The Great Belligerency [Round 4: Static]

Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.

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As Cole gained his bearings, he finally took notice of the villagers.

Or rather, the lack of villagers.

He'd expected a crowded village, or at least one or two people milling about. But there were none.

If they had fled in terror upon the sight of him, they had done it both very quickly and very silently. He doubted that was the case.

Curious, he entered a nearby straw hut. Inside, three men sat on the floor, facing the center of the hut.

They're meditating, Cole realized. Perhaps the entire village is? It would explain the silence and emptiness.

He turned to leave, but then he felt himself held in place. A voice spoke in his mind.

Unknown, it said to him.

Cole found himself barely able to even think in response. All his mind could produce was a weak What?, which the voice promptly responded to.

You. Unknown.

A chorus of different voices echoed the word.

Unknown. Unknown. Unknown.

Finally, the monotony was broken by a new word from the first voice.

Destroy.

It was not a comforting change.