Chapter 1: The Foreign
He felt dizzy.
His head throbbed a lot.
"Uugh…"
He also felt tired for some reason. Though something tells him he should get up as soon as possible. But for what? And why?
Oh right. School.
It has only been two months since classes started and he already wished it's already summer break. His teachers were already piling up school work for him to do. Homework to finish, tests to study for, projects to accomplish. It's just way too much for him to handle. Well, he accomplishes them thoroughly and on time, but the thing he's afraid of is that he might slip up soon. He doesn't want to fail in any subjects.
Thunder boomed outside. Way too loud, he thought.
This jolted him awake. He's not up yet but it did open his eyes wide enough. From there, he witnessed the gray clouds directly above him. As well as trees that, to him, looked way too big than normal. He can also feel tiny droplets of water drizzling from the skies.
Looks like it's about to rain…
…
Wait…
He sat up immediately at the sudden realization that he woke up outside his bedroom. Confused.
"W-wh-wha!?" He shouted. It almost feels like he hadn't spoken a word for a long time.
What is going on? How did this happen? Where in the world is he? Why did he wake up outside his bedroom? All these questions came into his mind. He tried to recall what happened but he was too tired to think.
"A-agh…"
He winced as another wave of dizziness and headaches shot him. In response, he touched his head, though, in the process, he caught a glimpse of something… strange. Weird, even. He stretched his blue body to let the blood flow and— wha— huh!?
He observed his body. His blue body. Feet with two toes each. He then opened his palms in front of his face. Blue arms. White, sticky hands with three fingers each. In an instant, he tapped different parts of his body. Fluffy yet sticky material around his neck. Rounded cheeks, which probably resembles an oval of some sort. Another large pair of ovals, which must be where his eyes were situated.
He yelped. He woke up on another place unbeknownst to him and was turned into some… sort of weird thing. He once again began to ask himself some questions. Is this a dream? But it looks way too real. What is this place? How did he get here? Why was he turned into some weird creature and how did it happen?
He touched his head and resisted the lingering dizziness and headaches as he tried to remember anything before all this happened. School… tons of school work and lessons… a family… my father and my sister… crap, I can't remember their names… do I even have a mother? I… think I'm… 16? Uhh… oh yeah! I used to be a human! My name? My—
"—name is Flynn!" he said it out loud. It still felt like he hadn't spoken a word for a long time.
He was so excited about the fact that he remembered his name. However, his excitement wavered almost immediately when he realized that none of those information he remembered will be useful, at least in this situation.
Flynn felt like he lost all hope. He felt like he's not going to get out of this dilemma. He felt like he'll die in this place alone. He doesn't know what to do. He doesn't know where to go. He doesn't know whom he can trust in this world. He just doesn't know. He began to panic as a result. This… this is too much… too much for him…
A split second of light flashed the area, then came the thunder. The little droplets of water from earlier turned into a drizzle. A cold, light breeze also swept passed Flynn, partially chilling him.
No. Pull yourself together, Flynn. He said to himself.
Inhale, then exhale. He calmed himself down from his worries. He surveyed the area around him. Apparently, he was sitting on top of soft grass. He sighted a few small rocks and shrubs here and there. He turned his face around the area, only to find out he was surrounded by giant deciduous trees. Or maybe he's the one who grew smaller, as a result of his transformation?
The atmosphere was rather saturated, though it's probably because of the storm brewing up. Speaking of which, it felt like the breeze slightly gets stronger and stronger every second. The dark gray overcast released another flash of light, only to be followed by another booming sound.
"About to rain, huh? Great, just what I needed." He sighed afterward.
The first order of business is to get some sort of shelter. Maybe a tree branch to perch into? No, the wind would just blow it off. A fallen trunk to wait out the rain? Nah, it'll flood inside. A cave-in to shelter one's self from getting wet? Maybe it'll work for now. Whatever. He needs to find a suitable one as soon as possible.
He decided to get up. He tried standing up with his two legs, but when he did it felt like his legs can't support his own body. He took three shaky steps forward, one slow step after another, before eventually tripping to the ground. He felt like a toddler again. How is he supposed to find shelter if his stupid legs won't even cooperate?
Another huge gust of wind blew over. It was strong enough to tear apart a light branch from a tree. Eventually, it fell towards to where Flynn was positioned.
"Whoa!"
Before the branch fell to the ground, as if in an instant, Flynn's reflexes signaled his legs to spring forward the path. There was a part of Flynn that told him to not follow his reflexes, yet he still did. He dodged the falling branch while at the same time tumbled to the ground.
"Augh."
Flynn looked back at the scene, and sure enough, he saw the fallen branch to where he was standing a second ago.
