Holy. Shit.

I sat at the foot of my bed, trying to absorb everything Arden told me. He filled my head with everything he could, and it was more than enough to get the gears in my brain grinding.

So this world wasn't Earth. Or maybe it was. Time travel? Who the fuck knows. People who weren't from this place, Reial he said, were here, and I was one of them. He said we couldn't go home either. He'd tried everything, and nothing stuck. That sucked pretty bad. It wasn't like my life was that great back home, but I had friends and stuff. I knew that would sink in eventually, but it really hadn't yet. It would suuuuuck when it hit, though.

Apparently, the gods were also real, and I had been called by one. Well, there were many gods in the past, but the one everyone worshipped now was called the Goddess. Not the most original, but Christians called God, well, God, so it made sense. I asked if there was an afterlife, and Arden said yes, that's where monsters were believed to come from, but no one ever came back from it. It was a physical place under the ground, which they called the Depths, and it was kind of like Hades. He said that people's spirits stick around for a bit once they die, but if they aren't healed and sent back to their bodies fast enough, they go to the underworld, and that was that.

"What the fuck." I looked out the window. A small bird fluttered onto the windowsill and chirped at me. It looked like a cross between a parrot and a hawk. Not from Earth.

My thoughts kept going, spinning around and around. The people were different, the animals were different, and the plants were different. The moon was different. The sun was gone, but there was a big ass tower that made things work kind of the same. If I had enough energy to get outside, I'd check it out, but that little walk to Arden's room ruined me. The sky was almost the same. Slightly more blue, I decided. Kind of eerie, really.

My family... not that I had much of one... Nope. We weren't going there, Alex. Not today.

I limped over to my cot and lay down. After a few moments, I fell asleep.

***

"Hey. Wake up." Someone shook my shoulder gently. "I need to heal you before my shift is over."

"Ugh. Fuck off, dude." My head pounded, and my left arm was aching like crazy. Then I realized what he said and shot up. A gangly-looking teenager with pimples all over his face looked back at me. "Wait, you speak English too?"

"Yeah. Now move over. I need to get this done. I want to sleep." He walked to my nightstand and grabbed my glass of water. He gulped half of it down, then turned back to me.

"What the hell, man?"

"Sorry. I'm a healer. Need water."

"Yeah, but still. Rude. I drink out of that."

"Whatever. Can I heal you or not?" He sounded every bit of a teen as he looked.

"Can I get the pretty one again? I think you're giving me acne."

"Fuck you."

"That's a no. Sorry."

"Look, I'm on shift tonight, so suck it up, and let's get this over with. It's not like I wanna be rubbing all over you either. You fucking reek."

"Okay, okay. I'm moving."

Once I made enough room, the teen started working my fingers and hand. He seemed less skilled than the others, but after a few minutes, the same light glowed in his hands, and the tingling started. My headache went away, and my muscles felt relaxed and loose. My scars, which were still a little red and swollen, softened, and I could tell the kid was doing a decent job. "So what's your name, kid?"

"Tristan."

"Thanks, Tristan. I'm Alex."

"Don't care. Not like you're gonna be here forever or anything."

That was true. I hadn't thought about the future that much yet, but now that I could kick ass and do epic stuff, that's what I'd do. "So how does this work, anyway? How long do we stay?"

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The kid huffed. "I guess we're doing this. You stay as long as you need. You're gonna be here a minute. You're pretty messed up. In a couple months, you'll have the option of staying longer. We're a temple, so we take in everyone who needs us, but most people go on to the city and find a place there. We don't see people back that much."

"Do you ever go?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I was born here, well in Llyn at least. Why would I leave?" His jaw clenched.

"So you're totally happy here? No regrets or anything?" Young man, kind of ugly. Definitely wanted out of here.

"Why are you asking so many questions? I just wanna go to bed."

"Sorry. Thanks for helping. You can stop."

"Great." He stood up and brushed his robe off. "I'll get you water." He shuffled out, nearly tripping on his robe when he did, then came back a minute later with a pitcher and a new glass. "Here you go." He poured the water and handed it to me.

"Thanks. Hey, if you ever want to talk, I'm here, okay?" He seemed lonely, and I could use a friend.

"Fine." He sighed. "Now go to sleep. You need it. Varga'll be here in the morning, so be ready. She won't be gentle. I'll see you tomorrow night."

