I shivered as a cool breeze washed over my skin, and I reached down for my blanket, head pounding and dizzy like a bad hangover. I felt something cool that tickled my arm as I felt around, not daring to open my eyes as my head felt like it was about to split in two. At least I could tell it was still dark through my closed eyelids and surmised I still had some time I could sleep. I slowly turned my head to the side in case I threw up but felt more of the cool, prickly sensation on my face and finally opened my eyes. Grass. And a tree blocking my view.
'Oh god, what happened? Did I pass out outside?'
As much as I tried to recall what I did, I could not remember anything that could have led to this situation. My last memory was of me heading home from my evening lecture. It should have been Wednesday too, not exactly a day for drinking.
As another gust of wind came over me, I realized why it had felt so chilly. Panic winning over caution, I quickly propped myself up on my elbows to finally see that I was lying naked on the edge of a very dense forest located on a hill, with an open field of tall grass stretching out to my left, stopping at what seems to be a large overturned field beyond which was what looks like a small farming village. I let out a sigh of relief as there luckily did not seem to be anyone around but the questions of what the hell happened and where in the world was I were at the forefront of my mind before a particularly intense dizzy spell hit me and forced me back down onto the ground. Resigning myself to the fact that shit happened and I now need to deal with the aftermath, I started to list out all that I needed to do to keep my mind straight and settled on my first and foremost priority: clothes.
While waiting for my mind to clear up, I stared up at the night sky through the leaves, which I had to admit was very pretty.
'How far in the boonies am I to be able to see this many stars?'
After judging that I should be fine with attempting to get up, I rolled over to push myself up only to be met by a matte silver cube that looked like a Rubik's cube with softly glowing white lights where the gaps should be. It was placed right above where my head used to be and, while still on my stomach, reached out to grab it. It ended up being much heavier than it looked, with the surface being slightly warm as if it had been basking in the sun. Turning it over revealed nothing unique on any of its sides, but its heft and sharp edges made me think it could be used as a decent impromptu weapon.
Finally deciding to stand up, my legs shook a bit causing me to wobble before I steadied myself on the nearby tree. Looking over in the direction of the village, it seemed to be the only viable destination I had but being in the nude made me hesitate to go directly there. Plus it was night and the image of me going door to door waking people up to ask for clothes gave me great trepidation that I might not have an alternative. 'Borrowing' might work but surely they would notice a stranger showing up wearing clothes that have gone missing in such a small village if I could even get my hands on any. This definitely seemed like one of those places where everybody knew everyone. Well, I might get lucky and even an attempt beats the alternative. Besides, I can always apologize after the fact, surely they would understand the predicament of this damsel in distress.
Before setting out, I looked down at the cube once more, debating if I should take my only means of defending myself with me or leave it behind so it does not hamper me with its glow and awkward size. Figuring that everyone in the village should be asleep, I set it down where I had found it and slowly stepped into the tall grass of the gently inclined field in front of me. It itched and tickled my legs, but I was more worried about stepping into a hole or stubbing my foot on something. I always enjoyed exploring the wilderness, often going hiking when I get the chance to, so I had some confidence in getting through this but walking barefoot was slow and arduous all on its own, constantly having to be careful not to step on anything sharp.
'How did people manage before shoes? At least it's rather bright with the stars shining.'
After reaching roughly the halfway point of the grassy field, I looked back so as to not lose the spot where I left the glowing cube only to be shocked still at the sight of it simply levitating in the air right behind me. Cautious, I examined the sides to see if anything was holding it up but after confirming there was nothing, I passed my hand back and forth in the air adjacent to every face, searching desperately for an explanation. Warily, I poked it only for it to get pushed back ever so slightly. Pushing it again but to the side with my palm, it felt like I was pushing it through water, for lack of a better comparison, and noticed it maintained a set altitude above the ground, rising or sinking whenever I displaced it. Why it followed me and where it came from, I could not even guess but it did not seem to do anything but float behind me, following me whenever I took a step away. As I placed both my hands on either side of it, its weight nearly made me drop it as it stopped floating and rested in my grip, inert much like when I first found it. A little hesitant to just let it go for fear of it falling, I released it and it immediately began levitating again.
