"Ahh...ow ow ow...my head. Ah! My head."
The first thing I could remember feeling was my head throbbing in pain. Drowsiness, dizziness, and pain. A lot of pain. My eyes slowly opened as I was coming back into consciousness. I couldn't see anything but a blurry cesspool of things I couldn't recognize. I looked to my left, and I saw nothing but darkness. To the right, there was what appeared to be battery powered lamp lighting the area I was in. Battery powered because of the amount of light and brightness that was coming from the source. Other than that, there didn't appear to be anything else with me.
"Hello...hello?" I mumbled. My voice bounced off the walls, just like the cave I was in the day before.
"Hello?" I said louder than before. "Hello! Is anybody there? I-I think I might have a concussion!"
No response other than my own calls echoing back at me. I sat there as a nervous wreck for a moment as my vision was slowly coming back into focus. Once everything was clear enough, I found myself slumped over in an old wooden chair. The paint was brown, but worn and the arm rests were flimsy and loose. Already, I was alert and afraid. My head snapped up, despite the pounding in my head.
"Gah! Wha- what the- where am I!?"
I tried to stand up, but I couldn't rise up more than a few centimeters as I felt firm restrictions holding me to the chair. I threw myself to the left, and I nearly topped over. The legs of the chair scraped against the floor and squeaked loudly, the squeaking rang in my ears. I twisted in both directions, and the chair moved in my direction.
"What? What the hell is this!? Somebody help!"
"Hello there."
There was a deep male voice coming from my left, originating from the darkness. Instantly after the voice got my attention, a bright light revealed the rest of the room I was in. I was in the center of a large area of rock and dirt. To my left, somebody was holding another lamp. Placing it down on the floor, the stranger approached me. Upon blocking the light, I saw who it was.
It was the marksman. The same one who shot at me before, mortifying me like I was a coward. That also ment that what happened before wasn't a dream. It was real. This was all real.
The man sat down on a rock. His bandana was still wrapped around his mouth, but his sunglasses were removed, revealing a pair of glowing green eyes that stared at every move I made as he hunched over in his seat. He had his gun pointed to the ground as he rested himself on the butt of the gun. I tried to get up once again, but my wrist and legs fought against my actions.
"I see that you're awake." He said gesturing a hand to me. "Welcome back. How's the head?"
I didn't bother answering. Instead, I fought against the restraints holding me down. Looking at the arm rests, I saw that there was a thick layer of Duct Tape around each wrist and ankle! I couldn't move from the seat!
"Help!" I screamed. "Please! Somebody! Get away from me!"
"Why bother?" He asked calmly, ignoring my cries. "I wouldn't even try to get free If I was in your shoes. Not because I'll kill you if you get out, but it's pretty much pointless. Considering the current shit load of tape on ya"
"You get away from me." I threatened. "You stay back, or...or I'll-"
"Get shot is what." He finished for me. "And it won't be like before with rubber bullets. This time, it will be for real. I will actually let bleed out onto the floor while you twist and turn in agony."
I looked at him in horror as I tried to scoot back in my chair. "Please man. Please don't hurt me. I-I was scared. I just want to go ho-home."
"Hey, don't worry. I won't hurt you unless you try anything. Therefor, if you do, you'll get the same outcome as I said before. Besides, you did get fixed up after all. It would be a waste of medical supplies! By the way, you seem to be a quick healer. I gotta say, I haven't seen anything like it."
"Wha...what?"
Afraid, I looked at my shoulder, the same shoulder that was blown back by the first round. Tightly strapped to my shoulder with tape, there was a large blue ice pack. It was about this time, when the pain started flodding back in my shoulder and my upper back. I began to wince in pain, as I tried to twist and turn into a more comfortable position.
"Ah! Get me out! It hurts! Let me go please! It hurts so much!"
The marksman smirked at my movements and pleads. "It's weird, right? You don't even notice it at first, but once you do, it hurts like hell, doesn't it? Yeah, it's funny. You know...the way the body works."
I kept fighting against the restraints. "Let me go. Let me go!"