That's why his legs can't support his body when standing up. His legs were meant to bend all the time. The legs act as some kind of spring to move around, not for standing and running.
I guess hopping around is more fun than walking. He thought.
He then tried to move forward, this time using his legs. It felt weird to him since he's not used to going around like this. He tumbled to the ground once again, face first.
And it'll take some time to get used to…
He began his search for shelter as lightning and thunder rolled by.
[~]
The rain felt good for some reason.
For the past 40 minutes or so, Flynn has been hopping around the forest to find a suitable shelter of some sort. However, all he can sight around him were just a bunch of trees, with fallen twigs and branches along the area due to the wind. No hill or mountain were found as far as his eye can see to signify a possible cave for him to shelter from.
Another blinding light flashed in front of him followed by a clap of roaring thunder. The thunderstorm has provided its full strength. The drizzle has turned into a full-on downpour and mighty gales that rush through different directions at a time. To Flynn, it looked like some normal bad weather, but it felt like he's experiencing a hurricane. Maybe it's because of his small body size, he thought.
"Wah!"
Flynn stumbled upon the ground for the umpteenth time. He's been tripping a lot for the past several minutes and he has a couple of scratches in his face to show for it. Though it gets less frequent the more he hopped along the ways.
He was still not used to moving like this. He prefers walking and running than hopping and tripping to the ground frequently. However, since his body is too much for his legs, he will have to make-do.
Despite the frequent topples, he, for some reason, never felt tired, which is kind of weird for him. He remembered his past self. He used to be a thin teenager who gets tired easily. Well, he is a fast runner, but he could only last up to five minutes. And here he was, hopping around the forest for at least 40 minutes straight.
Some strange feeling squirmed his insides. He couldn't point out what is is for a moment. Was it… excitement…? What is there to be excited about? He's literally in a place unknown to him, not to mention transformed into some weird crea— wait…
Did I…? Oh! I actually remembered something!
Now he was excited. He actually remembered something! This is amazing! Though he knows it's not useful information, he came up with a realization. If this is how his amnesia is going to go, maybe he'll be able to remember what really happened to him bit by bit.
Flynn was filled with determination. Maybe he can get out of this world. Maybe he can be turned back into a human. Maybe he can return home safely. Of course it'll definitely take a long time, but it's something relevant, rather than nothing.
He was so excited about all this, that it took him a few seconds to realize where he was.
"A forest clearing, huh," he mumbled.
He looked around from where he was. It was a wide, open area, with the same green trees surrounding the grass-covered space. Boulders of different shapes and sizes were planted on the ground. There are a couple of bushes and shrubs growing nearby and several twigs, branches, and leaves scattered around the expanse as well.
He looked up the open sky as well. There were the usual dark clouds bringing the rain to the forest. He looked far ahead of the sky and saw a darker cloud looming towards him, darker than the one directly above him. The storm will definitely get worse from here on out. He has to find a cave at a faster pace.
To the right of the dark, looming clouds, Flynn saw something else. A huge triangular-like landform can be seen from the clearing. It's not really that visible due to the ongoing rainfall, though he could make out its figure. It's a mountain, a quite large one according to his eyes.
His hopes elevated once again. There might be a cave at the mountain. There must be a cave in the mountain. How did he not notice the mountain minutes ago? Is it because of the shrouded forest and the developing downpour? Most likely, he thought. On the bright side, he can finally rest over there and wait out the rain. Might as well plan about what he's going to do in this situation.
He turned at the direction to where the mountain stood, and sure enough, noticed the inclined ground. It also looks like the grass will then turn into solid ground if one continues on that direction. The terrain only goes uphill from here on out.
He then hopped towards the foot of the mountain. The scenery changed almost immediately as he went onward. The trees thinned out, there were no bushes in sight, and the soft grass turned into wet ground. Pebbles and stones were scattered around the path. Boulders stood around the area as well.
Due to the wet terrain, Flynn had to proceed with caution so as to not slip up and possible fall. Not to mention the worsening thunderstorm, now that he's no longer covered by trees. Crumbling sounds and scattered boulders signified that rock slides occur here often.
Lightning flashed the sky, followed by thunder almost after a second.
He can faintly recall the thing his teacher told them about at school. What was it again? For every three seconds between the lightning and the thunder, the lightning would be roughly a kilometer away…? Something like that? He did the math anyway. If the flash a while ago was followed by a thunder after one second, that would mean it struck one-third of a kilometer away from where Flynn was. Quite alarming, he thought.
He wondered what are the chances of him getting struck by lightning. Probably very unlikely, though that still doesn't mean it can't happen. On a related topic, he also began thinking about the possibility of getting caught by a landslide. With the rain rushing down hard, Flynn was convinced that it'll likely happen at any moment.
