Mousoleum

Darkness and a disgustingly clammy dampness were the first things he perceived, followed by a musty smell and an oppressive narrowness.
Not again, thought Felix.
He wasn’t entirely sure, but he believed he saw a faint narrow glimmer. His limbs felt weak and his mind dull, so he let himself drift further into this apparent dream. Even though he gradually realized that the situation was crushing him. He was also terribly tired, but despite the argument with his mother, he had enjoyed the day.
Can you hear me? A faint voice, a sound from the past and from far away. Felix yawned, wanted to turn over, but there was no room here. Either his senses were completely flipping out, or this was the strangest dream of all the ones that sometimes haunted him. So he decided to simply ignore it.
Kind of weird, he thought.
But I can hear you.
What was that? Again, a quiet voice. “Is someone there?” asked Felix hoarsely, dryly, and sounding strangely high-pitched.
Then he thought: Oh no, it’s happening in my head again. Why always me? This must be another one of those stupid dreams. Why is it so cramped?
Dreams reflect feelings and the past, but he had never experienced such intense physical perception.
Very strange, he pondered.
Finally, the voice in his head said: Are you ignoring me? It now spoke a little louder, as if it were coming closer to him.
Great, he thought. Here we go again. If I know I’m dreaming, I should be able to wake up, right?
I need your help... help me! Now he heard it clearly – in his head.
Everything’s fine, he kept trying to convince himself. Even if it’s cold and musty, it’s just a sensory illusion, he thought.
Yes, it’s not nice here, but listen to me.
Felix sighed. Time to wake up. What a crappy dream.
“Ow!” He hit his head and elbow as a jolt shot through his body, like a reflex test at the doctor’s. There was a cracking sound, but luckily it sounded like wood, not bone. A little more shimmer became visible.
“Man, leave me alone. I have to wake up,” he muttered. The scratchiness subsided, but it still wasn’t his voice.
“Ah, I sound like a child!”
I can’t keep doing this all the time, I don’t have the nerves for it. So would you kindly pay attention to me?! The words in his head became snappy.
“What’s going on? And what’s wrong with my voice?”

You don't need to speak, I can hear your thoughts.
“Huh, what?” said Felix, “What did you do to me? What do you want from me?”
We have to get out of here. Now.
“Get out where?” Felix wanted to bury his face in his hands. “Man, what kind of crap is this?”
Exactly. It is crap and not a dream. It's real. Move already! Now she was shouting at him.
“Alright, alright, calm down! What am I even supposed to do?”
Kick, hit, push doesn’t matter, just get out of here.
Okay, Felix thought, whatever.
He pushed against the tight space surrounding him. It creaked and groaned, felt rotten, then splintered.
“Hey, there’s light,” he noticed.
A faint torchlight shone through the surroundings, just enough to make out some shapes. Felix kept pushing until he was able to free himself and tried to stand up.
“Ow, what the hell?” Everything hurt inside and out. He felt stiff, weak, and struggled to push himself upward.
“What did you say? Not a dream, seriously? Man, this hurts!” he groaned through gritted teeth. Snorting like an old steam engine, he pushed himself upright.
Yes, not a dream. Can you walk at all?
“I don’t think so,” Felix groaned and moved toward a stronger light flickering behind what looked like a passageway.
“I can barely see my own hand. What is this place? Why does everything hurt so much?”
Because I’ve probably been lying here for quite a while so I could rot. The voice sounded bitter, with an undertone of anger.
We need more light.
“This is kind of weird. Figures it would come to this with all the gaming and books and Star Trek… With all that, a short-circuit had to happen at some point.”
What’s wrong with you? You’re rambling like someone with a scrambled mind or possessed by a demon.
Felix chuckled briefly, then doubled over in pain. “You gave yourself away. Possessed by a demon? Oh sure, and what’s your name then, demon?” He leaned against the wall. The passage was only a few steps away, but it felt far.
Me, a demon?
Sighing, he pondered. “No idea. I’m telling you, this is weird. Why was I in that box? Am I a zombie or something?”
What’s a zombie?
Felix dragged himself forward sluggishly. A zombie is a dead person who rises again and hunts the living, eating their flesh, he explained in his thoughts.
So, an undead?
Oh, so you know what an undead is?
Of course I do, but that type definitely doesn’t eat flesh or anything else. Vampires do, but not the others.

