Greetings intrepid readers ! Did you have a good week ? Well, I did, we're back today for chapter 3 of this fic, so a little change in title from The between World to Between World (thanks to you FlameLoneWolf), some answers to questions some of you have been asking me. If you don't feel like reading my author's notes, just ignore the bold text.
Guest: "Please make a happy ending. Julian and tigress stay alive forever and together, get married and have children please. "
Reply: Mwaaa haaaa, MWAAA HAAAA *kof kof* Uh... where was I? Oh, yes! For the record, I'm not planning on doing a tragic story. Every time I read a story, watch a movie or play a video game that ends in tragedy, it takes me three days to get over it, I keep thinking "No way! Not like that!" So don't worry, there is a very small chance that it will end badly. This story is supposed to be an adventure, BUT... like any adventure there are pitfalls, and I'm going to break Julian, destroy him mentally, make dog food out of him, scatter his ashes to the four winds and once I'm done I'll look at what I have left and advise in due course on his positive ending. As an aside, I feel like I've seen this comment somewhere before, but I can't quite put my finger on it.
Omega97: "This story is interesting! I hoped Julian gets shipped with Tigress!"
Reply: Oh, but don't worry, so they will meet very soon, not in this chapter, not the next one, but maybe, maybe... the one after.
My thanks (late, sorry for that) to CPT. JUNO, Coneofwonders, Frozenwolfheart22, Harak, Omega97, Ultrahero74, bookish-rebel, chaseisone, fnx99, gon56, luismarmolejo6494, marvelomac1010, mrcreper150, necronlord21, slydx21, vanesabolivar3 who are now following this story (already 16 in only two chapters, I didn't think it would be so fast, thank you), and of course to my favorite beta reader (well at the same time he's the only one : p) Starless Echoes. On that note, good reading to you.
The sun begins its eternal cycle anew. Burning brightly, it begins its ascent far into the horizon, its soft rays slowly warming my cold skin, gently waking me from my deep sleep. Opening my eyes, I realized that I was face down. I collapsed from exhaustion last night, after... was it a nightmare? Had I been rambling, or had that thing been talking?
Moving slightly, my aching body moved with difficulty. After all, I had slept on a floor made of stones and branches, which is not the best bed to have a restful sleep. I got up as best as I could and sat down on the ground, which was moist with the morning dew. Looking carefully at my hands, which were covered with dozens of scratches that had healed, I remembered my run through the forest that had led me to this place. Running my right hand through my hair, I exhaled in frustration.
"What am I going to do now?" I was out of options, out of possibilities. I was lost. Should I wait for death here? Or should I survive in a world of talking animals? Suddenly coming out of my reflection, I realized something.
"But what am I saying! Talking animals!? You're just delirious, my poor Julian. So here's what you're going to do, you're going to clean yourself up, make yourself presentable, and you're going to go back to the village to get help!"
I simply could not admit that such a thing could happen, that it was true! Talking animals...and dressing up! It was like a children's cartoon! And had I heard right? Was it really true? Other thoughts came to my mind, could animals talk? Was it another world different from ours, where the animals had been the ones to take over? Or was it simply the catastrophe that... no! That's impossible, it would mean that I was thousands or millions of years in the future, and I couldn't have survived all that time. I didn't understand what was happening to me, why was I suffering this? Everything was cloudy in my mind, like when one navigates through a dense fog. So many unanswered questions, so much darkness clouding my thoughts. I slowly got back on my two feet and began to do a complete check-up of my health. Sliding and groping my right hand over my legs, I checked for any other minor or serious injuries.
"Well, for the legs it looks okay, arms and torso now." Moving my hand up the middle of my body, I looked and checked every little part, nook, and cranny carefully. My clothes were in tatters, as my run through the forest had almost completely torn them. My torso was flayed and naked, now exposing my pale skin to the sun. My blouse was also completely shredded, and moreover my blood had almost dyed it red. Besides...
"My belt!" I had lost my tourniquet. It was far too early to remove it; I hadn't healed. And even if I had healed, it was better to sew the wound back together, otherwise it might reopen. My eyes looked around in the hope of finding my lost belt, my body shaking with panic, my breath quickening.
"I don't want to die! Not like this!"
