My whole body felt like it was enveloped in an inferno; every centimeter of my being on fire. No, it felt likes nails that were made of fire were jabbing into and out of every inch of my skin one hundred times a second. No, it felt like I was being ripped apart into tiny shreds, and each shred was subject to a different kind of torture. No, it felt like I was dropped into a vat of acid designed to maximize pain on wherever it touched. No, actually, it felt like all of those combined times one hundred. But I awoke, feeling nothing at all. Well, that wasn’t true. I felt the snot and tears running down my face. It felt like it lasted forever, or for no time at all? Oh. I may have pissed myself. It was hard to tell because it felt like sweat was pouring out of every possible hole it could. I don’t know how long I stayed curled up and bawling for but forever wouldn’t have been enough. The pain still felt fresh in my mind, even if it also felt disconnected. I wasn’t sure if that was a coping mechanism so I didn’t go crazy, or if that was all fake. Real or fake, it hurt like hell. But eventually, the tears stopped. Probably because I was running out of body fluids. I guess time heals all wounds. Probably not, that shit REALLY hurt. However, the feeling of grass beneath me made me finally actually open my eyes and look around. Well, fuck. I’m not in the middle of some town or village, because that would be convenient. I guess Serath decided that the middle of the fucking woods was a perfect place to put me. I don’t even know why I’m down here! I guess their ‘Boss’ just wanted to see me suffer in the woods like some fucking country bumpkin. Assholes. Thick woods, thicker foliage, and little light greet me as I check all around. I’m probably lucky that nothing came and tried to eat me while I was suffering on the ground. Ha. Yeah, totally lucky. I’m just stuck in the middle of fucking nowhere.
Fuck. Seriously. Fuck.
Well, I wasn’t the best boy scout in the troupe. Or even a boy scout at all. Maybe that would have been helpful now. You know, if I had the foresight to prepare for being thrown into the middle of the woods without anything. To be fair though, I doubt the boy scouts would train you to be dropped off in the middle of the woods on another planet. In another universe? How the fuck should I know, I doubt I’m in any position to check, let alone make use of that knowledge.
Maybe I have other problems. When was the last time I ate? Speaking of, that growling sound means probably not recently. And is it just me, or is it oddly hot and dry? I have a very dry mouth; I should probably find something to drink too. Maybe I should worry about finding fresh water.
I do remember that there were four things when trying to survive in the woods; I probably read it somewhere on the internet. What you want – in order- is air, water, food, and shelter. Well, it seems like I can breathe here. That’s a good sign. Unless I drop dead in about five minutes, but I guess I’ll burn that bridge when I get to it. So- water. I guess I could wander around looking and listening for a river or lake or something. But, who knows if I’ll really find anything soon… and I think it has been a while since me – or this body – has had a drink. Am I in my body? Did I take over some random Joe’s body? I’ll have to check when I find water, or a mirror, or something. I seem fairly similar. Same skin color, same arms, same legs, same d- you get the picture.
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Well, everything is pointing towards trying to survive. In the middle of the woods. For who knows how long. This world could be massive; who knows if I’ll ever see another living human – hopefully I’m still human – in this world. Even if I just walk in one direction forever… though I’d probably die in less than a day.
Speaking of, if I don’t get to work soon I’ll probably die no matter what I do. I guess I could try and climb a hill or mountain to get high, heh, and look for clearings or something. Uh… I could also try and climb a tree. Yeah, sure, I’ll give it go. I’m a semi-muscular man. I’ve got this. Thirty minutes, a few bruises from falling later, and I’m high enough in the tree to see slightly above the tree-line. Huh, it must be my lucky day; there seems to be a lake not too far from me; the thick trees and hills must have blocked it from view from ground level. A few loud curses later, and I’m back on sweet, sweet ground. I may be slightly afraid of heights. Actually, scratch that. I’m afraid of falling. Yeah, that’s it, I have a fear of long falls that could possibly lead to my death. There seems to be a lot of things trying to kill me in my short time of being here. Thirst, hunger, trees. What a terrible place. At least there aren’t wolves trying to gut me or something. Wait. What’s that sound? I can clearly hear some wolf howls. Maybe it’s just some hunting dogs? Hopefully? The growling snaps me out of my optimistic thoughts, as a trio of hungry-looking, foaming wolf-like creatures jump out of a nearby bush. I say wolf-like because normal wolves aren’t this big, and most certainly don’t have an extra set of arms and eyes. Shit. Fuck. Shit shit shit shit. My mind grinds to a halt as the creatures pace towards me, and all I can think to do is slowly back away. Fuck. I’m actually going to die. Again, I guess. This time seems like it will be much more gruesome; I think I’d rather have the goons back. Or be in the sweet embrace of Serath. I don’t wanna get eaten alive by alien wolves!
Wait! I remembered something from some nature documentary that you should just yell and try to look big as possible if wolves attack you – something about trying to be an alpha or something. I yell as loud as I can, screaming random swear words and about how I’m not tasty. Might as well hedge my bets. But I seem to have been mistaken, or these aren’t like Earth wolves, because they stand up on their back legs and howl in response, quickening their pace. I’m not sure how far these things can pounce, but as I watch the lead one bend down for a lunge, I dodge behind a tree. Fuck. Shit. This isn’t working. Still screaming out my lungs I duck and dodge behind trees and brush as the wolf-beasts get closer and closer with each leap. Well, it was a good few hours being here, I guess. Maybe Serath and Jaren will send me back?