Richard woke to the smell of shit. It smelt like someone took a dump right next to him and didn't think of flushing the toilet. But that couldn't be the case. He was at home, sleeping.

Yet when he gazed at his surroundings he was not in his two-bedroom house. No, he was lying in the middle of what seemed to be an alley. First, he noticed that it was dark outside, and there was a full moon in the sky. Next, the alley he was lying in was made of dirt, and the building in front of him was made of stone.

Looking over he saw that there actually was a pile of shit next to him.

He quickly got up from his spot and left the alley.

Where was he? Was this some sort of joke?

He patted himself down, he was missing everything. His wallet, and his phone. That's when it hit him, his pants were gone. Not exactly gone, but replaced.

Instead of the blue jeans he normally wore, he was wearing some brown pants with no pockets. What sort of pants were not made with pockets?

Richard shook his head before he took a glance at his hands. His wrinkles were gone, and his skin was a bit darker than it normally was. It could be due to the lack of light around him. Lack of light? Richard looked left and right, there were no street lights. No cars on the road. Nothing of the sort.

Where was he?

Even third-world countries had cars and street lights. Right?

He didn't panic, not yet. Everything could be explained given enough time. So, he walked.

The streets were pretty empty tonight, so he figured this was a small town. He'd find someone eventually, there was always someone out at night. At the same time, he'd analyze his surroundings to try and get a better feel for where he was.

He could swear that the rooftops of the buildings were made of wood and some even tiles. But he chalked it up to his eyes playing tricks on him. It was late, and the only light was coming from the moon. He didn't have the best vision lately anyway considering his age.

And just like that, he found someone. A woman from the shape of her figure.

Richard approached her. "Excuse me miss, can you tell me where I am?" He asked in the politest tone he could.

His eyes noticed how she was dressed, a brown dress made of some sort of fabric. Probably cotton. It clung to her body and showed off her curves, and Richard could see that she was confident in her body. She had to have been or else why would she wear that dress out in public in the middle of the night?

Her dress was one malfunction away from showing off her goods.

"Evergreen." She said as if it were the most obvious thing ever.

Richard saw her lips move, but she wasn't speaking English. He wasn't sure what language she was speaking, but he could understand her with ease.

After she replied to him, she walked past him. That was kind of rude Richard thought. He had more questions, and if she didn't feel like answering him then she could just say so.

Normally he'd just let her be and continue about his day. But she was the only person he's met so far so he truly wanted to know where he was. Because he has never heard of Evergreen in his life.

Richard caught up to her, but kept a fair distance as he didn't want to be considered a creep or anything of the sort. Be odd to have the police arrive and she tells them he committed some sort of crime.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

"Evergreen?" Richard asked her.

"Where is that? Where is the nearest airport?" He asked two more questions.

The woman slowed her steps and took a glance back at him. Finally, he would get some answers. As long as he could make it to the nearest airport he could fly back to the United States. The airport had ATM's so he could withdraw some funds because he needed it.

After slowing the woman stopped and glared at Richard.

"What are you? A thief? I don't have anything on me, so scram why don't you!" The woman yelled in the most vicious tone. Yeah, she was one of 'those' Richard knew it. Even though he needed answers, he wasn't going to get chewed out for nothing. And she called him a thief? Richard never stole a day in his life.

Richard nodded his head and turned to leave. "Crazy bitch, must be that time of the month. Could have just said you weren't interested in talking."

He turned down a corner, hopefully, he'd find someone else who was more willing to answer his questions.

As he walked down the alley he heard the creaking sound of a door opening. But, there wasn't a door here, so he paused and looked around. There was nothing so he glanced up and saw a figure opening a window. A second later they tossed something out and Richard was a step too late to see what it was.

Piss and shit landed on his chest.

"Fucking hell!" Richard yelled out.

The window closed and Richard felt cheated. Where in God's name was he? Who threw out shit and piss onto the street?

He knew what it was because it landed on him and he could smell it right away. It did not take a genius to figure out what it was.

Initially, he wanted to vomit but held it down. He had to get out of this alley. These people were crazy.

As soon as he was out of the alley Richard took his shirt off and tossed it. No way he planned on keeping that. He'd rather freeze than be caught with that thing on.

A door opened up across from where he was, and Richard saw a man dragging out a body. The body was not moving. Was he witnessing the dumping of a dead body? Richard watched for a second longer and finally saw the body twitch. Good. At least these people did not have a murderer among them. At least not to his knowledge.

"Hey!" Richard shouted as he walked over.

The man dropped the unconscious body on the ground and gazed up at Richard. He eyed Richard for a second before he spoke. "Yes?"

"Where am I? Someone told me this is Evergreen. Is that correct?" Richard asked.

The man nodded. "Yes, this is Evergreen. Are you a traveler?" The man asked Richard.

"Ugh, not exactly. I kind of woke up here, but look I need to get home. Is there an airport nearby? No, better yet where is the nearest hotel and ATM." Richard said.

The man scratched his beard and was silent. What was the man thinking? Was it this hard to answer a few questions?

"I'm sorry, what is an air...port? Hotel? ATM? I'm not the most knowledgeable so... could you explain?" The man asked as if he were embarrassed.

He should be Richard thought to himself. Who didn't know what those three things were? Even in the most backwater country, they knew of at least one of those. Richard paused for a second then changed his line of thinking.

"What country am I in? This isn't the United States is it?"

"United... States? No. This is Evergreen." The man replied back in full confidence. He's never heard of the United States before, but he knew exactly where they currently were. But, the young man in front of him should know that as well. Since he already said this earlier.

"I see. I'm going to be honest with you, I have no clue where I am. How I got here. So be patient with me man." Richard said as he was starting to get worried.

Hearing this the man looked at Richard funny.

"Are you a slave?" The man asked Richard.

He seemed serious too by the way he said it. A slave? Hell no! Richard was far from that. Slavery didn't exist where he was from. At least, not the kind talked about in the history books.

"No. Why would you even ask such a thing?" Richard asked the man.

The man shrugged. "I don't know. You said you don't know how you got here, don't know where you are. And you keep asking strange questions and saying weird things. So I just thought you were a slave that escaped from his master."

Richard was beyond shocked. He didn't know what to say. Mostly because the man in front of him seemed to really think he was a slave of some kind. He should be angry, but he wasn't. He wanted to laugh, but he didn't.

Richard rubbed his temple. Things weren't adding up the way they should.

"No. I just have a few more questions if you would. One, what race am I? Two, what is today's date?" Richard asked and prayed it was the answer he was searching for. Because as long as it was, he would find some way to return home.

But if it wasn't, then either this was the most realistic dream he's ever had. Or he was in some land that was far, far, fucking far away from the world he knew.

Hearing this question the man seemed to perk up a bit. "You're an Asthian! And today's date is the tenth of Suncrest, 120 UC."