Chapter 19
Brocc woke up, and the first sensation he felt was wetness.
He was lying in water.
He startled up.
He wiped away wet grass from his face.
He laughed for a moment.
“I did it,” he said, grinning. “My god, I did it.”
He looked around, expecting to see the vegetable kingdom.
But instead, there was only a navy blue sky full of stars. And wavering tall grass. Terraces of tall grass, sloping upward toward the sky.
A rice paddy.
He was in a rice paddy.
The gentle burbling of water would have calmed him if it didn’t take him by surprise.
The air was humid. Warm against his skin.
He stood, shaking water off his jacket. His buttons and zippers jangled as he shook. He hugged himself to warm up.
“Where the hell am I?”
He heard splashing next to him.
A shadow rose in the grass
