Murky Reign

Strange Awakening

Consciousness took hold of me, bit by bit. I laid among some kind of foliage, soft and welcoming. A strong, earthy smell invaded my nostrils. When you're face down in the dirt, I suppose that much should've been expected. Any reason in my mind for why I was here seemed to escape me. Most interesting of all was the comfort I felt, like I could drift right back into an endless slumber at any moment.

With a sigh of reluctance, I lifted my head from the ground and rubbed softly my tired eyes. Sapphire colored trees reached up far into the heavens. Plants in shades ranging from sky blue to indigo decorated the forest floor. This was.. wrong. I rubbed my eyes once more. Then again and again, hoping in some way my surroundings would change. They did not.

I stumbled up on to my feet, now very awake from the confusion and worry of the situation at hand. My mind was a jumbled mess of panic and curiosity. Before I knew it, I'd begun to spill it all aloud. "What happened.. what happened???!? Why can't I remember anything?? No.. no no no! My memory is just fine, no, it's perfect! I just, I just need to focus."

I had begun to pace about the area, all the while muttering incoherent thoughts. My name? Where I was? Why?? It was all a blur. My pacing ended up leading me a few yards from where I had awoken, into a small clearing where the sun shone intensely. The sun sat just a smidge away from the center of the sky, couldn't have been later than 1:00pm. That's when I saw it, a small brown bag illuminated by the afternoon sun. My thoughts fell silent as I moved closer to the peculiar object.

The leather was soft and slightly warm to the touch. It felt.. familiar? Curiosity tore at me as I slid my hand in. What I found inside just brought more questions: a worn photograph with two girls. One pale with brown freckles and long green hair, the other dark skin with splotches of lighter skin and a bright smile. On the bottom of the photo, there was the name "Quill" and something else written, though it appeared scratched out.

That girl, there was no doubt about it, that dark skinned girl was me. I'm Quill. I must be. My thoughts began to swim once more, at least until I managed to break myself out with a light slap. "No! There're more important things to focus on," I paused for just a moment and my stomach grumbled, "like finding something to eat apparently." I slid the photo back in and slung the bag over my shoulder. Taking one last look around the area, there was nary a thing of note. No matter my attempts to shake it from my head, I just needed to know what was going on here.

~~~

With no roads or landmarks, I had chosen to start walking in a straight line. Eventually there would be something, there'd have to be. I was, miraculously, right. Sunset was just beginning to soak the forest with brilliant golden hues by the time I managed to stumble upon a thin dirt path. It was yellowy-brown with small grey pebbles decorated throughout. Finally, something.

I followed the path for a short while, maybe ten minutes or so, until I came to a shabby wooden bridge. It sat outstretched over a stream; the slow-moving water below created a sort of ebb and flow. In the distance, through the foliage and branches, I could see some sort of silhouette moving about. "Hello!! Hello?!" I called out while waving my arms above my head wildly. I don't know what it was, but it seemed to be coming closer. Something felt.. off about it. My heart was pounding when I had begun to speak again.

"HELLO!! Can you hear me-" My voice got cut off from the force of someone's palm on my back. One moment I was at the edge of the riverbank, the next I was face down in the dirt. I picked up my head and tried to shake some of the filth off; but that's when I saw them. It was a human figure half-crouched about a foot and a half away from me. Their face rest beneath a pale blue mask, though their left eye remained partially visible.