Elijah blinked. Warm sunlight dappled over his body, embracing him in a blanket of light. A cool breeze blew several multicolored leaves through the air. They danced beneath the sparse canopy rising up over him.

He drew in a clear breath and let it out slowly. His mind felt foggy and dense. He raised an unwrinkled hand over his head. A few rays slipped through his fingers and lit up his face. Seconds ticked by and the fog slowly started to lift.

Elijah’s eyes focused on his hand. The slightly tanned skin was unblemished and smooth. He turned it over in awe. He brought it down to his face, feeling a strong jawline and a full head of hair.

Elijah pushed himself upright with surprising ease. He instinctively reached for his walker as he started to stand, only to find himself already on his feet. A tear trickled down his cheek as words evaded him.

Memories of the strange text that had flashed before him flooded his mind. He was dead, Elijah was sure of it. Or at least, he had been. He smacked his lips, tasting the morning dew in the air.

He was surrounded by large, thick trunked trees covered with multicolored leaves. He brushed several of the leaves off his shirt, pausing as he realized that he was no longer in his own clothing.

It had been replaced by what seemed to be dull brown leather armor. Elijah licked his lips and cleared his throat.

“Hello? Is anyone here?” His voice was robust and somehow both foreign and familiar to him.

He turned around, his feet moving through the leaves without a sound, and almost jumped in surprise. A young woman around the age of twenty stood across from him, a baffled expression on her face.

The moment their eyes met, Elijah’s hairs raised on end. His eyes narrowed and he lowered into a fighting stance. The woman mirrored his motions, her movements fluid.

“Who are you?” Elijah asked.

“I’d pose you the same question,” she replied. “Did you bring me here?”

“I was about to ask you the same,” Elijah said, slowly stepping to the side. The woman did the same, not letting him flank her.

“I asked first,” Elijah said, a smile tugging at the edge of his lips. It had been years since he’d been in a body this responsive, and he was longing to test it out.

“Then perhaps I will give you your answer with my fists.”

“I think I’d enjoy that,” Elijah said, his smirk growing. He dashed forward and thrust his hand towards her neck.

She slipped to the side, narrowly dodging the strike and thrusting her own hand into Elijah’s side. Elijah brought his arm down, trapping hers and sweeping the woman’s feet out from under her.

The woman twisted midair, using the momentum to vault herself upwards and wrap her legs around his neck. Before they could tighten, Elijah thrust a hand in between his neck and her. He grabbed her foot with his other hand and ripped her off, tossing the woman to the ground.

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She landed in a roll and hopped to her feet, skipping back a step and lowering back into a fighting stance.

“Your fighting style seems familiar,” Elijah said, his grin flickering. “Have we met?”

“I was about to ask you the same, and that’s the second time I’ve said that today.”

“I asked first,” Elijah said, his grin returning. He closed the distance between them with two quick steps and thrust a hand into her stomach.

At the same time, the woman drove her palm into his solar plexus. Both of them staggered backwards, gasping for air. Elijah gave her a respectful nod. The woman frowned, squinting at him.

“Elijah?”

He froze. “How do you know my name?”

A roar tore through the forest, silencing whatever answer that the woman tried to give him. The two of them glanced at each other, then back towards the source of the sound.

“That didn’t sound human,” Elijah said.

“No. No it didn’t,” the woman agreed, eyeing him out of the corner of her eyes. “Shouldn’t we be dead right now?”

Elijah paused. He pressed his lips together, giving the woman a once over. “Avery?”

“Took you long enough,” the woman muttered. “We can settle this later. We waited for fifty five years, so I think we can survive a few more minutes. I’m going to be pissed if you get killed by something other than me.”

“Likewise,” Elijah muttered.

The trees rustled. Elijah and Avery stepped back, putting their backs against the same tree and dropping back into fighting stances. Several moments passed in silence.

More leaves began to fall as the trees before them shook. A purple-orange blur launched from the canopy and slammed into the ground before them. It was about twelve feet tall, with four muscle bound arms and horns emerging from its bulbous head. A shimmering red line of text floated above the creature’s head.

< Desecrator Ape: Lvl. 5 >

The creature leaned forward, its mouth opening in segments that revealed dozens of glistening razor sharp teeth as it let out a roar. The heat and stench of its breath washed over them, bringing a grimace to Elijah’s face.

“I’ve got a feeling we’re not in Kan-”

“Shut up. Kill the monkey.”

“Right.” Elijah took a step forward, staying out of reach of the monster’s lanky arms. He found himself wishing that he had any of his tools from Earth. He reached instinctively down to his upper thigh, where he kept his hidden blade.

To his surprise, his hand wrapped around a leather hilt. He pulled on it, drawing a simple dagger from its sheath. Elijah didn’t have time to inspect it further. The ape let out a screech and loped towards him, swinging an arm at his chest.

Elijah ducked under the swing and thrust the blade up into the bottom of the creature’s arm, dragging it several inches before ripping free in a shower of blood.

The ape screamed in pain and fury. Elijah dove to the side as it slammed the ground where he’d been standing with its remaining good arms.

“Where did you get the dagger?” Avery yelled.

“Dunno! It was just at my side where I always kept it,” Elijah said, hopping back to avoid another thunderous blow.

A moment later, a crossbow bolt whizzed by Elijah’s head and punched into one of the ape’s eyes, popping it like a balloon.

Elijah dashed towards it, jumping onto its chest and clasping its matted hair with his free hand. He pulled himself up and drove the blade into the creature’s chest with the other, twisting it to enlarge the wound.

The creature let out a gargling scream. It grabbed Elijah and hurled him into a tree, knocking the breath out of him.

Another crossbow bolt punched into its remaining eye. It roared and charged blindly forward, extending its arms like a sumo wrestler.

One of its banana sized claws clipped Avery before she could fully dodge, drawing a dark red line across her chest. She gritted her teeth and raised her crossbow, pulling the trigger and putting another bolt through the back of the creature’s head, silencing it.