"Oh man, I really blew a fuse."
What is a fuse?
“Not important.” He shuffled onward to the next passage. It looked like a small archway and led into another chamber. The light here was better, as two torches flickered quietly on either side of him. At least now he could make out rough structures and another archway on the opposite side of the room.
Go to one of the torches.
Felix stepped into the torchlight.
Unbelievable, not even a burial robe. They just threw me in that box and left me to rot.
Doesn't sound very nice of them, he thought. The clothes looked a bit worn, but still intact, as far as Felix could judge in this dim light. He wore a tattered upper garment in a dark color. Through the holes, he saw something black underneath. It probably wasn’t that, but the lighting was too poor. Fingerless leather gloves with black fittings and matching high boots completed the look. A pouch hung from his left belt, and two leather shoulder bags on his right.
In his mind, it looked like battle gear, just like in the games he played.
Yes, that’s right, it's a Battel gear but what kind of games. Felix ignored her voice. 
I feel smaller than usual, Felix thought, looking at his fingers bony sticks wrapped in pale gray skin.
Then he sighed quietly: “That doesn’t look very healthy. How long have you been lying here?”
I can’t tell you exactly. We need to get out of here and find a place.
“What is even happening? Wait a second this isn’t me! I sound like a boy or maybe a girl?”
Yes, I’m a young woman… if you will. And somehow, you’re in my body.
“What?” he shrieked, then clapped his hands over his mouth in shock. His real voice was quite deep. “No, no, no. Shit, shit, shit. This is all totally messed up. I want to wake up.”
His heart was pounding fast and hard. He felt it in his throat and a nasty little knot in his stomach.
I’ll explain later. In the large bag, we should find something useful. Her voice now sounded gentler, almost calming.
What? Felix thought again.
The bag, please.
He touched his crotch to check if he really was a girl he was. “What? No! What the hell…! Damn it, man!” Even though the eyes didn’t give much away, he thought he felt the first tears of uncertainty welling up in them.
The bag!

“What the hell is going on here? This is way too detailed for a dream.” He ran his bony fingers along the wall. Felix could feel every texture and imperfection. Cold seeped deep into him. The pain gave him the sense that he was indeed awake.
“But that’s impossible.”
There were too many details and sensations that shouldn’t exist in a dream. Gradually, an uneasy pressure built in the pit of his stomach. A quiet fear crept in, starting to clutch at his heart.
I can feel how you’re feeling, but we really need the bag. I can explain everything, but first, I need your help.
Felix, shaking and overwhelmed by the pain and his situation, sank to the ground. He took off the bag and opened the buckle. Slowly, overwhelmed by everything, he managed to do it.
Look for a leather wrap. Apparently no one dared to touch my belongings. That’s good.
Strangely, the bag seemed larger on the inside than it appeared. He realized just how big it was right away. First, he pulled out another cloth pouch and set it aside. Then he thought he felt leather, but it was just a thick parchment of considerable size. Confused, he laid it against the bag and realized it was actually bigger than the bag itself. Shaking his head, perplexed, he set it aside and kept searching. Next, he found a coiled rope again, larger than the bag.
Am I going crazy?
No, it’s just a normal magic bag. Haven’t you seen one before?
Felix scratched his head and said aloud, forgetting she could hear his thoughts: “How in the world would I know that? This stuff doesn’t fit in there. That goes against all laws of physics.”
What laws?
“Never mind.” He kept rummaging and pulled out folded cloths.
A normal bag couldn’t do that, that’s true.
A stone.
“What’s this? Is this some kind of magic stone or something?”
Don’t be ridiculous. It’s just a stone.
Finally, he came upon the leather wrap and pulled it out.
There it is. Took long enough. Open it up.
Felix untied the leather. Inside were twelve slots, each two fingers wide, nine of them filled with perfectly shaped, angular vials. Small leather cords held them in place at the neck. Six were empty. The others contained liquids green, orange, and one a vibrant red.
We need the red one.
With aching fingers, Felix untied one of the cords and pulled out the small vial. The color of the liquid was so intense, it looked like it was glowing.
I guess I’ll drink this now, he thought.
Yes, it will do us good.

