¹
Great job everyone, almost everyone survived." A young boy declared. It was an all out war...
He heard a sound of his name being called. An old man came running with three other people running behind him.
"Hey commander, what's the matter?" The young boy asked in a calm voice, unaware of the situation on the other side.
"There's something I need to tell…" his words were abruptly cut as the three people behind him suddenly collapsed on the ground.
He slowly looked behind with an expression of dread.
Before anyone could react, blood filled the ground, the blood which came out of those collapsed bodies. It looked like they had gotten a deep cut on their chest or stomach.
The men were just normal a few seconds ago and suddenly… This happened. It did not make sense at all.
"What the hell's happening!!!" The old man roared.
It wasn't over, there was more to come, just the next instant, "Cough!!!" The old man spat out blood. He was forced to get on his knees.
He couldn't speak anything. Blood slowly flowed out of his mouth. He clutched his heart tightly, and groaned in pain.
"Are you alright!?" The young boy asked, trying to look at his condition. He was shocked, he didn't know what was happening.
Then, in the next moment…
SPLASH!!!
The old man, who was sitting on the ground, was erased from existence…The only thing that remained was a big mark of blood on the ground.
The mark was faint red, only a thin layer of blood was on the floor. His body, his bones, all crumbled and collapsed, leaving only his blood.
All the boy could do was watch, he couldn't change it now.
²
"What… is this place? Where… am I?"
"Am I dead? Is this… afterlife?"
Darkness enveloped me, as I drifted in a void of utter nothingness. There was no sensation of pain, sight or smell. I tried to move, but couldn't feel my legs, nor my hands. It felt as if my body didn't exist anymore.
"What is happening?" I asked myself. Panic seized me. I was afraid, in fear, not knowing what to do now. I just kept floating through the seemingly infinite void, I feared that this was the end for me.
As time passed, my mind calmed down, and after some time, there were no thoughts in my brain.
Suddenly! I felt a strong presence, striking through, just beside me! It was the first time I had sensed anything since I was here.
"What was that thing?" A mix of emotions surged, I was in panic once again, confused, scared, more questions surfaced in my mind.
"Is this just a bad dream?"
"If I am dead, Is my family alright?"
Just immediately after this, a bright light emerged and everything blanked out. My senses seemed to return, I could feel my body again, it was lying on some rough surface. I was greeted with a sensation of relief, knowing that I was alive.
"Am I in a hospital?" I asked myself. But suddenly! A I felt a sharp pain running throughout my body.
"Argh!" I groaned in pain.
"Did it work?" A female voice echoed in my mind.
"Seems like it." Another voice intervened.
Still confused, I slowly opened my eyes. My vision was blurred. I rubbed my eyes with my right hand, clearing the sight. I lay on the floor, it was a small dull room, dimly lit with candles and lanterns casting a flickering shadow on the walls. I tried to move my face to look at the place where I was.
It was then when I noticed three faces that hovered above me. Two women and one man, their faces etched in exhaustion. I didn't recognize even one of them.
My gaze shifted on myself. Tattered black pants clung to my legs, nothing on my upper body, my torso was bare.
"What is this place?" I asked, my voice shaking.
They seemed to have ignored my voice as the man asked me, "First, can you please tell me your name?"
"Ed… ward" In the condition I was in at that time, I could hardly talk.
"That's good, the transition doesn't seem to have any bad effects on him." He started talking to the females before turning his gaze back towards them.
He asked another question, "So, do you remember anything about how you lost consciousness before getting here?"
I tried to think about it, but… all of it was blurry. I could not remember anything clearly. I tried to focus and force myself to remember.
My face was etched in confusion as I was still lying down, looking at which the man intervened, "Don't force yourself much for now. Your condition is still not stable. Can you stand up?"
It was even difficult to get on my knees looking at which, the women supported me to stand up. As I stood up, we slowly started moving towards a door.
"Can I get to know where I actually am?" I asked with my weak voice.
"Edward you say? It's gonna be hard to believe but I will tell you directly." After a short pause he continued, "The world you are currently in, is not yours."
"You have been summoned, from your world, to this one. It is hard to believe but it's the truth. The proof is that your body itself has changed." The woman in my right, added.
"What?" I was in shock, in disbelief. "Is this all a joke? Are they all jokers?"