Nick limped along the shadow-dappled sands, trying his best to keep it together. To think of nothing beyond scanning his surroundings for danger. Despite his intentions, his attention drifted every time he lowered his guard, until he returned it to the shoreline through sheer force of will.
It was hard to focus with such a volatile mixture of emotions and sensations swirling inside him. He was bone weary, deeply frightened, and filled with euphoria. He had escaped two separate crises with his skin intact, then found enough food and water to live another day.
Thrust into a situation he couldn’t even begin to understand, pungent and contrasting emotions churned within his breast, like paint blending as it swirled down the drain. He was exhausted and elated. Terrified and triumphant. Grateful to be alive, and ground raw from the intensity of what he’d experienced.
Nick had pushed himself harder today than he had in his entire life. Half his body was covered in bruises, and every muscle ached from overuse. He knew that, as sore as he felt now, his body would be even more tender in the morning.
And yet, he had survived a series of threats to his life without receiving a wound that would cripple or kill him. Other than the cuts covering his feet, he was in remarkably good shape, considering everything he had been through since waking up on the beach.
He patted the reassuring bulk of the coconut stuffed into his pocket, which he had wrapped with the last shreds of his shirt to keep the sand from ruining the meat.
While Nick wanted to analyze everything that had happened so he could plan out his next move, he was too overwhelmed to begin processing the day’s events just yet. Thus, rather than focusing on his feelings, he kept his attention centered on the path he trod—thought of nothing other than putting one throbbing foot in front of the other.
It would be too dark to see before long. He was afraid of being caught out in the open at night, yet he could still appreciate that he was surrounded by exquisite beauty. The ruddy eye of the sun hung low in the sky, poised to dip below the horizon. Sunset painted the heavens in radiant violet and fathomless crimson, casting the dunes in soft light that made them shimmer like molten copper.
Watching the sunset over the ocean in such a pristine natural location was the most stunning sight that Nick had ever witnessed. Being engulfed in the timeless beauty of the end of the day made him feel just a little bit better, even with a riot of emotions racing through him like wild stallions.
Although he tried to clear his mind, his thoughts ran in circles. He struggled to process what he had seen but didn’t know where to begin. As the sun vanished beneath the waves, the final rays fading away like the last lingering notes of a lullaby, a veil of fog that had been hovering offshore rolled in.
Uttering a groan, he forced himself to pick up his pace. He had to make it back to the obelisk before it was too murky to make out the ground in front of him, or he’d be forced to stop for the night on this exposed stretch of shore.
The mist congealed as it drifted past his head, and Nick became increasingly certain that he’d failed to make it back in time. Just before he was forced to camp where he stood, he spotted the profile of the obelisk jutting against the horizon.
With a sigh of relief, he walked over to the closest tree. He dragged several fallen fronds behind him, then climbed the bluff that held the onyx pillar.
After determining which side was sheltered from the wind, he piled the fronds on top of him and pressed his back against the stone, soaking in the warmth it had absorbed throughout the day. Although he was rigid with accumulated stress, his muscles unclenched just a hair. At least nothing could attack him from behind.
He clutched a stout stick in one hand and held his robe closed with the other. At last, Nick was ready to unpack the impossible events that had transpired today. But it would have to wait a little longer.
He must have been even more exhausted than he’d realized. Though he would never have believed it possible, he was fast asleep only ten minutes later. His dreams were hazy and fragmented, filled with snarling beasts, shimmering portals, and destructive pillars of light.
But it wasn’t all images of devastation. Nick also dreamed of the home he’d left behind; spending quality time with his parents and Angie; lazy days of conquest bathed in the soft glow of his monitor.
As he slept, tears rolled down his cheeks. While he wasn’t ready to face the truth in his waking hours, deep inside, he already knew. As he slumbered, he grieved for the friends and family he had lost. Of a life he would never know again and a world that was so far away.
Then, like bubbles rising from the depths of a murky lake, the memories of what had happened after the System altered Nick’s body began to play.
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24 Hours Earlier
Implementing tutorial protocols and engaging portal network.
Summoning a certified mentor and initiating System orientation.
After a bright flash of light, Nick felt an abrupt sense of motion, as if he were sliding along a vast expanse of ice. When it stopped, he found himself standing on an endless plain of white.
Gazing around in all directions, he couldn’t see a ceiling or walls, but at least he could feel the floor. He was immensely relieved to have solid ground beneath his feet again. To see the tip of his nose protruding past the corners of his eyes.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
I’m back in my body. The orientation must be starting. With that thought, the last vestiges of his recent experiences vanished like smoke on the breeze.
His head was stuffed with fuzz and fog, like he was trapped in the last moments of a dream before waking. Although he was bewildered and disoriented, Nick was lucid enough to try to make sense of his surroundings. But he had no way to make sense of standing in a room that appeared large enough to hold the Earth several times over.
While his thoughts were muddled, his body felt strangely good. Except for his feet, which really fucking hurt, like he had decided to use steel wool for a pedicure.
The pain jumpstarted his awareness, reminding him that he had a mountain of questions to consider. Where am I? What’s happening? Why are my feet bloody, and why can’t I remember anything?
Since Nick had no way to begin searching for answers, he sat down with his head between his hands. He tried to recover his wits while he waited for something to happen. At least he didn’t feel hungry or need to use the bathroom.
Sometime later, a woman’s voice spoke from somewhere nearby.
