Aetheria's Enigma: The Lost Traveler

Chapter I

"GRENADE!" a soldier cries out. Everyone takes cover. Shots coming from all sides.

"I can't tell where all these shots are coming from." another soldier says.

I look around. "I'll try to get to the tree line. Give me cover fire."

They raise their rifles over the barricade and start shooting in the general direction of the incoming shots while I make a run for the trees. When I get to cover I get down and start scanning the area for the enemy. One stands out among all the rest. That one enemy takes the shot.

I jolt awake, Breathing heavily, Pushing my face into my hands. When I remove my hands I open my eyes to see not the bed I went to sleep in, but an open field and a dense forest. "Where the hell am I?" Something about the place just feels, different. Even the air doesn't feel the same.

I'm wearing my old army jacket. I check my pockets. My dead phone, a half-empty pack of cigarettes, a lighter, and a photo. The photo is of me, Amelia, Lily, and Tyler. I never go anywhere without it. I light a smoke and start walking along the edge of the forest.

I've been in this kind of scenario before, back when it happened. I was walking for days in enemy territory, just hoping to see one of my ally's vehicles or camps. But this is different. I don't even know what I'm looking for. Even with the stress of being lost, just wandering, hoping to find someone or something to guide me, all I can think about is my family. Where are they? How did I get here?

Minutes go by, then hours, but nothing in sight. Then I hear rustling in the forest. I turn to look and I see a large wolflike creature running towards me. I make a run for it away from the forest. There looks to be a road up ahead. The wolf is gaining on me and I realize I won't be able to outrun it. I pull the photo out of my pocket and clutch it tightly before stopping and turning around to face the creature. I close my eyes and accept the inevitable death.

In my final moments, all I can think about is how my family will be alone. I know Tyler will take care of them, but my daughter, Lily will never be the same. She already lost her grandmother a year ago, but losing her father too. It hurts to think about it. Why is this taking so long? Time is moving so slowly. I just want to die.

"NOT TODAY!"

I open my eyes to see a young man jumping between the wolf and me. He holds a sword out in front of him to fend off the beast.

"Get to the cart!" He nods towards the road. There is a cart sitting there with an older man sitting at the front holding the reins of some animal.

I hesitate but decide to listen. I run to the cart and jump in, slightly relieved that my life hadn't just ended. The young man slices the wolf's side, which stuns it long enough to get to the cart. When he hops in the older man flicks the reins and the animal starts running down the road.

The man looks back at me. He just stares at me, almost like he'd seen me before. "Anyone ever told you you're an idiot?"

The look in his eyes confuses me, but I play it off and smirk. "Every day."

He sighs and shrugs it off. "Even children know not to come out here without some form of protection. And who just stands there waiting for a Razorback Wolf to kill them? Haven't seen someone that stupid since-" He shakes his head. "Nevermind. What are you doing out here anyway?"

"Honestly I don't know. But where exactly is here?" I ask the man.

The younger man speaks up "The healing district, just outside Everglen Forest. You aren't from around here, are ya?"

My thoughts raced. Everglen? Healing District? What the hell is going on? All I can think to say is, "No. I have no clue where I am actually. Or how I got here."