It took me a good five minutes to admit that I would never get it back. I sat down on the floor and decided to finally check my wound to see the extent of the damage. I slowly removed my gown, and surprisingly felt almost no pain. I was still moaning from time to time, and I was still somewhat handicapped, but it wasn't as bad as yesterday. Putting my right hand on my shoulders, I started to touch the place of my bullet wound, putting a finger at the entry hole. I started to probe the area, drawing circles around it, getting closer and closer to the entry point. Suddenly, my whole body shuddered with pain, I bent over, and my head hit the ground.
"OUCH!" was all I could manage to say as intense gasps ensued.
"Okay... Okay," catching my breath with difficulty. "...let's face it...let's face it, I didn't say anything!" I was still badly injured, but the wound looked like it had partially healed, at least on the surface. To prevent it from reopening, I would have to make as little movement as possible with my left arm. Thinking about a solution, I looked at one of my trouser legs, and an idea crossed my mind. I hesitated for a moment before deciding to tear the rest of my pants to use it as a splint. I began my work by tearing a long piece of fabric with only a little difficulty. My right leg was now completely bare, but I took the next step and tied the two ends of my cloth "leg" into a knot, then laid my injured arm on it and pulled my splint behind my neck.
"Perfect! That will do the trick! For now..."
I slowly stood up, helping myself with my good arm. I was now in the middle of who knows where, and I didn't know where the village was now. Should I go back? After all, they weren't very hostile, they were just talking to me... Talking! Talking animals, my mind still couldn't accept that. I wanted real proof of what I had seen and heard, not just the ravings of a badly wounded man who probably had a fit of madness. I had to go back! Just to validate my fears. But which way to go now? I didn't know how long I'd been running through the forest, not from which direction, so where to go? Should I try to go in a haphazard way? Taking a random direction and hoping to stumble upon the village? This thought ran through my mind for a moment before my mind refused it categorically. Damn it! Julian, you're a scientist! You can't risk everything on a poker game, you're not like Dubois...
"Dubois." My body tensed at his name, but after all, what would he really do? I thought intensely about this question, I remembered what he had once told me.
"Remember to always analyze your environment, whether it's a familiar environment or a foreign one. You must always trust your instincts!"
He had told me this the day I accidentally set fire to his lab, a careless mistake. Surely he was within his rights to fire me for that , but instead he made me analyze my mistake, so I wouldn't do it again.
"Those were wise words you spoke. You should listen to them," the man's voice tore through the silence. It was back. No! No, no. It was back to confuse me, my voice in my head was back to make me even crazier than I already was. Was I becoming schizophrenic? I placed my hands on my head and begged with all my might.
"Stop! Leave me alone, please! Go away!" My hope that he would obey my order and leave me alone was very low. And indeed he didn't.
"Don't be afraid, my friend. Come, come to me." With the echoes gone, I could precisely make out the source of the voice. Turning my head to my left, should I go to him? Wouldn't he be setting a trap for me? I had somehow listened to it for the village and this is the result! I am lost in the middle of nowhere with serious injuries. Suddenly my stomach started to twist and growl again; my hunger had caught up with me. After all, I had only eaten a simple chocolate bar yesterday. It's no wonder I was starving now.
"Are you hungry? Come on, I have something for you." I was even more confused, he offers me food now!? My suspicion was still growing, but unfortunately for me I had few options. The first is to listen to the voice and follow it. In the best case, he helps me, which is unlikely, or in the worst case, he does things to me that I don't even dare to imagine. Turning my gaze to the right, I could run away! Run as far away as possible, hoping that he would leave me alone at some point . Looking down at the ground, I continued to study all the possibilities, but if I were to run away, I would have to find water, food, and medical supplies, even if I were to make it out. Checking the inside pocket of my blouse, I still had a chocolate bar in my pocket, enough to last another day in case of difficulty. The risk was that I couldn't find replacement food, and then what could I eat? I didn't know anything about survival. But the major risk was that the voice continued to harass me day and night, continuously inviting me to follow it. So what should I do? My mind was intensely thinking about the best of my solutions. It took me a few minutes to make the decision that would seal my fate. I must try everything! I must know what he wants from me! Since I arrived here, he was the first one to address me, and I was curious to know who he was, at least if he really existed. My body swiveled to the left, and slowly moved forward through the forest.
"Yes, come... Come closer, my friend." Why was he calling me my friend? I had only known him for a few hours. Moving forward with a cautious step, I carefully observed all the surroundings in search of clues and elements that were suspicious or dangerous. The forest was becoming more and more dense and bushy. My able-bodied arm pushed aside the bamboo leaves, slipping and sliding me through the passages I was creating.
