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Chapter One4,355 words
Chapter Two3,433 words
Chapter Three3,569 words
Chapter Four2,517 words
Interlude: Mysterious Stranger9,162 words
Chapter Five7,960 words
Chapter Six3,207 words
Chapter Seven3,705 words
Chapter Eight4,125 words
Chapter Nine3,860 words
Chapter Ten1,560 words
Chapter Eleven4,713 words

Chapter Two

I’ve read about people stranded at sea for days, weeks…even months before. I always felt sorry for these people, on the knife’s edge between life and death each passing hour as they drifted the vast oceans. Most of them had something to keep themselves alive. Me? I’ve got my soaked clothes, a waterlogged phone and—

My wallet? I felt around my left pocket where it usually resides. I felt nothing. I must have left it on the boat. Oh well… won’t do me much use out here anyways.

Clouds as black as a moonless night loomed over me, rapidly approaching from where I first laid eyes on them. Numerous flashes could be seen on the horizon as distant lightning shot forth like some rapid-firing weapon. I could feel the breeze beginning to pick up and quickly lower the temperature, as well as send a slow shiver up my spine as I stared in horror.

What do I do now?

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I wasn’t doing a very good job of being the brave, courageous person I often like to picture myself as. In a short time, I have panicked myself into a state of unconsciousness out of sheer fear, twice…not quite the picture of courage.

The feeling of regaining consciousness is not a feeling I expect anybody could ever get used to. I certainly wasn’t. Although, at my current rate, I easily could be. The closest analogy I could think of to the strange feeling of regaining awareness, is the slowest computer ever made attempting to boot-up. Very slowly my body started to re-awaken. My extremities began to regain feeling and usefulness, however sluggish they may have been in responding.

At first I was only aware I was breathing in the way I typically do when I’m sleeping, abnormally slow and quiet. People have told me I appear dead, with my breathing so silent and drawn-out. It was probably because I was such a calm person, though recent events would testify to that. I began to focus on my breathing, it reassured me I wasn’t dead as far as I could tell.

My eyes flickered open, expecting to be met by the darkness of my room and ended up greeted by the brightest light I’d ever seen. It was a blinding wall of white with no remarkable features, unless of course you count a mild shock as remarkable. I quickly shut my eyes and stared at the inside of my eyelids. The room was so bright I could still see the light behind my eyelids. I tried to ignore it and get a feel for my surroundings.

I was lying on my back that much was for sure. Whatever I was on was soft, with something slightly less soft and somewhat stiff covering me up to the top of my chest.

It feels like my blanket at home. But I know it isn’t…

I tentatively sniffed at the air in search of some clue as to my location. It was a strange smell, incredibly familiar yet a complete mystery to me at the same time. The unusual odor was strong enough I could taste it… I could only describe it as, “overly clean.”

I tried to move my arms to rollover into a more comfortable position. I lifted my right arm just a few centimeters before a fiery pain lanced from my arm up into my shoulder. I grunted out in surprise more than anything, though it was still quite painful.

Did I break my arm? Probably not since I can move it after all. Maybe I can try—

I decided to shift my legs, hoping to not be met with the same fiery sting as before. I tensed my muscles just enough to move them and sighed with relief they weren’t as sore as my arms. But they still felt… wrong. Like I just couldn’t put my finger on it at the time. I turned my head to the side in an attempt to get more comfortable. It didn’t work. I just couldn’t find that “sweet spot” against the soft, yet stiff surface my head was resting on.

I suddenly became aware of a dull ringing in my ears. I sniffed loudly in an attempt to hear myself, inadvertently inhaling more of that sickeningly clean smell. It surprised me when I couldn’t hear myself at all.

“Hello?” I said aloud. I heard myself, if only just. It sounded muffled and distant.

Hope it’s not permanent. I’ll be quite upset if I can’t ever listen to my music ever again,.

I chuckled at my thoughts. Here I was, an unknown location, with an unknown amount of injuries, barely able to move… and I was worried about my music of all things, never thinking how horrible it would be never hearing anything ever again. I could have a serious head injury, blindness, heck I could be dead for all I knew.

One way to find out…

I inhaled sharply in preparation for what I was about to do. I slowly fluttered my eyes open to meet the blinding light once again. It wasn’t as bad this time around, thankfully. The more I opened my eyes the more the wall of light retreated, eventually, enough for me to make out a few surroundings. I was staring up at the ceiling, noting its slightly textured surface. I peeked out the corner of my eyes to get a better picture of this mysterious place.

Off to my left was something large hanging off the wall. A bulletin board, perhaps? I couldn’t really make it out; my vision was still a bit blurry. In front of me was a plain door with a tall, thin window above the handle. I couldn’t see anything outside except more of the white color this place seemed to love so much. I scanned over to my right and was greeted with a sight I wouldn’t have cared for most days. It was a large window looking outside.

