The first thing he noticed when he woke up was that he was on his back and that the ground wasn’t as uncomfortable as it was before. Second thing he noticed was that he was once again able to control his eyesight, as evident by the rapid blinking campaign he immediately embarked upon. The repeated motion quickly reunited him with two other bodily sensations, namely dizziness and headache. But it was a fair price to pay. After all, he had to make sure that he was truly able to control his eyes, or did that count as only his eyelids? No… he was able to move his eyes as well.

From his disadvantaged point of view, he was only able to see a white ceiling with the same color lights accompanying it. So, in order to acquire more information, from which he’d hopefully be able to extrapolate as to his whereabouts, Sam set out to try moving his head. Unfortunately, moving his head proved to be a harder challenge than opening and closing his eyelids and he was only able to pivot by a tiny degree.

“Whoa, easy there. Easy. You've been out cold a couple of minutes now,” said a voice to his left.

“Javi?” Sam asked, hoping to god that he put the right name to the right voice and that he had, in fact, remembered the name right.

“Yeah. Guess you were able to hear what was going on.” I got it right. Thank god! “Although, if I were to venture a guess, not so much for the last half an hour?”

“Yeah, I guess you could say that. Lost consciousness. Last thing I heard before waking up is you saying something about something not making any sense. Does that make any sense?” Funnily enough, it was only at that point that Sam realized that he regained his ability to speak. A change which meant a net loss for the entirety of existence, even for him. People always liked him a hell of a lot less after he opened his mouth.

“Yeah… that makes sense. Hm… So how to explain what happened to you?”

“You’re asking me?”

“No! No, of course not. I’m just… trying to find the right words… out loud. In short, what happened to you is that you were returned without a core, somehow. So when your body was in the process of forming its core, it caused the magic inside of it to go haywire, and you to lose consciousness. I pretty much had to supplement your body with magic because all of yours was flowing to your core.”

“Look, I have no idea what any of these means.”

“Oh, yeah, sure. OK… so when a core forms, it does so by condensing all the, up to now, free flowing magic inside of the embryo. At least that’s how we think that it works. With your kind, it’s a little bit different, of course, but the same principle still holds. During the core formation, the body has no access to the magic it needs to keep itself living, which doesn’t matter none for the embryo because it’s being kept alive by the mother anyhow. Erhm… the point is, you need magic in order to live, and while your core was forming, you didn’t have any. Does that make sense?”

“No, not really, but I’ll take your word for it.” Now that Sam’s life was no longer in imminent danger, he was able to turn his focus towards a question he dared not think about before, while he was still suffering from magical locked-in syndrome. “How was I able to breathe?” he asked Javi.

“What’s that?”

“How was I able to breathe, you know, before my core condensed or whatever? I was completely paralyzed before I lost consciousness.”

“Oh, right. So that actually relates to a rather niche field of medicine, at least if my conjecture is correct. But what I think happened, is that without having a core, your body was unable to complete the link between the purely physical and bio-chemical action to the magical one necessary to make an action as post magic living beings. That is because, at least as the theory goes, that it is the core that allows that link to happen by allowing the body to—Fuck, it’s too complicated to explain outright. Let’s just say that magic is like a muscle that you need to move in order to move any other muscles, and without the core, you can’t move magic. At least not intentionally. But your body was still able to communicate with the magic instinctively and keep you going. At least until you started forming the core, which is when you stopped breathing and where I came in.”

“Because my body no longer had any magic?” Sam asked.

“Well, yes, but not exactly. See, your body still had magic, but it was just condensing around the core. Hm… how to explain it? The core is like a… it’s sort of connected to the body on a physical level but also kind of not. It’s a bit complicated and…”

“You know what? I’m gonna cut you right there. I really don’t give a fuck about all this core nonsense right about now. There is one thing I want to ask, though. Did you hook me up to a catheter?”

“Uh… no. there was no need. I mean, you were just out for half an hour. Also… we sort of don’t have any on standby. This is just the base infirmary, you see?”

“Yes, indeed… and I am thankful for that. Just goes to show that things could always be worse.” Sam then closed his eyes and leaned further back on the pillow. He had nothing more to say at that point. Well, that’s not exactly true. He had plenty to say, ask or even curse, but he just didn’t have the will to open his mouth and utter them at just that moment. He tried to keep still instead, both in body, which wasn’t hard, and in mind, which was much harder and proved fruitless after a minute passed with no calmness regained whatsoever. “Could you help me sit up?” He reopened his eyes with an annoyed sigh.

