He woke up in a field of grass between two hills, the sun beating down on him. He felt like he had been asleep for days as he yawned and stretched in the grass, not wanting to get up yet.

He felt strange. He seemed to remember something from his dream…something from a strange world…anger…throwing things…his mom…

“MOM!” he yelled out. Where am I? Where’s my mom?! He remembered being pulled through his wall now…it seemed like so long ago.

He jumped to his feet. He had no shoes on, only socks, tan khaki pants, and his favorite shirt: a baggy white shirt with his favorite anime character on it. “MOM, DAD!” he shouted again. But there was nothing there, nobody around. He was all alone.

He had trouble seeing far-away things and pulled his glasses from his pocket. A spiderweb-crack ran across the right lens. I guess I should’ve listened to mom about keeping them in their case.

He put them back in his pocket and looked around him. There was long grass everywhere, a large forest to his left, and a road to his right…a road!

Maverick ran as fast as he could to the road, maybe twenty yards away. His feet hurt from running over prickly things he couldn’t see in the grass, but he felt he would be safe if he could get to the road.

Then he got there. But he didn’t feel any safer. It was a weird looking road, not even made of nice even bricks but stones that didn’t fit together nicely. And it wasn’t pleasant to walk on…it was all lumpy.

Why is everything so weird here? Where am I?

His belly rumbled and he realized he was hungry. And when he realized he was hungry, it made him hungrier. But there was nowhere around him to buy food. Even if there was, he had no money and didn’t have his dad’s credit card.

So, his belly kept rumbling.

He began walking down the road in the direction away from the forest. He didn’t want to be next to that creepy thing if he was still here when it got dark.

What if I’m here when it gets dark?!

Stolen story; please report.

He had no experience outdoors. They never went camping, only hiking. They had always moved so much for his dad’s job that he could never get used to one area. And as soon as they all felt settled in an area, they moved again. He just turned ten and had lived in four different places all over the world.

And he had never cared to go camping before.

Now he wished he did. He wished he had said yes when his dad wanted to take him to the Upper Peninsula in Michigan. But he was afraid of living with the bugs and animals, so he said no.

The thought of being out here, wherever he was, in the dark and all alone frightened him more and more.

He wished he hadn’t thrown his stuff. He’d give anything right now to take it back.

And then the ground started to rumble.

A low, thundering sound that was getting louder and louder.

He looked behind him and saw people riding horses coming at him. He ran over to the side of the road and waited. There was no use in hiding, they had already seen him, and he couldn’t outrun them on their horses on this flat ground.

The man in the lead held up a fist as they got closer, causing the other riders to go from a gallop to a trot. Maverick counted them all…five total.

“Pray thee, young sire, how far to Vala Castle?” said the leader. He looked stunning—unlike anything Maverick had ever seen before. He had a long, black beard to his chest, and long, loose, flowing black hair to match. He wore black armor shined so highly that Maverick was sure he could use it as a mirror. Over his black armor was a white tunic with a strange symbol across the front colored in black and gold. Across his back was a black and gold shield with the same, strange symbol.

Maverick was so busy staring at the intimidating man on horseback that he forgot to answer.

“Boy!” one of the leader’s men said sternly, clapping his hands together. “Listen when your elders talk to ye!” He and the three other followers were dressed the same as their leader, but this one had long blonde hair and a long, brownish-blonde beard.

“I…” Maverick looked at the landscape around him. “I don’t know. I don’t even know where I am!”

“You talk strangely…what lands are you from?” the leader said with a serious look on his face.

“Um …Michigan…America…”

The leader put his hand on the hilt of his sword. “I’ve never heard of this land, and I’ve heard of most. Tell me, boy…is your land friendly to the king, or not?”

“I don’t know…we don’t really have kings where I live. But I’m sure if I met him, I could be his friend!”

The leader laughed a deep, hearty laugh. “A good enough answer for me! Give me your hand.”

Maverick stretched his arm up to him and the leader lifted him like he was nothing and swung him behind him on the horse.

“You know how to ride, yes?”

“No, sir. I’ve never ridden before.”

“It is unknown to me how you could have lived so many years without knowing how to tame and ride these great beasts, but you will soon learn. Hold on tight.”

The leader dug his heels into his horse’s hindquarters and the horse darted off down the road, quickly followed by the other three.