He pulled the stopper out with a pop, even though it was made of the same glassy material.
“All right, down it goes.” Boldly, Felix drank the thick liquid. It tasted oddly familiar. Slightly metallic, like syrup, and similar to... he knew it, but couldn’t place it. Still, it was delicious.
“I could go for another one,” he said, licking his lips.
The first effects should kick in quickly. This potion is strong enough to breathe real life back into us. Let’s get things in order.
You mean I should clean up? he thought, and began packing the items back into the bag.
Hey, the pain’s gone.
An essence potion is perfect for us. Luckily, we can also be healed through blood.
“Essence... blood...? Oh shit. Shit!” Felix slapped his forehead. Of course that’s what it had tasted like.
“Real blood? Or is that just a name?” A wave of nausea started rising in him.
Purified, concentrated blood. Don’t they have anything like that in your land?
“Not in my land, not on my continent, not on my whole world.”
Not on your world? But you’re human, right? At least I think you are.
Felix nodded. “Yeah, I think so. I feel sick.” It slowly dawned on him that it wasn’t just the potion it was everything. The whole situation made him deeply uneasy.
So you don’t have healing potions where you come from?
“No, but we have pills.”
Healing wizards?
“No, but we have doctors.”
Magic?
“Also no.”
Silence in his head.
Several seconds later: “Hello?”
Yes. I’m just thinking. Where are you from?
Stuttgart.
Strange name for a human kingdom. I’ve traveled this world for a long time and know it well, but I’ve never heard of such a place.
He explained: “It’s not a kingdom, it’s a city. My homeland is called Germany. I’m not from your world. Magic is just superstition for us, and the closest thing we have to a healing potion is cough syrup.” He now clutched his stomach, bent over, and breathed deeply.
Is it getting better?
I think so.
Cough syrup, huh? I think I understand. So you’re from a completely different world?
Exactly, it’s called Earth. And yours?
Chjanon. Some believe there might be other worlds, but to know it’s true... incredible. And your Earth is it very different?

Sighing, Felix looked down at the hands of the body he was in. The skin color improved significantly, and contour and strength returned to the fingers.
He continued the conversation in his mind: Completely different. Whatever this potion can do here isn't possible back home. If I’m not dreaming and this isn’t a hallucination... I want to go home, now please.
Well, since you came here, there must be a way to send you back home. One step at a time. Let’s first focus on getting out of here.
Felix agreed. So he turned to the next passage, which led into a large round room. This was the main crypt. Numerous niches lined the walls like shelves. Almost half of them held stone sarcophagi. The narrow separating walls between them were decorated with small statues or emblems. Even the arches at the two gateways stood on ornately crafted columns. Felix thought, also because this room was lit with lanterns instead of torches, that the rear area was simply insignificant.
So he asked: This looks important. What kind of tomb is this?
The mausoleum of my... family, on my mother's side. Her voice began to falter.
Your family? Then why were we back there in that hole? You should probably be here, right?
Sounds like complicated family matters, Felix noted.
Something like that, but first, let’s move on.
Yes, let’s get out of here. Totally agree with you.
So they moved on through the next passage, which was twice as wide as the ones before. The next room was a ceremonial chamber, also round. Chairs and benches lined the walls. Right in the center stood a large decorated pedestal. A grand staircase led up from it. Lanterns with floating glowing orbs lit the way.
Strange, he thought. It's almost like magic?
Those are light catchers.
The pain had completely disappeared now, and Felix felt this body gaining strength.
In the upper section of the mausoleum, the stone steps led into a long hall. Sarcophagi were also embedded in the walls here. There were also decorations in the form of lines and various crests, but the elaborate pompous work was missing. Further back in the hall, a light moved along a side corridor.
There’s someone, he said.
Quick, hide.
Felix slipped into a wall niche. Luck was with him, as the light danced into one of the side chambers.
Quietly now. We’re almost out.
Felix crept quickly to the large main gate. Fresh evening air began to brush his nose, and he felt like he hadn’t breathed clean air in ages. It was glorious.