With that, he left.

The big lady was coming in the morning. I felt my heart rate spike.

***

My heart wasn't wrong. All I could think of when she healed me was those old jokes about Russian massages and people screaming the whole time. That was me. Screaming. But man, when she was done, I felt so much better.

"Bone. Restu nun, filo," she said with the same professionalism as always, but she had a twinkle in her eye that I hated. She was making fun of me in her head. I knew it.

"Bonan matenon, patrino." I parroted the words I heard the day before.

A huge smile spread across her face. "Bonan matenon, Alex! En la lumo." With those last words, she left my room.

After a few minutes, I yawned. Healing really took it out of you. I was out the second my head hit the pillow.

***

Tristan and I talked almost every day. He was a little sulky and kind of naive, but he was a good kid. I didn't like his visits as much as Naya's, but I liked his much more than Renard's or Varga's.

I slept a ton over the next week. That walk across the church did a number on me. But, I was able to start putting food down, and I didn't look so gaunt.

After eight or nine days (I was in and out of sleep so much it was hard to tell), Tristan came in twice as sulky as usual.

"What's up, Tristan?"

The kid sighed. "Can we just not?"

I moved over and let him sit on the bed. "I'm just being nice, you big baby."

He worked my hand and arm for several minutes before sighing again. "Varga says you're doing a lot better. You're healing fast, which is good." His words sounded empty, and he had that edge that people got when they were struggling with something.

"That's cool. I'm looking forward to not having to be healed so much. What's the matter?"

He ignored my question. "She thinks it'll be about two months before you're good again."

"Awesome. What's wrong?"

His face screwed up in that anger that only young, hot-headed teens can show. "It's just a little annoying. Okay?"

"Why?"

"It's not fair!" The kid yelled louder than he meant to based on his own look of surprise. "I'm tired of the same old thing, you know? I've been here since I was born, and there's nothing else. You guys come here, then you go."

"And that's bad, I'm guessing?"

"Of course, it is!" He looked so pouty. "I want to see more, you know? I don't want to be stuck here doing the same thing every day. You get to have adventures and stuff, then you get to come back, and everyone thinks you're awesome. I'm stuck here polishing statues and healing assholes like you."

"I hear you, man. I'm definitely an asshole."

A smile broke out across Tristan's face. I was winning, cutting through the layers of pout to the man beneath. "Yeah, I can tell."

"So what about your parents?"

His smile faded. "They're both dead."

"Oh, shit. I'm sorry, man."

"Whatever. It's fine."

"If you say so. My sister's dead, so that's kind of the same."

"Sorry, man."

"It's fine."

We sat for a minute in awkward silence. "I never asked, what with you being a giant baby and all. How's your English so good? Arden said he doesn't speak much these days."

"Yeah, the old man doesn't. He's my teacher and decided when I was young that we'd focus on Common. There's a merchant in town that I'm friends with. We talk all the time, and I like English. It's... I dunno, it reminds me of my folks I guess. They were from Earth."

The kid was starting to make a little sense. A thought came to me. I could connect with him and learn at the same time. It was hard to flirt with Naya when I couldn't speak to her. "That makes sense. Any chance you'd want to practice with me? I really can't get around if I don't understand anything anyone's saying."

He looked at me for a moment. "Sure. You're the first human we've had in a while. I wouldn't mind."

"Great. So what's up with Varga. Is she a giant or something?"

Tristan laughed. "No. She's just really high-level. So is Rennard. People say they used to be adventurers together, but when she got older, they settled down and built the temple. That's the story at least, but no one really knows. They don't talk about it. They're good people, though. Everyone respects them."

"Good to know."

"Alright, you're all done." Tristan stood up. "Get some sleep. You're gonna be sore tomorrow." He smiled, then said, "Dormu bone. That mean's sleep well." He left the room, and I lay back, looking at the clouds outside.

Tristan wasn't too bad. He was just a kid with big dreams.

I started thinking about my own path forward. What was in store for me? Could I really be something awesome? Arden said it was like video games. Could I be a wizard or something? Or a badass ranger? Two scimitars, black cat, the whole thing? Or maybe a badass assassin, taking jobs and disappearing into the night. Maybe I'd be an archer, striking from the shadows and leaving my mark behind, changing the world one arrow at a time...