Wof: Under a Scarlet Banner

(Edited) Chapter 1

I woke up with the sun burning my eyes, the birds screaming at the top of their lungs, and a sharp pain in my back. I thought that the money spent on a queen sized, memory foam mattress would be worth it, had I known that it would feel like a bed of rocks I would have kept that money in my wallet where it belonged. Then again, haven't I gotten this bed two weeks ago? It didn't feel like this before. I pulled myself up, but rather than feeling my hands indent the soft memory foam, my hands were met with moist stone and grass.

Opening my eyes I noticed I was laying in a small clearing in a forest. Obviously I was shocked, not only because I woke up in a place I didn't recognize, but these trees were redwood sized. Looking down I noticed I wasn't in my pajamas that had kept me warm and comfortable last night. Instead they were replaced with tan cargo pants, a dark green, sleeveless shirt, combat boots, and nearby was a satchel. I could see it's contents contained a metal flask, a knife, a small pouch.

"What on earth? Why am I here and what am I doing with all these supplies? Is this some kind of reality show? What kind of sick mind would kidnap someone and toss them into the forest for entertainment?"

"Hey! This is not funny at all. This is sick and most likely illegal. I didn't volunteer for this!" was what I shouted to the trees and birds. No reply.

"Hey! HEY! I'm serious! I want no part in this! Take me back home!" Still no reply. I angrily kicked the ground under me, uprooting some lichen and grass. I covered my face with my hands and rubbed it in frustration. When I stopped, my eyes darted to the satchel bag.

I rushed to it and began to sift through its contents. Inside was some smoked meat, a granola bar, and some assorted nuts. I opened the flask to see if it had anything inside, sure enough, it was full of water. I inspected the knife as well. A sharp pristine, Damascus blade is what was revealed to me as I slid off the leather sheath.

"Well, at least I have something to work with. This is a nice knife actually."

Shouldering the satchel and gripping my knife, I started working. In this forest I needed some recognize landmarks or make some. I grabbed two good sized sticks, whittled them, and placed them upright in a "X" shape in the middle of the clearing. Next, I needed to get a lay of the land. No way was I going to climb one of those trees. Instead I faced the "X" I made, turned myself 180 degrees, and started walking.

"Ok, I think I'm doing fine. Yeah. Everything is fine. There's no need to panic. Just find somewhere high and head towards any sign of civilization. I can do this. I can do this."

I got up and brushed the dirt off my pants and began walking forward. The logical thing was to head towards something high, so I naturally walked towards the highest point I could see. Which unfortunately was a mountain in the distance.

"How far did these guys take me? How on earth did they even do all this?"

There wasn't anything I could do about it though. As much as I wish I could just suddenly wake up at home, there was no way that was going to happen. Still, at least the worry and frustration was keeping my mind busy.

After an hour or two of walking and landmarking, I came across a decently sized stream. It was being fed by a little waterfall, which was quite prefect. I don't have anything to boil water in, but this fast moving water should be clean enough. I noticed black figures in the water as well, which solved another problem.

Personally, I hate fish, but this is survival I am dealing with. With a makeshift spear in hand I cast my self preservation instincts into the water. The fish that was shish kebabed flailed while I pulled it quickly out of the water. Once again, I was shocked at my catch. It was much larger than anything I caught before. It was quite hard to drag out and it still flopped around. I grabbed a rock and knocked it on the head. The wiggling stopped, but I had just had the realization that I didn't make a fire.

"Just my luck. Ok, it's not a complete failure. I think I saw a guy do this once."

I whittled more sticks and put them in the water forming a cage of spears. The sharp ends were barely touching the surface of the water. I could chum the inside of the cage and attract fish, who would get trapped in the cage, hopefully.

Now, I had to start a fire to build. Ok, I honestly have no idea what kind of rock to use as flint. I could strike every rock until I get sparks, but I can't risk any chips on my blade. I guess I could risk blisters on my hands. I mustered my strength and walking around looking for more sticks, small logs, kindling, any thing that would make a good fire.

Then, I did that stick rubbing thing you see on tv. It hurt more than it looked and took much longer. It got pretty dark when I finished. I could already see the friction from my consistent rubbing causing the kindling light up. One stick teepee later and I had a full blown fire. So I sat there admiring my work, snacking on my granola.

This was all so very confusing and messed up, but at the same time I had this feeling of peace. I couldn't really explain it. I guess living my boring, repetitive life really lose sight of how good I had it. I sighed and flopped on my back. I immediately regretted that. There were the stars sitting in the sky, dark clouds rolled by, and there in the center was the moon... and another half moon... and a a sliver of a third.

"Huh, three moons. That's...weird...and familiar. Wait one second...no...it can't be. But...that explains the size of everything. But I can't be here. Where are...no no no... my fire...I can't be seen now!"

I ran to the burning blaze and started kicking dirt into it. Hours of work and tired hands were going to waste, but if I was where I thought I was, I needed to act fast. After the fire was out, I stamped my feet frantically into the ashes, trying to stifle any remaining embers. All the while I was thinking of the possibility that I was already dead, heck, I might be better off dead. One more stomp killed the last spark of my only source of warmth. The blisters in my hands mocked me for my wasted efforts. I put my hands on my head and groaned.

"Was that even necessary? I could be perfectly fine, but I just had to go and undo hours of work."

I looked at the three moons again with tears in my eyes. I was far from home. There was no way of coming back. And now I know where exactly I am.

I am doomed.

I crashed onto the forest floor and listened to the sounds of whistling trees and nocturnal wildlife. I closed my eyes and listened. Trying to calm myself. Trying to relax and think "everything is fine, you can do this". Only for the the sound of powerful wing beats to interrupt my frantic thoughts.