I breathed a sigh of relief. It was very bright outside, probably morning or early-afternoon at the latest. I could almost hear it calling my name like some cursed siren, beckoning me to go over there.

Now I can finally see where I am.

I began to sit up, but immediately fell back down as my limbs screamed out in agony.

“Guess not then...” I grumbled, my eyes suddenly feeling heavy.

Maybe I should try and get some more rest before exploring… I laid my head back down and tried to get some sleep in this unknown place. I knew it was daytime at least, that put my mind at ease, if only slightly.

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Rest did not come easy to me as I stared up at the ceiling, my mind making pictures with the slight irregularities in the textures. I didn’t want to move my head too much, not until I knew the full extent of my injuries. My neck could have been broken for all I knew. In the endless boredom of my mind, at least there was some good news: my hearing seemed to be back... and it was stronger than ever.

I could hear footsteps outside my room as people went to and fro. I was able to make out faint steps above me as well.

Clearly this is a busy, multi-floored building that prides itself on cleanliness. Still doesn’t answer my question of where I’m even at. I could just be in a coma, and all this is just my imagination.

Wait.

“How did I even get here?” I asked myself aloud, amazed I never took a moment to contemplate how I even came to be in this place. Last thing I remembered was being on a—

The boat! My eyes shot open in remembrance.

Last thing I remember was being on the boat, so why am I here? I thought this over for quite a while. I couldn’t remember anything other than sitting on the deck looking out to the ocean.

Wait... what if I was kidnapped? What if some modern-day pirates took us, and are holding me for ransom! Was that idea at the time completely ludicrous? Of course it was, but how often does something like this happen to anybody? To be fair, I think my fears were justifiable.

Oh god... what if they got my mother and sister? Are they ok? How could I only be thinking of myself this entire—

click

My ears seemed to physically perk-up at the sound. I had no time to think about the strange ear-moving sensation as I heard the door’s mechanism engaging, and then opening. I quickly closed my eyes once more as I heard a multitude of steps entering the room. It’s hard to pretend you’re asleep when you’re scared to death and faced with a possible mob of pirates, but I managed well enough, I think.

If I had to guess just from the sheer number of people I was hearing, I’d say three or four people, possibly even five.

That’s a lot of footsteps just to check on one guy... this just gets weirder and— I felt my shoulder being prodded gently. I didn’t respond in any way except more internal panicking. I felt another small series of gentle jabs as the person on my right started to say something.

I couldn’t make out what they were saying, clearly another language that I didn’t understand. It sounded as if the person was addressing me with a question; its voice carrying a distinct upwards inflection. Again, I didn’t answer or respond, just laid there as still as possible. The voice on my right said something across me to another person.

Sounds almost, female? Odd. I didn’t have time to think it over anymore as my left eye was forcibly, yet gently opened by the other person. It took every shred and scrap of courage I had to not move as a blinding light was hovering a few inches from my exposed eye. It only stayed for a few seconds before moving off, and giving me a slight relief. I felt one last poke in my sides, which was easy to ignore compared to having an eye forcibly held open and blinded. The voice on my left sounded much deeper, and if I had to guess I’d say it was male. I heard a quick scratching noise that sounded rhythmic, almost like writing.

The occupants of my room exchanged a few words, and just as quickly as they came, I heard them all leave and shut the door behind them with a satisfying click. I didn’t want to open my eyes for a bit, in case one of them stayed behind a few moments to see if I “woke up.” In any case, it gave me a few minutes to think my most recent encounter over.

What the hell was all that about? What did these people hope to accomplish by blinding me? Wait a minute, that seemed like the old “flashlight-eye” thing doctors always did. But why would my kidnappers be doing that?

The gears in my head started turning and adding up everything that’s happened so far.

There’s the bleach-white color everywhere, the uncomfortable bedding, the terrible brightness, the light in the eye thing, the sickeningly clean smell everywhere.

Everything made sense now as I put all the pieces together. I’m in a hospital... of course I’m in a hospital, where else would I be? I breathed a sigh of relief, having discovered I was in a safe place at the moment. Those people coming in must have been the staff, seeing if I was alright. I felt bad for deceiving them, they were just doing their jobs. Eh, they’ll be back. Still, why am I even here? What happened to make me feel like a tossed ragdoll? I tried to remember more of my memory of the boat. I could recall everything up until being on the watercraft, speeding through the sea. After that it went all dark, like there was a block preventing me from remembering the events that led to my injuries.

I peeked my eyes open and, satisfied I was alone, stared back up at the ceiling to the place I dubbed my “thinking spot.” At least whatever happened to me didn’t kill me, and I was taken to some proper doctors. I blinked, recalling something from my recent encounter.

Why did it feel like I was being poked with their whole hand? It certainly felt larger than just a few fingers poking my sides. I dismissed this thought, it didn’t seem that terribly important so I moved on to my next question. What language were they even speaking? It sounded so accented and backwards and so... foreign. Not like anything I’ve ever heard befor—.

