The Enigma

by Silena Buckelew

gathering in the sights, noting that it appeared as if I were flying near the clouds and, if I looked down, was looking down upon the world.

  "When we arrived, the land was obscured by pollution, and crudely made structures humans called skyscrapers." He stated. "There were lands upon this world poisoned by forces put out by humans. We saw this, upon our world, and saw fit to cure it. Destroying humanity's current culture was necessity to separate them from reliance of the structure that we needed to rid from this world. We did so, destroyed poisonous dens humans wanted to call 'home', and cured the lands of poisonous remnants of human's attempts. Radiation, pollution, filth…we removed all it. We left what was necessary."

  He looked towards me; I turned to meet his gaze. "We left an optimal number of humans to try again. We left fragments of this fallen culture for future historical connection; perhaps for them to learn from the past and not make the same mistake. Yet, in several generations, all memory of living in that civilization will be gone. People will move on and live lives that have nothing to do with the world we just destroyed. It was necessary; you should know that."

  I shook my head, "Who…What are you? And why do you keep saying I should know?"

  "I am known as Ray and I am an Enigma." He replied to me, "And you, Riona, are an Enigma as well."

  I stepped back, "I am not!" I shouted.

  He shook his head, "Yes, you are; however, for some reason, you were not awaken the moment of our arrival. That and, unlike any other Enigma, you are female. It is probably some accident due to humans becoming so damaged. You also hold a strong attachment to humans; usually, those who are Enigma, are not very attached to their race they shared a world with."

  I shook my head and backed away, "No, you're lying." I turned to run away, yet he reached out and caught my arm.

  "You are going to help us guide these humans to the location they need be;" he stated. "Those that had been brought here, were brought here and cured of diseases they did not even know they had. They, along with the others need to be guided to 10 key locations; 500 individuals in each group, carefully divided for optimal repopulation."

  I turned my head around, glared at him, and attempted to pull out of his grip; however, the grip did not budge. "I've no intention to help you! What right have you to decide! I want it back: all of it! All the pieces of the world you destroyed; all the people you killed! What right had you to decide how humans need to be?"

  "Because you are ours." He stated. "And, if you wish to know why we were called to this location, it was because the Enigma of the world called for it. That is why I am curious to why you do not understand what is going on."

  My eyes widened in shock.

  "Something in you decided that this world was wrong." He stated. "That is why we came; the human's Enigma called to us and showed us their failure. That was you. Saying you want all of those billions of people back: do you really mean it? All of them?"

  I was left at a loss for words that moment. Part of what he was saying seemed to almost make perfect sense to me. The human world had, indeed, been in a mess, and there were a lot of very bad people who took advantage of everything and every moment they could. Yet, I still felt it was not an excuse to eradicate humanity and its culture.

  "Humanity was a poison to itself, this world, and left to its own device, it would have become a poison that would spread throughout this galaxy." He stated. "The only way to save humanity itself, humanity's future, and the areas humanity may touch was to carry out as we did."

  Ray released his hold on me and stepped back, "There is no way back from this point. Humanity must learn a new path and forget their old."

  I knew what he meant by that point. What's done was done and there was no turning back. The civilization humanity had created was gone, lost to them forever. A new culture would rise from the survivors and eventually history will become a legend and fade from memory. It was an inevitable truth of the world and of how the world would just have to accept it.

  I did not want to accept the fact nor did I want to believe what he was telling me about being this "Enigma" as he and the other Intruders were.

  "Soon," he told me, "the humans will rally and attempt to reclaim you as you are the one see as their leader. That is when you must accept your place as one of us and dictate those of humanity to their places."

  He had really told me nothing else at that point. He would lead me out of that room and to a the sitting room we had passed. I. did nothing but sit there; when he brought me someyhing to drink I continued to simply sit there in silence.

  A good while later I lay down upon the pillows that made up the seating for the room and just thought about everything he had said to me. Before much longer I must've fallen asleep there.

