Another World Story

Day Two: Where am I?

'Kaiser! Wake up! Kaiser! Please... Don't leave me... You're the only one I have left... Please... Kaiser, don't go away...'

"!!"

John was startled awake as the oh-so familiar dream appeared once more.

He could feel his back drenched in sweat and some was even dripping from his forehead unceasingly. It was like he had undergone very rigorous training, but the lack of it.

Huft... Pant... Pant...

*Lab-dub* *Lab-dub*

John placed his right hand on his chest as he felt his heartbeat thumping so fast and hard he could hear it echoing in his ears.

"Hoo... haa...."

John took a deep breath before exhaling, trying to calm himself down. The dream he saw this time was much more realistic compared to the past. It was like everything he saw and done in the dream was something he had really done. It made him unable to distinguish whether it was really a dream or reality itself.

"...was that really a dream?" He asked himself as he put his hands down, but the moment he did so, he felt something different. No, not only did he feel that, he saw everything around him was different. Gone were the four white walls of his classroom, the wooden chairs and tables that were arranged accordingly, as well as the long black board that was supposed to be in front of him.

"Where... am I?" A barely audible voice escaped his mouth. He was so dumbfounded that he couldn't tear his eyes away from the view in front of him. What was once a classical modern classroom was now replaced by a very mesmerizing scene of fauna and flora.

Green.

That's what John saw.

Trees, larger than the regular trees that he had seen before, each of them had a different shade of brown bark and even the color of their leaves differed for some of the trees. Yellow, green, there were even some trees with blue-colored leaves. It was the first time he had seen something like that.

But that wasn't all.

Around him, small animals roamed the land, some going up the trees, some jumping down, and some were even diving towards the crystal clear pond to his left where fishes he had never seen and heard in his entire life swam with vigor. There were creatures that resembled squirrels, some like a deer but with much larger and thicker antlers. There were also different patterned rabbits jumping here and there. Their size, on the other hand, almost reached a meter...

There were bird-like creatures as well, with colorful feathers perched on the trees. Trying their best to peck at the huge and round fruits hanging from some trees. He also saw the rabbits carrying such fruits and brought them to who knows where.

It was the epitome of nature.

"..." John couldn't make a peep, he was stunned by the sight. It was his first time seeing such a scene. He had lived in the urban part of the city and rarely went to areas such as the one he is currently looking at. The best he could do was look at them through books.

"Encyclopedias weren't as lively and mesmerizing as this..." John muttered to himself.

John looked around once more, he wanted to engrave the memory of this beautiful scene in his mind.

Time passed, after about three minutes of staring and appreciating the beauty of nature, John diverted his attention back to the situation he was in.

"...now, where am I? Really? Where am I?" He asked himself. He couldn't remember having problems while he was sleeping. And he swore in his entire life he had never sleepwalked, not even once. If so, was he moved here? For what? A prank?

"If this was a prank, they had surely put every effort they could have in order to decorate this place..." John said sarcastically.

He was certain this wasn't something like a prank. It wasn't even April yet. That led to something else... something John couldn't accept despite wanting to.

"... Another world?" He asked, his voice cracked somewhat as the thought itself was so absurd.

John looked around once more.

Almost meter-sized rabbits, birds with colorful feathers, fishes he had never seen, deer with antlers so big he wondered if their heads could still support the weight, and trees that towered any tree he had seen before. This was something that could be said to be natural. Perhaps the area where the school was built collapsed and now fell to the middle-earth?

"If so, maybe..." trailing his words, John slowly looked up, to the clear blue sky. It was the same blue sky, white clouds... and three suns.

"... Three Suns?" John did a double take.

Up high in the sky, three suns shone, their light was intense, but the heat they emitted was warm, not like that of the one he was used to. There were two suns that were almost the same size and another small one.

"Haha..." Seeing the three suns high above the sky, John couldn't help but release a bitter laugh. Although he had, not only once, but almost every time he had the chance, dreamed of being summoned to another world just like the main characters he had read from the many fantasy novels that are currently stacked on his shelf. He was also not arrogant enough to think that he could do better than those main characters when they were summoned to another world.

Heck, he didn't even know where he currently was, and from the look of things, he was currently inside a forest. But he didn't know whether he was deep in the forest or just at the periphery.

If he was just at the periphery, then good. He could easily get out of the forest. Even if he doesn't know whether the outside of the forest is dangerous, it is much better than staying inside the forest where he doesn't even know what lurks.

On the other hand, if he was deep inside the forest. Then he was in a really deep sh*t. God knows what kind of creatures were eyeing him at the moment. Heck, those innocent looking animals could be carnivorous creatures that liked the taste of human flesh more than the taste of the grass.

"I need to move, it's much better than staying still here." With that, John decided to move, or so he was his plan.

"Where... should I go?" John was once again stumped. He didn't know where north, east, west, or south were. The three suns were high up above, just directly above his head, indicating that it was currently at the very middle of the day. That is, assuming the passage of time was the same as the one from his world.

Being indecisive was not John's way of life. If he wanted to do something, he would do so and with conviction! So... John decided to span quickly on the spot and yelled as he extended his finger to the front.

"F*ck, eenie meenie miney mo!"

Somewhat dizzy, John stabilized himself and looked in the direction his hand pointed. It was to the pond. Well, he said a pond, but its size was big enough for one to consider it a lake.

"I... I'm heading the opposite of it. Yes, that's right. I was choosing the opposite of where I had pointed out!" John didn't know why he was making excuses, but he decided to be decisive once again and head towards the opposite side of the pond. An area with thick vines coiled around the gigantic trees.

"Let's go!" with that, John marched forward.

He didn't know why he could stay calm during this situation. Perhaps it was due to him wanting to be transported to another world that he managed to cope with the situation easily, or perhaps other reasons were involved. Nonetheless, John wouldn't let those thoughts remain in his mind. He had to somehow find a way to see other people. Maybe he wouldn't be able to see one in this world, but at least he could start from there.

He must have at least one reason to move, otherwise he might go crazy.

One must not underestimate the effect of being suddenly thrown into an unfamiliar environment where you don't even know where dangers hide. Being high-strung every time and not beng able to know whether you'll continue to live.... just the thought scared him.

Thus, John occupied his mind on the beautiful scenery as he slowly traversed the forest.

Maybe due to the sudden shock of the environmental change, unbeknownst to John himself, he had unknowingly forgotten the dream he just had and the significance of it to the situation he was currently in.

-------

While John Kaiser was traversing the forest, somewhere inside the forest he was currently in.

A small, white shadow ran past the gigantic trees with quick haste. Its expression showed fear and hurry, as if it was being chased by something.

"Awoo!"

And sure enough, behind the white shadow, black figures chased after it. Their speed was almost catching up with the white shadow, but due to the white shadow going in and under some gigantic tree roots, the black figures couldn't overrun it.

As the chase continued, the white shadow saw a small grove under one of the trees and immediately took the opportunity. The white shadow dove towards the grove and disappeared from the black figure's view.

"Awwoooo!!"

Aggrieved about losing their prey, the black figures howled in unison.