[DISCONTINUED] Kung Fu Panda [From Anarchy to Tranquility]

4: A Brave New World

I awoke with a startle after I felt I had landed on something compact. I looked around in all directions in hysteria, still breathing rapidly from trauma and all at once, the peace I had felt while falling in the vortex was gone. I felt my same old self; no change was visible and neither did I feel any happier than I was just a few hours ago, or however long I slept. I placed my hand on my sinuses, trying to recollect the moments I felt in the vortex in an attempt to feel better to no avail. The sun was setting over the horizon. A golden tinge of light then emitted off the fog, clouds and mountaintops, showering the valley and plateaus in orange vibrance.

I heard the wind rustle past me. I looked up and saw that I was on atop of a beautiful mountain of which I was surrounded by trees that I could not recognize at first glance. A cold mist covered the mountaintops. I looked over my shoulder and saw the mountain extended upwards at an angle. I looked to my front and was in awe of the dip, or little valley that was seen between the mountains. Streams of water separated pieces of land as this was shaped in a circle.

It was surprisingly cool where I had laid all this time. I took my helmet off so that my hair could also feel the wind that jostled the grass and tree branches and my clothes. Then, I got up to my feet, still not believing if I saw what was in front of me a mere imagination or reality. The grass, the plateau, the yellow sun glaring behind the mountains, arching over the trees, radiating the air was enough for me to crack a smile and lend tears from my eyes.

But the shock from having fought in the streets of Berlin to seeing this in so short of time turned my joy to crippling sadness. The time that I had seen such wonders had been so long, this further caused my sadness to increase and so, I began to lament. After a short while, I finally came to my senses and wiped the tears off with my sleeve and looked around once more to view the scenery.

Three grenades, including my rifle, pistol and helmet were lying on the ground where I had laid for who knows how long. My guess is for a few short hours since a thin layer of dew covered these. I was also quick to notice that my clothing was also covered slightly in dew, so I went to clean said items so they would not begin to rust. In the middle of nowhere, where could I find food? I see streams of water are dominant at almost every juncture, yet no deer, no fox, neither were there any rabbits jumping around flocking in the tall grass down below.

Actually, where in hell am I? This is still the earth as far as I could tell, yet, I could not locate in which part of the world I was at. For a moment, I thought I was in the Alps, but soon, I located a large bamboo forest towards my left. So...it seems I am in Asia. Of what country to be exact, I could not tell--I am no expert at geology.

I wasn't sure in what direction to head off to. Civilization seemed to be nowhere in sight, and this was a question that began to trouble me severely. If I was in a different part of the world and supposing Gerver's teleportation trick had worked, what language would the people in a village I was to come by speak? I would not know what they speak and neither will they. I will be helpless and lost in Asia knowing not where to go to return to Germany and live the rest of my damned life in peace.

Without much more heartache, I slowly began to climb down the mountain. Never in my life did the scenery amaze me as well as frighten me. I had made up my mind to go in the direction opposite of the bamboo forest and head off where a river went as far as the eye could see.

Off the mountain at last, I went to the river to take a drink and was once again surprised the water was crystal clear. It was the bluest water I had ever seen and this only made my thirst gouge my tongue all the more. I drank until I had my fill and filled my canteen with this heavenly water.

The air that I breathed felt good to inhale and exhale. No smoke, smog, sulfur, or any sweet smell of a poison cloud or sour bud could be smelled, except for the general odor a river emits when one draws near the waters. I felt that I wanted to bathe in the river due to how dirty I was, but I decided against it to continue on my way in hopes of finding food. Oh, what a fool I was to not put any soup or bread in my mess tin before I had journeyed to help Gerver in his misfortune. I can hear him already mourning my death including his daughter. His daughter mostly. I'll never get the image of Gerver's dead daughter from my head. Just another gore image that cannot be erased from my blood-soaked memory of a thousand nightmares...