"But you know what? Pain makes the body stronger. Both mentally and physically." He continued, further ignoring my pleads. "So you know what? As advise, take it from me."
He stood up from the large rock that he was sitting on and he began to approach me. Gripping the rifle in his right hand, he walked over to me, the rifle swung back and forth. He stopped right in front of me. The barrel of his rifle was poking me in the right side of my chest. The marksman rested his hand on my wounded shoulder, just like if my Dad were to if I was sad. Usually, I would feel comfort from this, but from him barely touching it, I was wincing in pain. It was when he slammed me against the backrest of the chair was when I cried out in pain.
"Endure it." He patted me hard on the shoulder. Every time his hand slapped against my shoulder, it felt like a large hammer was being bashed against the bone. "It will do you some good for your pussy ass."
Heaving in and out heavy breaths, my head hung low, letting the hair hang in front of my eyes. I sucked in air through my teeth as I recovered from the pain.
"Du bist ein dummer Esel."
A deeper voice growled at him right behind me, followed by the sound of somebody spitting onto the dirt below. I could tell that the voice was German by the heavy accent, plus by the way the words were pronounced. It was full of anger. Not at me, but at the soldier.
"Wha?" I said as I lazily turned my head around. "The hell?"
Behind me, there was this young man in his twenties, also taped down to a chair similar to mine. He had a stream of blood run down his chin, as it was quite obvious he was struck and struck again until his lip split. He once had slicked back blonde hair, but it was now ruffled and horribly misshaped. But here's where I got caught off guard. He had grey eyes that were glued onto the soldier with anger, but he looked at me when he noticed that I was looking at him.
"Wait...grey eyes?" I thought. "He has grey eyes! Just like...me. Did he get attacked like how I did?"
He wore a white long sleeved shirt that was rolled up at his elbows. Its white color was dulled, as he was smothered in dirt from head to toe. Holes of various sizes were littered across his clothing, making him look like he has been thrown around quite a bit. He wore normal khakis that were worn out at each pant leg. For shoe wear, he had a pair of black and white sneakers.
"I'm sorry." The marksman said apologetically. "Did I say something to upset you?"
He turned his attention to him. Before I could comprehend what was going down, I saw that the German was being socked in the face. His face shot back from the blow as he groaned in pain. His head hang low as he spat out blood. The gunman grabbed him by the hair and yanked him up.
"Did I say that you could speak?"
He brought back his fist once again, and his fist connected to the Germans' cheek once again. Saliva and blood flew, raining down upon the ground.
I could see the pain on the German's face as he attempted to scoot way from him. Being grabbed by the collar of his shirt, he was reluctantly ready to take another hit. I couldn't let this go by. What he do to deserve this? As far as I knew, he was in the same situation as I was!
"Where's my dog?" I snapped loudly.
The marksman stopped right before he prepared to strike him again. He put down his fist, and he looked at me.
"Your mutt is fine."
He walked away from the person behind me and picked up the same battery powered lamp he turned on. He flicked a notch and the light grew brighter than before, revealing a better view of the surroundings. The marksman walked over to a smaller corner. My eyes were guided to a large metal cage. Inside the cage was my friend on his side. He was turned away from me. He was alive, but asleep. Not naturally. Joel would've heard my voice by now. His wounded side was mended with various bandages. It was obvious that he was under a strong painkiller. I sat there in stunned silence.
"You...you fixed him."
The marksman looked at Joel and tapped on the cage. with the barrel of his rifle.
"Yes, yes we did." He said proudly. "He'll be out for quite sometime, as we gave it a little something somthin' for the pain. We also cleaned his wound as well as dressed it properly with the required disinfectants. He should be fully healed in about...hmm...give it two weeks."
I didn't say anything. I was stunned! First, this guy was shooting at us. Now, he and his group have given us medical attention for the injuries we've received earlier!
"Now, I have a pretty good guess on what is going through your noggin right now. Just let me get into character."
He cleared his throat. "Oh my!" He gasped with a high pitched voice. "You were shooting at us before! Why did spare our lives from death and give us medical attention for that matter? I can't POSSIBLY think of a reason why!"
