Ani was a small furnace against my chest, but it wasn’t enough to make up for the vacancy of the dead fire. I woke with a shiver, wondering how long the fire had been dead. The sun was just beginning to rise, warming the cool air and tinting the sky with shades of purple and pink.

I stood up and moved to stand in the warm rays which glittered off of the creekbed. My sore feet made themselves known; I hissed before deciding the cold water was worth it and dipped them in. The cold swirled around my feet, leeching both the warmth and the pain away.

Yesterday had been the absolute worst day of my life, even worse than the time I’d been mugged on the way home from work and had to end up buying a new phone. I was a scholar, not a woodsman. Unfortunately, today’s prospects didn’t appear to be much better, as there was still no sign of civilization, and I had failed miserably at catching food. Logically, I knew humans could go for a few weeks without food, but that did nothing to sate my discomfort.

Ani rustled in the woods behind me, and I turned to see him proudly trot up, a mouse dangling from his mouth. When he got close, he stopped, dropping the mouse on the ground and prodding it with his foot as if to say, “look, food!”

Char blackened one side of the mouse. A fire lizard encounter, perhaps?

“Absolutely not,” I told Ani, both offended that he clearly thought I couldn’t hunt for myself and resigned that he was right. I still wasn’t anywhere near hungry enough to eat a mouse.

An angry trill sounded from above. Ani froze before slinking to sit on the mouse. He began to lick his paws innocently; the action made him look even more guilty. I raised an eyebrow. Another angry trill echoed, and I tilted my head to see a massive, flaming bird bust up like a firework from the forest canopy to dive at Ani, still cawing angrily. I hurriedly stepped out of reach as Its razor-sharp talons clinked on the stone, missing Ani by less than a foot. The bird’s massive head loomed over Ani, sitting about where my hip had been.

Ani continued to clean his paw, ignoring the bird’s angry tirade. My face and chest grew warm with the bird’s radiating heat, and I escaped deeper into the creek. Now that I had all the puzzle pieces, it was easy enough to figure out what had happened. I just wished Ani had been wise enough not to irritate a bird that looked like it could torch and then swallow him whole.

I wouldn’t blame the bird for eating Ani whole if it were as hungry as I was.

They stared at each other for a few seconds in the manner all do when seizing opponents up before the battle.

The moment was broken by a shout from the forest, “Mili! Milli!”

The firebird, Milli apparently, perked up and released a piercing “SQUAAAAK” without so much as blinking away from Ani.

The foliage around where Millli had burst out from rustled as two women burst out from the trees.

“Milli!” The shorter one called. “Get over here!” She pointed a demanding finger towards her side, commanding the bird like a dog. “Now!” Her words were colored with an accent I couldn’t quite place.

Milli gave one last glare at Ani before taking flight towards her owner, landing at the edge of the forest to perch by her side.

“You know better than to leave us like this. Leave the poor kitty alon-hey!” The taller female nudged her in the side, then pulled the shorter one’s vibrant red hair back to whisper in her ear.

Both females made eye contact with me. The wind nipped at my bare chest, bringing a sudden gust of self-awareness along with it. I shivered, crossing my arms in some semblance of modesty.

I was very grateful I still had the pants and felt vindicated for all the times my sister had made fun of me for wearing pajamas to bed “like an old person.”

Both women were dressed far more conservatively than I was used to. The redhead was dressed in enough red, yellow, and orange to stand out like a flame against the night, probably intentionally. She wore a blazing red medieval-style silk dress with gold trimmings, her red curls twisted in an updo. The other woman wore a leather breastplate over a dull red tunic tucked into her beige pants. A sword hung from her belt, her brown hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail. If I had to make a bet, she was the fighter.

They turned back to whisper furiously to each other, gesturing at me as they did so. I dropped my eyes submissively and decided against moving forward, not wanting to scare away my first contact with civilization in days.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

The redhead gestured for me to come closer. I obliged, careful to walk around my discarded spear non threateningly and approaching until her companion motioned for me to stop, slightly outside what I would consider a normal conversation distance. Ani followed, coming to rest near my feet and still acting innocent in front of Millie, who puffed up. He brought the mouse with him as if he were daring Millie to risk the ire of her mistress and take it from him. Her glare promised later retribution.

“What are you doing all the way out here?” The redhead asked, eyeing me as if I was the suspicious one.

“I don’t know,” I answered truthfully.

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Her friend questioned, far more aggressively.

“I mean,” I bit out, irritated. She placed a hand on her sword, a clear threat, and I cut myself off. Having no desire to get disemboweled, I took a deep breath. “I mean,” I said, much more politely, “Two nights ago, I went to bed, and then yesterday, I woke up in a field. I have no idea how I got there or where on Earth I even am.” I struggled to maintain a facade of politeness. I was lost, sore, and very, very hungry. The two of them frowned at my words and turned to make eye contact in a silent conversation. I didn’t appreciate being ignored.

“What?” I snapped. They continued ignoring me.

