Uncovering and opening his eyes, Zan saw shadows.

However, it was not shadows he had ever known. Before now, a ‘shadow’ was something he knew only in relation to light. Looking around at where he found himself now, shadows existed everywhere. But Zan saw no ‘light,’ no sun or large fire. And yet, there was light… just not a kind of light Zan had ever before encountered. Here, both light and dark, seemed artificial. Or like a demon or angel’s conception of light and dark.

A forest? Zan asked himself. His reflexes caused him to send his finger to his ear, ask the Screen Master. Then he remembered — no communication.

Resuming his self-talk, Zan said, ‘The backroads are a forest?’

It was a weird forest. The trees were not like a natural forest, planted at odd ends and without order. This forest saw order at its center, arranged. As if someone had taken the effort to plant each tree in a rigid line.

Turning his attention to the ground, Zan saw a dirt path. No stones, no brick. Just dirt. Scooping a patch of earth into his fingers, Zan wanted to see what the material of this place was, yet found the material to curl from his hand, as if the soil hadn’t ever touched his skin.

‘Weird, weird, and more weird… okay? Time to get out of this place. The Screen Master said, ‘follow the light,’ but what light?’ Zan thought.

Taking a step forward, the world recoiled.

Squeezing his eyes shut, Zan felt like he had to hurl.

Keeping his lunch down, Zan opened his eyes and took another step.

Another recoil, but with slightly less impact.

Taking a few more baby steps, Zan felt each step impact him less and less. Though by the end of a dozen steps, he had to take a genuine break, least he vomit for real.

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Restored, Zan continued his walking, now hardly feeling the recoil with every motion. Looking ahead, Zan saw the same ordered forest. The trail ahead of him. But where was the light?

Coming to a cross-roads, Zan wondered — ‘which way should he go?’

Scanning the horizon, Zan wondered if he had color blindness? He couldn’t see anything like a light Simulacrum described. Maybe he was just stupid?

Seeing no light, Zan took a right and walked along the road.

With each step he took, Zan felt no great enlightenment. He felt no wind on his skin, no warmth from any sun, nor even the crunch of gravel under his foot. He walked and walked for what seemed like hours. ‘I’ve only been here for a few minutes,’ Zan reminded himself several times during his walk. ‘I gotta keep myself straight. Few minutes. That’s how long I have been here…’

It was then when Zan noticed something different.

‘The trees?’ Zan asked. What about the trees?

His mind set something off. The trees looked… ‘closer together, maybe?’

Zan investigated as well as he could without going off the path. He turned around, walked some back, then returned to the point along the path where he thought the trees were different. ‘I’m right,’ he concluded. ‘Here, the trees are planted closer together. Why?’

Obviously, an answer would not be forthcoming. So Zan contented himself for simply noticing something about the weird place. Then he resumed his trek.

After several more minutes of passing, which felt like several hours, Zan reached his breaking point. He was tired, hungry. He had to get out of this place. Something was wrong. Whatever was happening, it was not something the Screen Master intended.

Daring to break into a run, Zan rushed along the dirt road. Feeling an intensity within his heart, his head, and his soul, Zan forced himself faster and pushed himself into overdrive, not caring about the recoil he felt from every step. He would puke — whatever. He didn’t care. Not if it brought him out of this place.

Eventually, Zan saw a sight to lift his saggy spirits. A light!

But at his pace, Zan noticed too late how the light was not… bright, if that made any sense. The light, rather, was bleak.

Dark, almost. Like, a glimmering rush of shadows had somehow become trapped within a radiant sunbeam.

Zan could not react in time to this revelation, however, and ran headfirst into the corrupted glint. Light and shadow overtook him. When he came to, Zan found himself back in the real world, but where in the real world? He did not know…