"Yes, you're on the right track." The voice was getting louder and louder, so I moved closer to my mysterious interlocutor. Was he real? Or was it just my broken mind playing abject tricks on me? If he was real, was he a human or one of those weird animals? After all, he spoke my language and didn't seem to be afraid of me, unlike the villagers last night. So he must be a human. A smile of happiness formed on my face. So I am not alone anymore! I was spreading more and more bamboo leaves, its densification was such that the daylight passed with extreme difficulty, and my environment slowly started to darken. Was I in the right place? It had been a while since he had spoken to me. Looking over my right shoulder, I saw that the path I had made had disappeared. I could not turn back from now on. Anyway, I could not go back, I had gone too far, I had invested too much to stop. Continuing my way, I started to perceive the fine light of the day crossing the dense forest of bamboo as I approached my objective. This was great news; I wasn't going to die locked in a bamboo prison. I continued to push forward, to draw on my last reserves, finally extirpating my body from this green hell. I arrived in a sort of very large clearing. It was encircled by the bamboo forest, creating a huge and impenetrable green wall. In the center of the clearing was a small hill, at the top of which was an imposing tree at least eight meters high. Fruits that I could roughly define as peaches were growing in its top. At the foot of this magnificent tree was a rock, a little dented, and just below it was a fine stream, which flowed and descended slowly along the small hillock to arrive in a kind of pond on my left. Water lilies and lotuses in bloom ran along the surface of the water. This place was beautiful, worthy of postcards or pictures on the Internet to promote tourist attractions. But my mind started working again.
"Why did he bring me here?" I was completely lost. What did he want from me? And where is he anyway? My eyes quickly swept around. I didn't even see him in the clearing. Is it going to happen like in the mountain, where he disappeared without a trace, like a ghost or a spirit? I decided to break the silence in order to get the answer I so desired.
"Are you still here?" expecting a silent answer.
"Yes," he said with a form of joy that I could feel through his simple word. My surprise was complete. Where was he then? I looked to my right and left to see that there was no one else but me.
"Where are you? I don't see you!" Suddenly the rock I had noticed began to move and rise. I watched in total circumspection as this rock moved so slowly, before a head slowly popped out, its green eyes bearing down on mine.
"I'm here, my friend." He grinned broadly as he looked at me. It was a turtle... a giant turtle that stood on its two back legs like a human. Unlike the sheep I saw last night, he wore no clothes, except for a sort of cape on his back. I guess his shell served as his natural clothing, something that was not without logic after all. He was watching me carefully. My body, my mind froze again. I had not been dreaming! So it was all true! The animals did evolve in this world! I walked as slowly as possible towards this creature. He continued to look at me, his big eyes moving at the rhythm of my movements. A large smile always adorned his face. I climbed the small hill above the small stream. I was now two meters from the turtle. I stopped short, leaving me a safe distance in case he tried anything against me. My look was totally lost, I was overwhelmed by the unlikely situation. His smile was always present, as if he were happy to meet me. He didn't seem to be surprised by me. What the hell! I am human, and he is... it's... whatever! It seemed strange that he was not more surprised by me! I was surely one of the strangest creatures in this animal world. He moved slowly, but I think he was moving as fast as he was capable of considering his species. He lowered himself slowly and sat on his knees, holding out his hand to me, inviting me to do the same.
"Go and sit down, make yourself comfortable. You're hurt, you should rest."
I hesitated for a moment, but my tired body finally made the decision on its own. I sat on my knees to be more comfortable, with my invalid arm pressed against my chest. An awkward silence for a few minutes echoed around us. Neither I nor this turtle dared to speak. It was watching me attentively, and it seemed that its big green eyes were penetrating my soul. I think it was waiting for me to make the first move. I cleared my throat intensely, gaining a few precious seconds to think about what I could say to him. But nothing came, so I decided to improvise, asking the first question that came to my mind.
"Are you the stranger from the mountain?" Damn it, Cooper! How rude! Not even a hello, how are you, nice day isn't it? Continuing to watch him, I could see him start to smile even more than before as he put one of his claws on his chest, nodding slightly.
"Indeed ! I am." So my hunch was correct, so it is indeed him... So who is he? Why does he want to help me? How did he get down from the mountain? Dozens and dozens of questions crossed my mind, and I just didn't know where to start.
"Wh... What is your name?" He continued to watch me intently, and normally I would have found it disturbing and rude, but strangely I felt reassured in his presence. He turned his head to his left, observing the clearing, his nostrils slowly flaring.
