Aaron woke up in another world, at least he thought he did. After all, it was a world with a cot that he laid on, hard as it is, still leagues ahead of what he had to endure in that world. Even before he opened his eyes he could hear the mummers and chatters, and deduced that he was in a large room, with many others, probably under similar circumstances. He then opened his eyes, and dared, for the first time in a long time, to peek around.

He was, in need, on a cot, one of what must be hundreds, no, thousands. In a massive cavern, or system of caverns. He couldn’t tell, not at those distances. All of them, all the cots, are filled with people, fellow isekais like himself, probably.

“Ah, I see that you have awakened.” A voice behind him said in a bored tone.” He quickly turned his head around, then winced as shockwaves of pain spread throughout his head.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” The man, who appeared to be a medical orderly of some sort, judging by his uniform. “But don’t worry. You’ll live, and soon you’ll return to where you are from.”

He then slipped a pill into Aaron’s mouth, and along with a swig of water from a wooden cup washed it down his throat. “Rest well, for it is the least you can do now.”

Aaron wanted to say something, anything, but the fingers of drowsiness quickly dragged him back into the land of sleep…

……

He was woken again after some undetermined time, this time in a much better condition. For the first time in his second life he felt… almost normal, as if his body was finally working as intended, rather than the ragged wreckage for most of the time before in this second life. Before him stood a soldier, whose presence at first brought upon an instinctual bout of fear, before the realization that said soldier’s musket was slung, and his posture relaxed.

“It’s time.” He simply said. “Ready when you are.”

“Ready- Ready for what?” Aaron asked, as he slowly got out of the cot and onto his feet. Out of the corners of his eyes he saw similar scenes play out all over the cavern.

“Going home, back to the world you came from.” The soldier answered, as if it was the most normal thing. Perhaps it even was.

“How, how would you know?” Aaron asked as they walked, still rather skeptical of the whole thing. The soldier shrugged.

“I don’t.” He admitted. “The witches of the coven assured that the portal works, and that’s good enough for me.” He chuckled to himself. “After all, I’m not going through it… Sorry, that came out wrong.”

The soldier’s words did not assure Aaron at all, but as he was about to reply he saw it: the circle of swirling lights. Sheets of them, as if they were simmering water upon a vertical surface. So alluring was the sight that he didn’t even notice the rest of the chamber until a feminine yet authoritarian voice called out.

“Alright, go on. In you go. We don’t got all day.”

He looked around even as he and the others shuffled towards the portal. There were a number of… witches? They sure dressed the part, though the muskets slung on them also seemed to suggest a more military bearing…

None of that matters anymore. They’re leaving, leaving this horrible world behind, leaving all the baggage of a lifetime of suffering, leaving…

------

The return to earth was oddly mundane, all things considered. Through the blinding light of the portal, and in a flash of lights he was in a clearing, surrounded by rather nondescript forests. Moreover, he was alone, the hundreds of others who were herded through with him were nowhere to be seen.

… was it earth? Or did they scam him and just dump him somewhere randomly? Or rather they themselves have no idea where they’re actually sending him.

The answer came to him far faster than he could have ever expected, for even as he was about to pick a random direction to travel, a figure walked out of the trees in front of him… a clean shaven man, and more importantly wearing a modern two piece suit.

“Good morning, isekaied returnee.” the man said, the crazy words coming out of his mouth as naturally as if he was commenting on the weather. “I am special agent Bick, and we have much to discuss.”

“Wa, wa, wa-” Aaron stuttered, trying to process and comprehend this turn of events. He narrowed his eyes, as something felt off. The man noticed his expression.

“Of course we don’t do this kind of thing in our regular line of work.” Bick explained. “However, you need something familiar after what you have been through, and how pop culture portrays us types is more familiar than our normal SOP.” He held out a hand. “You can at least trust us more than those other bastards.”

Aaron gingerly shook his hand. “How-” He asked. Bick simply nodded.

“As I said, we have much to talk about.” He simply restated, as he held up the gaunt young man, who seemed to be about to collapse at any moment. “There’s a lot of catching up to do, for you and for us.”

……

The agent, of which alphabet agency he still wasn’t sure of, took Aaron to a nearby cabin nested in the trees nearby. It wasn’t a particular hidden place. If anything, it was oddly mundane, nondescript…

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

“This little place used to belong to someone else.” Bick quipped as he opened the door, noting Aaron’s expression. “Previous owner was ex-army turned ultra survivalist nutjob after getting kicked out for alcoholism. Got arrested for numerous murders. None of the charges stuck though, because it was on his property… and all the victims having already dead and buried.”

“You mean-” Aaron asked in shock. Bick nodded.

“It took a few more months after that to connect the dots.” He shrugged as he shut the door behind them. “While there’s a lot of weebs in the organization, they tend to be on the lower ends. It took the alleged bodies of a couple of Japanese to convince the higher ups of the crazy plan.” He chuckled bitterly, seemingly at random. “Kinda wish it was the 60s, we believed all sorts of wild back then. Here, have a seat.” He pulled out a chair.

“My god.” Aaron simply said as he sat down. “How many-” He asked, shakely, as his mind reels from the newest revelation.

“Yes.” Bick answered. “We’re not sure.” He clarified when he noticed the puzzled reaction he received from his non-answer. “Oh yeah, you want some chow?” He asked as he walked towards the fridge in the next room. “Heard that the other world was a bit lean.”

