A steady yet gentle breeze traveled across the green, sprawling plains, carrying with it the scents of earth and various wildflowers, which swayed cheerfully in the winds. Birds soar overhead, fluttering underneath the white, fluffy clouds. The sun gleamed down brightly, its heat dispersed by the flowing wind, making for a blissfully pleasant atmosphere.
Lightly rolling hills spread out in all directions as far as the eye could see. In the distance, the heads of mountains could just barely be made out. Light vegetation abounded, but the land was largely absent of trees, the few of which were of small stature, and spread out far and in between.
A peal of thunder rumbled across the meadows, and the blue skies appeared to have lost their color in an instant. Multitudes of dark clouds formed, flashing briefly as they expanded angrily, crackling with power as if they would burst at any moment.
The playful breeze became a wrathful squall. Tall grasses and other vegetation were being whipped by the winds, and the plants which were not well rooted were pulled up from the earth and cast into the air. Twigs and flower petals alike were thrown about.
Clouds began to join together in a spinning vortex of violence, forming a cone-like shape that slowly descended, reaching the earth.
A bolt of lightning split the sky with a blinding flash and a thunderous roar, casting sparks and embers, earth and stone into the distance. And as swiftly as it had come, the storm had gone, and everything was still.
The next thing he knew, Wil was standing amidst an open plain. Smooth grasslands stretched out in every direction. A light breeze played against his skin, finding its way through his thick, shoulder-length red hair.
"What's this?" He muttered to himself, an unfortunate habit he had developed throughout his solitary lifestyle. His mind felt foggy, a sensation similar to have just woken up. And yet he was standing, and not only was he standing, he was standing outdoors, with an unfamiliar landscape before him. His mind raced to make sense of what he was seeing, attempting to pull together theories to explain what was happening. He tried to identify landmarks, but the only visual markers he could make out was the chain of mountains in the far distance, and they did not appear to be one of those he was familiar with. Without clues to his whereabouts, he gave up on that front.
Instead, he turned his investigation to the "how" and "why" of his situation. The organization hadn't given any signs that they were unsatisfied with his performance, although to be honest, they weren't the type of organization to give warnings. As far as he knew, he had been fulfilling his duties optimally.
Closing his eyes, he attempted to trace back his memories up to this point. He remembered waking in the morning, taking a quick bite to eat, and then-
It seemed that was as far back as he could go. Any more and his mind felt too foggy to think straight. His eyes snapped open. Had he been drugged? It was a curious thought, but other than his memory, he felt perfectly normal. No, that wasn't quite right. He felt good. A little too good.
Rotating his arms several times as he paced back and forth, he came to the realization that his body felt quite light and, without a better word to describe it, "peaceful". He hadn't felt like this in a long time. He was quite accustomed to regular soreness, muscle aches, and a strange "heavy" feeling, as if he was always carrying a sack of bricks around with him. He had learned to live with those symptoms of his condition for the majority of his life, and for them to be absent was more than suspicious. He crouched low to the ground and stretched his legs, and as he did so, realized that the ground he was standing on was scorched black in a circular pattern. In the center, the blackened earth was completely barren, yet the rest was mostly covered in ash or partially burnt grass. He breathed in deeply through his nostrils. Aside from the surprising clean air, the smell of burnt grass and dirt was heavy in the air. It seemed freshly burnt, yet not a single ember could be found, only ashen remains.
He sighed. So far, nothing was making much sense to him. Perhaps he was dreaming? He reached into his jacket for his phone. Nothing. He swiftly rooted through the remainder of his pockets. All empty. His wallet was missing as well. Even his eyeglasses were gone, though he typically only wore them when driving.
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Straightening his jacket, he turned to the direction of the distant mountains. First things first, he should try to make contact with other people or civilization, and from there, figure out where he is. It made more sense to follow the mountain chain than to wander aimlessly through the grasslands. As for how far away the mountains actually were, he couldn't say. The plains continued over the horizon, and the mountains peeked out from beyond the distant line.
As he went on his way, he continued to wonder and theorize about his situation. It wasn't unheard of for the organization to suddenly incite incidents for the purpose of testing the loyalty of their associates. Perhaps this was something along those lines. He was thankful at least that whoever had left him in this position at least had the decently to leave him with the clothes on his back.
He wasn't particularly dressed for the outdoors or a long trek. His casual clothing was more along the lines of what he would don for a night out on the city. His entire outfit carried a dark red and black theme, as did most of his wardrobe. Red was simply his style. Wine red slacks, and a similarly colored casual shirt fit tightly about his torso to accent his moderately slim build and modest muscles. Over that he was wearing a cherry red sports coat covered in black, waved patterns. Contrary to the rest of his outfits, on his feet he simply walked in sneakers of complimentary red and black. In this situation, he found it luckily convenient that he didn't tend to wear nice shoes except in the appropriate situations. It that had not been the case, walking these kinds of distances would have been hell on his feet. While his outfit might appear as a bit flamboyant or exaggerated, they were actually composed of experimental materials handled only within the organization.
Wil wasn't sure how long or far he had walked, but as the sun dropped lower and the sky turned a deep orange, he made for the nearest tree and dropped down onto the ground beside it. Aside from the birds and some passive insects, he hadn't noticed any animals. It was a little odd, but at least he didn't need to deal with any carnivores so far. Taking on a larger animal without a weapon would be highly dangerous. Coming out unscathed was near impossible due to the ferocity with which they used teeth and claws.
Pondering these things, he stood back up and began to feel about the body of the tree. It was a shame to damage such a small tree, but at the time being, his own safety was the highest priority. Finding a branch that fit well in his hands, he braced himself on the ground as he gripped tightly. The limb cracked loudly as it snapped. It was a moderately clean break. He swung it through the air several times, becoming accustomed to its weight. Better than nothing. If he had a stone, he could have sharpened an end into a point, carving it into a makeshift spear. For now, however, nothing but pebbles littered the grassy earth.
A weak gurgle sounded from his stomach. He had been walking for quite some time, so of course he would be getting hungry. An insect buzzed by his face, as if teasing him. He groaned inwardly. Even out in the field, where simple food was not easily acquired, eating bugs really wasn't his thing. He would not eat bugs unless he absolutely had no other choice. For the time being, he pulled up a few edible grasses, rolled them into a ball, and tossed it into his mouth. He froze mid-chew. The grass actually had a very faint sweetness to it. He decided against spitting it out. As far as he knew, that type of grass should have had a pasty, lettuce-like flavor. Could it be because of how clean the area's environment was? Either way, if it turned out to be inedible, it would simply be a lesson learned. Often times, an operative would be required to make sudden quick decisions based on nothing but instinct, and simply deal with whatever consequences arose as they came. For now, he had to conserve his strength. While he didn't necessarily need to eat anything right away, he would need to find some water soon. He could function properly without food for a long time, but hydration was something he absolutely could not put on hold. Still chewing on the grasses, he set out once again.