Morgan woke naked, sputtering a mouthful of sand and sea water as he tried to get his bearings. The last thing he recalled was collapsing into bed, which wasn't particularly congruent with the beach he was currently coming to grips with. Groaning from a mounting headache he took to his age old strategy of muttering to himself.
“Alright-naked and afraid on a strange beach, yeah this is fine. Fine-fine-fine, don’t panic-big bold, friendly letters we can do this.”
He wasn’t particularly prone to panic, so while he wasn't hyperventilating he could feel his heart pounding like a very enthusiastic drummer had taken up residence in his chest. Focusing on some old breathing exercises he'd picked up in an online employment assistance program of all places, Morgan trudged out of the knee deep surf, renewing his efforts in figuring out exactly where he was. It wasn't very effective. Granted, that was in large part due to him being half-blind without glasses but he did notice a few details. First of all the beach he was on was beautiful, with glittering golden sand and the shimmering surf fell into a rich blue ocean that sparkled under the mid-day sun. The only flaw to mar the view was the vast storm that blackening the horizon, lit only by flares of lightning the produced a distant drone of rolling thunder. Morgan unconsciously gulped as he mouth went dry and croaked out
“Yeah that not ominous at all”
Looking back inland he tried to get a lay of the land, he didn't know if that storm was heading his way, but he did not want to be out in the open in low ground if it did. The few things he picked up from his initial scan was that the flora of the forest looked Mediterranean, where it met the edge of the beach were shrubs and bushes that transitioned into loosely packed trees. In the distance behind the forest were large hills, mountains and much to his chagrin, an active volcano releasing faint plooms of black smoke in this distance behind the forest.
“and isn't that just bloody peachy” Morgan mumbled to himself. Escape inland would be of limited help, because if his guess from what he could see was right he was on an island- a large island yes, but an island with an active volcano nonetheless. Unless there was a hidden landbridge on the other side somewhere, he was well and truly trapped.
It occurred to Morgan that it was in a particularly perplexing pickle of a situation. On top of that he was on a Mediterranean island despite the fact that last he checked, he was from Australia and unless someone had drugged him and thrown him on a plane to get him here, then the list of plausible explanations for why he was here was getting smaller by the minute. Morgan squinted into the line of trees. They were not particularly dense which would hopefully make them easier to navigate, but if there was anyone else who had been taken here as well he felt his best chance to meet them was to walk the beech line. Making up his mind, Morgan swivelled away from the forest and circling his arm as if still deciding which way to go, he finally settled on the left. It ended with a white rocky cliff and with any luck he could find some shelter there. Morgan took a deep breath and with nothing else too it began his journey across the glittering sand. With more than a bit of hope Morgan thought to himself, he would find people and looking down he cringed inwardly. Hopefully they would have spare clothes with them too.
Morgan was making good time as his feet slapped through the cool surf. He had shifted back to the edge of the water after a while as the hot sand was growing uncomfortable on his feet. That did nothing for the rest of him however. He could feel the sun searing his back and given his pale complexion he was already starting to resemble a cooked lobster. Though the sun was still high in the sky he could tell he'd been walking, his legs developing a small burning ache that promised to hurt even more the moment he stopped. Luckily he had recently started to get at least a little fit as he'd been working as a labourer at a construction company, he'd always figured he'd end up in an office job with the godsend that is air conditioning. So while the experience was steadily transforming from a pleasant stroll on the beach to a massive pain in the rear, it was far from his limits.
Finally reaching the rocky outcropping he ran the final stretch and collapsed in the cool shade. The beginnings of an early afternoon sun were showing as Morgan gulped down deep lungfuls for air. Between breaths Morgan blustered
“Yeah, I really…should not… not have run”
Disrupting the rhythm he had falling into while walking, Morgan found himself beginning to crash. He had shade and soft green grass, despite the sun burns that stung his whole body, the ache in his muscles and the jackhammer that had apparently taken up residence in his skull, he felt his eyelids getting heavy. He didn't know if he could actually get a nap in, especially since he felt his stomach protesting the lack of food-but he was in no state to do much of anything at that moment. So lacking anything better he closed his eyes and hoped he could at least take the edge off of things.
