The Beginning

The sun was nauseatingly bright. The gentle breeze that wafted past should have felt pleasant, but I could barely pay it any attention. My head was pounding, and the soft chirps of birdsong drilled into my skull. I could feel the throbbing even in my jaw. A beautiful day like this was wasted on me.

I lay there for a few seconds longer before my eyes snapped open. I instantly regretted it, the sunlight blinding me and only making my headache worse. I groaned angrily and slapped my hand over my face. I blinked in quick succession, a pitiful attempt to adjust my eyes to the burning light.

I slowly moved my hand away and squinted against the sunlight. Despite the throbbing headache, my mind was already working up questions. Like for one thing…when the hell did I get outside?

I rolled over and propped myself up with my elbows. Where in the world was I?

Tall, cracking pillars rose up around me, a few still reaching upwards towards the sky. Others rested against one another, forming skewed triangular arches. Some lay on the ground completely, giant chunks of stone seemingly vanished. There were stubs still standing, some barely more than a couple inches high. Stone rubble dotted the space between, obscuring bits of faded color that belonged to trinkets that were crushed beneath the ruins.

In some spots, the remnants of stone walls twisted through the pillars, but much of it was just as broken. The ruins were wide open above me, but I could see spots in corners where stone fragments still clung, indicating that there was once at least some ceiling. From beyond the ruins, I saw a thin layer of trees and brush. Birds darted between the foliage, happily chirping. The sunlight dappled through the leaves, creating playful shadows beneath it. It would have been beautiful if it weren’t for my mood and this pounding headache.

I groaned and pushed myself up the rest of the way. Taking a quick glance down, I saw I was sitting on some sort of stone table? Maybe a bed? I didn’t quite know. It was surprisingly mostly in one piece, with just a few chips of stone broken from it. It was a darker stone than the rest of the ruins. It was warm to the touch, but I blamed that on the glaring sun and my own body temperature.

I swung my feet over the side of the slab and stared down at my feet. So, I was in some ruins in god-knows where. The quick look I took around didn’t indicate any sign of other human life, and I doubted that the birds would be able to do anything to help me. Maybe I could eat one of them if I got really hungry.

The thought of food made my stomach growl. I wasn’t even sure the last time I ate. Was this some crazy prank my dumbass parents were playing on me? What would they even get out of this? Did they find my bloody body and move me to some random ruins they visited on one of their trips? None of this made any sense.

I opened my mouth to scream, but the words got stuck in my throat. The pain in my throat was worse than the headache. I coughed against the dryness, only making it hurt even worse. I needed water, or anything to drink.

I staggered to my feet. The world spun around me for a brief moment, but I closed my eyes to let it catch up with me. When I felt it settled, I resumed my shaking walk through the ruins, dodging the broken shards of stone as I could.

In the next row of ruins, I found a ring of stones forming a small pit. The broken ceiling hung dangerously low over it, but the sparkle that raced down it quickly caught my attention. A soft drip followed it. Water!

Glancing inside, I found my own wobbly reflection blinking back at me. I instantly dipped my hands in, chasing the image away. I brought the water to my lips and guzzled it down. The water was cool running down my throat even though it felt warm in my hands. It ached to swallow, but I greedily slurped it up, trying to chase away the burn in my throat. Ah, the water revived me.

As I gulped down another handful of water, I found the thoughts lingering in the back of my mind floating to the surface. My throat…!

I reached up towards my neck with trembling hands. The wound…but instead of feeling a gash and warm blood, my fingers brushed across something hard and solid. I leaned back over the little pool and looked closer at my reflection.

My fingers gently poked at my neck. Through the water I could see a black band wrapped around my throat where the blade cut through my skin. I followed the reflection with my fingers, finding that it went all the way around my neck. I tried to claw at it, but I couldn’t get purchase. It was taut against my skin, as if it were part of it rather than an overlapping band. I tapped on it, trying to figure out what it was made of. What the hell was going on!?

I let my hands slide down from my neck, finding my reflection still staring back at me, eyes wide. My hair stuck out wildly around my face, the strands of red flicking about in all directions. The dark freckles stood out against my pale skin. The bluish rings beneath my eyes made me look like a zombie. I was a wreck.

I staggered back up from my knees and tried to brush some of the debris from my pants. The mostly black clothing I was wearing was spotted in grey from the dust and rubble. There were small tears around my knees and even in my right sleeve. Maybe I was a zombie.

I found my feet carrying me back to the slab I first woke up on. I slumped down onto it. I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to pat it back down. I caught on a tangle and focused my attention on it. I needed the distraction.

I had no idea what was going on. I closed my eyes and ran through what I could remember. I got home from school, headed up to my parents’ treasury. I took a random dagger from their artifacts, and I slit my own throat.

I slowly opened my eyes. My head hurt, my stomach ached from hunger. Nothing explained where I was or how I ended up here. As much as I wanted to believe this was just some prank by my parents, I knew there was no way that was true. Wherever I was, I was on my own. I had to try and figure things out.

Okay, I could do this. Come on, Akari! Pull yourself together!

I gently smacked my cheeks. Depending on myself was nothing new. I pretty much grew up without parents or anyone to rely on. If I stayed calm and focused, I could figure this out and find my way home.

…but did I even want to go home?

