Despite this strong sense of foreboding, I still went along with the soldier, simply nodding my head along with the first part of his words. But as the silence dragged on, in tandem with me being dragged along, I couldn’t hold myself back and asked:
[Iris Sinclair]: “I-I -W-Where exactly are we going to?”
Maybe it was just something with this body, but I couldn't seem to string together my thoughts into words properly, leaving me frustrated, as despite all the questions I wanted to ask about the frankly shocking stuff he had been saying this entire time, what came out was nothing more than a pathetic mumble.
[Concerned Soldier]: “We’ll be heading about 65 kilometers north of here. There’s a military checkpoint there that is outside of the dimensional split's range. Once there, the association's people will guarantee your safety. But don’t worry, like I said before, we still have plenty of time before the rift breaks. Though I have to say, you’re really lucky. If I hadn’t come by when I did, you’d be in a lot of trouble. But seriously, no need to worry. You’re safe now. If you need anything, the association will take care of it, so don’t look so worried. But again, I can’t state this enough: next time, make sure you follow your local emergency line so you don’t put yourself in danger like this.”
Only half comprehending what had just been said, I wanted to cry out that this is clearly foul play! Isn't it only polite to at least give a warning before you dump a bunch of important-sounding nonsense on someone. I mean look, I was just told that I was right now standing in the range of some kind of dimension-rending event. Also, what even was an “Association” or a “rift”? How was he able to say all that with a straight face, why didn't he ask more questions about what a young women was doing all alone, wearing clothes stained with blood, isn't a public servant suppose to be more concerned about those types of things?
The soldier must have taken my confused contemplative state as fear or worry as he drew slightly closer as if to reassure me. Seemingly oblivious to the fact that him or, better yet, his entire world was the cause of my inner turmoil.
Not like it was his faults though as it was obvious to me that if that useless goddess had spent a little less time acting cute and a little more time explaining to me where the hell I was, then I wouldn’t have to be so shocked by every little thing that happened around me.
After a short walk, His vehicle finally came into view. And for once I actually found something new in this world to be reassuring. In front of me was a well-armored military truck. It's rough looking frame gave off an intimidatingly modern presence, which was completely mismatched with the sword clattering around on the soldier's waist.
Walking over to one of the doors, he started to insert what looked to be keys and said:
[Concerned Soldier]: “I still have to finish scouting the rest of this area. Why don’t you gather your belongings here, and I’ll come pick you up when I’m done? Just remember to only take what’s absolutely necessary. My vehicle may look spacious, but we might encounter more people like you on the way out.”
I shook my head, rejecting his offer. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe what he said, actually, it was just the opposite. I felt the urge to yell out that we shouldn’t be spending a second more in this place, and how the correct way to act in situations like these was cautiously. Besides, remembering the state of that apartment, going back there wasn’t going to do me any good anyways. I suppose I could maybe use the opportunity to rummage through my neighbors' apartments, but I wasn’t going to let one of the first acts of my rebirth be theft.
The soldier looked at me for a moment and considered something for a bit before a soft expression came over his face as he spoke.
[Concerned Soldier]: “Ah, um, I think I misspoke. What I meant to say was I need to call another unit up here to search while I evac a civilian who’s in poor condition. I really did just misspeak, so please don’t have a face like the world is about to end. Trust me, I know it’s always scary when rifts behave erratically, but we’re nowhere close to its pole. Oh, and um, my name’s Paul. Since it seemed like you were struggling a bit when you were talking to me earlier, I hope that will ease your nervousness.”
I almost felt offended at his expression. And I certainly felt offended at his choice of words. Ignoring the other dialogue of important-sounding nonsense, what was so wrong with not wanting to stand around twiddling my thumbs with some sort of impending space-time whatever hanging over our heads? Besides, he said himself that there shouldn’t have been anyone else around here, so shouldn’t we, instead of wasting time searching for people who don’t exist, go somewhere that is at least safe? Though yeah, I guess I’m being a bit selfish, but I can’t say I was in the best mindset to be looking out for others.
