Everything was bleary and I could see two other shapes standing over me. The shapes were just starting to come into focus, but right now I was more worried about where I currently was at this time.
I could right now feel grass under my hands, in fact I can feel grass all along my back. Now that I think about it it feels a little breezy down below.
I start trying to remember where I currently was, and like trying to find my lost keys I start at the beginning and go through everything that happened today up to a point.
Ok let's go through all the things I have been through step by step. I remember being in school and discovering John and the armored chick, who's name I still don't know, and then I confronted them until a flash of light. Finally after the flash I remember being in a cold dark place.
Any memory I have in that dark place is a blur, I think they're was someone with me, or was it some light? Still trying to wrap my brain around this I realized the two figures above me were talking loudly.
I had to squint my eyes due to the sun being behind them, and then I realized that one of the figures was that armored lady...who right now was trying to chop my head off!
My eyes went wide at this sight and trying to move as fast as I could I quickly rolled over to my right side right as the blade stuck the ground where I once was. Now on my stomach I looked into the face of my would be killer who was yelling at me.
"What do you think you're doing here!" she suddenly screamed at me, her face red in anger. She was pointing her sword right at me as I slowly pushed off the ground and stood up with my hands raised.
"Look lady I dont know who you are, I don't even know where I am, now why don't you calm down and think about all this in a calm and rational way, instead of trying to chop my head off!"
But that only further seemed to piss her off as she started swing that sword of hers at me, I continue to doge not noticing that my body seems lighter and faster than it once was.
I continue to speak to her calmly and try to get her to put the sword down as she tries to kill me, and after a few agonizing minutes of dodging I see her start to calm down, seeing that I continue to try to get through that thick skull of hers.
Strangely when I see her look down at my feet her face goes bright red again but not in anger but in embarrassment, she quickly looks away. I look down to see what the problem was when I saw that I was in fact stark naked, and at this sight I quickly cover up with my hands seeing nothing else around me.
I look around for my clothes thinking that I lost them when John hands me a bag full of clothes, I then realized that John was wearing different clothes that look like they came out of a fantasy convention. He looked like some faraway prince in those dashing clothes that looked like they were custom made for him..
I open the bag to see what I got but all I saw was some plain and simple medieval looking clothes, still no use complaining and besides it was getting colder. Going behind a bush nearby I come out after getting dressed, it was a simple tunic and pants that came with brown vest and cloak.
I walk up to Alice and John and continue where we left off before the embarrassing interval. "Now let's start with what I am being blamed for and I will try to explain myself to the best of my ability for whatever I did wrong, and maybe someone can also explain why I was naked."
At that she finally puts her sword down and sheths it on her back. She takes a deep breath and grumbles before finally facing me with angry stare, wow I mean if looks could kill I would have died a thousand times.
Giving a quick look at John she speaks.
"Do you have any idea how dangerous it is what you just did. That return spell I used was only meant for two people, TWO! So many things could have gone wrong and most of those bad things would have killed the hero and me. We are lucky that the only thing that went wrong was we ended up off course. I don't even know how you are even alive." she said still fuming.
She took another deep breath and blushed a little as she said "As for your clothes, it was decreed long ago that the two worlds would never meet, so if one tried to teleport between the two they would be cast out to the void, that includes objects and people. John and me were safe since we were originally from here, but his clothes were not so they were cast out, what I don't get is how you are still here."
I look at her with a strange look on my face "Wait are you telling me that we are no longer on earth?" my voice cracks a little as I say this and although I already know the answer I did not want to believe it.
Both her and John share a look then face me giving a nod to my question and confirming my worst fear. I feel like curling up in a ball and crying silently, because I feared that I would never see any of my friends or family again, but all I can do is stare at them with a blank look and just ask "how?"
The girl did not say anything and looked at me with some pity and held her palm up and right above it a ball of light came into existence, than a fireball. Seeing that I walked up to her and put a hand by the flame and it felt hot, not an illusion.
I look deep into her eyes and simply say the one word that would answer all my questions of how "magic" and once again she nodded, closing her hand the hovering flame vanishes.
I look at that hand for a long time until I hear a cough behind me from John, who has not spoken once this entire time. When I look back I suddenly find him an inch away from my face, I jumped back a little in surprise. I see him looking at me in a strange way, almost as if he was looking at an impossible puzzle.
I give a nervous laugh and scratch my head "what's wrong John? Do I have something on my face or are you still disoriented from the whole stargate like thing."
He tilts his head slightly "Alex is that really you?" he asks in a confused voice.
The question catches me off guard since it's the one thing I did not expect him to ask. I give another uncomfortable laugh and wonder at the strange question he asked me, "Of course it's me John that is unless I am the evil twin of Alex, because if that's the case then that's what an evil twin would say." I try to make a joke but it falls flat on the two person audience.
John simply grunts and turns to the girl "ok Alice" oh so that's the crazy armored chicks name "what happened to him, why does he look like that."
Look like what? Seriously what is wrong with how I look right now, if someone does not explain what's going on I might just reach a new level of freaked out.
Alice looks at me again "you mean he did not originally look like this? When I was looking around for you on earth I saw plenty of different hair colors and looks, besides before he rudely bumped into our moment I did not get a good look at him so I saw nothing wrong. As for explaining his new look, I have no clue since this is the first time an earthling has survived the transport to Astalan."
Alice simply shrugs helplessly as she says that while she looks at John.
Ok now I am really getting angry at no one telling me what's going on "Will someone please explain what is "wrong" with me!" I yell at the both of them. At that Alice glares daggers at me while John scratches his head laughing slightly.
John looks at Alice "Hey Alice you wouldn't happen to have a mirror in that bag of yours would you?"
At that Alice's personality takes a one eighty as she smiled sweetly at John while batting her eyelashes. John of course is oblivious to the obvious flirting of the beautiful girl, and getting no reaction out of him she only sighs as she rummages around in her messenger like bag.
After a while she finally pulls out a hand mirror and turns it in my direction with an evil grin on her face. I was wondering what she was so smug about when I looked in the mirror and saw a stranger looking back at me.
"Ahahah!"
I ran forward and yanked the mirror out of Alice's hands, as she starts yelling at me for being so rude I could only stare at my face while checking every angle and with each new discovery I could only get increasingly worried.
John slowly walks up to me with his hands up in a calming gesture and speaks "Alex I know that what you are experiencing today is beyond what anyone should go through but maybe it's not all bad."
I stare at him in shock "Not bad? I am on another planet, with no communication with Earth and apparently traveling different worlds gives you a completely different body, and finally I will probably never see my parents or family again. In fact, how are you not freaking out, you and me are in the same boat!?" I finish breathlessly.
John first looks down then looks me in the eye "After listening to Alice and her peoples, no my peoples situation it seems that I am there last hope. How can I turn my back on them when they are in dire need, so I decided to stay. Besides Alice can just teleport you back, right Alice?"
He turns to the girl in question, but instead of receiving a 'yes' like he expected, he got a blank look instead.
She suddenly looked nervous at that "I'm sorry John but that was a one time thing, to travel between worlds you need the permission of all the gods since long ago they decreed there would be no more interacting between worlds and put up a barrier." she explains wringing her hands. "You were a special case and they allowed the Archmage Elric to send you to earth and back. The gods won't bend that rule again for some random human, so you're both stuck here."
I think I will take back that whole not cry thing, because I believe now I am entitled to it. However, instead of the saddness, I only felt anger.
"Well F**K!"