Chapter One – Within Sight
It was strange.
The sudden sense of shock and fear, the sensation of the impact; the horror and disgust, and then nothing: one moment I was dying and the next I was hanging in a tree. If anything could be counted as strange that could. And if you traced back all the strange events that followed afterwards they all came back to this one single impossibility. It was at that moment my conception of 'common sense began to unravel.
It shook my bones. The impact sent a jolt through my chest beating at my heart as if it demanded entry; the truck tumbled from the eaves dragging leaves and branches down with it. The back of the vehicle rammed the earth leaving me clutching at my seatbelt for support as the truck slowly tipped forwards landing safely on the loam conducting a shock wave up my spine. A dull agonising pain clawed at me as I stared ahead at the wall of trees in front expression blank slowly gasping for breath. And ever so slowly my grip relented leaving me upended staring at the sky where those winged lizards wheeled above each the size of a small car.
It was impossible whatever this was it was impossible! My hands began to shake and my legs trembled as I fought to free myself from the seatbelt wrapped about my chest, the normally stiff apparatus coming free with ease... That wasn't normal, the seatbelt always jammed, and even if it wasn't jammed it would remain as stiff worn by time and age. I turned my eyes about myself glancing around the truck my eyes focusing on the windshield keeping the world above at bay. Not that there was anything special about the glass, it was the same as it had always been and that was where the issue lay. The glass had shattered during the crash I remembered that much, the bonnet of the truck had crumpled, and the off white coating of paint covering the chassis had been flecked with blood and gore. At least it had been. It was almost like the truck was brand new, the windows were fixed, the bonnet unbent and the paint job gleaming with a fine lustre, even the old coffee stain that had plagued the dashboard since before I had taken the role as driver had vanished. And along with all the rest Julia was missing as well...
And that was when I began to panic.
"Julia!" I screamed throwing aside my confusion and dragging open the door. She had to be around here somewhere she had been with me during the crash so of course she would have been somewhere nearby. Ha who was I kidding; what was the point in using logic in a situation like this? I didn't know where I was or what I was doing. Still confusion and desperation pushed me to act as I cast my eyes about the forest within which I had landed. It was a dark place; a wooded place where the light broke the canopy sporadically and pierced the leaves to drive away the dark although I currently stood at the edge of a bright glade of green grass. Still it was an unnerving place: but one that held less fear than the panic that was currently coursing through my veins. "Julia, where are you; come out and I'll give you a treat!" My voice gave a quavering laugh before behind me a heavy thud shook the earth. The vibration coursed through the souls of my feet as I stood stock still, glancing up towards the blue sky above for a brief moment before staring back down to my feet. Intuition told me what was waiting behind me, and for once I had the good sense to listen. I trudged in silence creeping ever closer to the safety of the truck I had left moments earlier, a pair of eerie eyes following my every move. I refused to look, you don't look wild animal in the eyes, that's just good advice, especially if said animal is an ambush predator. Of course I don't think dragons count as ambush predators.
I leapt forwards hurling myself towards the door that I had wisely and hastily left open landing in the truck before closing the door tight behind me, a loud bag sounding through the glade bringing the second dragon down alongside the first, and atop the truck.
The metal framework of the truck groaned as the five ton lizard roamed slowly atop the vehicle as I struggled to grasp my seat belt slamming it home before curling into a foetal position; feet on the seat; hands about my head staring wide eyed out the window as a pair of green orbs slowly slipped into view. Dragons, bloody dragons, with bloody horns and teeth and scales and everything right there beyond the glass. And they were attacking my truck; it had finally happened I'd had the mental breakdown everyone said was coming. I had been shipped off to a mental institution after I had hit that Chinese kid in the road. It must have been the guilt, the guilt had driven me off the deep end; and this dragon was meant to represent the punishment I wished to inflict upon myself... Actually no matter how I thought about it that was ridiculous.
The dragon exhaled sending a column of smoke from its nostrils clouding the windshield. It huffed dragging itself down and sliding off the ground of the truck to rest before the windscreen, massive head the size of a boulder turning round to pin me in place. The dragon's scales were green, a solid verdant green like that of oak-leaves or damp moss, it's underbelly a marble white, and its teeth like ivory the tips coloured black as if with ink protruding from its jaws wild and misshapen aligning with the vicious scars that ran along its rounded snout as a mantle of horns grazed against the glass-windscreen eliciting a screech that pierced the ears and sent a chill strait down my soul. The dragon shook its head its horn impacting the glass as the first, the one that had landed behind me dragon slunk its way through the grass, a long slender body coming into view. But unlike it's bulky compatriot this dragon was blue and holding an appearance more in line with that a rat than any reptile, supporting itself on its wings, a slender pointed head covered in small bony nubs and thin yellow eyes the shade of yellow snow four of them two either side of its head. I swallowed hard attempting to hold my fear. The two creatures glaring towards me through the glass with eyes that told of hunger, anger and vengeance; and I knew in that moment I was going to die. The green dragon reared up onto stubby legs head held high, a hellish flame, burning bright green within its open maw. I was going to die! The Idea was growing ever clearer in my mind and all I could do was staring wide eyed at my impending doom. The dragon leaned forwards its skull igniting with green flames that spilled and clung to the truck as it teetered there. For a brief moment everything was still before the dragon tumbled forwards ramming its' jaw down into the bonnet of the truck. The vehicle tipped upwards the front bumper pressed to the earth the suspension screaming; straining to remain intact before the truck fell backwards the dragon pulling its head away. And despite the awful force the hood remained unscathed... Ah, things just seemed to be making less and less sense around here. The dragon reared back again skull still burning with that green flame, my stomach churned - it didn't seem like this was going to end anytime soon. The green dragon careened forwards and slammed its jaw into the truck causing the vehicle to Buck once more, all while I continued to cry head held in my hands muttering in short bursts prayers to keep the beasts at bay. The dragon impacted the windshield a wave of green flames engulfing the truck before knocking it back a step as I cowered my heart racing in my chest, weak and light almost so fast that the multitude of beasts seemed to blend into one single palpitation, as a heavy thud resounded through the air.
