They had only been on this strange world for ten years and yet it felt like an eternity. He, along with so many others, had been part of a group seeking a new home. Forty-seven ships strong they had set out, barely escaping the sun as it went supernova. All had gone well until they had entered this area of space. No one knew what happened or what caused the hyper drives of all the vessels to fail in rapid succession, one right after another.
They had been dragged back into real space so close to an utterly bizarre and strange phenomenon that they barely had time to realize that it looked like nothing more than a colossal flat surface drifting in space. Seconds later, they had their hands full as they crash-landed on the bizarre world, struggling just to survive the crash, let alone figure out where they were or what had just happened.
And when they emerged from that crash it was as if ancient lore had come to life as they found themselves on a world that truly was flat instead of round. Strange buildings rested on massive metal columns shaped like giant balls, resting at about a hundred feet above a surface that seemed to be made of ordinary dirt. The surrounding area was filled with wild trees bearing strange fruit of the likes they had never seen. Each group of twenty buildings was separated by an unknown force field, like blocks on a grid, enclosed along the outermost edge by a similar field that though unrelenting to touch was nearly transparent.
The sky was that of the vastness of space instead of the familiar blue of their original home world. It was a wonder to behold, coexisting with space when the laws of the universe as they understood it indicated that such a place could not exist. What appeared to be a sun rose and set, seasons came and went, food was plentiful, growing quickly and natively and people could travel between all but the outermost barrier at certain points. Upon realizing that their ships would never fly again, they had settled into their new home and way of life. There was more than enough room for all of them and though it was not what they would have chosen, they accepted it.
The buildings had all that they needed to produce clothing as well as other basic necessities and even the seasons were mild. At night the view with no moon was breathtaking with all the stars filling the sky and, for the most part, people were content.
That is, until the rains came. Each month for two days it would rain without stop. The crops were not affected and the timing was not precise. Sometimes it was only three weeks apart while other times it was as long as six weeks. But each and every time it was quick and sudden, taking those who were out in the fields and traveling between sections by surprise. Within moments people would vanish, stepping though large puddles while racing for cover only to be pulled under and never seen again.
At first it was thought that they had drowned, but in ten years not one body had been found. Time and time again, the moment the rains had stopped and the water dried up, no amount of digging had ever found any bodies. Each and every futile attempt had resulted in hitting the same barrier that separated the sections after a certain depth was reached, and like the outermost barrier it too was unrelenting and unmoving.
