Cedric screamed, ripping through the darkness, feeling as twigs and shrubs ripped at his ankles and arms. Behind him, eyes. Many, many eyes. For a moment, the clouds parted as silver, luminescent moonlight shined down on the five rats chasing him. They, too, weren't quite their earthen counterparts. They had relatively the same structure, but they had three tails and three eyes each. their tails thrashed, whipping at nearby shrubs as they ran. Within the grayed, matted fur of its snout, razor sharp teeth glistened in the white light.

Cedric had found his water hole: a small lake about twenty meters wide. In the near blackness, he had just about stumbled in, but managed to snag a nearby root sticking from the ground. As he learned, the lake belonged to the rats. They had been resting, surrounding the pool. In response to him crashing their slumber party, they all sprang to life, chasing him here, where he continued to gasp for air, fighting his burning lungs and calves.

Earlier in the day, Cedric thought he'd seen a cliff between the trees, but it hadn't seemed of import at the time, but now he fled, hoping, praying it was this way. He wasn't confident in his climbing ability, but he could, hopefully, without a doubt, say he'd be better at it than a rat. As if on cue, a large rock face materialized from the darkness, looking over the forest. Yes!

To Cedric's right, a brown blur careened toward him, slicing between the trees. Cedric jumped, throwing one leg forward before following with the second; the kind he'd seen Olympic track stars do. His second foot cleared the jump, but his foot landed hard on a group of roots, twisting it at the ankle. Cedric cursed, biting his lip. It hurt, but he ignored it. It could be fractured, and he just didn't feel it yet, so he pressed on, taking advantage of his adrenaline. When he felt close enough, he jumped forward, his hands outstretched. The first thing that hit the wall were his hands, then his face, then his feet. Shaking away the tickle of blood on his upper lips, he reached up and grabbed the next divot in the rock. He climbed, and climbed, and climbed, his muscles on overdrive, until his hands and forearms burned enough to the point that he had to pause.

Risking a glance, Cedric looked down. He'd actually managed to climb a good bit, the ground half a dozen meters below. The rats were frenetic, climbing over each other, stomping on other's faces, and occasionally shrieking. The sound was not pleasant.

He needed to gain distance. Those shrieks were sure to attract some other nightmarish monsters, and Cedric had had enough of them for one day.

The cliff edge grew closer and closer until he finally yanked himself over. He sprawled across the dirt. His foot had started to throb halfway up the cliff, and he was growing worried.

Immediately, Cedric noticed that the trees had changed for this new piece of forest. They were more familiar to him; not too tall, a bit wider, and with a healthy number of branches jabbing out along the trunk. Before giving his foot any more time to worsen, he got to his feet and climbed again. There’s safety in height. Something his dad used to say. Hopefully, those words still rang true here. Moving one hand and foot at a time, he found a wider branch hanging out about halfway up the tree. It took everything he had to pull himself up and over, and then to sit with his back to the trunk. With a moment of tranquility, Cedric's thoughts drifted to Ms. Judie. Are you here too? In the place? Or did you…well, neither option seemed preferable. Please be okay. Somehow. Please… And then, Cedric succumbed to his exhaustion, his mind fading to black.

* * * * *

A girl wept.

A sodden roof of old thatch bulged inwards above her, threatening to collapse. She held in her hand a wooden figure. It was a woman who looked coincidentally similar to the crying girl. Her stomach growled and her teeth clenched. How could this happen…?

Just outside the cloth used to make her front door, a village resided. But, like her, there were many in tears. Sniveling and whimpers were heard through the night.

“I’ll make you pay,” she said to the empty hut, a rage burning in her eyes.

* * * * *

Cedric awoke with a painful stretch. His elbow had scabbed over, luckily seeming without infection. On the other hand, his foot didn't seem to have been quite as lucky. An ominous purple had grown around the ankle in the night, a slight distention evident. He could rotate it, painfully, but with it being in this condition, what was he supposed to do? It could take over a week for a sprain to heal, and he certainly didn't have that kind of time. The sun inched over the horizon, its golden glow reilluminating the forest. It had been evening when he arrived yesterday, so the light green of the morning sky was new to him. The sun was a similar yellow, which meant that the new green of the sky must have something to do with its chemical makeup or due to the planet's magnetic field. He sighed, shutting the thought down. It didn't matter.

Yesterday's events ran through his mind like a slide projector. There were so many questions, and so few answers. Where is this supposed to be, if not Earth? And what was that— Exp? Especially with the number in front of it. It just seemed too uncanny. He stared at the ground below. Well, first, he had to worry about getting down, and then he needed to find some water and/or food. Preferably both.

