Within an instant the darkness receded and a smooth layer of light fluttered over my closed eyes. Soon, that light swayed periodically, blocked out in sporadic patches. This flicker of the lights was like the ignition of a car being jump started. Everything burst to life. The engine that pounded in my chest beat a thrilled tune whilst the lungs gasped for substance. Intense, painful ringing pierced through my ears, injecting new yet familiar information that was too vague for me to fully connect together. I gripped my head in a vice, willing the pain to subside whilst my brain processed it all at the forefront of my mind.

As though someone had shoved an old toy camera over my eyes and was clicking through the still pictures like some messed up slideshow, distorted, jarring images faded in and out of my vision. Flashes of consciousness that seeped through all of my senses that I could barely piece together.

“… a success…” A carving of viking-like runes patterned a hard stone circle and the thick stench of sweat permeated around me.

“…rians!” Glistening silver armour stained a deep hue alongside bellowing cries.

“Do not let them…” Gurgling, gaping mouths alongside pointing arms. The mix of shining metal and matte rags was just odd enough to distinguish.

“…ead to the forest…” Glimpses of towering trees surrounded by a myriad of blended colours that bounced in the moment.

“Keep him secure.” A strong, diligent voice.

“What have they done?” Soft, echoing words and then static.

That was all my mind had to relay to me which was nothing but the sudden overload burnt through my cognitive function; in turn sucking the energy from the rest of my body. Sleek, cold beads of sweat ran along my skin as my lungs desperately squeezed at the chance to draw in fresh air to calm the erratic flow tearing into my muscles.

Eventually, my respiration regulated, truly allowing me to determine where the fuck I was.

However, as everything awoke to the current space, my mind decided it best to replay its previous, more intact, moments. Shattered glass, piercing screams and blood. Lots of blood. The metallic stench still permeated in my nose, lingering like moss on a tree. A rush of memories and senses assaulted my mind and became too much to bear. It had to expel it somewhere. I shot from my prone position, leaning over to my side and released whatever substance had remained in my stomach. The vile liquid left my burning throat and hit the trodden mud with a wet slap. My eyes stung and my stomach ached but thankfully, I was alive.

I’m alive!

I patted every inch, every surface and every nook over my body, ignorant to my nakedness as excitement bubbled with each confirming tap. A heavy, worryful sigh left my body as the familiar appendage dangled freely between my legs.

“Oh, thank fuck for that…” Establishing my manhood brought a fresh sense of relief, but also questions around my current state.

Mud layered the floor in a thick, sloppy carpet and the walls were not pristine, sterilised white but a worn, weathered khaki green. The room was bereft of any hospital equipment. No monitors to examine my heart rate or to track my oxygen levels. Rather, I was in a makeshift tent containing several wooden crates and a single, thick pole that hoisted the rather shoddy fabric.

Why had I been left naked in the middle of a shabby, tattered tent, without so much as a first aid kit present? It was certainly not a sanitary situation to be in and no matter where I was in the country, the paramedics could not have left me here.

Unless… No. There was no way. Surely I hadn’t died in the incident? Or did they just think that I had died and used whatever they could find to store my body for the time being? Even then, I had watched TV shows where those that were proclaimed dead were placed within body bags and stored to the side whilst they cleaned up the scene. I was left underneath a shitty, thin blanket, completely exposed to the elements. If I did die, this was a ridiculous place to wake up in.

Am I alive?

My thoughts turned to the crash. I could not have dreamt that. The details, down to the minute shard of glass, were too vivid for me to have conjured in my sleep. The pain I had experienced was profoundly real. However, there was no more pain. Patting down my body elicited no shock or bruise and there were no cuts marking the skin along my arms. I was entirely unblemished save for the regular few moles. To say I was completely rejuvenated was an understatement. In fact, I felt like I had just woken up from the best night's sleep I had ever had.

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What happened to me? Nowhere in the world had resources great enough to heal the injuries I had sustained, and mine could not have been the worst.

An icy wave of realisation washed over me.

Where was everyone else?

I blinked back to the flashes that probed the edges of my thoughts but there was not enough cohesion to provide any sort of answer for me.