"You'll know my name in due time, Julian, don't be in too much of a hurry, but you can always call me 'the voice' if it suits you." My heart raced for a moment, my body froze, my eyes dilated in shock. How... how did he know my name? And how did he know I called him the voice? Was he spying on me? My mouth trembled, stammering incomprehensible words.
"I... how... you?" I took a deep breath and exhaled sharply through my nose, lowering my gaze to the ground to focus again. My rational mind finally took over after a few moments of emptiness. "Who told you who I am?" He raised his arm, or his paw? It didn't matter. He pointed at me with his claw.
"I know more about you than you could ever imagine, Julian. The universe itself has shown me." The universe... there he goes again, what could it mean? Now that I had my interlocutor in front of me, I could finally know the answer.
"The universe? What do you mean by that?" He moved his two arms around to show me the surroundings, a leaf from the tree fell from the top, twirling gracefully in the air before landing on one of his fingers.
"The universe is everywhere and is part of each of us." Then showing me the leaf, he continued. "Even in this simple leaf of peach!" Letting the leaf fall slowly to the ground, he pointed at me. "The universe is also present in you, even if you haven't realized it yet." He lowered his arms, bringing them closer against his body. I didn't understand... What did he mean? It sounded like one of those old wise or crazy characters that you find in fairy tales and movies, and you don't understand a word they say. He continued. "I understand your confusion Julian; this world is very different from yours, and it will take time to get used to it." Why is he telling me that I will have to get used to this world? Wait! Did he just tell me that this world is not mine? This thought ended any form of rationality that might still exist inside me. I was totally lost, what should I do? What happened to my world? If this world is not mine, are other humans present? The turtle continued to observe me attentively, and I had more and more the impression that its bright green eyes were trying to penetrate my thoughts. Again, my emotions took over and my words became choppy and deconstructed into meaningless sentences.
"I... actually..." I gasped quickly. I had no logical thought, all my hopes were suddenly collapsing like a house of cards. I had nothing left, just... my life... Dark desires invaded my thoughts, my body began to tremble slightly, tears slowly formed under my eyes. I didn't have any friends left, they probably all died in the disaster! The only person I considered a family member... as the ONLY family member, had betrayed me, leaving me in a pitiful state and at the same time condemning our world... my world, to death. Was I to end it all? This idea, although terrible, soothed me. I had nothing left, so what else did I have to lose but my life? I should have died like all the other members of my people, like the two guards and like Dubois! I should have let myself collapse in the snow and die frozen, let myself join my people on the other side... My body was shaking more and more, the feelings that had been held back for too long flowed abundantly, filling my body and my mind with a deep despair. A hand suddenly appeared in my field of vision and landed on my right shoulder; the turtle had approached me without my realizing it, and he looked at me with eyes filled with compassion. Surprisingly, its facial expressions resembled those of humans, its claws gently squeezing my skin without any pain .
"I'm truly sorry for all you've had to go through. You have a fair heart, Julian. But you are plagued by multiple internal conflicts. If you listen to them, they will destroy you!" I understood what he was getting at, but after all, I had nothing left to lose! My life didn't matter to me now, so what was the point of continuing to live? His hand tightened more as if he knew my innermost thoughts. In some aspects this strange turtle reminded me more and more of Dubois. He drew me out of my reflections and continued to speak. "One day you will find, like me and like many others, true inner peace. That will give you strength and courage in the face of adversity." Was he right? Was it possible for me to get through this, to succeed in the face of this trial?
"Maybe..." The negative emotions continued to destabilize me. Intensely focusing my thoughts on the words of the turtle, they slowly faded away leaving the place to my calmer and more serene feelings.
"Yes, maybe you're right. I have to at least try." He gently removed his paw from my shoulder and resumed his original position. I could see that he was watching me with great attention. Then, a question crossed my mind.
"How do you get this inner peace?" A smile formed again on his face.
"Only time will tell. Some have endured many trials to succeed, others have spent years thinking and meditating, others have just forgiven past actions. It's up to you." Endure hardship? Meditate? Forgive... Did he want me to forgive Dubois for what he did to me? For what he did to our world? How could I forgive him! Out of pride, he condemned us all! The turtle spoke to me again, breaking the rest of my thoughts, slightly surprising me.