He went on thinking about different events that could happen that can kill him. From falling off the ridge to slipping on the ground to stumbling on a sharp rock. He started to tense up thinking about all these, therefore quickening his stride. However, the uneasiness only lasted for a while when he encountered something in a distance.
It's a cave.
Wet, gray rocks served as a framework for it. From the looks of it, the chasm looks like it can go really deep inside the mountain. Flynn let out a sigh of relief and relaxed. He can finally rest for a while and wait out the rain. Though he wasn't really tired and his initial headaches and dizziness from earlier already wavered, a break from all this would probably be convenient.
Flynn hopped towards the entrance and entered the cave. He immediately felt tired after getting out of the rain. His body was soaked with rainwater after being outside for almost an hour. His instincts told him to shake it off, which he did. It felt weird doing something like that, but at least he wasn't as drenched as before now.
He approached a cave wall by dragging his tired body. He sat down, lied his body upon the craggy wall, and slumped. Flynn immediately felt comfortable lying on his back. "Oh," he muttered. "It's these... sticky… cotton things."
He placed his white palm on his neck, and sure enough felt the soft and sticky material around his neck. Can he take it off? Is it part of his body? Does he have the ability to produce this kind of stuff? Flynn doesn't want to know at this point.
He then examined his palms. White. Three large fingers. Upon closer inspection, he found out that they're quite sticky as well, almost the same as the cotton thing around his neck. He clenched and unclenched both of his fists. It felt weird of course, not being used to having three fingers instead of five. Huff… still can't believe I turned into…
…
… huh?
Flynn swore he heard something else. No, it's not the gushing wind blowing inside the cave, nor was it rainfall dropping like buckets outside. What… was it…?
He heard it again. It sounded like someone shuffling their feet. Sounded like...
Footsteps! Flynn recognized the sound.
He crouched up and hopped forward, looking for the source of the sound.
This could only mean one thing. There are humans near him, and they're approaching fast. Should he greet them like usual? No, that would only freak them out. It's likely that they've never seen this blue creature he possesses in this planet before. Should he hide away from them? Where can he hide anyway? There aren't enough hiding places around the entrance and he'll get caught by the time he decided where to hide outside. Now what? He's running out of options and he can already hear their footsteps and… growls…?
"Grrrhh..."
All at once, Flynn could see the dark, massive figures ahead of him. Their piercing eyes were also visible in the dark. Three of them have pure yellow eyes, while one of them has a mix of red and yellow in its eyes. All of them were glaring at him and were moving towards him.
They began to crackle with electricity.
The light coming from the initial crackle emanated, revealing some of the creature's characteristics. The three yellow-eyed ones all looked the same, with light blue fur covering most of it front, while black fur covering the back. They all have rounded ears with yellow insides, two yellow rings on both of its front legs, and a black tail with a four-pointed star at the end.
The red-yellow-eyed one looked like the leader of the group, with a large black mane around his face. Most of its body was covered with thick, spiky, black fur, with the exception to its underside and hind legs, in which they're covered with light blue fur. It also has rounded ears, with yellow insides, and a black tail with a four-pointed star at the end.
The four of them do not look happy at all.
Flynn gulped. What are those things!? How are they able to produce electricity? What are they going to do to him? He tensed up, intimidated with their presence. "W-whoa there guys, t-take it easy…" He extended his arms as a gesture telling them to back away.
However, this only made things worse. They prompted towards Flynn. The growls were more fierce than before. The electricity crackled louder, intensified at a dangerous level. All Flynn could do at this point is shudder in fear.
The red-yellow-eyed one plunged forward towards Flynn, almost immediately. It quickly approached its target while charging up dangerously high amounts of voltage. This can't be where his life ends, right…?
"N-no! Stay back! D-don't co—!"
Flynn screamed in immense pain as the creature landed a direct hit at him.
The last thing Flynn remembered was being sent flying away from the cave before completely passing out.
Hello, Orb here.
To start of, this the first time I'm writing a fanfiction, so mistakes here and there are to be expected. Though I wouldn't mind criticisms on how to improve my work.
Secondly, I've already planned out certain events in this story and how they're gonna go, however, don't expect me to release a chapter next week or something like that. I'm a really slow writer at this point (though I think that could change the more I write about different kinds of stuff). Not to mention I have tons of school work I have to go through.
Finally, the next chapter will come after a few months. No promises. Well, the reason is kind of complicated and hard to explain. I hope you all understand.
Well, I hoped you like it anyway. Thanks for reading!
(Last edited on 2/4/19)
