For the umpteenth time I find myself wondering why I was cursed to be so lucky to have been born in the twenty-first century-for many a time of opportunity and freedom-if I was going to spend it stuck in Africa.

'I might as well be in the dark ages, at least then i wouldn't have to attend this hollow meeting...'

I barely manage to suppress a soul sundering sigh as my superior sets his eyes on me.

'Dr. Quill, you still haven't sent in your monthly statistics report, I don't have to remind you how important that is for your quarterly evaluation.' curtly says Dr. Barbaros as he moves on just as quickly, sweeping the meeting room with a bizarre amalgamation of cruelty and childish glee as he announces to the room 'before wrapping up ide like to inform everyone that you will be required to do an additional night shift starting next month due to personnel shortages, HR is doing their best to find new recruits but for now...''.

Still slightly seething from his first remark, I quickly lose focus on what he's saying. my mind goes to rather ugly places as I imagine all the ways I can strangle his fat little neck, of course i quickly lose interest at the thought of touching his slimy red skin.

Sigh.. ''who thought being a doctor would be this shitty..... ugh Africa.'' i mentaly lament again as i prepare to head out as quickly as possible and make my way to the exit, dodging overly friendly colleagues like an NFL champion

'It's always the incompitent ones that are the most friendly'' I inwardly sneer as i finally lose the crowd. '' it was the same in med school, people who can stand on their own two feet have no need for superfluous relationships, while the drudges seek to embolden themselves with numbers....'' of course in the end they were all snakes, as experience taught me time and again.

I walk out of the hospital that looks less like a modern healthcare institute and more like a war zone makeshift infirmary, and face the scorching desert sun. Trying not to think of my past and the circumstances that brought me here, I make my way home with exhausted relief.

My social life may be severely lacking but at least i don't have to constantly worry about being stabbed in the back. Perhaps it's the culture or perhaps its biological but my compatriots as i've come to discover are quite malignant both in nature and in deed. And I find it especially problematic considering that I'm surrounded by the so-called creem of the crop of society.

No matter how unfit they are for scientific endeavour, they are still more cunning than your average person, just enough to be especially scheming. so I watch my back at all times around these colleagues of mine.

I finally arrive home exhausted after a long walk in the Saharan sun, I open a can of Soda after haphazardly throwing my backpack and uniform by the door.

'Can't even get a beer in this hellhole' Alcohol being banned in this region because if you don't have basic human rights why would you need social liberties? I sarcastically think as I plop on the sofa.

I open my favorite book, and engrossed in tales of fantasy, idealisme and magic I lose track of time.

By dinner time I'm wondering why the world isn't as simple as the dichotomy of good and evil we so readily consume in both popular entertainment and religous beliefs. Why do human beings have to be so complicated. Why is Being so complicated?

I tidy up after dinner and head to sleep, knowing that tomorrow will be another busy day in the ER. 'God knows I need all the rest I can get.' curtailing my mind from delving into the thorny notion of my beliefs about God and existance.

And I dream.

--

All I remember is the loving embrace of Darkness, like a womb, it permeates every part of my being. I don't know how long it lasted or if time even applied there, but it was the most peaceful rest i ever had. Until I heard it, a voice calling to me from afar.

'Come now child, your journey must begin for mine is at an end'

confused, I think who broke into my room? I try to open my eyes, try to focus but I can't feel anything except the faint voice in the darkness.

'The road ahead is merciless and nothing will prepare you…'

'Hold on to your essence for it is all that will remain.'

--

I am doubly blinded by fear and a sudden burst of light as I feel myself falling into an abyss. And just as suddenly I find myself screaming eyes wide open, staring at a blue sky.

I fumble around, hands going to my face, body and limbs feeling like I'm on a mushroom trip.

'Where am i?' this is definitely not the desert, let alone my bed room i think, as i register the cacophony of a vibrant forest and am assaulted by a rich landscape of various shades of green.

My mind automatically goes to the womb of darkness I dreamt about and the voice I heard, feeling a chill run down my spine as I think about all the implications.

'This can't be happening… i hope this is not what i think it is, otherwise…'

'One step at a time, Quill, i'm gonna figure this out just like I always do.'

I pull myself together and steel my resolve as I start to check my surroundings.

