Clark blinked.
He was just coming to and all he could see was a blurred green.
Blinking again, the green came into focus.
He was lying in tall grass, his face against the ground.
He could smell the dirt.
He laid there for a few minutes.
He had no choice.
He was sore, much too sore than he had any right to be.
The last thing he remembered before this…was he walking toward his apartment?
Was it night?
Was there…Jesus, maybe there was a good reason he was sore.
Was he drunk?
Is that why he couldn’t remember?
Anyway, recollections could be had at a later time.
He focused his energy and got up.
Every movement felt like a release.
It was as though he had never stretched before.
He savored the feeling.
It was immensely pleasurable, as painful as it was.
He placed his sunglasses on.
Then, putting his arms over his head, he looked around, trying to figure out just where the hell he was.
Somewhere out in the country, that was a given.
Probably way out.
It was a little warm, but the mountains he saw still had vast snowcaps.
Judging by the sun, after a careful glance, he guessed that they were east of him.
They seemed to be a fair distance off.
To the north, he saw a forest with at least two rivers flowing through it.
There was land beyond the forest that looked plowed.
Thank God for the small hill and the 20/20 vision.
The west was the same forest with the same rivers, although he thought he could make out a road in the distance.
And to the south, he saw the same forest with no road and no plowed fields.
Clark brought his hands to his sides.
He felt himself beginning to panic and forced himself to take deep breaths.
Counting them in.
Counting them out.
His mom showed him how to do that when he was a kid.
It still worked.
He felt his heart beat return to normal and he sat down, taking in the view.
Also…the smell.
He hadn’t noticed it until the deep breaths, but there was something different in the air here.
Nothing bad.
In fact, quite the opposite…it felt good.
The air was pure.
More pure than any country air Clark had ever breathed.
He looked and saw that the air was clear as well.
No smog or any kind of pollution.
He was lost in this for a half minute before bringing himself down to earth.
Okay, Clark.
Think.
You don’t know where you are and you don’t remember how you got here.
First thing’s first.
Are you hurt?
Clark quickly flexed his digits and gave himself a quick once-over.
No.
Not that I can tell.
Okay.
Next, figure out where you are.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.
Opening Maps, he waited for the screen to load around his blue locator dot…and waited…and waited… He sat there for a long time until he finally looked to see that he had no service.
He should have known.
Sighing, he placed the phone back in his pocket.
No sense wasting the battery.
He checked his keys.
All of them still in order.
Nothing missing.
He put them back and lifted his right ass cheek to fetch his wallet.
Same situation.
Everything was there.
He was relieved at least that nothing was stolen.
He still had his two credit cards and enough cash for food at any restaurant or convenience store he found.
Okay, so a full wallet, keys, enough battery power on the phone to use it when he could, sunglasses, good shoes on his feet and a rain jacket.
Not the worst scenario to be in.
Trying to not be too pleased with himself, he stood.
Next step was to decide where to go.
East into the mountains was not smart.
The farms up north looked promising, but perhaps it wasn’t too bright to go straight there.
The dirt road to the west was his best bet.
Going through minimal foliage to reach whomever was working the fields.
He ran his tongue over his teeth.
His throat was a little parched but thankfully he wasn’t hungry and the weather was very fair.
It was unlikely that he would perish under these conditions before he would reach someone who could help him.
With that in mind and not wanting to waste any more time, he set off down the hill, swinging his arms as he went.
He stopped though before he reached the edge of the forest.
Focusing so he wouldn’t veer off-kilter and fail to keep west.
He just had to hit the road.
Refocused, he set off, placing his hands into the pockets of his rain jacket, feeling something curling around his left hand… Clark stopped immediately, barely three steps into the forest.
Slowly he moved his left hand around and relaxed.
Whatever it was, it was inanimate.
He closed his fingers around the object and retracted it.
He stared.
He was holding a rolled piece of parchment.
For a long time, he didn’t move.
The birdsong was the only sound he heard.
He knew that he didn’t put this in his pocket.
He was sure despite everything.
Clark saw his fingers unfolding the parchment.
Before he knew it, he was reading.
..
To Clark, You can never return to the life you knew.
You should accept that now if you can.
This world is now your home, to live and die in.
Abandon all hope of trying to return to your old world because it is impossible.
Your predicament is not my doing but I hope you will accept my condolences and forgive me for delivering this message.
I cannot tell you much about this new world of yours.
All I can say is that you will find it frighteningly familiar.
You will think yourself insane when you realize what this place is and what will that imply, but I tell you now, no matter what you see or experience, this world IS real.
