Shadow Alpha

Chapter 10 🌙

Whimpering wolves, and chirping birds.

That's what I hear when I slowly peel open my eyes, my head laid back in soft black soil, my vision is soon full of a green, beautiful, tranquil forest.

Slithers of blue sky and an ancient moon shine down, while white clouds painted across the sky slowly move about. And closer, is a grey morning mist. Green dewy foliage drip fresh water. The smell is amazing. This ancient world had no pollution, only intense and rich fragrance.

I lift my head further, then I sit up as I look around the forest, where Lupines in wolf form are thrown about, stuck in trees, over branches, laid out over the ground, or in awkward positions from a fair fall. The twist in time tossed us all into the past violently.

Ferir has given us 30 days to prove we won't all be dead by the end of it. That we're worthy of respect.

The threat? His old pack of Wraith Lupines. Just a fancy name. They probably had ancient tools, made of stone – they couldn't be that scary. We had the knowledge of a modern world, which was far more useful, as long as we could apply it.

I am clearly the first to wake up, slowly looking around, taking it all in very carefully. As an academic, I can't help making quick judgements about the contrast of this time, and where I'm from.

The main difference is obvious and begins to haunt me when I reach for my mobile and there is no service, and a very low battery. Useless. Which made me realise no technology meant... using only my mind and only my knowledge... in the moment, in this moment.

With soil covering my toes, I notice my shoes disappeared in the time warp for some reason. I'm wearing dark blue jeans and a white top and some cheap silver bangles.

A bird flits down onto the ground near my toes, then quickly flies away when a wolf rolls over and groans in pain.

Slow... everything... is slow...

I stand up.

The feeling I get in my chest, in my head, in my soul... is just an intense feeling of slow.

Everything is deliberate, every sound is important, nothing is worth looking over... because it's all we had left.

The modern world in contrast was quick, jampacked, set at a furious pace. This? This was unknown slow territory. We would have to adapt. Time felt strange now.

As I pace around, I count the Lupines present, to see what physical force we have.

My friends are all here. And about twenty others.

No one is awake.

We would need water first and foremost, as they had all been drinking heavily.

I was still tipsy.

I stumble down an incline in the forest, looking for a creek.

The forest extends forever, and no tracks are present. This ancient, old world is open ended, risk is heightened, and so are my senses.

I stumble as far as I can, my calves and ankles hurting already from the rough terrain, barely any flat surfaces. But even so, after my treacherous journey I find a clear stream.

I take my fill on my knees, and as I get hydrated, energy is unlocked in my blood, and I hear the others groaning from back the way I came.

It was time to run back and rally the pack – we were going to need to stick together to survive! And we could! I'd prove Ferir wrong!

****

"Okay. Let's start with basics and worry about everything else later. We need water, food, shelter, weapons... all that and boom, we'll survive 4 weeks easy," Amy leads the decisions with Jeremy, who has rounded the group into a circle. They're all naked, but too disturbed by our abrupt survival situation to worry about shame. We all sit to discuss our ideas. I'm the only one clothed.