Lunacy- Answers?

Aaron Bilek

I could not contain my excitement. All of my colleagues ridiculed me for even considering taking on this quest, and the knowledge that I was the correct one was enough to keep my spirits up the entire trip home. Not once did I remove the cloak, not that there was any need to. The external temperature, no matter how hot, couldn’t affect the internal temperature, which kept me cool. The curious thing is, that when I asked a few people how I looked in my new attire, all I got was quizzical looks, as if they didn’t notice anything besides my clothes. I didn’t pay too much attention to them and decided to research the cloak some more when I arrive at my apartment. 
I hailed a taxi from the airport and gave him my address. As a test, I inquired about how my cloak looked on me. The driver just smiled and rose the barrier between us. He wouldn’t speak to me the rest of the trip and didn’t stay long enough to accept my fare.I filed the information in my head and made my way up to my home sweet home, apartment 523. Due to the age of the building, every step I took creaked under my weight. I reached my floor and headed to my door. Halfway down the hallway, I heard movement from behind me and wildly spun around. My face flushed with embarrassment when I realized that it was just my elderly neighbor Arty. he flashed a smile and complimented me on my new cape. It was my turn to be quizzical since nobody else seemed to even acknowledge its presence. I told myself I’d talk to him about it later, since now, I was starving. My door yielded easily, and after locking it behind me, I rushed to my kitchen and prepared a feast, for after all those meals I had skipped on my adventure, I had worked up quite an appetite. After consuming most of the food I had stored, I grabbed a final sandwich and sat down at my desk. I opened my aged laptop and considered applicable keywords for a search. After all, my journey wasn’t over with the discovery of my childhood goal, it went much deeper than that. I had to know why.
 Why was the cloak just left there? Why did I create a map during my blackout? The list went on and on. The details of my search online isn’t important, but what I learned was. Long ago, when humans were still in a hunter-gatherer society, an internet conspiracy stated that extraterrestrial beings brought technology and knowledge to the human race in order to further our advancements. once humans had built up enough power however, they wiped out the aliens and stole items of power from them. The humans built secluded shrines to these relics and the shrines were lost through time and war.
 Now, I’m not one to follow silly stories written by silly people, but when I read this one, I had a gut feeling that this was the closest thing that I would find to the truth. I wanted to venture further, however the pocket of my jeans spontaneously burst into flame. I ran into my shower and hopped in whilst turning on the cold water. The flames subsided, but the searing heat remained in place. After about ten minutes of residing underneath my shower fully clothed, the heat dissipated. I limped back over to my desk. Suddenly, I remembered what I had stored in my jeans pocket. I shoved my hand inside to see if I could find any remnants of the map that resided there. 
Expecting the worst, I found a paper fragment. Except it wasn’t just a fragment. The entire map was still intact somehow.  I was baffled. Even more baffling was that once the map was unfolded, it was an entirely different map than what was once there. instead of a chart ringed with symbols, this version of the “map” featured a list of what I soon translated to be coordinates. I sat in stunned silence at yet another miracle until there was a knock at my door. Shaking my head, but still in disbelief, I rose and headed towards the doorway. I peered through the lens to the hallway, but it was void of any life
 After I opened the door and confirmed my suspicions, I turned around, ready to go back from whence I came. Fortunately, I was looking at the floor, for if I wasn’t, I would have missed the white envelope resting there. I picked it up and my heart skipped a beat when I saw that the language written on the envelope was identical to the language on the map. I opened it warily and pulled the note out of its case. The note boasted the same language as the envelope and the map, so I sat down and translated another shock of a lifetime.

    Mack-
        It’s time you knew. After all, you have claimed your first artifact and I feel the
    ground shudder as the wheels you have set in motion roll. That cloak of yours, yes I
    can see it, triggered a countdown once it was removed from its resting place. This
    countdown ticks down to the release of an evil beast, one held captive by the magic of
    all items similar to your cloak. The only way to defeat this beast now is to collect and
    master the rest of the items. Your map should show you the way. I’ve kept an eye on you
    since your childhood, and I made sure that that map was ingrained into your life. The
    blackout was an unfortunate side effect of the bonding process, but it worked in my
    favor. You, and you alone, have been chosen to access the knowledge of the stars and
    unite the items to destroy the beast. Best of luck, we’re all counting on you.
                       
                                -Artemis “Arty” O’ryan

A countdown? My map? The beast? This answered many questions, but left many more in its wake. I sighed and re-packed my bags, for this was a journey that needed all the time I could give it. The only was I could figure out more was through experience. And boy, this journey, and epic journey, that will last throughout the ages, well, it’s just beginning.