Glancing around the ruins, I could easily agree that I didn’t want to be here, but that didn’t mean I wanted to rush back to that empty house either. I waved my hand, literally chasing the thoughts away. I could worry about the destination later; first, I needed to get out of this place.

The ruins were large, but they weren’t endless. I could see trees beyond the dilapidated walls, but not much more. I was thankfully still wearing my shoes, so hiking through the woods should be no problem. It would be best if I could find something to use as a container and take some of that water with. I could probably find a large stick to help defend myself with. Maybe I could even find something to eat along the way-

As I stood up and took a step forward, my foot caught on something and kicked it a few feet across the stone floor. There was a clank of metal as it skidded to a stop. My eyes slowly drifted downward to a familiar object on the ground. The carved handle was easily recognizable; the familiar etching shadowed heavily from the sun overhead. The carvings looked almost menacing draped in the shadows.

I slowly reached down and wrapped my fingers around it. The dagger that I used to slit my throat…how was it here? And even more peculiar, the blade was completely clean. I turned it over, looking for any sign of rust or dirt or even blood, but there was nothing! The silver metal sparkled in the sunlight. I squinted as it harshly cast a bright shine into my eyes.

This was all just too weird. I’d keep the dagger with me for now since it was at least still useable as a weapon, but I wasn’t so sure on it either. Just like this place, it was a mystery unto itself. I didn’t have anything to hold it in, so I picked at the tear in my sleeve to grow it bigger. I ripped part of the fabric off and wrapped it around the blade. I left just enough to loop it through my belt. This would have to do for now.

A weapon was a nice addition for my plan (definitely much better than a large stick), but I still needed to find a way to transport water. Ripping more of my clothing wouldn’t do any good unless I wanted a wet rag. There had to be something in these ruins I could make use of.

I spent the better half of an hour scouring the ruins for a usable container. The sun rose even higher overheard, burning me through the dark fabric. I rolled up the remaining sleeve to help alleviate the heat, but it did little to stop the sweat from dripping down my head and into my eyes. I constantly rubbed my eyes, just managing to get dust and grit into them. I had to roll down my sleeve to get it out and blink the irritation away.

I finally found a small earthen vase that was mostly still whole. There was a crack in the neck where a small piece of it had chipped away, but the base was still complete and had no holes or cracking. I scooped up some of the rainwater inside of it. I gave it a small shake, and when I was certain no water was spilling out, I filled it as full as I could. A sealed container would have been better, but I would take what I could get.

Feeling a little better about my situation, I finally left the ruins. The sun was still bearing down on me and unfortunately the tree line was further away than it looked at first glance. I was sweating and panting by the time their shadows danced across my face. I collapsed against a tree and took deep breaths to try and calm the burning in my throat. I took another sip of water, but I was going through it faster than I had hoped. But this place was muggy, and I was extending too much energy trekking across this unknown landscape.

I slid down the tree until I plopped down into the soft dirt beneath it. It was cooler in the shade at least. From where I was resting, I could see the ruins I had woken up in. They looked rather impressive from this distance, a sharp slice in flat, arid landscape. Far in the distance behind them, the murky shapes of mountains rose up, obscured by the distance and low hanging clouds. Looking at it from afar, there was one thing I knew for certain: I was a long way from home.

I rested for a bit longer before finally groaning and climbing to my feet. Away from the ruins seemed the best direction for my journey, considering there was nothing anywhere near them I could see. Maybe through the tree line I could find something like civilization. I would kill to get a shower.

The thin line of trees didn’t strike me as anything odd. The noises I heard, the smells, and even the sights looked exactly like what I’d expect to see in any forested area. There were the cries of birds and the skittering of insects and small animals. The brush rustled as creatures darted through them, none of them daring to venture close. The greenery blocked the sun for the time being and offered me cooler temperatures and shade. I felt like I could actually breathe for the first time since I got to this awful place.

I was disappointed that the solace of the shade was briefer than I had expected. The trees started to thin, and the sun came back with a vengeance. The golden rays poured down over me, quickly heating the air back up and turning the green around me to a sauna. I started sweating again right away, my hair sticking to my face and both it and the sweat sticking into my eyeballs. I hissed as I tried to blink them away.

Unfortunately for me, it was that exact moment that the terrain got rocky and I found one of those rocks with my foot. I went down with an angry yelp, catching my knee on more rocks and ripping the pantleg around it entirely open. I cursed and glared down at the blood trickling from my knee. Just what I needed!

I climbed back to my feet, spitting out profanities at the rock that tripped me, when I really noticed the rocks. These weren’t just ordinary rocks- they were smooth with intricate patterns carved into them near the top. They were cracking and falling apart just as another similar looking place was. In fact, the patterns that I could see clearly were nearly identical.

I felt my heart sinking. No, no, no, no! It couldn’t be! Oh, no, please tell me this wasn’t that! There was no way…right?

My eyes traveled upward to the columns climbing up from behind them, the large entrance that was half missing, and the dapple of shadows that emerged from the damaged ceiling. It was nearly identical to where I started, save there was flora touching it. The dull stone was framed with a touch of green.

I felt the rage growing inside me, making my body temperature rise even higher. I spat at the rock and gave it a hard kick with the bottom of my boot. Was this some kind of cruel joke?

I growled and stomped my foot. “Come on, not more ruins!”