Chapter 3
In a lonely abandoned building in the middle of a land long-since devastated by nuclear warfare were two young men, preparing for a dangerous trek out into the unknown. They had only recently found each other, and barely know each other at all. Yet, nonetheless, they trusted each other, and decided to team up in their fight against death.
"I have been following the direction this compass points to," Swate says. "My mother told me stories about a land called the Magna. She described a compass exactly like this one which points to it."
"What is the Magna?" I ask him.
"Nobody knows," Swate explains. "That is why I am trying to find out what it is. And, hopefully, my father will be there. We were separated during the war."
"Oh, I am very sorry. But, I must ask you, what makes you think he will be waiting there?"
"My father and I thought very alike. Maybe, just like me, he is heading in the direction of the Magna too."
"Well, let's hope he does." We continue walking for a while before another thought comes up in my mind. "Wait, you have a compass as well?"
"Yes, I do," Swate answers as he pulls it out.
"Very strange," I remark. "I have one exactly like it."
"Well, I found this in the hat I am wearing."
"I found mine in my boots."
"Strange... very strange." And we continue walking in silence.
Along the way, I take out my journal and write some quick notes as we go along. We walk and walk along the highway until our legs ache with the worst amount of pain before I notice something.
"Hold on, Swate, my compass says to go left now," I say.
"My god, you're right," Swate exclaims. "We must be very near."
Excitedly, we begin walking at a faster pace. I can already feel that we are extremely close to where the Magna lies. We begin running, and gradually pick up speed until we are almost sprinting. Then-suddenly-the compasses turn around and we stop. I take a few steps back and the compass points forward again. That could only mean that this is the exact spot the compass was pointing to.
"It's... It's..." Swate stutters. "It's just f***ing DIRT!!!!!!"
"I believe it must be underground," I suggest. Swate seems a little cheered up by that, but not much. So we dig around a little, but there is still nothing but the same barren wasteland that has always surrounded us. I notice that it is beginning to get dark.
"We should make camp here," I offer. We set up a small fire and warm our hands.
"Is the Magna even real?" Swate wonders. "Was my mother just telling these stories to get my mind off my father disappearing?"
"No, no," I tell him. "Mothers do not normally do that."
"Hmm... I suppose you're right. But the compasses point here! If the Magna is real, where would it be?"
"Hm." Suddenly, a thought occurs to me. "Wait... we don't even know where we got these compasses from."
"Well, yes, but they look exactly like the one my mother described," Swate explains. "I just thought... Maybe this one actually was the one in the stories."
And that's when I find it. "My god... Swate, turn your compass around and look very carefully at it."
He does and sees the engraving. "Why... these are merely toys!"
"Exactly! This isn't the Magna because these never pointed to it!"
"But... in that case... why do we have them? And who gave it to us?"
Journal Entry
Day 25
Swate and I are heading out to find some mysterious place called the Magna. I have also learned that Swate is hoping to find his father there. He has the same compass I have, and they both point in the same direction. That's where he thinks the Magna lies. What I'm worried about is that he doesn't have a clue what the Magna even is.
We have reached where the compasses point to, but the compasses are just toys! They have been misleading us the entire time. I wonder who must've given us these compasses. Obviously they were trying to lead us away from something, and obviously they wanted us to discover these. When I found the compass in the boots I found lying next to that dead body, I just thought it used to belong to him. Now, I know better. Somebody, somewhere, wanted both Swate and I to have these compasses, and he or she wanted us to follow it. I can't think much about it, or I get a terrible feeling that spreads throughout my body. Anyway, it is time to sleep. I will continue writing tomorrow.
