Ranger in Gavara

Chapter I

I wake up, scraping what felt like cement off of my eyelids. With the speed of a depressed zombie, I get out of bed and do my morning routine. It was just like any other day to me, nothing life-changing could possibly happen. I eat my breakfast and throw my lunch in my backpack, ready to go to school. It is the worst time of the year, the teachers were panicking about the EOI's. Well, at least the ones that cared. Another boring day, another boring lesson, that's what I have to look forward to.

I leave my home as I usually do, beginning my walk to school. I walk past the same quick stop and the same buildings as I do everyday. I try not to think about it too much, it may put me through some sort of depression. Keeping a routine is what probably keeps my sanity in check. In the distance, my school rose above the buildings around it, shiny steel reflecting sunlight directly into my eyes. I cover my eyes, walking steadily forward until the front door of the school came to greet me. I hate it. The way the door looks like the mouth of a monster, about to devour it's prey.

As usual, I am the first one at school. Not that I'm a goody-goody or anything, but I had to learn math from my science teacher in the morning, since my math teacher had no clue what she was doing. I push the doors open, closing my eyes to prevent me from seeing the horrors of the school. To my unpleasant surprise, I don't see the horrors of school at all. In fact, I see something much more unfamiliar to me.

I stand in what looks like the middle of a village, people stare at me, their mouths agape. Buildings made completely of stone sit around me in a circle about 20 feet away. I must be in a town square. I look back at the people as I realize I have no idea where I am, how I got here, or what I'm supposed to do. The people stare, it is like they are too scared to move. A man in front of the townspeople begins to walk towards me. He walks as if I could go insane and kill him at any given moment. His steps are slow and careful, but he grew closer and closer. In response I sit down in the grass, showing him I mean no harm. Apparently this gesture is the equivalent of throwing a knife at someone's head, because he sprints back to where he started.

Slowly, an argument begins. Quiet at first, but voices became more and more panicky. They begin shoving and yelling at one another, pointing fingers accusingly. I sit there, a puzzled look on my face. Someone must be winning the argument because an increasing number of people begin to stand behind an angry man. As the argument continues, I realize something very wrong. These townspeople were speaking a language that I have never heard in my life. Also, the people weren't people at all. Some appeared as human-animal hybrids. The angry man has dog ears, but he isn't the only oddity. Women have cat ears, some men had green skin tones like elves, others had scales. I begin to shake in fear. Thoughts race through my mind: Where am I?! What are these people?! They aren't even people!

I watch as the angry man wins over more and more of the crowd. My attention span fades away as I decide to look at my surroundings rather than frightened townspeople. I have stumbled into a village of sorts. The grass is kept at a manageable length and what I assume are shops sit around me in a circle. In the distance, there is a hill with a large building on top, gleaming in the sunlight. I am in a clearing and houses take up the space in between the shops and the castle on the hill. It really is pretty in a simplistic way. The streets were just beaten paths that ran to and fro, I find myself enveloped in a new realization.

I am not even in the same time as before. These buildings are stone. No one has stone buildings in America! So, once again, I wonder. Where am I?! I am brought back by the loud sound of someone snapping their fingers. The townspeople lose their argument and split apart, letting a peaceful-looking man in a robe through. The man walks towards me without any care, he was either very confident, or very brave. I simply sit until he arrives in front of me. He paces around me, looking at me from every angle possible.