Luke was late to the party.

Or, at least, that's what it felt like.

For starters, the screams in his head wouldn't let up. Men and women, young and old, fighting, dying, forced to endure the harshest of trials. Their agony echoed through every inch of his mind, like nails clawing at the inside of his skull. He had been dreaming of those screams, dreaming of running through a dark labyrinth, fighting to survive.

And then he had woken up.

Naked.

In the middle of a bustling street with passersby staring at him and pointing, some snickering, others disgusted, mothers pushing their children along before the crazy naked man could get to them. The sounds of blaring horns and traffic mixed with the hammering of construction work and the yelling of pedestrians did little to help with his awakening senses. Everything was so loud. And so bright.

Sunlight.

He hadn't seen actual sunlight in years.

"Get out of the way, asshole!"

Luke gasped as he was shouldered to a side, shoved unceremoniously against a wall and out of the way of the pedestrian ant-line that occupied most of the sidewalk.

"And put some clothes on!"

Where the hell am I?

Luke moved against the stream of pedestrians, weaving between the people as one person after the other tried to avoid him like the plague. Even more confusion set in when he finally took notice of what they were wearing, a fashion trend he had never seen before. The part of him that was still Luke Williams, firefighter and hero of the world, couldn't imagine himself dressed in anything so ridiculous.

Slipping into an alley, he quickly made his way into the shadows, trying to remain as invisible as possible until he had gathered himself completely. A sudden burst of pain raced through his head, and he fell to his knees, pressing his fists against his temples. Flashes of death and sprouting blood, mouths open in silent screams, swords slipping into skin like butter, manic laughter that promised sadistic pain. All of that played against his closed eyelids as he braced himself against the pounding in his head.

Then, just as suddenly as it had started, it was gone.

He was alone in the alley, a least for now, but people were still noticing him. It would only be a matter of time before someone called the police.

Or whatever passes for the law in this place.

He looked around the alley, trying to figure out what to do, when he caught sight of soggy boxes lined next to a large dumpster. One of the boxes had split open, and hanging down the sides were what looked like some semblance of clothes. Luke rushed over, ripped the box completely open, and started picking through the fabrics within. Silver pants made of something he could only compare to tin foil, and a shirt that looked like something a clown would frown upon, were the only garments he thought were even remotely wearable.

Within seconds he was dressed, amazed at how the clothing seemed to expand and contract around his form, hugging him tight yet comfortable at the same time. It didn't matter much that he looked absolutely ridiculous. At least he wasn't naked.

A door at the end of the alley opened, and a man stepped out, dragging a child behind him and yelling in a language unfamiliar to Luke. The child was crying, and the slaps he was getting from his captor didn't help.

"Hey!" Luke yelled. "Hey, stop that!"

"Mind your own business, jackass!"

Luke walked up to the pair, his momentary confusion and lack of bearing adding volumes to his frustration. "I said, let him go!"

Luke grabbed the man's arm, pulling it back, but suddenly felt the wind race out of him. He saw stars when a second punch landed against his jaw and sent him flying to the asphalt.

"Mind your goddamn business!" the man yelled.

Luke spat blood and pushed himself to his feet, turning around to fight back, but the man had disappeared inside and closed the door. Only the child remained, tears staining his dirty face, but his features locked in a look of utter confusion.

"Sorry, kid," Luke said, wiping the blood from his chin. "That shouldn't have happened."

And it shouldn't have.

He had trained for this. Had survived trials that had killed thousands, and had worked himself up to becoming a Champion. Had been promised that he would be Earth's salvation once he returned, a god amongst men against the evil that sought to exterminate mankind. Had been betrayed and left to rot before clawing his way back to the world of the living.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

He remembered that.

He remembered a lot of things.

He just had no idea how he had gotten here. And where the hell here was.

"You look funny, mister," the child said after a long silence, during which he was sure the boy had been sizing him up.

"Yeah," Luke replied. "A little disoriented, that's all."

"Your clothes are funny."

"I can say that about you, too."

The boy was dressed in pants that looked more like Slinkies than anything else, and a shirt with a big red face winking at Luke. The shirt changed colors as the boy moved, as if it were trying to blend in with its environment but with little success.

"You're not from around here, are you?" the boy asked.

Luke didn't answer right away, instead looking around the alley for any clue as to where he was. He shrugged. "Not really," he said. "Not sure where here is, to be honest."

"New Cape."

Luke frowned.

The boy laughed. "The capital of Gerga."

Luke only shook his head.

"You really have no idea?" the boy asked. "Where are you from?"

"I was from Connecticut."

The boy shook his head. "I don't know it."

"United States?"

At that, the boy smiled. "United States? Wow, you must have hit your head hard. There hasn't been a United States for hundreds of years."

What?

The pain hit again, this time harder, and Luke found himself dropping to his knees and leaning against the wall to support himself. He wanted to slam his head against the bricks just to make the ringing in his ears stop. A voice cut through the non-stop siren, a voice h recognized, and when it spoke, the ringing stopped.

Luke Williams, Champion

Champion Stage: Gamma Stage, level 99

Power: Beta Stage, level 20

Intelligence: Gamma Stage, level 99

Agility: Gamma Stage, level 99

Luke felt like he was swimming in and out of consciousness, the pain so excruciating he wanted to claw his eyes out.

Then it was gone.

"Are you okay, mister?"

Luke kept his eyes shut for a little longer, waiting for the world to stop spinning. When he was finally able to breathe again and calm himself down until his heart stopped slamming against his chest, he finally opened his eyes and looked at the boy.

"I'm alright," Luke said. "Like I said, disoriented."

He pushed himself to his feet and blinked several times, forcing the haze away. The stats came back to him, slowly. He was a Champion, at the final stages of the Gamma level. Then why the hell was that man able to get the better of him?

"Kid, do you know where I can get some water and maybe something to eat? I'm not feeling too good."

"Do you have your chip?"

"Chip?"

The boy sighed, as if Luke were the child, and a slow one at that. "You can't get anything without your chip. Aren't you a little old to not know that?"

Luke began to understand why the boy had probably gotten the beating in the first place. Even with tear stains and the overall look of an undernourished puppy, he was annoying enough to warrant a punch in the throat.

"No, I didn't know that," Luke said instead. "Tell you what? How about you educate me on what a chip is and why I need one while we eat something."

The boy's eyes grew wide in horror. "Are you saying you don't even have a chip?"

Luke shook his head, and frowned when the boy took several steps back. "What's wrong?"

"You're a Lukian," the boy whispered.

"I'm what?"

"A human without a chip," the boy explained, his lips suddenly quivering. "A terrorist. I'm sorry, I can't help you. I don't have anything for you. Please don't kill me."

"Kill you?" Luke took a step back and raised his hands up. "Kid, I'm not going to kill you. I can never kill a child."

"You're a Lukian," the boy repeated, crying again.

"I still have no idea what any of this means, okay?" Luke bent down to one knee, trying his best to look less imposing. "Calm down, alright? I really won't do you any harm."

The boy cowered against the closed door but at least had stopped shaking.

"Okay, now, how about we start from the beginning, alright?" Luke asked.

The boy didn't reply.

"Okay, I'll go first," Luke urged. "My name is Luke Williams, I'm thirty years – "

Luke didn't get further than that before the boy began to scream and slam his fists against the door.