Checkpoint

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Our vehicle came to a halt. It was a checkpoint, an entrance, with some men in uniform sitting inside the cabins, which I didn't see. I just sensed their existence around us, one of them coming over to our vehicle and examining. I continued gazing straight ahead on the large expanse of emptiness, only registering my surroundings through peripheral vision. The checkpoint was on a relatively highland compared to its surroundings. What stood behind, I had no recollection of it. I did not remember the place we were coming from. The part of the road we had just traversed laid in oblivion, in complete unknown, with no trace of it in my memory. It was strange. The only thing that existed was an elongated road stretched out before us. The height of our station afforded me an opportunity to observe the vast expanse of land ahead. An arid, desert of orange and brown hues stretched all across. With blurry, foggy impressions of mountains at the horizon all around. The road laid like a carpet for us to trudge on. It was a pristinely straight concrete road, with no turns, no curves; the only way it offered was straight ahead. It would be kilometres of distance, of complete silence. There appeared no sign of any other human settlement whatsoever. The road stood as the only evidence that humans have once been here. It did not feel safe proceeding forth into those unknown premises. It was then when conscious thoughts kicked into motion inside my head and brought me out of my reverie. Where were we heading? What was the point of this journey? The destination? The car accelerated and I felt the inertial push. Who was I with? I looked to my right...

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