“Alright, just try and take it easy.” Javi braced him by the back and under his arms, and supported Sam in moving to an upright position. Movement came much easier than before and Sam soon found himself sitting on the bed with his back straight and his legs; his wonderful moving legs, crossed upon each other.

“Wait. That’s not what I had in mind. Isn’t this one of those hospital beds that recline?” Sam asked.

“No, just a good old regular bed. Sorry about that.”

“Eh, no harm done. I’m much happier sitting like this than the half sitting, half laying I would’ve been reduced to otherwise. Just didn’t think I had it in me to go all the way up. Thanks for that, by the way.” While speaking, he turned to look at his helper and had his first glimpse of another human being in what felt like ages.

And Javi looked… completely as you expected a human named Javi to look like. It had nothing to do with confirming to stereotypical ethnic aesthetics. At this point, Sam wouldn’t have cared if Javi turned out to be a middle-aged Sentinelese woman. But rather, because Javi looked just like any other human that Sam saw in his twenty-two years of life. Eyes, ears, nose, hair, and all the other bits that go on a body were all in the right place and all looked, for a lack of a better word, boring.

So we can rule out fantasy humans, I guess, Sam thought. Although, they are speaking fucking English, so why in hell would they be fantasy? Well, hold on a moment, I can think of plenty of reasons for them to be speaking English and be fantasy humans as well, but those are fantasy reasons. Which means I can’t rule them out being fantasy people just based on them speaking English or even calling this world New Terra. Something which I am absolutely not judging, I’m not judging…

So were back to square one. He looks like a normal human, so the people here can’t be some kind of weird humanoid creature? I mean, even if they are fantasy humans, whatever that means, they can still look completely identical to the version I’m used to.

I should probably be asking these kinds of question instead of just thinking about them and going in circles. Wait, how long have I been just sitting here thinking? Can’t be that long. Javi hasn’t said anything. Oh god, he’s just looking at me. Great! Now I’m feeling kind of stressed out about what I should be asking him.

I mean, what if he doesn’t know anything? Well, that doesn’t matter and is also incredibly stupid to assume. Why wouldn’t he know anything? But what if by asking weird question I’ll be putting myself in some kind of danger? Presumably he already knows I’m… what? New here, I guess? Based on how he talks and acts. But what if they think I’m one kind of stranger and I turn out to be the different kind of stranger and they end up killing me because of that?

Unfortunately, that damnable medic Javi prevented him from going further down the paranoid rabbit hole by opting to speak first. “The colonel should be here soon. I called her just before you woke up. She’s in charge of the portal base unit here and she’ll be able to better explain things than me, so you can just rest your head until she gets here. I’m sure this all must be very confusing for you. If I was in your place, I’d probably be going out of mind because of...”

“Thank you major, for that very insightful point of view, but you’re probably not helping him one bit,” said a woman’s voice from the far left side of the room, the door, Sam clocked after pivoting his head towards it. That little axial action also netted him with his second view of New Terra’s humans, which was, broadly, much like the first (although this one, while still not Sentinelese, was, in fact, middle-aged).

The woman, the colonel, he presumed, based on the way she spoke and how much sense that would make storytelling wise. And also because she had that rank on her shoulders. Wait a minute, why did she have the US military rank on? And why didn’t he notice it before on Javi? Sam asked himself, which resulted in a symmetrical pivot back towards the medic. Oh, because he’s wearing a lab coat, that makes sense.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

“How is he?” asked the colonel.

“Well, he’s fine physically,” Javi said. “There’s magic all throughout his body now and as far as I can see, it’s all as it should be, core-wise and whatnot.”

“That’s great then you’re—”

“But he should still take it easy. His body is still acclimating to everything it’s been through. I mean, he had trouble sitting straight a couple of minutes ago.”

“Then I shall take that under advisement and make sure that message will be relayed forward, but for now, if you could please give us the room, major?”

The major in question seemed a little hesitant to step out at first, but after a moment’s thought he turned back to Sam, “It was nice meeting you man, good luck with… everything, I guess.” After saying which, he left the room, closing the door behind and leaving Sam alone with the base commander.

The commander took a deep breath and sat down next to Sam’s bed. “First of all,” she said, “I want to assure you that your life is in no danger whatsoever. You are not the first of your kind, and I assure you that we do know what you are. So, no matter what happens, what you say or do, no one in this world would seek to hurt you because of it. And if someone does, you will have the protection of the entire Terran military behind you. I promise you.”