My thoughts halted as I recalled another memory.

Wait, that weird blue horse-thing in that place I woke up! Right, I was lying on the grass when that strange creature tried speaking with me. Then it must have ran up and impaled me with its horn! I stopped thinking for a moment. I stared upwards for a few seconds before a slight chuckle escaped my lips.

“I must’ve taken a pretty serious knock to the head, there’s no such thing as talking horses. Let alone ones with horns, what were they called? Unicorns?” I started laughing to myself. “There’s no such thing as unicorns, Edward. You were simply hallucinating, too bad it was that and not something a little more, ‘fun’ to remember while you were knocked out.”

I started to notice I was actually beginning to feel considerably better compared to a few hours ago when I first woke up here. My body wasn’t throbbing anymore, and I could tense my muscles without a painful retort from my limbs. Maybe that whole “laughter cures” thing isn’t a myth after all. I thought as I tried to sit up a little more.

A sudden ache pinged through my skull. I closed my eyes hoping it would go away. Ok, so I’m not all better yet. I brought my hands up from under the blanket to try and rub my temples. I softly knocked myself in the face at first, but tried to rub my head anyways. It was one of the most alien feelings in my life as my appendage made contact. My hands felt all, fuzzy. What the hell... I slowly opened my eyes and let loose a blood curdling scream.

“Why am I orange!? Where are my hands!?”

I looked up at the sound of the door opening again. The staff must have noticed my screaming and decided to come in. The door opened to reveal two creatures standing there. They were similar to the one I encountered before, though these two were much different. The first was white with purple hair, the second was green with tan hair and slightly larger than the other. They both rushed over to me as I noticed they too sported horns atop their heads.

“G-get away from me you monsters!” I tried waving them away in a futile effort. The two creatures went to either side of me, the white one laid its front leg on my shoulder and said something. I immediately brushed it away and told it to leave me alone. The two exchanged glances and simultaneously began to hold me down. I tried to struggle but it was no use, I was still too exhausted from whatever happened to me. The dark green creature to my left pulled a syringe out of its coat and readied to insert it into my arm.

No, not like this. I don’t want to die like this! It was too late though, I felt its sharp point pierce me and release its tranquilizing payload. My arms dropped and I quickly felt myself falling to sleep as the creatures stepped back and exchanged more glances and strange words. I couldn’t see much more after that, I fell back asleep, but not before one more thought.

Please let me wake up after this. Let me go...

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My return to the waking world was slow and groggy. I’ve never woken up from being sedated... now I knew how it felt. If anything, I was feeling better which meant I probably got some painkillers while I was out. When I first opened my eyes I thought it was all a horrible dream and I was back in my room... I was wrong again. I rolled over and saw the large window on the wall to the right. It was dark, but the moonlight seemed to easily illuminate everything. It was open, likely a staff member, thinking I could use some fresh air.

Upon final realization of where I was, I grumbled and turned my back to the window. I couldn’t see too much in the darkness, but I was able to see my ‘body’ well enough. I saw the same slightly dark-orange coloring on my body from before, and the light fur I had everywhere. It was hard to tell from being in the bed, but I could make out a darkly colored tail right where you’d expect it to be.

When I first saw my ‘arms’, I was mortified thinking my hands were amputated in some horrible accident. I noticed my toes were gone too, and my back legs bent backwards to what I was used to. I did not feel joy at my transformation, I felt alone and scared. My body had taken on the form of a small horse... and I was terrified. It was the biggest shock of my life, waking up in an unfamiliar body.

I was afraid of what might happen to me, afraid that my mother and sister met the same fate and are also somewhere, scared and in pain. I’ll admit I cried to myself in the darkness of my room for what felt like hours; the uncertainty eating away at me.

What if it was just me? What if they’re still on the boat, looking for me, wondering where I am? What if these creatures killed everybody but turned me into one of them? What if they’re going to eat—

I heard a sudden flurry of sound behind me. I could feel my heart jump into my throat in response. I very slowly turned my head around to see what the cause of the noise was. The curtains by the window were flapping in the breeze. I breathed a sigh of relief and turned my attention back to the wall on my left... only to see eyes glowing in the darkness, and staring directly at me. I only stared back, completely frozen in fear at the sight in front of me.

I noticed they were a distinct shade of blue, before they began to get closer. Still unfamiliar with my new body, I scrambled and fell out of the bed and flat onto my back.

If I can make it to the window, maybe I can escape.

The intruder began to step around my bed, bringing itself into the moonlight. I tried to turn myself over and flee, but to no avail. As the figure was revealed my eyes grew with surprise. It stood on four legs, clearly taller than the other creatures. It was coated in a dark blue that melded with the shadows as if they were one and the same. Its eyes studied me as it drew closer, revealing the rest of its body. A spark went off in my mind as I lied there, frozen.

I recognized this one.

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To Live Another Life - Brony2893

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