"I know this will be very difficult for you. Just be patient, and you will succeed." He was right, only time will tell if I made the right choice. I... I didn't want to die, I had no desire to. I hoped with all my heart that I wouldn't have such thoughts in the future. Nodding his head in agreement, he continued to look at me before looking above him. Following his gaze I observed the top of the tree and more specifically the peaches. Dozens and dozens of orange fruits were everywhere in the foliage. My belly compressed more; my hunger resurfaced. My conversation with the turtle had made me completely forget it. I lowered my gaze to see the turtle watching me, one of its 'eyebrows' raised.
"I promised you food, so here it is..." He gave a light punch on the bark of the tree and fruits started to rain on the ground. One of them rolled to me. I grabbed it with my able-bodied arm and looked at it carefully. Finally, some food! I was starving, as it had been almost three days since I had eaten anything substantial.
"I sincerely advise you to go back to the village so you can get help, Julian." Was he right? Should I give them another chance?
"I'll think about it, I..." I looked up to answer him, but I was surprised to discover that he had disappeared completely. My amazement was total. Where had he gone? I got up from my position so quickly that I staggered slightly on the spot, looking three hundred and sixty degrees around me, but there was no one . How did he manage to leave without me noticing? Many questions came to my mind. Who was he really? What did he really want from me? How did he know about my name, about my history? And above all, how did he know about my internal conflict, about my sudden depression? This point in particular disturbed me greatly. This world is obviously not mine, and I would do anything to leave it, but what if it was impossible? What if I had to 'get used' to this foreign world? Tears began to form again before they dried up, replaced by anger. Am I doomed to live near animals? They were not human, what could they give me? As soon as I finished thinking these words, they hit me hard. Had I just condemned a whole people out of simple, uh... racism? I always hated fascists and racists, they were bad seeds that stir up discord, anger and fear for the sole purpose of being superior, to get some kind of gain, or for some unfortunate people indoctrinated from childhood to have a wrong view of the world. Today, I had just behaved like one of them. My body lowered to the ground, my brain reflected intensely on my disproportionate reaction, allowing me to slowly regain my senses. My eyes went to the sky which had become the color of fire. The sun was already setting, and it would soon be dark. Fortunately for me, I already knew where to sleep. My eyes scanned the surroundings of the clearing. This place was perfect, the dense bamboo forest would prevent anyone from coming to disturb me. I got up and went to the foot of the peach tree. The place was rather flat, so it made a perfect bed. I gathered all the fruits that had fallen from the tree, sticking them in my brace so that I always had my right-hand free. After a few minutes, I had collected all the fruits that had fallen to the ground. I must have had at least thirty of them. I sat down at the foot of the tree, leaning my back on its rough bark, allowing me to rest a maximum of my muscles. I began to eat my fruit, a smile of contentment spreading across my face. These peaches were delicious, I had never eaten them like this before. I knew that our intensive cultivation had distorted all the tastes, colors and scents of our fruits, vegetables, and even meat, but I didn't know how much! It is almost shameful to give food like I ate to someone. I continued to eat my fruits with satisfaction until my stomach could not accept any more. I put all the remaining fruits on the side in a small pile. Then, I looked up to the sky and saw that the sun had already set a few minutes ago, the moon shining a beautiful bluish light on the clearing. The soft sound of the stream of water flowing to my left was relaxing my body, mind, and soul. I was about to fall asleep in one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen in my life. I packed the grass on the ground a bit to use as a bed before slowly lying down on my back. I was watching the splendid starry sky, a thousand million little white dots twinkling in the sky. Something that my world lost with the massive artificialization of the light. People living in the cities did not have the chance to see such a spectacle, and even those who lived in the countryside did not have a right to it. The densification of light is such that scientists are forced to go far away into the deserts and mountains to be able to study the stars.
"Progress doesn't always bring good things..." The fatigue lurking in the shadows suddenly hit me. I yawned, placing my hand in front of my mouth, all these emotions made me exhausted. Well, let's go to sleep, tomorrow will be another day. I will decide in the morning what I will do and whether I will return to the village. My eyes closed, the darkness began to envelop me, this time without the fear being present. My mind went to another world, a better one.
And here it is already the end, a lot of dialogue today and psychological torture (I should change the category of my story to M because it will be something rather redundant with some actions that will be attempted ...), if you have questions or questions about certain elements ask me I will answer, if you find something to complain tell me also that will allow me to improve my writing skills. Small tease in the next chapter, welcome change of perspective (who's not sick of this Julian's soft rag?). See you next week for new adventures, always further, always higher, always stronger. This is Noxymilien, end of transmission.