He was unsure if it was the sunlight that filtered through the leaves, or the sounds of sheep that woke him from his unconscious state. Eli worked his way to his hands and knees, fighting the wave of nausea that threatened to empty the contents of his already empty stomach. His head hurt, and he was aware that there was dried blood on his face, and a pool of semi-dry blood where his body had been laying.
"Wh..." his voice cracked as he looked up and around. He cleared his throat, and worked his way to his feet. "Where am I?" Last nights events raced through his mind. The party, hanging out with Christa, and getting angry over something trivial. He vaguely remembered drunkenly stumbling away into the night, and could almost still feel the rough hands that had snatched him into an alley. The blow to the side of his head had rendered anything else into blackness, though he recalled a chanting voice and a language that made no sense.
Eli looked around at this alien landscape. Trees, hills and the sound of water lapping against a shore somewhere out of sight. But nobody he could see. "Hello?" He called out, wincing at the raspiness in his voice. No voices called out. No clues as to who had assaulted him last night and left him here. The sheep were only a stone's throw away and didn't seem bothered by the fact that he was here, so it made sense that people must be nearby. Fighting the freight train pounding through his head, he began a slow climb up the hill to see the surrounding area and formulate a plan. He was a country boy at heart, so his survival instincts began to take over. The sun was a quarter of the way through the day's cycle. No wind, which was odd seeing as he could hear what sounded like the ocean's waves.
After what seemed like hours, but had to be no more than 20 minutes, Eli found himself standing at the very top of the hill. Looking around, his heart fell. Wilderness as far as he could see. The 'ocean' he was hearing was actually a large lake, and on the other side he could see cliff faces, waterfalls...and...what he saw made no sense. There were blocks of land suspended in mid air. From one of these masses of floating land, a tree grew. Stumbling backward, he fell against a tree, holding himself there for support, wondering for the first time if perhaps he had experienced a little brain trauma.
"Ok" he said, shaking his head for some clarity. He wasn't sure where to head, but heading toward the gravitational impossibility seemed as good an idea as any. There were cliffs there, and possibly caves where he'd find shelter. He wasn't sure where he was, but he was quite positive that he wasn't anywhere near home, and the idea of being out here in the open when darkness fell was reason enough for him to get moving.
He walked among the sheep, listening to their bleating, reaching out to touch one as he passed. It did not react, only wandered aimlessly as he walked by. He stopped to check out generic looking red and yellow flowers, random pumpkin patches, and the bamboo reeds that grew at the lakeside. Walking along the shore, he looked for signs of life. He saw wild boar, sheep, and at one point what looked like a wolf on the opposite shore that stood in the shade of the forest and watched him for a moment, sending a shiver of fear down his back. As much as he hurt, he picked up his pace and grabbed a sturdy looking stick that would serve as his walking stick, and defensive weapon. Maybe he could even find a way to sharpen it into a crude sword, should the wolf decide to bridge the distance. Or whoever was reponsible for the wound to his head and his abandonment in this strange land.
As he got closer to the cliff faces, he walked into the shadow of one of the floating islands. As it had appeared from a distance, there were in fact no supports. No unseen threads or beams. Defying every law of physics he'd known, he came to the realization that he wasn't on Earth. At least not anywhere he'd read or heard about it. Looking up, he was quite sure that he would have heard about this kind of thing. He shivered again in the shade. The sun had reached the horizon and was slowly slipping behind the trees. How cold did night get here? He looked to be about half a mile from the cliffs still, but the wolf remained etched in his mind, so he took up a slight jog, fighting back tears at the ache in his head and the fatigue that he felt.
The shadows grew longer. A wolf howled in the forest across the lake. Another wolf answered, alarmingly close. But he had arrived at the base of the cliffs, and-in his mind at least-safety. He walked along the base searching for a cave, or a crevice or any sign that people had been here. Small crevices existed, but nothing substantial. It was while investigating one of these graveled dips in the rock that he heard it. A moaning. Almost human. Edging his head around the corner, he held back a gasp. Not 20 feet away was a man. Of sorts. The tattered clothing and the discolored skin and the dead eyes were clear indications this man was no longer alive. He'd seen zombies in movies and comics, but there was no question in his mind that he was looking at one. Is that what had happened to the people while he was passed out? How long had he been out? He took a step back, his foot slipping in the gravel. The scraping sound was like a gunshot in the quiet of the night, and he glanced up quickly to see the zombie had heard as well. It groaned again and began walking in his direction. Trapped in the notch in the hill, there was nowhere that Eli could go. He was trapped.