2 Masks of sadness

"Where the hell am I!?" He shouted on his mind, looking through the window with a dumbfounded expression

His mind tried to process any logical reason for what was happening, but no matter which line of thought Casper had, the resolution was always the same: he was in a situation that transcended logic, therefore staying still at the same place trying to find answers based on it would be a waste of time.

"If I really want to solve this problem, I must face the reality and analyze everything closely."

This, however, was harder than Casper could admit. What he saw out there... was not something to be faced so easily.

Just thinking about it made him gulp and clench his fists.

"Ok, ok..." He tried to cool up. "Calm down... You are in uncharted territory, and might still have more people like that crazy woman from a while ago out there. First of all, I need something to protect myself."

However, Casper had nothing with him that could be a good weapon. That room where he was, looked very similar to his original bedroom, but any of his belongings were there. At least, he had the clothes on his body: A necklace, a gray t-shirt, and camouflage uniform pants.

"Wait... Just the clothes on my body, huh?" He glanced at the dog tag around his neck. "if this sort of thing came with me, then..."

He reached his right hand to his waist. By the palm of his hand, he could feel the grip of his knife, which was always with him (even when he slept).

He grinned.

"It's a pity that I didn't sleep with a rifle and a Katana in my back, but this will do anyways." He shrugged.

He wished he could improvise more weapons, but he should not get out to the street with something visible and threatening.

For greater prevention, he made a sling with sheet patchwork and took the first metallic and round object he could find in the room.

"Sling ... A primitive weapon, not flashy, yet deadly. It's perfect."

Satisfied, he went out of the room, aiming to the building exit.

On the way to leave the building, he had not to find anybody. Most likely, he was in an abandoned building, since all the structure was worn and old; it looked like it would collapse at any time.

As soon as he stepped out to the street, he took a look around. That sight made him search for somewhere to support his body.

Casper was troubled, dumbfounded, even scared.

He could not believe what his eyes were showing to him.

In front of Casper, was a completely different city, in all aspects. The constructions around him had a rustic and poor look, very similar to medieval constructions; but those were made from wood and different types of metals, waste, and other varied materials.

Machines could be seen around as well. A lot of them, with different designs and functions. Some of them were in possession of the citizens, but the most were working by themselves.

Such was the varieties of machines and engineering, that most of the usual labors were not being made from human's hands, but for mechanical ones.

There were vehicles as well, many of them flyers.

It was a 90's futuristic sort of city. Most of what Casper was seeing, remembered an old movie or an iconic game he watched before. In better words, was a typical Cyberpunk (or even steampunk) scenario.

Another point that confused him, was that the streets were covered in snow, and it was snowing slightly. However, just some minutes ago, Casper was in the middle of the summer.

Although all of this was strange itself, it was not what made him the more scared.

"The buildings, the futuristic machines... Everything is so... unreal?" He could not find the right words. "But... w-what on earth happened to these people!?"

Casper looked straight to the face of someone passing close to him, walking slowly. In the citizen's face was a mask, very similar to a theater mask, rustic and made of wood. The expression of this mask was... sadness.

Everyone around him, with no exception, wore the same mask, with the same expression. However, somehow, it looked as if every mask had its own singularity. It was a strange feeling.

"What's going on? What's with these masks? Why is everyone here wearing them? And ... why they are so ... sad, desolate, and even ... even desperate?"

Casper felt something about these masks that troubled him the most. He had seen things even more creepy in his life, after all. But, still, there was a mystery involving those masks, something that made them look the worst thing. The aura around it was... evil, maybe.

Now that Casper thought about it, all the city was dipped into that aura.

A drop of sweat got down his forehead. He gulped hard and brought his trembling hand to the grip of the knife once again. It was a way to calm himself, but also to be prepared.

"It's okay. Breath deeply. I can't do anything now, instead of accepting these strange things and learn how to deal with them. I need to focus on the main goal: Gather information." He knew very well that he should not panic and mess up with everything. Casper's life was depending on his capabilities and decisions, so he must be as careful as he could.

Deciding where to go, Casper looked back and forth, right to left. He saw that he was in an elevated part of the city, some sort of a suburb. In front of him, far away to the Midwest of the city, was something looking like the city center. The constructions there were made with better materials (although the life quality still seemed to be not so good there) and had a better-looking design. More buildings could be seen there as well. The machinery seemed to be more refined and top-quality... in its own way.

The most imponent of that all, however, was a huge castle made of steel, stone, and some sort of a silver-like metal. It really stood out in comparison to the others.

"For now, I think it's better to search for answers there."

The soldier was very cautious towards the people from where he was. Everyone was strangely peeking at him, yet discreet.

Casper knew well that his clothes and looks were very different from what the local folk had, but he was not sure if they were curious about it or if it was something else.

