WAKING UP FEELING ODDLY REFRESHED, MEMORIES OF THE LAST TWENTY FOUR HOURS FLOOD IN. MY EYES SHOOT OPEN AND I’M LAYING ON MY BACK UNDER A TREE. A TREE THAT WOULD MAKE THE GIANT SEQUOIAS FROM CALIFORNIA SEEM TINY. THE TREE IS AT LEAST SEVENTY FEET WIDE AND POTENTIALLY OVER A THOUSAND FEET TALL. IT’S HARD TO TELL BECAUSE A FEW HUNDRED FEET UP THERE’S A GIANT CANOPY OF BRANCHES BLOCKING OUT MOST OF THE LIGHT. I NOTICE THE TREE I’M UNDER ISN’T EVEN THE LARGEST ONE.
“OKAY I’M NOT IN COLORADO ANYMORE.” AND I’M ALREADY TALKING TO MYSELF. WELL ACCEPTANCE IS THE FIRST RULE OF SURVIVAL. I START GOING THROUGH THE EVENTS OF THE LAST TWENTY FOUR HOURS. GET HOME EARLY TO FIND MY WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN. GO CAMPING TO CLEAR MY HEAD THEN, DIE? A PICTURE OF MY BEAUTIFUL BROWN HAIRED BROWN EYED WIFE POPS INTO MY MIND. “MARIA” I FALL TO THE GROUND AND TEAR UP A BIT. SO I AM IN MAGARNIA, OKAY I CAN DO THIS.
STEP TWO: CHECK INVENTORY AND INJURY. LOOKING OVER MY SHIRTLESS BODY I NOTICE MY EYES ARE A BIT SHARPER AND MY MUSCLES ARE MORE DEFINED. I WAS ALWAYS IN DECENT SHAPE THANKS TO MY JOB AND RELATIVELY HEALTHY EATING. I STAND UP LOOKING AT MY CARGO PANTS AND SHOES. THE PANTS FEEL SHORTER AND TIGHTER AND THE SHOES AREN’T AS COMFORTABLE AS THEY USED TO BE. AM I TALLER? MY MIND GOES TO THE INSIDE JOKE OF MARIA AND MY JUST A HAIR UNDER SIX FEET HEIGHT. “WELL MARIA, I THINK I’M OVER SIX FEET TALL NOW.” SHAKING MY HEAD CLEAR OF THOUGHTS TO FOCUS ON THE REST OF STEP TWO.
Inventory. My paracord belt, an old family bowie knife, my car keys attached to a climbing snap hook which has the flint and steel and a small flashlight, and lastly an empty holster. “five rounds from the most powerful handgun would have been nice.” I sigh. “Okay.” Step three: Stop, think, observe, and plan. Now that I know what I’m working with I observe my surroundings really for the first time. These massive trees make a giant canopy that blocks out much of the light but it’s still just light enough to see.
Doing a three sixty while looking and listening I notice my hearing is also sharper and clearer. The canopy must be where most of life is judging by the sounds of what I would assume are bugs and birds above me and the barren ground below me. Giant dead branches the size of large trees are strewn about on the ground. I start to get light headed and I sit down as it all finally hits me. This is actually happening. “Maria, I’m sorry.”
After a minute I think. Okay enough of that, plan. Since no one is coming, staying and building a shelter is not an option. I could always go north. I look north. I freak myself out, “What the….how do I know that’s north?” It is hard to describe, I just know it is. Okay plan set. I go north until I find water or it starts getting dark which is in… I look up at the canopy seeing no sky or sun. eleven hours. Again I just know this. Before I take off north I head to the nearest dead tree branch and grab a large straighter stick to widdle into a spear/walking stick. North I go.
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Replaying the events of the last twenty four hours in my head for the dozenth time I’m feeling the initial shock wear off. So magic is in this world. My thoughts are everywhere. Do I need a wand or staff? Will I have to say an incantation or do some sort of gesture? Maybe I can just simply think it or say it. How powerful would it be? Could I fly? Maria would be freaking out right now. She read and watched tons of fantasy stuff and I only watched some of the popular stuff. Imagining Maria running around explaining things to me, showing me what to do, and casting magic puts a smile on my face.
I wish I could see or hear from her. With cell phones we simply just call or text now I’m literally worlds apart. A word pops into my head “Scry” a spell? “Scry” I say aloud. A beast growls in the distance and I take off running to the base of the nearest tree and plaster myself to it. It sounds large and aggressive and there’s more than one. Images of a t-rex pop into my head scaring me even more even though it didn’t sound like a dinosaur but it sounded that large. As the sounds disappear I finally calm down and a few minutes later start going north again.
Scry? “Scry.” Scry Maria. “Scry Maria?” After ten minutes of trying everything from using my branch as a staff to saying many variations it worked. “Scry Maria” an image pops into my head of Maria in our bed sleeping with a tear streaked face clutching our wedding picture to her chest. Falling to a knee “Maria” I whisper. “I’m sorry, I will get home to you.” I get back up and keep walking north.
After three hours of walking I haven’t seen or heard anything since the growls on the forest floor. The canopy above me is still very much alive and active. My spear turned out very nice in my opinion. The wood is very hard with a little flex. More hours of walking and trying to stay alert pass. I can’t keep random thoughts from entering my mind like. “How much oxygen do these trees provide?” “Am I on an alternate earth or a completely different planet?” “Am I in the same galaxy or universe?” "Am I the only human or is there only humans?"
Night will be here soon. I can feel the temperature start to plummet and being shirtless I’m going to need a way to stay warm tonight. More questions bombard me. What’s the elevation here? Is it early summer here also? Does this world even follow the basic science that I know? I clear my head. Shelter, fire, or both? Normally a fire makes the most sense to keep warm and keep the wildlife away but do I risk curious larger animals like the beasts I heard? No fire it is.
Looking around for a while I find a large branch that looks like it has only recently fallen down. The leaves are still green. These massive leaves will make for a nice bed and blanket so using my bowie I cut them down and make a bed and crawl up against the branch and cover myself up with the rest of the giant leaves. The forest floor comes alive at night as the canopy up top gets silent. Roars, cries, screams, and hoots are just some of the sounds I hear. This is by far the most scared I have ever been but knowing how important sleep is I close my eyes and see that image of Maria in bed clutching our wedding picture wishing I was there comforting her I slowly fall asleep.