'Well, that's another thing to put on the backburner for now. At least it could be a hint as to what happened. Maybe posting it online when I'm back in civilization will have someone come looking for it.'
Resigned to let my mysterious companion follow me, I continued trudging on, often sneaking a glance behind me to see if it was still following. As I reached the edge of the overturned farming field, which was bare of any sort of vegetation, I stopped and started to circumvent it, not wanting to walk through it barefoot. Getting the dirt out from under my nails would be a pain and I felt a little too exposed out in the open like that. This choice elongated my trek, but luckily aside from the occasional breeze, it was not too chilly. If this were winter, it would have been a whole other story. As I neared the village and the ground evened out, I covered myself up as best I could with my arms and peeked at the windows of the nearest farmhouse to which this field seemed to belong. They had wooden shutters that were thankfully all closed so I rushed closer to the wall to take a better look. From up close, the house looked old and quite shoddy from the outside, constructed of wood and seemingly only having what looks like a small attic beyond the ground floor. With seemingly no way in, I poked my head around the corner to look in the direction where the rest of the buildings were located, which seemed to be a bit separated from the farmhouse. There was a dirt path leading in that direction, with a small wooden bridge without any sort of railings seemingly going over a ditch that marked the border between the farm and the rest of the village. With no one in sight, I rounded the corner, ducking past a closed window, and once again peered around a corner to spot the front entrance on this side, unsurprisingly also closed. Simply sneaking around like this in the dark around people's homes was making me feel slightly guilty which only amplified when I saw a line of clothes hanging from a rack to dry. Steeling myself, I ran forward, praying that no one would happen to come by as I grabbed the first pair of pants and shirt that I spotted and turned to run back around the corner of the house where I found the floating cube seemingly leisurely waiting for me. Why it did not follow me to the rack I did not know or care at this point as my heart beat fast and I slipped on my newfound outfit. Both the shirt and pants were a little large for me, which was fine for the former but a bit more troublesome for the latter, as I had to hold it in place. The material was coarse and rough, not very comfortable to wear but I knew I had to put up with it. Shoes would have to wait but I needed either a belt or smaller pants otherwise I would be walking very awkwardly for who knows how long.
The surroundings still bereft of life and sound, I quickly jogged back to the rack of clothes to find something better but there seemed to only be a grey shin-length dress as an alternative, matching my newfound shirt. Holding up the dress as I considered it, I saw from the corner of my eye that the cube had decided to follow me this time, with its glow standing out like a lighthouse in the dark. I draped the dress on top of the cube to hide it only for a subtle flash of light to obscure the entire dress as I let it go before seemingly vanishing from sight. I had blinked for only a second amidst the light and it was gone without a trace. I quickly grabbed the floating cube and started shaking it for lack of a better idea.
"Give it back." I hissed at the cube, making sure to be quiet but unsure as to why I was talking to it.
To my surprise, with another soft glow of light in the shape of the dress, it seemingly materialized out of thin air and once again draped itself over the cube I was holding. Taking it with me, I rushed back behind the house and dropped the cube in front of me.
"Do you understand me?" I asked in a hushed tone. It flashed once.
I scowled at the response, trying to think of what this meant.
"Do you react to sound?" It did not respond.
"Can you flash once for no and twice for yes?" It flashed twice.
'A yes-no game. Fun.'
"Is someone listening through you?" One flash.
'Of course it's no.'
"Do you know where I am?" One flash.
"Do you know what happened to me?" Once again a single flash.
'Well, this is useless.'
"Do you have any other way to communicate? Words, writing maybe?"
This time, it did not respond instantly and as I was wondering if it was the double question that left it mute, it flashed twice and what looked like a blue holographic screen appeared above it.