Seeing him still standing there, slowly turning the keys, I was about to shout to hurry up. However, before I could, he, in one surprisingly smooth motion, twisted the keys and opened both the driver’s door and the door to the back seat. In the same motion, he stepped one leg up into the vehicle and gestured for me to do the same with the passenger side.
I jumped in quickly, somewhat struggling to shut the door, which appeared to be made of thick layers of steel padded with something in between. As it closed with an unnervingly quiet thud, I was reminded of a documentary I had watched in my past life, which talked about how people in submarines felt like they were being sealed in a coffin. Thinking, I finally understood why. For despite the well-armored vehicle I was in and what seemed to be a reliable soldier driving it, I still felt increasingly nervous about everything. I mean, there was no guarantee that when we did reach our destination, everything would be okay or even normal. Hell, I might even end up in a refugee camp or worse. He said this association “would take care of everything”, but their version of that phrase and mine were bound to have very different meanings.
Still, no matter what destiny I thought up, they couldn’t compare to being abandoned in a different world by a crazy goddess. So, I guess at least things couldn’t get that much worse. Absorbed in thoughts of my future, I barely noticed as we departed the parking lot, starting our trek through the apparently empty urban landscape.
The first part of our journey was rather uneventful. My companion was too busy sending a string of reports through his radio to pay me much mind. Which was all the better for me as I feared that if he opened his mouth and said something incomprehensible again that I would never be able to recover. Instead, I had decided to focus my attention on gaining as much information about the new world as I could through the passenger window. From what I had managed to gather, the world was pretty consistent with my previous one from a technological standpoint, at least in some areas. The architecture reminded me of pictures which I had seen of the old Soviet Union. Most of the buildings were made almost the same way, and while they looked sturdy, it seems as if they were made for the sole purpose of containing people entirely without any concepts of beauty in mind. Seeing this I had also changed the way I thought about the room in which I had woken up. What I had at first assumed was simply some cheap, run-down apartment now appeared to be closer to the average for this world. It was a rather depressing thought that sat heavily with me as we continued to speed down the road.
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While smooth and almost entirely deserted, their construction had a weird temporary feeling to them. For there didn’t seem to be any concrete spillways in areas where water might collect, or any rock barriers by hills. It was as if they were built only to last a short while.
Eventually, my train of thought was diverted by my driver letting out a relieved sigh as he said a few words of confirmation to what I assumed to be his superiors before putting down the radio and speaking to me a little apologetically.
[Concerned Soldier Paul]: “I just got word that the location of the rift’s opening has been pinpointed. Lucky for you, we’re nowhere near it. But I also got reassigned to a different location, so we’ll split up once we reach the checkpoint.”
He began to trail off before quickly clarifying
[Paul]: “I’ll introduce you to my commander before I leave. He should be able to help you out, but I recommend you call some of your friends or family as soon as we have service again to help you get temporarily relocated.”
The feeling of unease, which had been rising within me, didn’t seem to dissipate even with this news. Partly because I wasn’t looking forward to trying to navigate an unfamiliar environment, but also despite the assurance that we were finally safe for the moment, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we weren’t out of harm's way yet. I began wondering if maybe my thinking had become too pessimistic recently, but I still ended up turning to face him and speaking my worries, even though I suspected it wouldn’t do any good.
[Iris Sinclair]: “Hey, um, could you please speed up a little? I’m really desperate to let my family know I’m safe, so p-please just go a bit faster.”
Predictably, I was unable to say what I wanted to clearly, and what I did say was met with a knowing nod, like I was some kid frightened of a monster under my bed, who had just asked for someone to go check. Stuffing down my humiliation, I was about to ask again, but I was cut off when he started to speak.
[Paul]: “Look, I know you're worried, I really do. But see right over there’s the checkpoint, and if I sped up now, I might start panicking them since I just radioed telling them everything was fine. What do you think would happen if we suddenly started barreling towards them?”
He let out a short laugh clearly amused at my question. Causing my embarrassment to grow even more. Before continuing much to my dismay.