“Your name is Nick, right? Sorry it took me so long to find you. Why are the default settings for these temporary dimensional spaces always crap?”
Nick opened his eyes. When he began looking for the owner of the voice, he realized that there was now a single feature on the infinite plain stretching out before him. An exquisitely crafted office desk with an oversized leather chair behind it. It was facing away from him, so he couldn’t see if anyone was in it.
“Give me a minute to tweak the scale and plug us into the network.” With those words, the world changed. The light coming from above grew distinct and drew closer, forming a textured ceiling twenty feet above his head. Shapes and colors appeared in the distance and soon went flying past, moving at a rate that his brain was simply not able to process.
He had the impression that he was standing in the middle of a block of cubicles the size of a continent, each containing a terrified individual and a calm person wearing a suit.
Then everything stopped moving, and four walls snapped into place, like instead of being transported, the room had come to him. When he was able to process these changes, Nick found himself standing inside a swank office. A high-end suite that would satisfy an executive from any corporation on Earth.
Although his head felt much clearer, these rapid changes to his environment did nothing to alleviate his confusion. As the mysterious voice hummed a merry tune, more furniture popped into existence, creating snaps of displaced air with each new arrival. A cluster of paintings materialized and then leapt onto the walls. Each was a masterwork of oil and canvas, none of which he recognized.
Nick could feel carpet rising beneath his feet—a rich blue shag that must have cost a fortune. A window appeared, through which warm sunlight spilled into the room. A small bonsai tree floated onto the desktop to complete the arrangement. Finally, a chair just his size rose from the floor, though he couldn’t see a mechanism that would allow for such an occurrence.
“Sorry again for not having everything ready before you got here. Your planet’s evolution wasn’t on the list, and everything was thrown together in a rush after the bidding war. I think these settings are good enough for now. But let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you feel more at home.”
With that, the chair on the other side of the desk turned to face him. As he leapt back with a hiss of pain, Nick took in the image of a woman wearing a white three-piece suit, looking him straight in the eye.
She had to be at least eight feet tall because he met her gaze head-on even though she was seated. Her eyes were amber, like a wolf, and every inch of her skin was covered in a complex latticework of scars. Even her face.
Nick had never seen anything like it, but his instincts told him that the markings had come from a lifetime of battles. Her platinum blond hair was drawn back in a no-nonsense ponytail, but her eyes were sincere, and her smile was kind.
“Please take a seat. We have a lot to go over, and it can’t be fun standing on those mangled paws. I would just heal you up, but I’m afraid that the System won’t allow treatment for any injuries received during integration. Well, anything that isn’t life-threatening. The pain will be better soon. You’ll find that you heal a great deal faster than before if your wounds aren’t too severe.”
Nick felt something brush against the back of his knees. The chair had moved and was now positioned directly behind him. Although he was utterly bewildered and had no clue as to what was happening, he sat, groaning in relief as the weight came off his lacerated soles.
The chair was raised as he settled into it so that he could look the woman in the eyes instead of having to stare up. “That’s better. Why don’t you take a few minutes to relax and let the shock wear off? Have a cookie and a glass of lemonade while you wait.”
She slid a cafeteria-style tray toward him. A tray that Nick was quite certain had not existed until that moment. On it loomed a steaming pile of chocolate chip cookies that were straight out of the oven, sitting beside a frosty glass of lemonade. The cookies were oddly familiar and smelled absolutely divine. Why not? He shrugged, picked one up, and took a bite.
Despite everything, for just a moment, he was back in his grandmother’s kitchen, listening to her tell stories while she mixed the dough. “I hope you don’t mind.” The woman snatched a cookie off the top of the pile.
“I took the liberty of borrowing the recipe from your memories. Mmm…” She sighed in contentment as she chewed the gooey morsel. “These are fantastic. I always love sampling the local cuisine—best part of integrating an unregistered planet.”
Her words made little sense, although they tickled the sensation that he was forgetting something important. Unsure as to what was happening or how he should proceed, Nick finished off his cookie and then started on a second, buying time while he struggled to unpack his bizarre situation.
This is either really happening or I’m a lot worse off than I feared. Either way, I need to treat this as real for now. He took a sip of lemonade to wash down the cookie. He didn’t recognize the brew, but it was heaven on the tongue and immensely refreshing.
Despite the strangeness of it all, the happy memories and taste of his childhood soothed Nick’s soul, helping him to think. Still half-convinced that he was trapped within his own subconscious, he turned to the woman and asked, “Who are you? What is this place, and how do you know my name? Wait, before we get to that, how did you create a cookie from my memories?”
The woman slapped her forehead with a self-deprecating chuckle. “Forgive my poor manners; I got distracted. Marax always said that my sweet tooth is my critical weakness.”
She laughed at her own joke and then stuck out her hand. “My name is way too long by the standards of your culture, but you can call me Pax. And this.” Pax gestured to include Nick’s surroundings. “We’ll get to that in just a minute. First, allow me to officially welcome you to your orientation and System tutorial.”
Deciding to go with the flow while he figured out what to do, Nick reached out and gripped Pax’s calloused palm. He could tell from the texture of her skin and the power of her grip that she had worked with her hands all her life.
By now, the fog filling his head was starting to lift, and his thoughts had begun to race. He needed to figure out his situation and understand what was happening to him. The closest thing that he could think of were the mangas where the hero dies in his home world and is reincarnated in another.
While he wasn’t completely off the mark, it turned out that in this case, the truth was far stranger than fiction.