She gave him a few moments to digest her words before continuing, “I know that you have no reason to believe anything I said, but I hope that you can trust me enough for now to believe I’m not going to hurt you.” After saying that, she sat back in her chair, waiting for Sam’s response.

Sam didn’t need to consider her words for too long in order to come to a decision. There was only one play here, and that play was acting like a regular fucking person and not thinking that everyone’s out to kill him. And that’s why he opted to act as himself, well, a more toned-down version of himself. After all, she might think that nothing Sam could say would make someone here want to hurt him, but that was just because she never heard Sam speak before.

“I believe you,” he told her. And he did. Both she and Javi seemed genuinely concerned for his wellbeing, despite (or more likely because) the both of them knowing that something strange was going on with him.

“That’s great.” She exhaled, and seemed to relax a little, shuffling around in her chair in what came off to Sam as an effort to appear less formal. “Then I believe introductions are in order. My name is Colonel Maya Lvov, but please call me Maya. I’m the commander in charge of New Terra’s portal complex under the purview of the Terran Home Guard.”

Maya, huh? Sam thought to himself, another completely ordinary human name, although keeping with the previous etymological grouping, but let’s not judge. “I’m Sam. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too, Sam. Would it be all right for you to tell me your family name as well?”

“Oh right, yeah. It’s Anders, Sam Anders. Don’t know why I forgot to say it, my bad.” He let out a small laugh, trying to mask his embarrassment.

“It’s quite all right, Sam. I’m sure you’ve had a long day up to this point,” Maya said with a smile. “But I’m afraid it’s going to be much longer before it’s over. Of course, if at any point you feel like it’s all too much, whether it’s now with me or later with someone else, just say so and we’ll give you the space. That’s a promise from me and from those above me. We don’t want to overwhelm you with too much information right off the bat.”

That’s not scary at all. “I’ll be alright… I hope.” He locked eyes with Maya. “Sock it to me, then. What’s the information I’m not to be overwhelmed with?”

“All right… The short of it is that you’re what is known as a Taken. It’s… I’ll just come right out and say it,” she declared, yet still seemed hesitant.

“Please. Just let me have it. I’m stronger than I look.” I’m really not.

“In a nutshell, more than a hundred years ago, Earth was invaded by a foreign race—ehm, species by your nomenclature. I believe magical aliens were the explanation children were given at the time, although today’s children just call them demons until they’re taught not to at school. Anyway, at the same time the invasion was happening, or rather even before that, Earth began getting absorbed into a system of different worlds that we call the Web, in a process which we call the Integration. But, where it really matters to you is that before both the Integration and invasion started, you and others like you were taken from Earth by an unknown force and deposited back some time later. Most Taken were returned shortly after the war started, but some, like you, were only returned much later.”

“How much later?”

“I’m not sure. I’d have to check it. We’re using a different calendar by now, you see… I do know that’s it been more than a hundred years since that war started though.”

“Sure, whatever… No, just forget it then. Doesn’t really matter. What happened to Earth in the end?” As if it wasn’t already obvious…

“It was destroyed in the war.”

“And I’m guessing humanity’s remnants fled until they found refuge here. On… New… Terra…” It really was a stupid fucking name.

“Yes, in a way. I know it’s a lot to take in all at once but… Whatever you decide to do going forward, we are going to help you.”

Sam didn’t bother responding to her. It was a little rude to be sure, but considering all he just heard, he didn’t really care. At least not enough to bother about it. Still, after a few moments, he turned back to Maya. “Could you give me a little to digest all of that?”

“Of course, take as long as you need. Would you like me to wait outside?”

“What? No. Whatever’s fine, I don’t care,” he answered and dropped his head between his thighs (lovely thighs), trying to make sense of everything. He must have been in some sort of shock, because thoughts weren’t coming to him easily. Of course, thinking about the fact that he had a hard time thinking was still coming to him brain-dead easy.

Stupid fucking meta-brain! I’m trying to focus here, for Christ’s sake. It took him a couple more second to wrestle his train of thought back under his control. That was a really shitty story. I’m really hoping she just giving me the cliff notes here because I’m in shock and that’s not all there was to it. I mean fucking demons? That’s just amateur hour, man. For fuck’s sake, demons and New Terra? What is this 40k? Whatever, it doesn’t really matter. I’m over it. Stupid fucking demons destroying stupid fucking Earth.

Because who actually gives a shit about the naming conventions and the backstory? That’s not the worst of it, I mean it is, but only because it carries along the fact that everyone I ever knew is fucking dead. And Not only because the world went to hell but also because I’m one hundred years, AT LEAST, into the fucking future!