'The flora is quite strange, nothing I've seen before, not even on TV, and what am I wearing…' I look at the simply adorned thick white scholarly robe I am wearing over black leggings and black boots, its style looks ancient and rather refined, but I'm quite speechless at the thought of having been undressed. 'Wtf…well, at least I'm not barefoot in my pajamas in the middle of God knows where. You take what you can get I suppose…'

I make my way through the small clearing I find myself in, making sure not to touch any strange plants as my medical training warns me about poisonous flora and allergies, not that I recognise anything to begin with, but better be safe than sorry.

My mind goes into overdrive as I helplessly find no traces of civilization nearby, I start trudging through the woods as I think on what to do from here.

'Ok, be positive, be proactive, leave the nitpicking for later, what do I need right now?'

This has clearly turned into a man vs wild situation, so I need to secure basic living resources except… i have no idea how to survive in the wild damn it!

I fall back on my medical training and start thinking the other way around. 'What could kill me right now? 'Aside from snakes and spiders and whatever this strange place has to offer you mean?' a snide part of me retorts.

I feel cold sweat flush my body at the thought of the misery that is to come as I think to myself 'I can survive a few days without proper food, but I need to find clean water today or I'm done.'

I have no idea how to find water in a forest but some things are common sense and I'm comforted by the thick foliage, so if all else fails I'll just start digging. I start searching, making sure to keep my eyes out for any animal tracks or birds that might lead me to nearby streams or lakes.

--

After a couple of hours of carefully making my way through the forest, not only have I not found any water but I'm running for my life! Being chased by something that looks like a deer with tusks and sharp antlers.

I came across the animal as I was happily following a trail of barely discernible hooves and I thought I was quite smart for doing so. Little did I know...

Looking at the cute small deer from behind, the thought of having found dinner made me a little greedy so i tried to find the biggest rock i could find without scaring the little beast away, thinking if i could land a good hit to the head or cripple one of it's limbs it would be an easy kill from there.

But just as I was hurling a medium sized rock towards it, it reacted in a peculiar way, it's neck turning at an unnatural angle as it dexterously avoided the laughable projectile and stared at me with ravenous eyes.

Let's just say that i quickly realised my mistake as i locked eyes with it, my mind automatically telling me to run as i half registered the unnatural tusks and sharp teeth.

I quickly bolted down hill, despairing at the thought of being chased by a species resembling a deer, knowing full well through my experience in the desert how they are capable of short bursts of extreme speed.

Hurling profanities at my luck and whatever voice had brought me here I ran, feeling my imminent death approach as I hear the sound of the deer-like thing getting closer faster than my mind can think.

I run for my life in a panic as I try to keep my eyes on the forest floor, desperately trying not to trip, remembering all the horror movie scenes and of the fools that get killed in the first fifteen minutes of the show in a similar way. 'I'm not even black!' i cryingly complain as I feel the jaws of death approaching.

suddenly my eyes shine with hope, as I percieve just a few meters away a weathered fallen tree branch and know that's my only hope, so I throw myself at it with all the strength I have left, narrowly avoiding the beast behind me.

I stumble to the ground and feel the hard rock's edges dig into my skin as I hold on to the thick tree branch as if it is my only lifeline and half raise it in the split second it takes for the beast to lunge at me, teeth bared. I hear myself scream as pain like nothing I've ever felt hits me, my left hand going numb as I feel a torrent of blood run down my hands and drench my white robe.

For a second i think 'that's it i'm dead' but then i'm only assaulted by silence so i open my clenched eyes, not realising i had been frozen in fear and pain, only to see the beast penetrated by the branch, the thing stumbles away, tenaciously holding on to whatever embers of life it has left as it leaves a trail of intestines, blood and bodily fluids in its wake.

I look down to see that I have a gastly wound on my left forearm, courtesy of the creature's jaws. I suppose had not raised the branch above my head that would be my neck bleeding not my arm.

A wave of anger bubbles inside me as i realise i narrowly escaped death, and i might not be so lucky the next time.

Seeing the beast trying to flee I quickly muster whatever energy and courage I have left as I raise the bloody branch with all my strength and swing at the thing, again and again. And that's when I heard it.

[Mutant Odocoileus babirusa LV 5 killed]

[basic requirements met]

[system unlocked]

[updating…]