A Strange New Land

Pain is a funny thing. Not in the sense that it’s humorous, per se, but in the sense that it’s intriguing. Nerves sending numerous signals to the brain, saying, screaming even, that something is wrong. That the body is in danger, and that it should get moving. All in the span of less than a second. Though that says nothing of the duration of pain. And as for duration, well…

Camden’s eyes shot open. He felt as if his body was trapped inside the maw of an active volcano, all of the air burning up around him. The feeling of each and every one of his nerve endings being set on fire, all at once. He felt his muscles involuntarily convulsing, as a sickly sweet smell of vanilla wormed its way into his airpipes.

His eyes burned, his throat hoarse and dry. He’d felt like he’d been hit by a truck, completely out of breath, his head pounding with a headache that threatened to split his skull in two. Camden tried to breathe in, but his lungs found no air, no oxygen to replenish their reserves. He felt his flesh begin to tear, his very essence of being ripped to shreds. A ceaseless cacophony of pain and agony, of torture and unyielding suffering. A whirlwind of insanity that threatened to stretch on into infinity, never even a microsecond of respite or relief.

And in an instant, it was all over.

Camden gasped for air, his lungs still burning and his body still tingling from the occurrence, though seemingly unharmed from the whole ordeal. The air was cold and refreshing, like a glass or refrigerated water after a marathon in the summer’s heat. He got up from where he lied, though was still mildly dizzy. He steadied himself and began to look around, unsure of his surroundings. What had once been a dim abandoned basement was now a clearing of luscious green grass, the morning dew glistening in the light of two suns. He heard the cry of birdsong up above, and could smell the scent of nature permeating the oxygen rich air. The trees that surrounded him were unlike anything that he had ever seen, their branches seemingly coiffed in elegant spirals around the main trunk, resembling a pine tree that had gone to the hairdresser. A light fog enveloped the forest that surrounded him, making it feel just about ethereal. The area was peaceful, almost oddly so. But that peacefulness didn’t last for long, as Camden began to panic, his breaths becoming quicker and more sporadic. Hadn’t he been back at the old house only moments ago? And then the unyielding pain. Was he losing his mind? Did he die? It certainly felt like he had. A cold sweat overtook him.

He couldn’t be dead. He just couldn’t. Could he…?

…

Though now that he thought about it, it wasn’t like he had much to live for. Nor did he have some great overarching ambition for his time in the mortal plane…

A loud sound from off in the distance broke him out of his trance. Something that sounded like a mix between the whistle of an old steam train, and the deep rumbling of a subwoofer. Camden could feel the ground begin to shake, the vibrations resonating through his bones. He turned to his left, eyes landing on a massive vehicle passing by from a ways away within the forest. It towered above the treeline, spoked wheels larger than life, which must have had a diameter that spanned at least 50 yards. The two enormous front wheels flanked its inverted trapezoidal body, whereas the pair of back wheels seemed attached to a set of beams that protruded out from its aft. Steam billowed from the vehicle’s three chimneys, each one arranged in a line from the front of it to the back, reminiscent of those of an antique cruise ship. The thing was significantly larger than any mode of transport Camden had ever recalled seeing. Perhaps it was a cargo vessel of sorts?

He attempted to pull out his phone to take a photo of it, fumbling slightly as he did so, only to reveal his device’s charred remains, the internals completely fried, the battery no longer intact. It was a shame, he’d had that phone for years.

The vehicle furthered its journey, continuing towards its destination. Rather than wander aimlessly until he either found civilization or got eaten by some wild animal, Camden decided to follow that same path. He figured that the vessel must have been going somewhere, and that somewhere probably had people, or at least a person who could explain where he was, or what happened to him. And if not? Well, then he would probably die. Again. Not that it especially mattered. With that self-deprecating thought out of the way, Camden began making his way towards the vehicle’s path.

⯁ ⯁ ⯁

It was a longer trek than he had expected, though the climate had been mostly favourable, with the suns slowly moving from morning to mid day, and the trees towering overhead providing a comforting shadow. The wind blew a gentle breeze, and Camden saw the occasional butterfly flapping its wings this way and that. He continued along the gravel road that the vessel had been taking, and began to think back to the times he’d spent with Maya, all of those years ago.

They’d once walked paths and roads not too dissimilar to the one he was on now, her curiosity and bright spirit motivating her to explore whatever locations she could around town, be they the trail that led into the foliage next to the school, or simply the route to the ice cream shop. And naturally, she dragged Camden along with her on her excursions. Not that he minded. They were a dynamic duo, ready to face the world! She’d been there to rescue him from the slog of doing homework for three hours straight, and he’d been there to stop her from doing anything too dangerous or rash on their adventures.

…

And then he left.

And then they lost contact.

And then neither of them were there for the other anymore.

And now when they were just about to get some time together, they were separated once more. What a lousy joke.

Camden continued his walk, until he eventually reached the end of the forest segment pathway. After exiting the treeline, and adjusting to the brightness of no longer being in the forest, he was in awe of what laid before him. He couldn’t believe his eyes, and rubbed them to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating. But sure enough, what laid before him was real. Just down the hillside was a city unlike anything he’d ever seen. The skyscrapers towered majestically up into the sky, constructed with brass beams and an indiscernible beige brick.

The architecture of the buildings was like those from a science fiction novel, their structure formed out of various geometric shapes. The sun shone off of the metal, making even the most basic of structures seem pristine, at least from a distance. Surrounding the city was a wall that bore resemblance to those surrounding a castle, though instead of being composed of stones and bricks, was constructed from the same bronzed metals as the rest of the buildings.