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In lue of sleep Morgan found himself stuck in thought. Even though it felt like a leap in logic Morgan had a growing suspicion that he wasn't even on Earth any more. It felt ridiculous even as he considered it but there was something he couldn’t quite place about where he was that felt different. It was in the quiet moment between breaths where he felt like he was vibrating with potential that was just out of reach. The sensation passed as quickly as it came and passed from his thoughts as his mind turned to other concerns. Like how in hell was he going to get back? It wasn't as if he was really missing much though.He had spent the majority of his 20s unemployed, playing video games and reading books. The only exception was the time he spent in university studying architecture. He had never found work in the field due to falling into a depression and his complete lack of talent when it came to networking. The lack of work and social isolation only drove him deeper into himself. As the years ticked on the few skills he had left were rusted and forgotten, which only made matters worse. Over time what little motivation was eaten away by drudgery. In all that time he'd only had 3 jobs, the first was door to door sales where he ended up with less money than when he'd started. The second job was seasonal and inevitably ended and the last… He felt anxiety welling in his chest just thinking about it. Now he was 32, the labourer work he'd end up being thrust into out of desperation was going on for about a year and a half. It was the longest he'd ever worked a single job. For all that he loathed his life and himself for how he'd made it, he did still have some friends and family. Though maybe they're better off and this is best for everyone he thought. Maybe it would be a relief that I was gone, always being looked after and looked out for-they’re happy this way. As Morgan's thoughts began to spiral he felt a rush of wind and the distinct feeling of something narrowly missing his face. Jolting up in startlement and a string of expletives, Morgan looked around wildly, a fresh dose of adrenaline filling his aching legs as he scrambled to his feet. Just ahead of him, perched atop a lone olive tree atop the rocky outcropping was a little owl with fluffy grey and dark brown feathers. A little owl that was staring right at him. It might have been intimidating if it weren't so adorable.
“Hey there little fella how are you on this fine afternoon?” Morgan cooed. The little obviously didn't respond, its piercing eyes bored into him with an almost assessing quality and seemed to have uncanny cunning within them. Stranger still was that despite the distance he could see the owl with perfect clarity, in spite of the distance and horrid capacity for sight his mole eyes seemed to have. The little owl was still staring at him, cocking its head to the side expectantly as a sea breeze rustled its feathers. As he was working through his puzzlement he noticed something odd. There was a strange protrusion behind the olive tree where the owl was perched. It had stood out to him as even though he couldn't make out details it didn't entirely fit with the natural shapes around it. Slowly, as not to disturb his new friend-Morgan crept around the rocky formation to get a better look, the owl's head following him all the way around as its body remained motionless. His eyes widened as he rounded the bend. Following the protrusion, which now that he could see it clearly was the mast of a ship that lay crashed upon the shore. He guessed they must have been aiming for the clear beach but didn't quite make it as the rest of the coast he could see was a steadily climbing sheer white cliff, girded by jagged reefs and rocky shoals. The ship itself was strange as well. It had a design not so dissimilar to one of the Ancient Greek triremes but seemed more advanced, with larger and more numerous sails and lacking the gaps that would support a large group of oars.
"Mediterranean island with a weird Ancient Greek ship” he mused to himself.
“I’m starting to sense a theme here”
Looking over it he couldn't see much rot or wear that would happen with time, so he guessed it must have happened quite recently. Hoping there would be supplies in there Morgan started to work up the courage to explore.
“Alright let's go through this. I don't see any bodies so they likely took any food and easy to carry supplies with them. Up side could be friends”
Morgan furrowed his eyebrows as he frowned.
“Or more than likely not friends, stranger danger and all that”.
He looked intently at the ship with a spark of hope in his eyes as he glanced back down at his naked, burnt and sand-caked body.
“But they may have left clothes and hopefully, shoes”
He wasn't particularly optimistic about the shoes though, as his feet were on the larger side of average so he felt his chances were slim. Morgan took one last look at the little owl still watching him.
“Wish me luck my fine, feathery friend!” He called out.
“And even if it wasn't intentional, thank you for pointing out this ship”.
The little owl bobbed its head, which drew out a croaking chuckle from his dry throat. He was starting to suspect there was more to that owl, but even though his day had been rather strange he wasn't quite ready yet to embrace all of his superstitions. Shaking his head as if to clear his thoughts he focused on the task ahead and began to clumsily clammer over wicked rocks and sharp stones, small foaming waves crashing against his legs the whole way.