Six times the dragon rammed the truck, its iron skull meeting the thin sheets of steel unable to leave so much as a dent against the vehicle before at last the green dragon collapsed trudging away to lie within the grass it's head still smouldering leaving me to face it's blue compatriot. The lizard almost seemed to smile as it approached slinking across the forest before mounting the bonnet and pressing its face against the glass. I remained crouched where I was waiting to see what would happen next and hoping against hope I would survive this truly, utterly, inexorably hopeless situation. Ha! That didn't seem likely: I was going to die! And that was when a sudden wave of vertigo assailed me.
The Truck moved, just an inch at first but that inch was enough to break the bonds of gravity: an inch became a metre, and one metre became ten the truck slowly rising higher and higher into the sky. A cold wind rushing in as I sat staring at the world about me, this strange world I didn't quite understand; the mountain range to my left the open plains to my right and the band of forests that divided the two. The winds blew in and chilled me to my core as in that moment the last ember of hope carried within my soul died, faded and were no more. Well at least I would have a beautiful parting view. The journey didn't stop, not until I had reached at least a-hundred feet above the waiting earth. Well maybe it wasn't Earth after all.
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It was hard to describe what happened next, I remember a brief moment weightlessness, the sensation of the force pulling me upwards vanishing as before I knew it I was hurtling downwards my stomach rising up into my throat.
it was horrifying, the movement of my body, it was like my organs were being shuffled pushed upwards into my head, I couldn't speak my scream died about me, tears streaming up my face; I wailed like a newborn; I didn't want to die; I really didn't. Of course the fall had nothing on the impact... It travelled upwards through my feet, into my guts and reverberated within my soul releasing a pure and honest peel from my heart, as a haltering screech died in my lips the sound finally reaching my ears growing thin as I ran out of breath... and then unable to take any more, I passed out.
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My body rushed forward of its own accord stirred from a deep sleep brought on by fear. It was surprising, relieving and terrifying all at the same time the simple fact that I was alive. In the end I was unable to stop myself from rushing forwards head colliding with the steering wheel, a good amount of sense and nonsense knocked clear out of my cranium. Which was in all honesty; something I desperately needed.
"What's going on?" I mumbled eyes drifting about panicked, "what happened with the dragons?" The dull question was answered with clarity upon looking out the window. The woodland glade had been scorched, the grass was black and had been turned over here and there great gashes clawing out the soil, multiple craters left by the impact the truck had made within the dirt remained, which probably explained why my current view of said glade was at an abnormal angle. The truck had collapsed against a tree and was now leaned to the left-hand side. I stared hard for a long moment trying to understand what was going on looking up to find the clear sky having grown slightly dull, turning to a purplish haze as the last light of the far east began to die sinking beneath the border of the day and plunging the world into night.
For a moment I sat still, breath held tight within my lungs, refusing to let it escape me, as I tried to process exactly what had happened; the bizarre, mysterious and ridiculous events that had led me to whatever this was.
First I hit some oriental kid with my truck and crashed into a storefront. Second I found myself and my truck hanging in a tree, and then I fell. Third I was attacked by a pair of dragons: flying, fire breathing, man eating dragons and I came out unharmed... Was it just more or had things been escalating for a while now. Well insane or otherwise I was going to have to deal with the current situation. Which right not meant that I was going to have to right the truck, of course to do that I was going to have to get out of the truck, outside where the dragons were... Okay, now I really did sound crazy.
Of course if I didn't get out of the truck there was no chance of me ever seeing Julia again. She had to be around here somewhere. And if that was the case I couldn't just sit around twiddling my thumbs. I took in a deep breath before muttering to myself beneath my breath steeling what few frayed nerves I had left "once more unto the breach." And with that I released my seatbelt, and tumbled sideways into the closed doors. I hadn't really thought that through. By that point I'd gotten tired of randomly crashing into things already; it was quickly becoming a habit - and one I wanted no part in.