And you must take it seriously, in order to survive.
If ever you wanted to be someone else, someone new; now is your chance.
I don’t have much time so I’ll write the rest quickly.
First, in order to assist you, I’ve gifted you with some abilities to help you face the dangers you’ll face.
Abilities which I’m afraid I cannot name, but you will have to discover.
They will manifest over time.
Some will take days, others weeks, months, even years.
I know this is frustrating but they are there and they will help you.
Please believe me.
Second, before you figure out what this world is, beware approaching anyone.
You are an alien to them and if you act normally (or what passes for normal in your previous world), you will face dire consequences.
Even if you don’t believe the first part of this message, please heed that warning at least.
There is so much more I want to say, but that will have to do.
Please be careful and take caution.
I know those mean the same thing, but you must do it.
Best of luck, A helping hand PS: Right where you woke up, dig.
I left something for you.
PPS: I know this will not satisfy your curiosity and will probably enrage you even more, but I must say it.
Do not wonder who I am.
You will never find out.
I’m not allowed to say.
I’m not even in your world (the old one or the new).
I’m just someone with too much power and yet not enough of it.
I hope I have used it wisely.
I hope you come out of this safely, Clark.
PPPS: You are NOT insane.
..
Clark stared at the letter, trying to make sense of what he just read.
New worlds, abilities, dangers…what?
He felt himself going toward one thing in the letter he could make sense of…
Running back to the top of the hill, he came to the spot where he woke.
Sliding onto his knees and running his fingers through the soft dirt.
He dug for a short time before he caught a lace.
He gripped it and extracted a small pull-pouch from the earth.
He dusted off the pouch and opened it, spilling the contents onto his hands…
Coins.
Silver and copper coins.
He examined them, doing his mother’s breathing exercise all the while.
He had nine silver coins, all of which featured a stag on one side.
The copper pieces were a bit more diverse.
He had four star ones.
The rest varied in size but all had a seven pointed star on the back.
Clark took only a minute more before placing the coins back in the purse and pocketing it.
He could figure out the currency later.
Right now, he just had to keep moving.
He forced himself not to run, forced himself to think about the letter.
Was it real?
Was this all a joke?
He obviously wasn’t in Portland anymore, but not even in Maine?
In the United States?
On planet Earth?
He was gone?
No, no, no, he thought as he reached the forest and walked westward through the brush.
What other world had breathable oxygen?
And a forest?
And birds?
Nothing in the nearby solar system.
Certainly nothing he could travel to quickly and still be as young as he was.
Clark felt his hand trembling and tried to calm down.
He was getting ahead of himself.
He obviously didn’t travel through space.
No matter what the reality was, he was here now, walking through a forest with no idea where he was.
He needed to reach the road.
As he walked, he made another decision: despite the batshit insanity of the letter, it was a smart suggestion to avoid approaching strangers until he figured out what was going on.
If nothing was up, worst case scenario is that he delayed greeting friendly rural folk who would have directed him to the nearest bus station.
But if something was up…a little caution couldn’t hurt.
Speaking of which, he realized how loudly he was crashing through virgin forest and slowed down, quieting his step.
His rain jacket was forest green and he was wearing dark brown khakis so he was a little camouflaged.
He was thankful for that.
He found himself wondering what world this was.
The letter said he would recognize it.
He would recognize a different world…having never been on any other world, but Earth… This is so fucking stupid.
Regardless, he maintained his cautious approach, and after about forty-five minutes (he couldn’t be sure, the clock on his iPhone wasn’t working), he found himself on the tree line besides the dirt road he saw from the hilltop.
He peered north and south down the road.
Nobody was coming, far as he could see.
Gingerly he stepped on the road, as though it was going to explode under his feet.
He gave a quivering chuckle and shook himself.
He set off north, determined to get to the farms before dusk.
He kept to the edge though, ready to dive back into the foliage should he hear anyone coming.
He didn’t have to wait long.
Coming from the north were the sounds of rolling wheels and the clip clop of hooves.
Clark got himself under cover with plenty of time to spare.
Didn’t stop his heart from beating fast enough to kick his ribs.
The source of the clip clops and the wheels came soon.
Peering from his spot, Clark saw an old man and what looked to be his daughter atop a cart, being pulled by a donkey.
There were sacks in the back.
Both the old man and the woman were dressed in coarse material, him in trousers and tunic.
She in a faded brown dress marked by work.
Clark barely got a good look before they passed by, making good time.
The clip clops faded and when Clark finally deemed it safe enough to emerge, they were disappearing around the bend, far away.