Sam felt like crying, like he should cry. After all, that was the rational and healthy thing to do in his situation, but he just couldn’t. He physically couldn’t muster up the ability to cry, his body wouldn’t let him. For some reason, no matter how bad he felt in his head, it wasn’t relayed back to his body. This day is just chockful of firsts, isn’t it?

Not feeling bad wasn’t actually an accurate summary of his situation. He was, in fact, feeling fine, better than fine. He had only just now noticed it but he was feeling physically great, like he just finished a workout but at the same time had been given a massage. Maybe his body was in shock, maybe it was the magic that Sam just now remembered he had in himself. Maybe it was his legs—

His legs! His fucking legs! He had his legs back! And he could feel them. He felt the mattress on his calves, the blanket on the tip of his toes. He touched his thigh with his hand (and his forehead). It was all there, inside and out. “Help me get out of the bad,” he said, almost shouted at Maya, but quickly regained some of his manners back. “Please?”

“Sure, just take it slow,” she said and got up to support him. He didn’t even need her help in the end. His body was more than up for the simple task of getting out of the infirmary’s bed. It only took him a few paltry seconds to accomplish what he had spent the last couple of months only dreaming about—getting out of bed by using his own two feet.

The sudden elation almost made Sam forget his previous melancholy. But his self-observation of the fact that he now felt better quickly brought back his reason for feeling bad in the first place. Soon he found himself at some new equilibrium, his negative thoughts and feelings being held back by his happiness for regaining his ability to walk.

Sure, everyone I’ve ever loved is dead and the only world I’ve also known is also kaput. But at least now, I can get up and go to the supermarket to buy ice-cream in order to cry over them without needing any help. Still, kinda feels like a raw deal, as far as all those dead people and whatnot are concerned.

“Sorry about that,” he told Maya, after regaining some clarity of self and remembering that he practically shouted at her. “It’s just that I was in an accident… before. And I only just now finished internalizing that I had my legs back.”

“Everything’s fine,” She told him. “What happened to you legs is apparently par for the course when it comes to you Taken.”

“What do you mean? Every Taken was handicapped?”

“Not that. What I meant was that during the process, being taken and returned, your body is somehow remade. With the famous the end result that it’s perfectly suited to magic, pathways-wise. There was even a very famous Taken who was completely paralyzed before being returned with a perfectly healthy body.”

“Healthy body? Is that what you call almost dying while forming a core, or whatever that was?”

“That…I don’t know about that. I don’t know much about the Taken, so I can’t tell you if it’s something out of the ordinary. Honestly, if I wasn’t told that you were a Taken, I wouldn’t have known you to be one. And I wasn’t told much else, besides giving you the basic rundown and to send you on your way.”

“My way? And where would that be?”

“New Point, to the hospital there, to get a complete medical checkup. They’re sending a helicopter to get you there as fast as possible, but besides that, I don’t know much else.”

Sam gulped. A helicopter ride wasn’t very high on his bucket list for things to do now that he had legs again. “Alright, then… so when am I going?” But it still sounded better than a car ride to the hospital. And despite having had enough of hospitals, he couldn’t think of any place that he would rather be right now. He must be suffering from some sort of spatial Stockholm Syndrome.

“It should have gotten here by now, so if you’d like, I can take you over there right now.”

“Sure, if it’s not going to be too much trouble.”

“None at all, but I’m assuming you’d like to get dressed first,” she gestured to the bundle of clothes that lay on a stand on the far side of the bed. “Pick whatever you like and that fits you. I’ll be waiting outside.”

Sam waited until the door closed behind her before slapping himself in the face for forgetting about his state of undress. Thankfully (he only now noticed) he was at least wearing underwear. So after uttering a quick prayer for the poor soul (Javi most likely) who had to put those on him, he made fast work of the clothes arrayed before him, choosing comfort over fashion (although, in all honestly, neither were in much abundance.)

The entire process proved to be much easier with two working legs, which once again made Sam wonder in awe and undisguised glee at his regained limbs. After he finished getting dressed, he took a moment or two to savor the feel of his thumbs going into the flip-flops before walking towards the door. Taking his steps slowly and with as much sureness as he could muster, he went out of the infirmary.

It was only after stepping through the door and outside that he suddenly realized he hadn’t given a moment’s thought to the room which housed his very first sighting of, and on, this new world. But alas, by the time he thought of that and started to turn back towards the room, the door had already closed. And Sam wasn’t some weirdo who just steps back into a boring room to have a sentimental look at it, at least not when there were strangers there to judge him.