I just stared at him with unease and confusion.
"Well maybe you can explain it yourself." He continued, speaking normally.
He patted on my shoulder again. I fought to ignore the pain. He once again walked over to the German behind me, and I turned my head back, concerned of what he was gonna do. Instead of striking him or harming him in anyway, he instead reached inside his shirt.
"Hey!" He snapped in English as he twisted and turned. "What are you doing!?"
The marksman yanked something out from underneath his shirt. He did a yanking motion and something large was pulled out from inside. It was a large medallion. A milky white medallion with the same symbol as mine! The unicorn. The unicorn on my necklace. It was on his too!
I gasped in shock and surprise! "What the hell? You-you-"
"Yeah." The marksman said as he let go of the medallion. It fell and slapped against the boys' chest. "Friendship necklaces, right?"
He sped over to me, and he pulled out my medallion. The German's eyes widened before he looked at me. His gaze was shifting between me and the necklace around my neck.
"What the?" He whispered. "How...how did? Where did you-"
"You both have the same medallion, WITH the same symbol on em'." The marksman announced aloud as he sat down on the same rock as before. "And that is why you are sitting here right now, and not in a grave six feet under."
He leaned in. "I just want to talk. That's it!" He said as he gave me a thumbs up. "Sounds good, right?"
"I don't want to talk. I want to go home!" I said. "My family is probably worried sick about me! Where are we anyway?"
He just stared at me with this...smile. This overjoyed glare. He slowly shook his head from side to side before he began to let out this frustrated laugh. He chuckled as he rested his face into his hands.
"See, here's the thing." He began. "I"m not very patient. You know, when it comes to getting things that I want. When I don't get what I want...I get...um...I get Irritable."
He stood up and he walked over to me. I tried to move away from him.
"Wait. I-I didn't mean anything by it!" I pleaded with regret.
"I get angry." He ignored me. The marksman knelt down till we were at eye level. "I...get soooo angry."
He brought a fist and prepared to hit me! I could only let out a shocked gasp, before the fist was sent to strike me in the face. I closed my eyes in fear, ready for the pain, but it...it stopped. It just stopped. My eyes opened. His fist was barely touching the skin of my scratched cheek. His knuckle was just centimeters from my eye. I looked on with widened eyes as he slowly retracted his fist. The marksman breathed heavily as he shook his fist loose. He became calm and let out the air bottled up in my chest.
"I get...violent."
I let go of the air that I was holding in my lungs.
The marksman sat back down on the rock. "So, I wouldn't do something silly. You feel me?"
I only stared at him, trembling in fear.
"So just answer me this one simple question." He continued.
"Wha-what do you want t-t-to know?" I squeaked.
"What is your guys' relationship? You two are obviously not one of us. So how did they get you to join their side?"
"They?" The German asked. "Who's they?"
"Oh please!" He snapped in abrupt anger. "Don't act stupid. You guys are in some kind of gorilla group or something. I can see it on the big ass necklaces you two are wearing. You guys are in on something, and I want to know what it is. You guys tell me, and I'll set you free. Simple as that! You guys have been patched up so far. Why stop now? I promise, I won't shoot you when I cut you free. That's a real dirty thing to do."
I stared into blank space, thinking about what he said. I guess I can tell him something. Give him the honest truth, just avoid giving my real name."
"Alright...here goes. Trevor, I hope you're good at acting." I thought to myself.
I took a deep breath and looked up at the shooter with a defeated frown.
"Alright. *sigh* I'll tell you. I'll tell you everything."
He sat down back on the rock. I could tell that the German behind me was waiting to hear what brilliant story I was about to splice up.
"My name is...it is Oscar...Oscar uh..Tillian."
He leaned in. He seemed to have bought it so far.
"I'm from Colorado. Both me and my dog are from Colorado."
He didn't look pleased. His eyebrows were low with frustration.
"Uhh...uh I have no idea what is going on, or where we are for that matter. I was heading home with my family, when we was attacked by this large creature! I blacked out. When I came to, the two of us were stranded out in the middle of nowhere. I found this thing on my neck, and I was given that bag of supplies that you took off of me when I was out.""