Anyways, he would not take the risk and approach them more than necessary.

Therefore, Casper started to walk hastily, aiming to the city center.

...

Casper was trying to find his way on the streets, to be able to get at the center. He was doing his best, walking in the midwest direction without getting lost in that maze-like suburb.

Casper was still amazed, yet perturbed, because of the things he was seeing in the middle of his trip.

Some people would often look at him as if he was some kind of a rare animal species. They always stared at his face, which left Casper uncomfortable, particularly because he could not see what was their expressions behind those masks.

After nearly half an hour of walking, Casper started to feel something strange in the air. A different one from what he felt after leaving the building. This time, it was not the mask's or the city's fault.

Casper entered a bit more deeply into the city, and the more he walked into it, the more pressure he felt.

"Something is wrong. Look around." Mechanically, his mind ordered. Following the protocols he knew so well, Casper started, step by step, try to sort out what was happening.

He checked if someone was chasing after him. But he could not see anything different in the pedestrians passing around. Their actions did not fit the profile for it, and nobody changed their ways drastically when Casper did.

"Ok, no chase... But..."

Casper realized that what was going on might not have anything to do with him. Maybe, his surroundings changed at a certain point. The atmosphere got denser... But it did not mean that something was directly offering danger for him.

Instead of investigating direct danger, he tried to notice if something was happening with the citizens.

There were many people where he was. It was a very used street, for what it looked like. A few stalls selling food and other products were set on the corners. Street vendors also passed by a lot.

There were some other establishments and stores. Mixed with it, houses as well; a considerable number of them.

Because of all those factors, a lot of people walked into that street.

"That's good. The more people it has, the more chances I have to gain some hints." Casper focused and started to inspect his surroundings while walking.

As long as he noticed some details, the soldier started to worry even more.

The citizens had a strange vibe around them. An atmosphere capable of making someone feel... anxious.

Everyone was attentive to their surroundings as if something could happen at any time. People walked faster than a normal person would usually do casually.

The citizens were avoiding each other, just small groups here and there were gathered. They tried always to maintain a good distance, even though the street was not that large.

The stall owners were standing there restless, often looking side to side and acting hesitantly with their clients.

Most of the stores and other establishments were closed, and the ones that were not, started to close as soon as possible.

The same goes for the houses. Windows and doors, with no exception, were closed and probably locked.

Casper saw a woman carrying a basket of food and other goods. She went quickly, nearly running, towards her house.

She tripped on the stairs of the house's entrance and let an apple fall from the basket.

The woman opened the door, crouched down, and turned back to retrieve the apple. That was when her eyes met with Casper's.

She slowly started to get up, never stopping to stare. Her actions were careful and hesitant. The woman never avoided his eyes, until she closed the door with a loud sound and locked it. The front window was the next one.

"What I saw in her eyes just now could be... fear?" He wondered, with his heart beating fast. "But, what is it, that everyone around me is so anxious and scared about?"

In the small and suspicious-looking groups that were gathered, whispers could be heard. They stopped talking whenever someone got close to them or when they noticed that their voices had become louder than they should.

There were some of these groups scattered around, usually hiding in an alley, behind the stalls, or somewhere with less illumination. Some of them would even enter houses to have more privacy.

"It doesn't look like gossip to me..." Casper stared at a group hidden in the shadows, conversing with serious eyes behind the masks. They did a strange signal to one of the guards passing by the streets.

There was sort of guards in there like any other city would have. They had strange accessories and weapons equipped, and a uniform that was distinct from the rustic garments of citizens, with a symbol of several triangles joined drawn on the chest. In their backs, a single-edged battle-ax, that looked modified with technologies on it.

That guard in specific was with a backpack as well.

The guard repeated quietly the signal with his hands and approached them. Waiting for his comrades to walk a little more and stop spotting them. He took out the backpack, giving it to the suspicious group. After this, received another, very similar to the original.

Doing the signal again and waving with his head, he split from the group and headed with the other guards again.

"Yeah, it's not gossip..." Casper tensed his jaw, glancing at the group. "They are... conspiring...?"

He approached more, little by little, without doing any noise or exaggerated movements.

"So, in the main avenue..."

"They said it would be the last time..."

"The district flag will burn..."

He could overhear some of the whisperings.

The group was about to open the bag and look inside of it, but one of them looked directly to Casper and pointed to him disguisedly with his chin.

The others stared with cold eyes to the soldier, who returned, unshakable.

They walked more into the shadows of an alley, disappearing from view.

"I dunno what's going on, but there has to be something about this main avenue..." Casper looked around. "Before, I saw a large street full of vehicles and people in somewhere around the castle, or on the way to the castle. Maybe I should keep the same route I am doing now and see if I can reach this avenue..."

With that, Casper continued on his way, heading to the castle, with a serious expression and his mind on alert.