  I knew I had fallen asleep in the sitting room of the central building of the Enigma tower. However, when I awoke I found myself lying on a flat bed of sorts covered in a thin beige blanket. I also found that, though I had fallen asleep in my clothes that I had come there in, I was wearing only a thin black cloak robe oI f sorts. It was actually quite similar to the clothing Ray had worn only it was too big for me.

  As I pulled on the clothing I noticed that my hands looked different. My nails were longer and looked manicured. I had no idea why at first and then the thought came to me....I recalled what Ray had said to me and I recalled how all the Enigmas looked: their perfection.

  I jumped up and off the bed and searched the room for a mirror. None was mounted on the walls so I flung open the wardrobe that stood against one wall. A mirror lay inside.

  Even in the dim lit room I looked at my reflection; my hair had lightened, now a snowy blonde color; my eyes had changed from green to a ocean blue; my skin's completion had lightened and become blemish and scar free... it was like I was looking at a doll version of myself.

  I did not want to believe that Ray had been right when had said that I was an Enigma as they were. I could not believe it: I was human, all my friends were human, and all I knew were what I had learned from humans.

  I had to go; that I knew. Staying there in that place had to have changed me: I was human and could not stay there any longer...even if I had to fight my way out.

  Quickly, I rummaged through the wardrobe finding some pants, and quickly dressed myself in clothing that I would dare be able to fight in either by putting on clothing found or l, by how I did the robe, by tying it up shorter as if it were as shirt.

  Once finished I made my way to exit the room and found the doorway unlocked, and even more for that matter: without a lock at all. As I came into the hallway I found that I was on the second floor of the building of which I assumed was the central building.

  I descended the spiral staircase and down upon the first floor. My suspicion wad confirmed: I found myself in the first floor hallway of the central building. I recalled my surveillance of the place and proceeded to find my way back to the entrance.

  I was surprised you find no resistance on my way. I found the door with ease: again with no lock to keep it locked. So I exited the building. Only once I reached the outside, I stopped. Where was I going to leave to? How was I going to leave? I knew not their compound nor did I know any of their paths of entry and exit to the surface of Earth.

  It was then I was startled: Ray had quietly walked up behind me and placed a hand upon my shoulder, “As my suspicion, the humans have rallied for your return." he stated. "We are ready for you to tell them how it will go. All 5,000 humans have gathered at the location set up for them at the base of this tower."

  I turned my head sharply, “Impossible! I've only been asleep for a night."

  Ray laughed. It was the first time I had heard him laugh: he had been so serious up to that point other than the eerie smile when we first met. He patted me on the shoulder.

  "Dear Riona, you've been asleep far longer than that. I carried you to that room after you had slept for a day. Your body must have begun its a
wakening into an Enigma and refused to let you waken." he stated.

  "How long was I asleep?" I asked.

  "Three months." Ray stated.

  I stared at him in disbelief. It made no sense; I felt as if I had only slept for just a night. I would think I would feel less energetic from such a long period of inactivity. If I had really slept three months and if I truly was one of those "Enigma" people, then it would truly explain how my appearance had changed. However, I did not want to believe it.

  From what I would gather from all Ray had told me, the Enigma know that their world is rotten and seek to rectify it. I still wanted the world back. If I truly was the Enigma of the humans, then why did I first seek for it to change then so desire for nothing to ever have occurred? It made no sense to me.

  "You have two months to deal with the humans." He stated suddenly, pulling me out of my thoughts.

  I turned my head sharply, meeting his gaze, "What are you talking about?"

  "It is the job of the Enigma of the worlds on which we go to divide the inhabitants for their next try." Ray explained to me. "It is your job to go down to the humans and divide them into their groups. I have already told you that the humans need be divided into 10 groups and sent to 10 key locations." He reached into his robe and pulled out a sets of folded cloth. "Upon our arrival to this place, we re-terraformed