[Paul]: “I understand how you feel, but everything is going to be okay, like I said, the rift was pinpointed and the association has already started to move to deal with it. This whole thing will probably be over by the time you’re able to meet up with your family.”
His nonchalant reaction only served to further increase my unease, but with the goal now in sight, I felt like he was probably right, and started to let down my guard a little bit, my thoughts once again turning to considerations of my future. Maybe there was something useful in the knowledge from my past life that I could use to impress the new world. At the very least, I bet my education would make it easier for me to get into a college. That is assuming there were colleges… As I continued half heartedly plotting ways to use my past knowledge, my train of thought was abruptly interrupted. When I was thrown against my seat belt by the vehicle coming to a screeching halt. The scene outside the car's window, which had up until a moment ago remained normal, suddenly started to warp and distort into millions of different images, all joining together into some kind of fractal plane. However, even this view only existed for a split second as light emitting an aura distressingly similar to that surrounding the rift in the sky filled the space outside. No matter where I looked it was all the same mess of beaming rainbow light .
With alarms now going off in the vehicle, I frantically turned to the only other person in the same situation as me in a vain attempt to find out what was happening .Judging his reaction only confirmed my fears further. His face was grave, lacking any of the calm complacency I had seen a moment ago . He was attempting to send some kind of code over the radio, with apparently little success, while muttering something I hardly understood.
[Paul]: “They said it wouldn’t open in this sector? Why here? Why now?”
With each passing exhalation, his voice became weaker, and the light surrounding us got closer on all sides until it was just about to touch the hood of the car. As though just remembering my existence, the soldier turned to me, his face also bending and warping along with the car. I could hardly make his figure out anymore, but I could still barely hear what he was trying to say.
[Paul]: “I’m sorry… don’t think we’ll be… making it ba..c”
I wasn't able to hear the rest of his thought as I was swallowed by the light myself. At first, my senses went dark; my body felt incredibly cold, only to be lit up with a burning sense of pain all over my body. It felt similar to when I was first transported to this world, though somehow the process felt less refined. Instead of feeling like something was entering me, I felt like it was trying to tear apart of me away. My body wouldn't move how I wanted it to, even though I wanted nothing more than to scream. But my lips wouldn't move. I tried to open my eyes to at least see what was happening, but my vision remained clouded with darkness. Everything around me felt like it was spinning, tumbling through the air. Finally, I heard the loud sound of metal crashing against something, joined with the shattering of glass. culminating in one final jolt of pain against my head, knocking me out.
I awoke with a throbbing pain in my head; my eyes were blurred from what seemed to be drops of blood and sweat. I tried to move to check my condition, but the slight movement brought about a burst of pain from my back. Still, I was able to use my arms just enough to tell they weren't broken. I struggled to force my eyes open, and what greeted me was a gruesome sight.
I was still in my seat; however, I was now looking down at the ceiling, which was covered in a combination of broken glass and dust. The before imposing vehicle was clearly crushed in several places, with every pane of glass either being shattered or cracked. The driver's side of the car seemed to be entirely smashed in, and while I was relieved not to see Paul's corpse there, judging by the state of things, even if he had survived, he might have assumed I was dead, or just not cared enough to risk his own life trying to rescue me. Either way, the state of things were just about as bad as they could get. Or at least, I thought so, but I really should have known better than to call things like this. From a distance, I heard a series of strange cries and scraping noises that were steadily getting closer. Accompanying the horrid cries was a familiar Ding from the system, showing a new line of brightly colored notifications
System>
{New Location Discovered - {undecipherable}
Map now available}
Shop now available}
[Urgent] [Primary Mission “Survive” has been updated with a failure condition. Reward increased in correlation with new difficulty] (1GP~100GP)
Looking at the cheerfully displayed messages, which only slightly obscured the scene of twisted metal, and broken glass behind them, the only thought that was left in my mind was, "I really, really wanted to punch the devil who sent me here".
. . . {Current Time until apocalypse: 326hrs, 16m, 9s}