The Fall

As I run through the narrow slot canyon, my body feels surprisingly light, running was never this easy for me back in school. The rockface of the canyon is pearlescent and white, with an infinite number of sparkling flecks throughout. Dashing through the winding gaps in this massive stone, I suddenly come to a dead end. "I think he went this way." says a voice, echoing through the winding passages of the canyon. As I look around the area I find myself stuck in, I notice another path a small distance above me on the cliffside.

Despite my fear of heights, being hunted down by more of those men sounds even worse, so I swallow my fear and place my hand on the rock to begin climbing. As my hand grips the rock tightly, it crumbles and shatters in my hands, the rock is soft, almost like dry clay. As I place my foot onto the rock, it easily moulds and breaks the rock into shape, giving me a secure foothold, this could be easier than I thought.

With minimal effort I am already nearly at my goal, the entrance to my escape route is within reach.

Looking down from above I see my pursuers have reached the dead end I was just in. "The tracks end here." says the man, turning to inform the others as they enter. The leader of the group, the same one whos spear was shattered on my eyelid just a few minutes ago, peers around the area, his eyes ever watchful. "Look over there. There are holes in the cliff face, they lead upwa-" he says, interrupting himself as his gaze meets me. "He climbed the cliffside!"

Immediately I run away, down yet another narrow path through the canyon.

After only a few seconds of running, my escape plans are ruined by yet another obstacle, a sudden drop down a cliff. As I peer over the edge, I can barely make out the bottom of this drop, it must be a few hundred feet down at least. "Come back here White Sand, I am going to make you pay!" a voice calls out from just out of sight, my pursuers are right behind me. Just then my pursuers come into view, there are less men than last time, but they still appear threatening as ever. The same man who stabbed me earlier, seemingly the leader of this small group speaks up "It's over White Sand, fall on my spear or fall down this cliff. Either way, you will pay for what you have done to my men." "White Sand? Thats a stupid name." I reply. This man seems to think I did something to his friends, when all I have done was get stabbed and run away.

Just then, one of the warriors collapses, the tone of his skin is paler and he appears to be sick. "Stop casting your sorcery immediately!" the leader yells at me. "I'm not doing anything I promise!" I yell back. The leader is also turning paler as this conversation goes on, though he hides it well, he is wavering and barely standing up. "In the name of the King, my name is Dolomite and I will slay you demon." the man says, gripping his spear, preparing for one final thrust. "Wait!" I say, as the man lunges forward. But it was too late, Dolomite lost consciousness in the middle of his attack, as he fell forward, his massive frame managed to push me backwards. Straight off of the cliff behind me.

After falling, my life flashes before my eyes. A lifetime of MMORPGs, manga, light novels, and all of my best childhood memories pass by in a flash. Is that really all that my life amounted to? Some hobbies and my childhood? Then I hear the loud thud of my body hitting the ground. But I am still alive. I should be dead after a fall from that height, especially after landing flat onto my back, but here I am. As I sit up, I notice the small crater that my body made as I impacted the ground, its that same stone with the texture of dry clay. I count my lucky stars as I stand up and begin to stretch, feeling surprisingly fine after such a bad fall. "I'm lucky the stone here is so soft." I say to myself as I get my bearings.

Only after all of the excitement fades away and I am left alone with my thoughts do I start to ask myself questions. Did my mother send me here? Why? If my mother did send me here, is this strange land where my father ended up? Why did Dolomite's spear break? Why was I able to survive that fall? Questions only gave way to more questions and before I knew it, nightfall had arrived.

The sky here is so dark, barely a star in the sky, and the stars I can see are dim and almost red. It's getting hard to find my way through the canyon, so I will need to make camp soon. This is like one of those reality TV shows that have gotten popular recently, where they send people into the wilderness completely naked, just to see how long they survive. The only difference is that I don't have some extravagant prize waiting for me, and I don't have anyone to help me if I get stuck somewhere.

After what felt like forever wandering through the dark, I found a small crevice that I could at least hide in. Using my hands to mould the stone into a somewhat suitable bed. My mind still racing from all of the events of the day, I lay there awake for a moment. The cold stone felt awkward on my naked body, but after all this excitement today, I fell right asleep. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?