It had been four hours since I met the dragon. The first two were spent trying to settle down and just accept that I was in another world. Merely two of them were spent meandering through the forest and examining—and in that time, I was able to see quite a bit.
'Hmm… There ain't a livin' thing to be seen here.'
That realization puzzled me. So far, the only thing I'd seen… was that terrifying dragon. Suddenly, as I was still striding through the woods in meditation, something else occurred to me.
'What if there is magic in this world, as well?'
Because if dragons were real, then surely magic had to be. Normally, that would have thrilled me. But then, I remembered—I didn't come to this world with anybody. My heart sank. Now was hardly the moment to indulge in delusions. I had to find my family — and fast. So I walked on … and then the light started to dim.
'I got to find somewhere safe for the night. I did not see any wild animals during the day, but that doesn't mean they wouldn't come at night.'
The thought made me uneasy. The sun met the horizon, and dots of warmth scattered across its golden face. It was getting dark, and the golden rays of sunlight that filtered through the treetops were fading.
I trudged for another half-hour only to realize the sun had already set, and I still hadn't found anywhere to crash for the night.
'Damned well seems I'll be bedding out here after all. Lucky for me, I'd taken a bunch of dry sticks with me as I went for my walk. Otherwise, I'd be freezing at this point.'
"I grabbed the sticks and started rubbing them together, and sure enough, I got a little fire going."
And then my stomach growled loudly. Unfortunately, having found no food, I was supperless that night.
'What in the world happened to all of this world's fauna?! Not even a single animal? Even on an empty island back home, you could at least find some birds.'
I threw a couple more sticks on the fire and sat back, pissed off. I'd seen some fruits in the forest, but with no idea what this world's flora looked like, I wasn't about to go picking them. In the wild, not all fruit was safe to eat — particularly in a world I didn't understand.
If I'd known in advance that someone was going to shuttle me off into another world, the least they could have done is tell me enough so I would throw a couple of tins of food into my bag. Fuck anything that makes me starve like this. After cursing under my breath, I lay back and gazed up at the great starry sky over my head.
There, under the open sky, it reminded me of those few precious times I used to spend in nature. It had been a long time. As I lay there watching the stars, a memory surfaced.
I slipped my hand into the back of my jeans. There was a little black wallet inside. I had some cash on me before I got home—and just for the sake of it, because we were celebrating that day getting into university.
I opened the wallet. The first image that caught my eye was a photograph — of my family. We took it while visiting each other.. Before long, I was staring at the picture and then carefully putting it into her wallet again, where it really belonged.
'I will find you… no matter the cost.'
I leaned back against the tree behind me and sighed. I was so tired after that long day. My body felt drained. There was no food. No strength. I had never been in a situation quite so bad.
It wasn't long before sleep started to seep in. My eyes gradually closed as I leaned against the tree. But soon enough, I could feel the sharp bark digging into my back and neck, its gritty ridges almost riding up against my spine. No way I could sleep like this.
"You dumb tree,"
I muttered, then went back to sit by the fire. So I began to throw more sticks in the fire, because I couldn't sleep, and it was getting boring. Nothing could be heard save the crackling of the fire.
The silence was… unnerving. All at once, I heard branches snapping in the woods. I seized a large firebrand in momentary surprise and stood up. The sounds were drawing nearer—slowly, surely. I became more and more dread-stricken with each snap.
'What... was that?!'
There, at the boundary of light and shadowing firelight, I saw something move. I held up the smoldering torch in front of my face as I began to proceed cautiously. Whatever it was vanished before I could get a decent look — nothing but a silhouette disappearing into the dark.
'Where did it go?'
Nervously, I turned around. That was when I noticed it—happening directly behind me. It stood to a height of nearly three meters. Its body seemed to be composed of bark, with plants sprouting from its limbs. Stumbling back, I brandished the burning stick in front of me to hold it at bay.
"Stay back!"
'What the fuck is that thing?!'
I examined its head—it had a goat's skull, and it walked on two legs like a man. Two red eyes were gazing straight into mine. It was terrifying.
All at once, it thrust its hand up and hit me. And the hit, I didn't even see it coming.
The punch knocked me back several meters, landing hard on the ground. Its arms were as hard as tree trunks, and the blow cracked a rib in my right side. It walked toward me, the monster —the goat-headed creature. Agony shot through me, but I persevered and struggled to a stand.
It was already there, staring at me with its heartless eyes. I clutched my side with my left hand and turned to run. But with every step, my injury throbbed and got in the way of keeping up.
I would periodically turn around—the creature was gaining on me. Unhurried. Relentless. I plunged deeper into the forest, and so did the darkness. I was dizzy — my vision darkened, and the world started spinning, and the room started spinning uncontrollably. I continued to bash into trees — my foot banged one, then I scraped up against another with my arm. But that was the only way to live.
'What the hell is with all these trees? It's like … it is a forest!'
And then my rib started to hurt horribly, so I began walking.
'Curse this broken rib! If only…'
I gasped, my chest constricted as my sight began to black out.
I was hearing the monster getting closer — louder. Every step was deafening; it sounded like a ticking clock counting down to my doom.
'Don't stop. Keep moving.'
I pushed myself forward. But then, something felt off. My feet came down on something soft, and I lost my footing. I was falling — a rolling, downhill slide I could not halt. With every tumble, that hurt in my ribs quadrupled, and I wailed.
Eventually, I got it—I was going off a cliff. At the last second, on my way over, I reached out and caught hold of something — roots from trees protruding through the side.
"Gah!" I drew deep breaths, hoping to dull the lingering agony.
I had gone up to look, and hanging there, I looked down into hell. It was night, so all I could see below me was a vast hole of blackness opening somewhere into nowhere. I attempted to lever myself up — but the pain in my ribs would not allow it. My grip began to weaken.
'Hold on. Just hold on!'
I tried again, this time with all my might. But I was done with my arms — even if it had been only a finger or two. All at once, there was a voice from above.
'Now what?!'
I looked up—there it was. The creature. Staring down at me.
Its goat-skull face was close to mine. It would open its wooden jaw… and laugh. A cold, mocking, demonic laugh.
'You fuck!… You like that?!'
I was at my limit. My grip was fading. A feather dropping on me to break my grip. It guffawed, delighting in my pain. Then, it stopped. Leaned even closer. And it brushed the tree root to which I was clinging—with claws sharper than swords. It was reading the despair on my face. The pain in my body. My struggle to survive. And it was eating up every moment of it.
"You… damn freak!"
I snarled, glaring at it. But in the end, my strength failed me. My fingers slipped. And I fell.