Note to self: Never, ever, ever, use a portal again. The pain I felt as I hurtled through the portal to lands unknown was excruciating. It felt like I was being burned, cut apart, crushed by a truck, and being painfully stitched back together all at the same time.
Then suddenly, I was launched out of the portal like a shot from a cannon, making a not-so-graceful faceplant into the dirt.
Spitting grass and soil out of my mouth, I stood up and dusted myself off. Then I looked around.
Around me, was the most beautiful world I could imagine. On my right, lush green grass spread across acres and acres of land before merging with a dense forest. On my left, miles in the distance, the grass gave way to hard, rocky soil. Beyond that, a range of mountains spread, acting as a barrier between the plains and whatever lay beyond.
The sky above the plains was clear and blue, with two suns and zero clouds in the sky. The sky above the volcanic looking mountain range, however, was a stormy grey, and full of what looked like ash.
It felt a little strange. Almost like standing at the border of two completely different worlds, but belonging to neither.
The choice as to which direction to head in was obvious. I set off towards the grassy plains.
"Damn, War, where the hell am I? What kind of weird planet did you send me to?" I wonder to myself. I start heading towards the plains.
A sudden stinging pain in my chest reminded me that the wound was still open. "Crap... It might get infected... Need to find some water and wash it clean before that happens." I keep my course constant, heading towards the plains.
After hours of walking, I see my first sign of life late in the evening.
I finally reach the forest. The canopy overhead is so thick, it blocks out most of the sunlight entering the forest. The relief of the shade almost makes me faint with delight. When I enter, I hear a curious chittering sound coming from somewhere above my head. I look up.
It looked like a regular monkey, with six arms. Each arm had four fingers, each sporting four very long and sharp-looking nails, and bright green, somewhat overly large and luminous eyes set into it's oblong head. Its fur was light blue and to be short, but clean. Must have been using some water nearby to wash itself. Now all I had to do was find it!
I quickly look around for some source of water. After hours in the heat of the two suns, my parched throat was screaming for some liquid relief. I tune my ears to the slightest sound of trickling water. The monkey chitters at me angrily, baring it's long, sharp, needle-like teeth. I must be on it's territory.
I cautiously back off, holding my hands up as a sign of surrender. It seems to accept my retreat, and, confident that I don't mean to try and take over it's territory, settles down to watch my movements.
I backtrack and take a detour around the site. I keep foraging deeper into the forest, my senses on full alert for the slightest sign of water. The flora and fauna of the forest bears just the slightest resemblance to those on Earth, but in their own way, each was completely different. Birds with four wings, trees with blue leaves, a dog-like creature with horns coming out of it's head, a spider almost as big as I was, an ant the size of my foot, were just some of the examples of exactly what kind of life flourished on this planet.
YOU ARE READING
The Fifth Horseman
FantasyWe all know the four horsemen. War, Death, Fury, and Strife. But there is another. Darkness. His home destroyed, he joins the four Horsemen in a quest to discover exactly who destroyed his home, life, and everything he knew and cared about.
