from the modern world beyond what they carried with them and what they remembered, what they knew.

However, Carter finally got words to break free. "I get it." He sighed. For some reason, though, Carter felt that his sadness wasn't his own. Not fully. Or was he misreading something just as negative? Fear? He felt fear, but not this great. So far he was only fearing his escape---if he ever could. But there was something else. Fear, terror. Perhaps that was it, but he didn't want to acknowledge that. Perhaps it was from the Goddess. He pursed his lips, leaning forward a bit. His shoulders sagged, and he felt exhausted. He would probably have to sleep on the floor, though, and wasn't looking forward to that.

"Erm... They took my bag... It was on my back, but I think yo---erm... I think the High Priest took it... There are some things I need from it..." A thermal blanket for cool nights, painkillers for the end of a long, hard day of digging, brushing, cleaning, climbing. His change of clothes that could prove to be a relatively acceptable as a floor covering so he could sleep on the floor nearby. He remembered a bottle of water as well, a few sticks that, when cracked and shaken produce a good amount of heat that his father produced, and some tea bags, containing caffeine. A natural boost of caffeine that he would probably need for tomorrow.

'I'm afraid it has to be destroyed... As the Law is here... You are to forget about your life in civilisation, denounce your sinful ways..." he went quiet when he heard the High Priest finally leave the cave to go sleep in his separate sleeping quarters. He climbed out of bed, feeling around for the wall to support him. "Follow me, we can take it while they are all sleeping."

Barefooted, he was able to feel his way across the Inner Chamber by feel alone. Many carvings had been etched into the floors and ceilings as well as the walls, and he remembered where each and every one was situated. Some would find his powers mystical, even divine. They played one this if anyone became a non-believer. The Goddess was just had a good memory.

They finally came to a little tunnel, which led to the area where his father kept confiscated items. Much too valuable to burn, they usually used them to retain the show of him being a divine being. "Is your bag in here? Possibly in a pile closest to the entrance." He spoke in a whisper and leant on the cave's wall, tracing his fingers over the lines that apparently foretold his powers.

At first Carter's heart started thumping hard---destroyed? all his things? He was about to speak in protest until the Goddess started moving about, hands feeling in a knowing manner to lift himself up, and Carter stood, following at a respectable distance. He was sure the Goddess could sense, somehow, when someone was close, or far, perhaps. He had the standard disability of so many people in the world, but had a practiced movement. He had grown up here, after all, there was simply no denying that.

It was dark after they moved away, toward a connecting tunnel. He felt along the walls as well, but didn't know where he was going until a brighter light met them. This chamber seemed to be lit by more of those lanterns, but it gave a good amount of light to the area. He stumbled forward, to the nearest pile of luggage, satchels, bags, backpacks and cloth bundles. His bag was there, having been thrown onto the top of a pile above his head, and Carter had to reach for it, pulling it and a few others down on top of him. "Ow..." He muttered darkly, pushing the bags aside. "Why does he keep all this..." Carter inspected his bag, finding everything there, and then looked into a few others. More painkillers that looked to be prescriptions---the labels were rather worn, but he could make out a few words: "... for 10-hour pain relief..." He shoved them into his bag, feeling he might need them later, and stood, slinging it over his back.

"Thanks for... for that." He muttered, stepping around the few fallen bags and back to the Goddess. "I've got... a few sentimental things in here that I'd hate to see... gone." Those things, at least, were still in the bag as well, but he didn't dare take them out in a place like this.

The Goddess smiled, feeling his way back into the Inner Chamber and towards his bed. He was glad that his stuff was still there, glad to hear the happier tone of voice. He laid back into bed and considered where his companion would sleep. "I am sorry, but for tonight, you'll have to sleep on the floor... I'll get an extra bed up here as soon as possible," he said, suddenly feeling tired.

Even though all he did every day was sit on his throne in the darkness of his blindness, and listen to the High Priest ramble on about crazy ideas, he still found himself tired at the end of the day. He yawned and closed his eyes, even though it made no difference. "What's it like?" he asked suddenly. "The last person that came here told us about things called computers and the internet... What else has been invented, I wonder?"

"I'd like to escape this place too," he added, quietly. "To get away... But I care so much for the people to think about leaving... Also... My eyes..." He knew his way around the cave, but outside of it would be harder. He frowned.

Carter was almost glad to see the Goddess smile. Maybe because he felt as if this young man were a prisoner. Maybe his emotions were too invested in this, however, at the same time. He sat back in the chair, settling his bag beside his foot and sliding forward a little so he didn't have to raise his voice. He wanted to help the Goddess escape but Carter didn't even know his real name. If he even had one. He probably did, and if the High Priest was his father, then he would know.

"Escape... can be thought about later..." He sighed, unzipping his bag and digging through until he felt the thermal blanket. Unfolding it, he wrapped it around his shoulders to fight off the light chill in the air. "And as to what's changed... A lot. Planes are smaller, but at the same time, bigger. Bigger on the inside, so people feel more at home. Computers get smaller every month, soon I figure they'll be able to be worn like a bracelet." Perhaps he would lull the Goddess to sleep with thoughts of these strange things. They had to be strange, having been raised in such an odd place, without even conceiving the thought of electronics working the way they were supposed to. He probably didn't even know what the trees looked like. The thought saddened Carter greatly, and his voice faltered. "I... think I should... sleep..." He gathered his things, going to the foot of the bed and crouching. "I'll be here when you wake up... you don't have to worry..."

Why did Carter worry? Maybe it was in his nature. He sighed, pulling out his unworn clothing and making a small nest-like area on the floor, setting the backpack at the top to make a makeshift pillow and lying down. He huddled under the blanket, his body heat warming the floor under him slowly but surely. He laid on his back, his arms too painful to even think about rolling over on one of them, and stared at the dark ceiling. Eventually, he fell asleep, though he could almost feel the hard floor under him.