what if...
someone woke up in the arcana...?
[a stupid self insert w/ friend]
» cover art by @talkingshark ;; tumblr
» story art by supper ;; [co-author]
THE WATER that had made its way into my lungs made itself aware as I rose to consciousness. It burned, and I coughed and gagged, trying my hardest to get the foreign substance out.
As I turned over in the burning sand, I finally expelled the water out, gasping desperately for air that I did not have previously. "Fuck." I cursed, pounding my chest with my fist as I hacked up both phlegm and water.
After what felt like an eternity, I finally took in my surroundings.
I was on a beach. One that I did NOT live next to, from what I had remembered. I lived in the middle of Illinois, not on either coast of the U.S. The nearest beach from my town was a good 500 to 700 miles.
The feeling of panic struck me and I sucked in a breath, heart roaring in my ears as I turned my head and looked at the buildings that occupied the land next to the sea. It was very... Not modern in the slightest.
They ranged from a measly four floors, to one. The bricks were sandy white, and colorful tapestries and awnings gave them a splash of life.
"Where the hell am I?" I wondered to myself as I stood. After a few minutes of breathing and calming myself down, I shook and patted off the sand that managed to occupy every crevice of my very wet clothes and skin. Or, at least, I tried with the best of my ability to. It was very hard to get wet sand off of wet skin and clothes.
Something tickled the back of my neck, giving me a slight shock and causing me to reach back. I peeled a piece of seaweed off of me. "Gross." I thought.
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As I finally gathered my thoughts, I took a step forward and stumbled like an idiot. Stumbling had caused me to fall, and I decided to just lie down where I fell. Almost as if I was a wet noodle. I mean, I was cold and soaked in sea water, so I might as well dry out in the sun.
Eventually, I peeled off my coat which hung on me like a dead weight before I fell, and set it to my side. I stayed there on the beach for who knows how long, gathering my thoughts and devising a plan.
I was somewhere that was DEFINETLY not Kansas anymore. I had no cellphone, no wallet, and no hopes of getting back. At least from what I could tell so far.
Eventually, after I somewhat dried out, I got up and decided that it would be best to explore wherever the hell I ended up at. Maybe I could find a market to get a phone or some infromation on where I was at.
I got up, shook off the now dried sand, and walked from the beach to the path that lead to the city. I squinted as I looked at the architecture of the buildings.
