At first, when I saw him there, surrounded by mist and wet leaves, I was certain that he was dead. His skin was deathly pale and his chest did not seem to be moving. My gloved hand flew to my mouth as I stared at him. This was the last thing I'd been expecting to encounter on my daily evening walk.
He looked like one of Michelangelo's sculptures. His features were noble, all sharp angles and shadowed planes. His lashes were long and thick, and I dropped to my knees beside him, panic surging through me and spiking my blood with adrenaline. It was so cold and he was clad in a thin white tee and dark pants --hardly protected from the icy bite of the air.
The forest was growing dark fast now and the noises that usually calmed me only managed to unsettle my nerves now. I placed two fingers on his neck, searching for a pulse, while my other hand fumbled in the pockets of my coat, searching for my phone.
I almost fainted when he drew in a deep shuddering breath.
His eyes flew open and focused on me...
Immediately I jumped back and pulled out my gun. His eyes widened and he put his hands up in front of him. "Who are you?" I asked in a calm steady voice. I tried not to focus on how fast my heart was beating.
"R-Ryan. Who are you?"
I ignored the question, "What are you doing here, Ryan?"
"I don't know. I just woke up. Where am I?"
He's just fresh meat. I put my gun back in its holster, "Follow me." I told him walking down the path I came on.
"Where are we going?" he asked tugging the collar of his shirt.
"Stop asking questions." I replied curtly.
"Why?" He slapped a hand to his forehead, "Sorry."
"I'm not supposed to answer your questions. Those are for your chiefs."
"Chiefs?"
I shoot him a glare.
"Sorry."
"It's not your fault. We figured out that they erase your memory before sending you in. They're pretty much our leaders. Do as they say and you'll survive longer."
"Oh. And this place is..."
"Flash. That's what we call this region. Because this is usually where fresh meat arrives."
"Like me."
"You learn fast. Yes, like you. The new arrivals are always hard to find. Even though you come in a flash of light, sometimes you arrive dead, or rabid. There haven't been any fresh ones in a while."
"Flash, I get it now. Anyone ever see one before?"
"No one knows."
"You just answered one of my questions."
"Well I'm not too fond of how the system works. I don't like following someone blindly. Then we'll just be one step higher than rabids."
"And rabids are..."
"Those who can't handle being transported here. We guess that their brains get fried in the process. Or the creators just want to mess things up for us."
"So there are more problems in Flash than in the other places."
"Roar, Deep Sky, Ignite, Freeze, and Flash. The regions are named by what goes on inside each one. Roar is filled with beasts that will eat anything they can. Deep Sky is filled with water but the waves are as dark as the night. It's poison. Ignite is even more dangerous. The ground beneath your feet can explode at any second. Freeze is barren. If you can find any shelter in Freeze its a miracle. Here in Flash, there at the most resources. The only predators you need to fear are rabids."
"And each other."
"That too." I stopped walking, "We're here."
"One last question, where are we? I don't mean what region, I mean what planet. WHERE are we?"
That made me think. I had argued with my chief about that for years before he finally told me. Should I tell him such valuable information? I sighed and gave in, not like anyone would believe him if he told.
"Before there were regions, many lived here. But because there were so many people and so little control, this planet got poisoned and the survivors had to migrate. Now they only send unwanted goods here. Once this was a blue planet, now it's Hell. But you can call it Earth.
