It wasn’t that hard of a task. All I did was pass the bag. The figure peered at me with surprise. He was confused. The world seemed to spin around me, and the mere sight of the figure haunted me. His intent glare stared right at me, and he leaned in closer. His eyes bored into me.

“Where the hell did you find this!?” He asked with urgency, covering himself with his hands. “This is something that has not been discovered in over 1,000 years. It’s an Ancient piece of history that remained a mystery until now. It details the origins of our world. It details what lies beyond just the tip of the iceberg.” 

The figures eyes widened with each passing second. He stared at the piece of paper with uneven edges. It was wrinkling at the middle and it glowed with a bright dark brown color. It was visibly old and put to good use.

I stared at the paper with the same expression as him. I had only met him one other time before. He had asked me for a favor. I remember the moment like it was yesterday. 



“You need to find this. It’s been hidden for a very long time,” he explained, handing me an old photograph of a large bag with a zipper. “This was buried inside of a tree branch, and then the government hid it. They didn’t want anyone finding it, and for good reason. It detailed the creation of humanity, and that civilizations were far more advanced than we anticipated thousands of years ago.” 

“I’m confused,” I stated with a blank expression.

“Just find it. I don’t care how long it will take, just get it done,” he said. 

He was just some rando dude I found at a bar. He insisted I found it. Then he got up off the swivel chair and waved fair well to me. I never saw him again for 3 months after that. I never got his name either. He was just this mysterious guy in a black robe, concealing his face with his hood and covering his true identity. His robe was clearly very old. Small holes were scattered around the robe. He smelled of sweat and he had a strange bitter smell to him. 

I found myself back in the room. He looked at me as I sat blankly, still daydreaming about the night I met him. He finally broke the silence.

“How did you find this?” He asked.

“It was actually much simpler than I expected. I saw this strap hanging out from the ground, poorly positioned in a pile of leaves but the strap was identifiable,” I explained.

I remembered where I had found it. I don’t think I would’ve found it if I hadn’t stepped on the strap and heard the clack of a metal piece as I stepped over it. I imagined myself back in the woods, the crows screeching. I remembered how dark it was and how I found it. I felt the world closing in on me. The forest was big. I was just walking on the long gravel path, and I could feel the crunch of it as I walked. The trees were almost completely rid of their leaves. I could barely smell the stench of pine. After all, it was almost winter…He snapped me out of my imagination with a loud bang. 

His fist was on the table and he seemed to be getting anxious. 

“Hand the bag to me, now!” He screamed furiously. 

I jolted in the air. I almost fell out of my chair. I quickly handed him the bag, still covered in a thick layer of dirt. His eyes opened wider, and he moved his hands away from his face. His mouth opened to reveal several teeth that were missing. His grin opened wider and his gaze seemed to be fixated on the paper. He held out his hand. 

“Shake it,” he growled.

His hand was covered in a glove that had tiny holes all over, showing its use. His fingers were wrinkled with dust and cuts. His fingers were long and curving to the right slightly. Long black hair sprouted from the middle of his fingers, curling into a tangled ball of spaghetti. 

I slowly moved my hand out from under the table. My hand shakes and I could almost feel sweat dropping down from my palms. I clasped his hand with strength. Then he stuffed the paper into his pocket. 

“I’ll be taking this now,” he finished, zipping up the bag and then stuffing it in his other pocket. 

“What, I found it,” I returned.

He gave me a glare and then pulled out a small lighter. He lit it. Sparks ran off from the lighter before a small flame burst out. The flame waved around in a circular fashion. I peeled back my light brown hair, and felt my heart drop. 

He then proceeded to throw the lighter on the ground, the small flame touching the wooden floors. He got up off his swivel chair. His broad shoulder moved up and down. His face was covered in grime and he walked out. 

“You handed me the bag and paper without hesitation, you’re even dumber than the rest of them!” He exclaimed, waving goodbye.

I had just handed over the secrets of the world to him. I had handed him powerful information, and now I would pay the price. 

The bar erupted into flames. With every step, the floors creaked beneath him. Each step he took felt like a betrayal no one could predict. He turned around as he opened the door. He took off his hood. He was the recently escaped criminal, an assassin who turned against the government. His long black hair curled neatly behind his head and it gently waved back and forth. The light of the fire illuminated his face. The fire reflected from his eyes. What I saw was pure evil. Smoke drifted into the air and I coughed. His smile grew wider than his own face. 

Fear gripped my heart and I watched him slowly rise up into the air. He stared at me for a while. The once vibrant bar walls decorated with essentric gold framed paintings were now covered in a red substance. I looked at the unique stained glass windows, and I watched my world shatter around me. I stared at everyone’s mixed expressions. The bartender, frozen in fear, collapsed onto the ground in a swift motion. 

He pulled out a small blade. The sharp edge glimmered in the light of the flames. He gripped the handle, with paint that was peeling off. 

I realized that there was blood splattered on the blade, and it was only then that I realized that everyone else in the bar was dead…