"PSST!" Behind me, the German whispered to get my attention.
I looked at him. He was shaking his head wildly. Again and again, he was saying for me to keep quiet.
"Stop! No!" He whispered.
I turned back to look back at the marksman. Instead, I was nearly on the verge of vomiting whatever I had left in my stomach when a fist collided right into my gut. A firm hand clamped down on my shoulder, and I was brought back into position. Once again, I was facing the ground when I was struck again, this time in the jaw. I could feel my bottom row of teeth dig into my lip. I could taste the metallic tang of my own blood as it leaked out of my newly formed wounds. I spat out a mixture of blood and saliva, which sprayed out onto the ground.
"DID YOU EVEN HEAR WHAT I TOLD YOU!? ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING!!?" He bellowed into my ear.
I struggled to move away from him, but a leg of my chair got caught on a ridge on the ground, and I began to fall back! He let me crash to the floor, my head was barely spared of further trauma as I was holding my head up as far as I could.
"Get up!" He shouted at me, as he kicked my dangling legs. "Get up, you little liar!!"
From the ground, I could see him take out a long and shiny knife from his utility belt! He held it firmly in his hand as he lowed it over to me!
"No wait please! Don't hurt me! I'm sorry!"
I loomed over me and pressed his blade against the soft skin of my neck. Pressing right up against my jugular! He pressed harder and I was on the verge of tears as I pleaded for my life.
"I can slit your throat like a pig and feed your bleeding corpse to the stalkers out there! I don't give two shits wether you live or die!"
His glowing green eyes stared into mine. He leaned in as he removed the knife from my neck, and held the tip of the blade right in front of my eye. Barely touching the pupil. I didn't dare blink.
"Don't...piss...me...off...again."
With that, he retracted the blade and he slid it back into his utility belt. Placing his hands onto the backrest of the chair, he lifted me off the ground and practically slammed the front legs of the chair into the ground. I sat there. trembling in fear. I struggled to keep myself still, I was that afraid. I felt like throwing up.
The marksman sat back down on the rock. Taking a deep breath in and out, he twiddled his thumbs as he looked at both me and the German.
"Now....let's start this over." He sighed as he cracked his knuckles. "Tell me everything."
I sat there in utter silence, my tongue felt as heavy as a thousand tons.
"Hey." The German mumbled, breaking the silence. "He's telling the truth. At least from I heard."
The marksman turned his head to him. "Oh? Do tell."
The German heaved a sigh. "Well...one thing he told the truth is that he was American. He is American, and I'm German. We might have the same necklace, but...but we have never met until now. Yes, we have the same strange eye color, but we have never met before. I'm from Berlin. There is no possible way we are in something."
"Ahhhhhh." The marksman said with a sarcastic tone. "I see! So...you're saying that, even though you have the same eye color and necklaces, you expect me to actually believe that you two have NEVER met before? Pssh...bullshit! No men of that realm have entered this world before.
You know why? Because our portals are heavily isolated, not to mention heavily guarded. Big ass men with big ass guns."
The first thing that came through my mind was meth. A highly skilled gun man on a very lethal dose of meth. By now, I was more calm. I was still shaking. My mouth as dry as the desert I was dropped into.
"Realm?" I asked. "Realm!? What realm? What in God's name are you talking about?"
"No human from America, OR German, or ANY country from that Earth has ever entered this world!"
"Oh yeah?" I asked. "Then how do you explain the armor and weapons you have, huh? This belongs to the United States! It's all American! How do you explain that!?"
"Shut up!!" He snapped. "Shut your fu-"
"What about the girl." I said as my eyes peered up at him. "How do you explain her?"
He looked down at me. "I beg your pardon?"
"The girl." I repeated, this time with more volume. "The girl you were holding captive in your car? You know, the one who was about to get gunned down like an animal."
"Oh...Gott im himmel." The German sighed. "Kid, I should tell you something. Tha-"
"Save it!" The marksman snapped. The German did so. He kept quiet. "Kid, are you alright upstairs? Did your Mom drop you on your head when you were a baby? That ain't no little girl."