“Have you- you talked to others?” Aaron asked. “Others like me?”

“Why of course.” Bick replied casually as he reentered the room, carrying a plate of sandwiches, a couple cans of Mtn Dew, and a small bottle of pills. “Well, me and my colleagues. It’s a lot of work, even if everyone else thinks we have the most skate job.” He put down the food, drinks, and meds. “It do be like that. Here, take some of this ibuprofen with the soda.” He took a few pills out of the bottle.

“You know?” Aaron asked, gratefully taking the food and meds. Bick shrugged.

“Enough of it.” He said, with a sudden air of seriousness. “Seems like a shithole over there. Worse than any I ever seen.”

“You have no idea…” Aaron said, as unwanted mental traumas, long suppressed, now threatened to bubble to the surface.

“But I do.” Bick replied. “Sort of.” He shrugged. “I was in the marines before this. Been to Afghanistan when the country collapsed and the hajis took the place.”

“Wa-” Was all that came out of Aaron’s mouth in response. Something was off with this man’s expression. Bick immediately noticed his expression.

“Still trying to process it all? I get it, I really do.” Bick shrugged. A rather prudent course of action, and rather common among many of the returnees, who almost to the man have massive trust issues. “There really isn’t a good way to prove anything from our end.” He took a swig from his can of soda. “So why not just play along? A little bit of chat, while we get your next of kin ready for the reality of your return.”

“What’s there to talk about?” Aaron asked. “You said you talked to many of us already?” Bick nodded.

“True.” He admitted. “But don’t sell yourself so short, or all your comrades for that matter.” He cracked a grin without warmth. “This… this situation we have here, it’s the biggest of the century, possibly the biggest since Columbus sailed the ocean blue. We need all the data we can get our hands on, no matter how insignificant.”

“We- the US is thinking of invading the place?” Aaron suddenly asked, putting two and two together. Bick suddenly snapped his head, having been slightly caught off guard by that.

“That is not really of your concern.” Bick replied, with a sudden air of coldness. “Unlike certain rogue nations, the United States is not in the business of invading random places unprovoked.”

“Moreover, do you really think that world will submit to the science of men?” Aaron continued, on the one hand wishing that somehow that world could get out of that pointless maelstrom of suffering, but also not really seeing any way in which such could occur. Certainly not by being invaded by some outside forces.

“Are they not men themselves?” Bick fired back with a canned response, as once again he was scrambling to suppress his memories. If anything, he gets what the former isekaied man was saying, but he also doesn't necessarily believe it… or rather, he doesn’t want to believe it. For if it’s true, and America does get involved… He shook his head, banishing the haunting memories of back when he was a marine on the 24th MEU, during the Kabul Evacuation. The air of sheer terror amongst the refugees, fleeing from fates far worse than mere death. The stench of despair at HKIA airport. The look of sunken eyes in the SNCOs and officers, many of whom did remember the beginnings of that war, the reasons for all those 20 years, and the futility of it all in the end. For twenty years, twenty fruitless years… “Regardless, what makes you think of invasion? Our chief concerns are defense against potential threats from that world.”

“Just like Japan and GATE huh?” Aaron has become convinced that while this agent is who he says he is, that the intentions behind all of this is far from good.

“You’re lucky that I understood that reference, since some of my friends are massive weebs.” Bick chuckled bitterly. “But no, not like that at all. Again, we are not imperialists, or imperialist apologists.”

“Sure you’re not.” Aaron shook his head, more than ever not believing the government agent in front of him.

“It do be like that I guess.” Bick sighed, for the most part giving up. This one is just like the others, each at most spilling a tiny bit of detail here and there, and it’s up to him and others in the shop to piece it all together. Whether said product will be coherent was a whole other matter… He took a deep breath, and it was at that moment when his phone rang.

Bick picked up the phone, and after a short conversion ended the call before turning his attention back towards Aaron. “Congratulations. “ He stated. “We found your next of kin.”

“How?” Aaron asked, realizing something was off. Bick nodded.

“How perceptive. We took a small blood sample from one of the bandages that was on you earlier, and got a runner to drive to the local hospital. The rest was simply waiting and matching.” He stood up, fishing a set of car keys out of his pocket. “Come. I’m sure your family will be overjoyed to see you again, back from the dead.”

Aaron slowly stood up, less from the now receding weakness and more from the doubts in his mind. Something among all this still feels so… wrong. Or rather, it was so accustomed to experience competency and kindness after a packed lifetime of neither. As always, Bick seems oddly perceptive at his thoughts.

“Don’t worry. You’ll never have anything to do with us, or that world, or anything related ever again, if you so choose.” Bick reassured him. “Because unlike those bastards, we don’t force anyone to fight hopeless causes for pointless sacrifices.”

Aaron finally nodded as he stood up to follow the agent. He still had his doubts, but so far this man has shown him more kindness than he had experienced in most of that other world.

It wouldn’t hurt to reciprocate a bit. If nothing else to prove that for all the hardships the other world threw at him, it was not enough to twist him into a reflection of what they are.

And so the two walked out of that sketchy cabin, one finally letting go of the past, and the other processing the foundations of a future. The former will find that for once, the world did not betray him, while for the latter, that his words will be betrayed.

But that's a story for another time.