Blood of Water and Light

𝕋𝕨𝕠: ℂ𝕪𝕣𝕒

Minty toothpaste woke me up. I spat it out onto the grass below me. I looked around to find myself in a big empty field. The sun above me was blinding. The memory of the attack hit me like a punch. The figure the sparkles and then nothing.

Why was I just in a field? Where was I? Where were they?

My body felt shaky and wobbly likely from whatever sedative they used on me. I started to walk across the field. There were pine trees all around the clearing, but they were strange. Some of them were normal and then others were a bright orange or yellow hue. They could've been dead, but a feeling said I knew they weren't. The shade was much too bright for that. Death was not so colorful.

The grass was also a bit odd colored. It was more like the color of the ocean then it should've been. Maybe a paint transport exploded here or something. A voice in my head said I knew better. This was something else entirely. 

My body was thrown into the grass suddenly. I started to yelp and punch at the small warm body.

"Stop stop" A young male voice said.

I looked at him breathing heavily. I knew this boy he was my brothers friend. Sam Newton was a skinny twig, but tall as a tree. He had been in boy scouts forever and knew his way around the wilderness. His deep brown eyes looked into my soul as we both just sat there.

He pointed lightly behind us and my eyes followed his gesture. In the edge of the clearing stood a giant bear. It was much larger then the grizzly bears at the zoo back home. When it turned its black fur ended at it's face. White fur lined his face and it seemed to see us. It sniffed around in the air and started to wander closer to us. Around it seemed to be a haze of shadow that was emitting from the creature. 

I tapped Sam gently as both of us looked at the giant beast. That was not a species native to Minnesota. That was not a species native to earth in general as far as I knew. 

The bear sniffed around more before it looked right at us. It kept coming towards us. I wanted to run, but Sam had a firm grip on my arm keeping me firmly in place. That was until it looked right at the two of us.

The odd bear started running and Sam was up hauling me up with him. We began to run, but the bear was a lot faster. We both sprinted towards the forest across the field. My legs hauled me along and I didn't think I had been able to run the speed I was now. A part of my mind told me it was pointless to run from a giant odd looking bear. 

At the edge of the woods straight in front of us I heard a thunderous noise. Ten horses with ten men riding charged out. The men and horses had armor on them. The men held bows with arrows already being shot at the bear. The two of us ducked low as arrows spun around us.  I glanced around to see the bear running the other way now. The men stopped and tried to control their steeds.

The horses were all forms of colors and some of them had horns. Some like unicorns and others were like rhinos. My eyes widened thinking this was a fever dream, but everything was too clear for that. One glance at Sam told me he felt the same. 

One man in the line up was dressed differently. He had a helmet that was more elaborate. It had a design around it. When they got closer I saw it was a lion stamped into the gold metal. He was a younger man no older then his late twenties. His hair was a deep shade of blonde and messy much like Sam's.

Sam was right next to me as we both panted lightly. We watched as the small army walked towards us. Fear crawled into my spine as well as confusion. Maybe this was a coma and I was basically dead. 

"You are not like us are you?" the lion helmet asked.

This had to be a prank now. Nobody rode horses nor did they wear armor. There were guns which were a lot easier to use then arrows. The odd horses though had no straps to show their horns or colors were fake. 

"I can tell by your...outfits you both are from the other world" he said, which made me glance down at my dog pants.

"Other world?" Sam asked before I could.

"I hear little since the last newcomers came a hundred years ago, but they said you were weird" he spoke again.

"This is just a prank isn't it" Sam said quietly.

All this world and this could not be a prank. Besides I did not know anyone who could prank like that. The cost alone would be too grand not to mention damage and a bear. Sam seemed to be thinking the same thing as he looked around. 

"My name is Aiden Cameron general of the Miles family, Come and I will show you how it is not a prank as you say, you ginger snap with me and you go with one of my men" he said.

I hesitated before stepping forward to him. What choices did we have but to go with these men?  They could kill us if we decided otherwise. He held his hand out and I grabbed hold and climbed up with him. His eyes looked exhausted up close and were a deep brown shade, but there was something unsettling. Sam walked behind me and sat with one of the others. He seemed uncomfortable and grabbed hold of the back end of the saddle rather then the dude in front of him. 

I grabbed hold of the royal man in front of me when his horse took off. I hated grabbing onto someone. I felt stupid for doing it and equally as uncomfortable as Sam.

Colorful birds and creatures that did not live back home scattered as the group moved forward. This was not home and I was starting to feel like this was also not a prank. The feeling I had before only grew. This world was in fact real and I was now living in it. 

Why had these men been here at all though? Had they known about us? Were they the ones that dragged us here?