The redhead asked, “Do you think he’s related to the disappearances?”

The what? I looked down at Ani to see what he thought. He stared back and meowed because he was a cat–not a person. Right.

“Maybe….but p-milady” The brunette corrected herself, glancing at me. “I’ve traveled far, but I’ve never heard that phrase before. And his accent…I’m not sure he’s from anywhere near here. I don’t think he’s one of ours.”

By this point, I was sure I wasn’t.

“Is Earth the region you’re from?” The redhead questioned me. The words struck me like a bat to the head. A lump grew in my throat, and I flicked my eyes up toward the sun. The sun, which, as I had noticed yesterday, was redder than usual. There had been two moons last night, and then there were the strange creatures…

…I didn’t like the puzzle these pieces put together.

“T-this isn’t-” I stuttered. I cleared my throat and tried again. “This isn’t Earth?” This time, my voice stayed steady. They exchanged glances and then shook their heads. I wondered briefly if they were lying or were from a region that didn’t call Earth Earth. The evidence, however, spoke for itself.

“....then I suppose.” If by region you meant planet. My hands began to tremble, and I clenched them into fists, trying to stop the motion. Time to ignore that problem and focus on other things. Like a real adult.

“Well, you are certainly a long way from home then. We’ve never heard of…Earth.” I’d gathered this from their conversation, but hearing them say it still stung.

I took a steadying breath. “It appears as though I am.” I deliberately didn’t think about it.

“None of that explains why you’re dressed like this.” The brunette interjected, gesturing to all of me.

“Helia! Don’t be so rude.” ‘Milady’ snapped.

I licked my chapped lips. “It’s alright,” I said, lying. Nothing about the situation was alright, but I’d rather go down this line of thought than think about the possibility this wasn’t Earth. I must have looked even stranger to them as they did to me, so the question was reasonable.

“These are my sleep clothes-like I said, I went to sleep and woke up somewhere out here,” I gestured back towards the mountain.

“That’s what you sleep in?” Helia asked, directing a pointed gaze toward my chest. Because apparently, my bare chest was the more significant issue here. Not like most people sleep in less.

I flushed. “The top was….misplaced.” Part over the spear near the fire, which had been lit by a fire-lizard.

“But you remembered to put in your earrings.” My hand flew up to check they were still there.

..they will keep you safe.

I debated telling them that I hadn’t gone to sleep with the earrings in; however, my story was unbelievable enough.

“They’re important to me. I slept in them.” I stuck to a partial truth, though I still had no recollection of even piercing my ears—time to change the topic. “I wouldn’t be out here willingly without any shoes,” I lifted an injured foot off the ground, showing off the many cuts, blisters, bug bites, and bruises that covered them. Of course, I wouldn’t willingly be this far from civilization, even with shoes.

The redhead scanned me for a second, then gave a pitying smile.

“You look cold.” she nodded towards the gooseflesh spotting my arms. Though I was cold earlier, these bumps were more from realizing where I was. Or wasn’t.

“That, I certainly am. Hungry too- I haven’t eaten since dinner the day before yesterday, at least.”

“Right,” she said, clapping her hands together. “Let’s get you some food and some warmer clothes then. Come along.” She motioned me to follow her. Milli gave another glare at Ani, then shot off to circle above. Ani took her invitation, trotting after her into the woods.

“M’lady! You can’t just-” Helia protested.

“I can, actually,” The redhead whirled around. “ What if his appearance is related to our investigation?”

Helia was still very clearly unhappy, but she didn’t argue further. I resolved to avoid her and pushed my aching body to move faster and catch up with ‘mlady’ and Ani.

“As you might have guessed, our glaring chaperone is Helia. The phoenix is Millie, and I’m Sera,” Sera gestured to each as she spoke and turned towards me. I noticed for the first time that her eyes were a warm red, a pair of flickering flames that brightened up her complexion. “You are?”

“Hayden.”

She smiled, the warmth of it enough to bring heat to my face. If I was being honest, she and Helia were both gorgeous. Sera was the embodiment of a typical feminine beauty, with her petite build and slim and angular face. She was also, I observed, very toned, and muscle bulges were visible under the tight sleeves of her dress. She moved swiftly and silently, more graceful than anyone I’d ever seen. Helia, while perhaps not a typical feminine beauty due to her muscular build, had a round face that suited her fit physique well. As one might expect, given the sword on her belt, she was clearly the better fighter of the two. Leaves and twigs crunched loudly beneath her feet, but she moved easily through the trees. In their presence, I felt woefully inadequate. My footsteps were clumsy, more so than they had been a day earlier. While I wasn’t overweight, I was certainly not fit and never had been, and my weak arms and lack of abs were on full display for their judgment. I regretted all the times I told myself taking the stairs was enough exercise and resolved to go to the gym more often when I returned home.

“Very well, Hayden. Let’s get you some warmer clothes and food, shall we?” I nodded. “And then let’s talk further about what happened to you.” I nodded again, curious and a little hopeful about the disappearances she’d mentioned earlier.