Looking down at himself, he had an idea. Slipping his shirt off, he wrapped it around his ankle and tightened it, providing it with as much support as he could. Sure, he was sacrificing his upper body to the elements, but what did he really have to worry about? A sunburn? Mosquito bites? Well…actually, there could be diseases…

“One thing at a time,” he said, taking a deep breath. He tossed his foot over the edge and placed it on the next branch. His ankle protested, but he pushed forward. Before long, his feet were back on solid ground, an annoying layer of sweat already dotting his forehead. In the time it took to climb down, the sky had turned relatively dark, some ill-boding clouds rolling across the sky.

This could be my chance…

Cedric turned around and finagled his fingers behind a thick layer of bark of the tree he'd slept on, and yanked. Placing his good foot against the tree, he leaned back, further and further, his eyes shut hard—it snapped, coming away in his hands as he stumbled backwards, cursing. That went better in my head.

He took to the dirt, stabbing the bark straight down into it and scraping backwards. He did this again, and again, and again, until a half meter deep hole stared back up at him. The sheen of perspiration on his forehead had turned into a fondue fountain, the sweat falling from his face in sheets. But, if his idea worked, it would all be worth it. Now he just needed rain.

Cedric knelt down and sat against his sleeping tree and closed his eyes. The forest was actually pretty nice as long as he wasn't being chased by monsters. His mind turned back to Earth; his poor, unfulfilled future, and hopeless current situation. Would Mallow have gone out with me if I’d just asked? Am I really going to die without going on a real date? Cedric just wanted a normal early adulthood. Go to college, meet some people who shared similar experiences as him, go on dates with girls that would more than likely never turn into anything, wade through classes filled with long papers and class projects, and finally graduate, where he and Mallow would naturally get married. He rolled his eyes. As if. But…

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Cedric felt a raindrop fall against his leg. A sigh of relief parted his lips. It would still need some time to accumulate, so he spent the next half hour looking for some more potential weapons. Returning to his hole, feeling confident in his stash of sticks and stones, he smiled. Dropping his weapons near a tree, he ran over to the hole, where a glistening pool of muddy water sloshed against the dirt. He threw his hands in, the chilled water sending a shiver up his arms and back. Cedric gingerly lifted his cupped hands to his mouth and drank. There were some small twigs and worms in the water, but they were easy to ignore. He exhaled blissfully, his parched mouth and throat feeling refreshed. The water became dirtier the farther down he went, but he still drank most of it. He might have swallowed a worm at one point, but, hey, it's protein, right? He gagged again. Finally, he stripped his shirt from his ankle and wrung it out, spilling the accumulated water into his mouth. It was cleaner, more pure, so it helped wash the dirt flavor from his taste buds. After retying his makeshift compression bandage, he gathered his weapons. The rain had ruined most of the sticks, but they would have probably been useless anyways. So, with the two larger spears and few stones, he pressed onwards. It didn't take long for him to need them. Another raccoon found him.

Cedric had a new cut above his right elbow, but he'd managed to avoid most of the attacks. The monster had a piece of wood jutting from its side, but it still attacked, a deranged gleam in its eye. It leapt again. Cedric leaned away, trying not to aggravate his ankle, but he misjudged the distance as a pair of claws raked his cheek. He clasped his hand over his cheek with a wince.

Whirling around, Cedric snapped his hand down and grabbed one of its vertebrae before it could react. With a grunt, he lifted it in the air. It flailed crazily, but using gravity and his irritation, Cedric swung it back to the ground like a hammer. Its face met a particularly strong looking root, and with a crunch, its skull shattered. His anger unappeased, he lifted it and swung it down again. Anything solid left above its shoulder blades crumpled and collapsed into a pile of mangled flesh.

Breathing hard, Cedric flung the corpse away and grimaced, wiping his hand against his jeans. It smacked a tree with a wet thud. Cesric felt sick and looked at the sky, letting the rain absolve him from his anger. Another [2exp] rose from the corpse and he stared at it as it rose slowly into the air and grew transparent before disappearing entirely. He blinked. Hard. Is this some kind of divine prank? He could imagine a bunch of angels, or maybe even aliens, sitting around a table watching him through a crystal ball, laughing at his struggles. It was enough to rekindle his anger. If it was exp, like truly ‘experience points’, what would that mean? Am I in some kind of video game? That sounded far sillier actually put into thought. He laughed to himself as he continued on the invisible path he'd decided through the trees.

Rounding another hill, his stomach housed an underground concert, rumbling loudly against the still forest air. At this point, it might be loud enough to attract predators. The ground and trees were becoming less and less slick with moisture, signifying that the rain hadn't struck this area as much. Almost the same moment he realized this, he saw it; light blue, like the afternoon sky back at home. A fruit hung from a few branches in a nearby tree. They were about the size of an apple and not too far away either. Finding a long stick, he swatted at one of them until it detached, falling to the ground with a splat.