At that moment, reality sank in deep. There was nothing else here. Nothing that really indicated any kind of medical assistance, nor were there any pieces of clothes that I could wear. If they truly believed me to be dead, why leave me here? Wherever here was.

Throwing the questions aside, I wrapped the scratchy material - that I must have been laid upon like some improvised bed sheet - around my frame and I was determined to figure out where I was and why I was left alone. Caution guided my step as I gripped the entranceway, and took a step outside where I was greeted by an icy blade to the neck. The cold steel was a warning that my instincts followed.

“Don’t move.” A hard voice came.

I traced my eyes up the blade back to its owner. Specks of rust dotted the steelwork with obvious chips donning a majority of the edges. Holding this mediaeval weapon was a balding, gristly man with a horrendous case of acne. He stood a head above me, glaring down with a thick hatred in his eyes.

I dared not speak. Not with the sword at my neck.

A real fucking sword!

“Now,” His rotten breath washed over me. “Yer gunna follow me and yer gonna stay fuckin’ quiet.” He radiated a bloodlust that chilled me to my core. I had never experienced something so potent in my entire life. Every ounce of my being wished to slink away, try my luck, but a sword could be very persuasive; especially in the hands of someone so clearly on the brink.

“Where-”

Stars burst into my sight as my head whipped to one side. I staggered hard and crashed to the ground.

Did this fucker just swipe me?

I kept my mouth tight and lips firmly pressed together, knowing the next time wouldn't be as lenient. I heaved myself off the floor, gripping the makeshift robe tightly in one hand whilst the other clutched at my throbbing skull. I had no idea where he was about to take me but I was not a fan of being smacked by a pommel again. Raising back on shaky legs, Baldy shoved me to walk in front of him and I complied in an instant.

Glorious, skyscraping trees enclosed us in every direction, similar to the forests around the village I lived in except one crucial element. The colour of this forest was filled with a vitality that was unaffected by the poison of human society. Every tree grew with a green vigour into plush, rich leaves. Some would grow their leaves from the top to create a sheet that encased the forest in a soft blanket whilst others would puff out and provide the insulation to this natural palace. The understory was awash with various young trees and small shrubs that boasted plenty of vibrant fruits blossoming from their branches. No two shrubs housed the same fruits as their neighbours. I had never been much for the outdoors but wherever this was in the world, this place was gorgeous.

After feeling like I was walking on lego for the last five minutes, I finally turned my attention to the floor. The forest floor was as expected from such a rich environment. Littering the floor were plenty of twigs, sticks and half-eaten pinecones or fruit branches. All of which I had to avoid due to not wearing any shoes. I was taking extra care where I placed my feet, looking for spaces with less debris so my soles weren’t shredded. Each step was like walking on thousands of needles but anything was better than the sword poking me in the back..

As we moved through the dense forest, the narrow spaces between the trees began to fill and I had to take another look to notice the array of tents lined up within the thicket. In some kind of clearing except with forest trees encompassing the area on all sides, the tents had been set up in closed encampment. All of them were similar to the scraggy one I awoke in except they were pitched much larger and with much more precision. Crates aligned the outsides of each tent with sacks bursting at the hem on top of the larger ones. Beside those were different pieces of farming equipment with the odd sword or shield slumped by the entrances.

Walking past the tents, it appeared that Baldy was one of the lucky ones. My stomach curled as I passed tents inhabited by multiple people nursing a wound more grievous than the last. A young man was slumped forward, his arm, or where his arm should have been, was wrapped in layers upon layers of bandages all stained with blood. In another, a couple sobbed over a covered body and it wasn’t hard to imagine why.

It went on like this for the next few tents. A sobbing partner or a fatal wound. It was horrific. No matter where I turned, the situation didn’t change. It was as though they had fought a war and suffered an immense loss. There had to be a few hundred of them. All of them at a complete loss with no indication that things would get better. Every other tent, someone would turn their attention to me and would give me a scowl deeper than the bald man escorting me. There was a rooted hatred in their eyes that shocked me down to my core. I did not know there was a way to hate someone so inherently.

What the fuck is going on?