A few moments later I found myself stood once more on my own two feet safe upon solid ground, safe at last. I glanced upwards briefly to the darkening sky above, it didn't seem like there were any dragons nearby. Still caution was the greatest defence. Well with the truck in the position it was currently in, if I unloaded all of the gear in the back then I would probably be able to push it upright again. Normally that wouldn't be an issue, the boxes of spare parts, laptops and computers I usually delivered could just be carried out by hand. Of course the supercomputer currently loaded in the rear was a different matter, there was a good chance I'd need a forklift for that, and currently I didn't have one on tap. Well it was best to check anyway, maybe there was something I could do. Worst came to worse I could just take the thing to pieces and carry it out like that. I nodded to myself reaching deep into my pocket fumbling about for the keys a strange warm sensation reaching my finger tips. It felt like leather. Maybe I'd left my wallet inside. I reached down to check the back pocket of my pants; nope my wallet was accounted for though it did feel bizarrely lumpy. I sighed and reached back down into my coat pocket and removed the offending object.
It was a leather bound book.
The pages were yellowed with age, spots of ink splattered here and there the book’s title written with steel characters secured to the cover on the front of the book; A mages guide to daily life... And back it went.
I had enough to deal with as is; more than enough! I grabbed my keys and continued on my previous course. Undid the lock sealing the rear of the truck and throwing the shutter upwards to let in the light and let out the dust. Stagnant air assailed me from within, along with the image of what lay piled in the back of my truck. Well there was no way I was going to deal with that. And yet again there was another impossible thing I had to deal with. Whoever was responsible for this scenario was going to suffer.
Well for now I was just going to try and right the truck as it was, if that didn't work was going to have to deal with this new issue. I sighed taking a proper position besides the truck plating my feet by the roots of the tree upon which it was leaning and pushed for all I was worth. My bones ground, wrenched and screamed, a slight sweating forming on my forehead before with a final push the truck was righted tumbling sideways and shaking as it settled on its tires. For now I just needed to get to sleep, I couldn't deal with anything else; exhaustion was an adversary I was far too familiar with. Come morning I was going to look for Julia and when I found her maybe then I could answer the mind numbing questions currently rattling about within my head; gnawing at my skull.
Of course things couldn't be that easy; sleep just wouldn't come. The night was dark a slow slinking thing that crawled its way towards the dawn. Sleep evaded me, the darkness dragging on, as I lay across the seats head placed against an arm rest the doors shut tight, one window rolled down but a fraction of an inch to let the chill air in and keep me from suffocating. A single light shone above, mounted on the headboard sending down orange rays which provided me barely enough illumination to read. I would probably pass out from a mix of exhaustion and sleep deprivation sometime soon; I was just going to get the next few chapters finished first. I glanced timid to the clock resting in the dashboard, if I went by it then it was currently Eleven P.M, It was kind of hard to believe it was still the same day.
I needed to sleep so come morning I could begin my search for Julia; the sooner I found her the sooner I could answer my other questions.
And until I slept I was going to focus myself on the world printed in black and white before me.
Just keep walking no matter the cost, no matter what it is that lies ahead; keep marching along until you reach the journeys end. The path may be twisted and bent, or you may have no path at all; but if you kept walking eventually you'd get where you needed to go. The only inconstant was time. A good solid message, printed on the page. I smiled briefly; really there was no better time for those words.
I released a heavy breath turning the page. I really did need to sleep; and sleep properly, I didn't know what would happen tomorrow; I didn't know what the dawn would bring. I had already survived a car crash, a fall from a tree and an attack by dragons and it was only my first day wherever this place was. Hopefully this was all a dream and tomorrow I would wake up safe and sound in a hospital bed. Well calling that hopeful seemed a little strange. I shook my head clearing away the random thoughts. I slammed the book down and switched off the light folding my hands over my chest. If dragons couldn't get in the truck then it was doubtful anything else could, I just needed to sleep.
The light faded and vanished disappearing into the night as I waited blankly for sleep to claim his dues as a flicker of colour split the night and was painted on the ceiling. I blinked it away a mere figment of my imagination and refocused myself on slumber. But the light came again it flickered once more before vanishing, but this time clearer and brighter; no mere delusion. The burning of that artificial dawn grew ever more frequent, and it grew brighter, and it grew closer by the second. I moved slowly within the darkness crouching low and glancing out through the window towards the lantern swaying in the distance. Well it looked like a lantern. Although the flame seemed abnormally bright, almost like a light bulb for its colour and intensity, it shone and flickered slightly swaying back and forth within the glass, reflective rays bouncing off the brass casing. The light seeming to disguise the one who carried it in darkness. My eyes adjusting slowly to the light as the individual drew closer, but I felt sure it was human or at least something similar. Yeah it was a human that was clear enough as it held the lantern up towards its face, mouthing words into the night. A child, of seven or eight years standing there alone drenched in darkness only his face visible. I moved forwards pushing the door aside, opening it by a hairs breadth to let in the sound, soft words drifting in on a harsh wind.
"So we meet once again, Truck-Kun."