“Ahh,” he said, feeling stupid. He knocked another one down and caught it this time. It felt a little softer than an apple, its surface giving way under his touch. It smelled like…cotton candy? With drool practically dripping from his chin, he took a bite. Fun fact: it did not taste like cotton candy. He sputtered, blue liquid dripping from his chin. It tasted like sour milk. Is it supposed to taste like this? He knocked another one down. Same taste. Eugh…why? I just want a banana. Is that too much to ask? He gulped. Beggars can’t be choosers, I guess. He went to work, devouring one, and then two, and then almost three, but he couldn’t stomach it anymore. It was all he could do to not throw it back up. Thankfully, it was high in water content at the very least. He shuddered again, wiping his mouth with his wrist. Happy that was over, he continued on.

The following ten minutes or so were calm, uneventful; just like he would like it to always be, but life, apparently, had other plans. Another raccoon appeared, but, like the first one, it was asleep. Knowing better, he tip-toed around it at a safe distance. Having nearly passed it, Cedric noticed something off about it. Well, rather something new. Everything was off about it. A tiny gray square hovered above its head, moving slightly with the rise and fall of its breath.

When Cedric leaned forward to get a better look at it, the square expanded. Cedric wheeled, expecting claws against his face, tearing apart his eyes and nose. Nothing touched him. He inched his right eye open and gasped. Not audibly, but mentally. Staring back at him from the square that had grown to take up a small portion of his vision was a name: Groglee, and next to it, in all of its unparalleled perplexity was: [Lvl.1].

Cedric breathed in and out a few times before letting himself think. Experience? Levels? There's no way that’s a coincidence. He sat down, placing his head in his hands and rocking it from side to side. He looked up quickly. Wait. Level one!? How is that thing level one? That’s supposed to be, like, a slime or— or a small creature with low offensive ability. If that thing is supposed to be level one, I am beyond screwed. He had been stumbling around in death’s embrace for almost an entire day without realizing it. At least not fully. Around any corner, he could have run into something bigger. Meaner. But, I guess he already knew that. Adding levels to it just made it far more tangible and quantifiable.

Wanting to make sure, Cedic looked at it again. [Groglee: Lvl1]. He felt himself drawn to the name and focused on it further. Somehow, the expanded gray box grew even larger still, making him jump. If the ideas of experience and levels hadn’t been enough to validate his idea, then this certainly did.

Name: Groglee

Race: Medrial

Level: 1

— —

Pow: N/A

Fin: N/A

Int: N/A

Gua: N/A

Aeg: N/A

Vit: N/A

Wis: N/A

“Stats!?” Cedric squeaked. He quickly covered his mouth before looking back at the raccoon. It hadn't stirred, still soundly asleep in its grossness. Still, though…stats? It only made sense really. What are levels without stats? That's like a gun without bullets or a car without gas. Cedric looked back over the screen.

Name, level, race, and stats it seems like. Pretty standard for an rpg. I really am going crazy, aren't I? Well, the name and level were obvious and the race probably wasn’t too important, unless there were racial buffs and abilities. But, the stats…

His finger slid down the screen. So, pow would be power, most likely; fin was finesse; int was obviously intelligence; he didn't recognize the next two, but gua sounded a lot like guard, so he'd just assume these were defensive stats until told otherwise; vit was vitality, and lastly, wis would be wisdom.

Cedric felt out of breath. From demon raccoons, to an alien forest, it was only now, looking over this screen, that he truly felt like he was about to wake up in his bed, the meteor on its way into town. It just didn't make any sense. Well, none of it made sense, but this was just…like…

His head hurt. Whatever. He closed the screen with the small x in the top right corner. It didn't matter what it was. Cedric stood up, and continued on, his mind still spiraling. He still needed to find a more reliable source of water.

What about Ms. Judie?

She hated video games, with a passion. Anytime he did something wrong, they were the first thing to go. She’d look for any excuse to limit his access. If this really was a game, then she was hopeless. That wasn’t a realization he wanted to make, but it was true. Maybe there were towns. If she did show up in this world, maybe she spawned inside a town. But, remembering the mucus membrane situation he’d had coming in, that probably wasn’t going to go over well with the locals. He imagined panic, calling for witchcraft, her burning at the stake. He bit his gum. Well, that’s assuming there was a town. Maybe it’d be better if she didn't. Argh! It’s all bad! Cedric threw his hands in the air and sighed. One thing at a time, he reminded himself.

Water.

Water, water, water.

Water is number one.

That was, until he heard talking.