There was a continuation of the road that progressed beyond the trees, shifting from gravel to a reddish cobblestone, and led directly towards an oversized gateway that protruded out of the wall, seemingly at least twice its height. Though much to Camden’s chagrin, the gate remained shut. Hopefully there would be an alternate entrance near it. He continued down the new road, approaching the gateway. Evidently, it was not designed for pedestrians to walk up to, and he had to do a non-insignificant amount of clambering to reach what was probably only meant to be an exit for literal trash, not an entrance for a human being. The passageway he needed to crawl through wasn’t exactly straightforward, and he doubted he’d be able to take the same way to get out of the city. Hopefully there’d be someone there to let him back out.

Nearly out of breath from the trek, Camden exited the wall into a garbage disposal facility, and then out into the city. He stood there awestruck, taking it all in… until he was almost run off of the road by a vehicle significantly smaller than that which had led him here. Right. Don’t stand in the middle of the road. The occasional vehicle continued to pass by. These ones bore much more resemblance to the cars and trucks that Camden had been used to seeing before ending up wherever he currently was.

Though he then realized that due to how taken aback he’d been from the unfamiliarity of it all, he’d missed a very crucial detail. Nobody was there. Not a single living being roamed the streets, with the vehicles lacking any actual drivers. Peering into the windows of the buildings, they didn’t seem to have anyone in there either, office cubicles and storefronts abandoned, left to simply exist in the daylight. The houses remained equally empty, some with cars in the driveways, some seemingly with food on the table, the fridges and ovens open, but turned off. It seemed to him that whoever used to live here had long since evacuated. Or worse. As Camden continued exploring, he glanced up at the roads ahead and spotted the vehicle that had led him here, parked haphazardly in the middle of the city. He approached its gigantic form with caution, and was able to take in some peculiarities that couldn’t be seen from afar. He took note of the significant amount of wear and tear. Of the scratches and dents that clawed at the bronzed finish, of the dirt and gravel still clumped to the wheels. A series of patchwork metal plates were bolted in a disorderly manner along the main hull. Some of them were rusted, others were not. One could spot weld marks where the spokes of the wheels had needed to be repaired, some of them replaced entirely. Though still appearing somewhat grand, the vessel seemed like it was on its last legs, or was at the very least being maintained to last as long as it could. So why had it been abandoned so suddenly? Camden was just about to continue investigating, when he was interrupted by something. Another sound overcame the tranquil skies. The screaming cry of an aircraft. Five ominous triangular fighter jets descended down from the clouds, their hulls dark and featureless. They tore through the air in front of them, diving down at the city like a bird attacking its prey. From beneath their main bodies sprouted two cylindrical tubes, each one’s interior lines with a glowing, striking pink. The five split up from their V-formation, the ones on the left and right diverging to circle the city. The middle one however continued its motion forwards. Camden began to run in the opposite direction, hoping to escape. It, however, maneuvered around him with utmost agility, whipping around and stopping, hovering in the air slightly above him. If it had any eyes, Camden could have sworn it was staring him down. The blasters both moved on mechanical mechanisms, aimed directly at his head.

Camden stopped, blood draining from his face. He found himself unable to move, his muscles not obeying his mind’s commands. It was fight or flight, and his body apparently chose “freeze”. This was the end, wasn’t it? Time slowed to a crawl, and all Camden could hear was his heart beating, its rhythm pounding in his head.

…

That is, until he heard the otherworldly crack of a laser. A bright pink beam shot through the air, hitting the aircraft right in the front. It didn’t take much damage, but the stun provided all the time Camden needed to be broken from his trance, and with adrenaline freshly pumping through his veins, he began to run.

All around him, a battle began to commence. People emerged from hidden passageways in the ground and buildings, their outfits made of protective metal plates held together with dull bolts and worn leather straps. Their weapons were mismatched assemblies of pipes and sprockets and chains, each one possessing a chamber that flowed with a glowing pink liquid, not entirely dissimilar from the blaster that the aircraft wielded.

“What are you doing? Go, get out of here!” one of them yelled, before turning back to the battle at hand.

Camden ran as fast as he could, rushing back down the streets as the fight continued onwards.

A cannon revealed itself from inside of one of the abandoned buildings, aimed at one of the aircraft. A group of three people ran up alongside it. Two steadied it, the other hurrying around the back, and opening a chamber to pour in the same volatile pink liquid as the rest of the weapons. The one at the back slammed down the hatch, locking it in place with a lever.

“Anti-aircraft cannon ready!” he yelled.

Another command from somewhere on the battlefield.

“Fire at will!”

The cannon fired, its aim true. It tore a hole through the left wing of the aircraft, the blast reverberating through the battlefield. The damaged mechanism began to produce billows of thick black smoke, as it sent the aircraft careening down to the ground. It landed with a metallic thud, crashing into the cobble below.

“One down, four to go!” the captain yelled.

The battle raged on, and Camden continued to attempt to escape. He weaved through the vast swathes of soldiers, keeping his head low and staying out of the way. One of the other two remaining aircraft began firing down to the ground, happening to trail behind where Camden was running. One happened to hit another cannon that was being set up, causing it to explode, the shockwave of which sent him sprawling to the floor. Camden scrambled back up to his feet, ignoring the numerous scrapes that had materialized on his arms and legs from the fall. He was sure he’d gotten a few bruises as well, but it wasn’t of any concern. Not right now. He ran as fast as he could, his lungs burning from the effort. The gateway was just up ahead, getting closer by the second. He was actually going to get out, wasn’t he? He began to feel very slightly hopeful. Maybe just maybe, he’d be alright.

Until a bag was thrown over his head. He felt a hand clasp over his mouth from outside the bag, as he was jerked backwards. He tried to break free, struggling against his mysterious captor, but it wasn’t of any use. Slowly but surely, he blacked out, and was taken away.