"Then what was it?" I asked. "Do tell me! What were you going to shoot today? It sure did sound like an innocent little girl to me."
"Oh! Would you like to see? I would me more than happy to show you!"
He brought his fingers up to his lips and let out a whiny whistling noise. Outside, I could hear a voice answer.
"Yeah? Whatchu need?"
The marksman replied. "Bring me her! Bring me the little un'."
"On it."
The gunman turned his gaze to me. Because of the bandana on his face, I couldn't tell what was going through his head. He stared at me, and I stared back at him with worry.
"Is...did you?"
"Oh no." He answered shaking his head. "She is very much alive. She managed to keep herself quiet from sometime. But now that we have you two "Earthlings", then maybe you can prove to us that she is like one of you!"
"Here she is, Bugs."
Turning my head to the entrance, a man came through. The T.V man. In his arms, he was carrying her. I could see a long piece of American colored fabric wrapped around some oddly red hair. The T.V man glared at me.
"Here you go." He said, gesturing the marksman to take her.
"Show her to them." He said softly. This time, I could tell he had a grin plastered on his face.
The T.V man repositions his hands so he was carrying her by her armpits. I expected a terrified little girl, but I was wrong. I saw something....odd. It confused me greatly.
What was held up to me was...was a yellow...horse. Well, I guess pony would be a more accurate name. It was small, reaching up to my knee if we stood side by side. This little creature was almost completely yellow, minus a messy red mane and tail. I was really caught off guard when I saw its eyes. Its eyes were abnormally large, and Human like. The eyes were of a red color with a hint of yellow. The pupils were not horizontal and stretched out like the horses I've seen. They were round. Just like mine, or the Germans'.
It just stared at us, not blinking, and barely moving. It just looked right at me with a terrified expression.
"The hell is this?" I asked, getting angry. "What the hell is this thing? Where is she!?"
"Why, she is right here." The marksman said pointing at her.
"No, that is...this is a...I don't know! A toy? Do you think this is a joke!?"
"Oh not at all, friend." He replied as calmly as before.
He leaned in on the toy pony thing. "Come on." He ushered. "Speak."
What followed was silence.
"Come on....this is your one free pass. Say hello."
"I'm serious!" I snapped. Where is she!? Where did yo-"
"Help me."
I stopped. A squeaky voice interrupted me. Confused, I looked around. There was no one other than us in the area.
"I'm sorry." The gunman said, cupping hand to his ear. "What was that?"
"Help me...please"
In disbelief, I slowly turned my head back to the toy. I just stared at it and it looked at me. It blinked. Its eyes shut and opened on their own. I only looked on is surprise as tears began to form at the corners of its eyes.
And it spoke.
"Help me...PLEASE...help me."
My jaw dropped. I watched it as I began to cry softly. Tears flowed from its eyes and mucus began to dribble down from its nostrils. Already, my heart was pounding in fear and shock! Was I seeing shit? Was I hearing shit that I wasn't supposed too!?
"Help me! Help me! I want to go home!"
It cries grew louder as well as its terrified sobs.
"Tell me, young man." The gunman said. "Does this look like a Human of your to you?"
"I wanna go home!"
I only watched on in horror as the creature was crying louder! I began to shift in my chair, wanting to get away from it! My chair got caught on the same spot as before and I fell over! My back fell to the floor! Pain exploded in my back, but I didn't care!
"No! NO! How? How can it....THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!"
It was crying louder and I grew more and more terrified with each passing second as that thing cried!
I struggled to move back, but I couldn't! I couldn't move! I had to watch the creature cry like me, or any other Human I knew!
How was this possible!? How is any of this possible!!? The wolves! My eyes! The monster! These people!! Being dropped left for dead in the desert through a hole in the ground!? The voice in my head!!? How was this all possible!? How!!?
I began to scream in fright! It cried louder, and it made me scream louder! I couldn't hold it in anymore! I couldn't take! At the top of my lungs I screamed, letting out all of the emotion that was built up over the days! I let out a cream that carried on for miles to come! I slammed my back onto the ground and let it all out!
"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!!!!"